An examination of risk allocation preferences in Public-Private Partnerships in Nigeria

Risk allocation preferences are important elements of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), as the fundamental tension in many negotiations between the public and private sector in PPPs usually comes down to the  question: who is responsible for managing a particular risk? Yet research literature suggests that risk  allocation preferences phenomena have not been adequately studied; hence they remain poorly understood.  This paper provides an empirical analysis and study of risk allocation preferences in PPPs in Nigeria. Research participants (spanning banking, construction, and public sector groups who were selected through a convenience sampling method) completed an online survey with Likert-type items within six months (i.e.  between June and November 2011) to gauge probabilities of occurrence, risk impact and risk significance of 46 risk factors pertaining to PPP projects. As data did not meet the assumptions for parametric statistics,  Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to evaluate the ranked differences in the independent variables (46 risk factors) between private and public sector groups. This paper shows that 27 (59%) out of the 46 risk factors are preferred to be allocated to the private sector, while 8 (17%) risk factors are to be allocated to the public sector and 11 (24%) of the risk factors are to be equally shared between the private and public sectors.Key words: Risk Allocation Preferences, Nigeria, Agency Theory, Public-Private Partnerships, and Mann-Whitney U tests

U.S. Punitive Damages Before German Courts: A Comparative Analysis with Respect to the Ordre Public

The primary aim of this article is to propose an answer if U.S. punitive damages judgments should be recognized in Germany. First, the article will give an overview about punitive damages under American Law and then will analyze the German doctrinal framework of damages. On this basis, the paper will provide an overview of the proceeding of the recognition and execution of foreign judgments in Germany, including the German ordre public. The comparative analysis of this paper will identify parallels between U.S. punitive damages and German damages and will show penal elements within the German civil law. The enforceability of punitive damages in Germany depends on the German point of view towards punitive damages. Thus, this article will identify penal elements in the German civil law. Even if the German civil law would be unacquainted with punishment, it could be imaginable that the German law could tolerate the objectives of punitive damages. Therefore it will be discussed, if the German law or jurisprudence contains aspects that correspond to the intention of American punitive damages

Modal truncation of substructures used in vibration analysis

The objective of this study is to describe in a unified manner a group of structural dynamics analyses using the substructures technique. An additional effort is to provide a consistent basis for the selection of substructure principal modes as required by this method. Substructure principal mode frequency roots and strain energy are two criteria evaluated for the selection of substructure principal modes. System eigenvalues and system strain energy are investigated for the comparison of results in the principal modes. System strain energy should provide more rational results since it is proportional to the stress times the strain in the system and summed over the entire system. Expressions for estimating errors in system eigenvalues and strain energy in the principal modes due to omission of certain substructure principal modes are derived. To complete the solution to the free undamped vibrations problem, the substructures method is extended to include solution with initial conditions. A simple example of a cantilever beam is presented. It is noted through this example that the criterion based on substructure normal mode strain energy for retaining substructure principal modes provides slightly better results in terms of system eigenvalues and strain energy in the principal modes. Estimation of errors in system strain energy in the principal modes due to modal truncation is better in comparison to the estimate of errors in system eigenvalues. The substructures method is also applied to complex structures under forced excitation. Since the classical direct approach results in large order complete structure matrices, computer storage may exceed that which is available on most digital machines. Partitioning of matrices, via the substructures method, is one of the important features of this study and helps keep the computer storage and cost to a minimum. Matrix partitioning is utilized to its fullest extent in deriving equations of motion and in providing their solutions. Several practical excitations are considered through a simple example of a cantilever beam. Approximate solutions for transverse displacements and system strain energy are evaluated for the purpose of comparisons with the \u27exact\u27 case when no modal truncation is used. Results show the applicability of the substructures method to systems under forced excitation --Abstract, pages ii-iii

A comparison of lumped parameter models commonly used to describe one-dimensional vibration problems

Three lumped parameter model representations of the one-dimensional uniform continuous system in a vibration state are examined. The exact (continuous) solutions were used as a reference to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained via these discrete element models. The model comparisons, carried out for both the principal modes and the systems under forced excitations, are based on the maximum strain energy. The effect of varying the number of segments in the model representation showed improvement in approximating the exact strain energy solution as the number of segments was increased. In general, the results of the model comparisons based on maximum strain energy were consistent with previous comparisons made on the basis of frequency root errors --Abstract, page ii

A contextual design artefact for the dynamic capabilities of SMEs in Nigeria : a critical realist study

Text in EnglishThe tendency of SMEs to focus on their core business activities often results in them overlooking competences to maximise ICT usage which, in turn, leads to the escalation of costs and the diminishing of investment returns. This study, situated within a critical realist philosophy, seeks to explore and design a new ICT artefact for SMEs using the dynamic capabilities framework and mixed method approach. Dynamic capabilities (DCs) refer to an organisation’s ability to continuously renew internal resources towards ensuring business success and market competitiveness. The use of content analysis and retroduction enabled the initial qualitative study to analyse the interview responses gained from 16 SMEs situated in five of the most economically active states in Nigeria. The study then developed and evaluated the ICT artefact amongst 20 SMEs in similar contexts using the elaborated action design research method. The key findings revealed how SMEs in Nigeria use ICTs (in the real domain) to carry out their business processes (in the actual domain) using their DCs (in the empirical domain). The findings suggest that, despite the existence of government support for SMEs across Nigeria, these programmes are generally inaccessible using ICTs. This study identified a critical need for the creation and evaluation of a contextual ICT artefact (i.e. mobile app) suited to Nigeria and in probably other SMEs operating in similar low-income contexts. The evaluation results confirmed the usefulness of the artefact as a suitable tool which would assist SMEs in enhancing their DCs and thus maximise opportunities. This thesis presents a theoretical contribution to IS theory through the identification of absorptive, adaptive and innovative DCs which enhance the competences of SMEs to seize business opportunities. The other theoretical contribution to IS lies in using critical realism to reveal the causal powers of mobile apps and the events generated in SMEs. The findings also contribute to practice by outlining a way in which SME owners can effectively use ICTs to maximise their business capabilities. The thesis recommends that contextually designed ICTs should serve as the bedrock for policy development. Policy makers should continuously sensitise SME owners as to the benefits of ICTs by reinforcing ICT education and creating environments which enable ICT growth.School of ComputingPh.D (Information Systems

Education in South Sudan: focusing on inequality of provision and implications for national cohesion

This article examines the provision of basic education services after the end of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 2005, focusing on the condition of the services and its implications for national cohesion during the period after the birth of the South Sudanese state. It argues that the way basic education services were provided after the Second Sudanese Civil War has contributed to the trajectory of inequality that characterised the period before the onset of this war. This trajectory significantly deviated from the vision the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) promised during its bloody armed struggle against Sudanese regimes based in the national capital, Khartoum

Pd(II), Pt(II), Rh(III), Ir(III) and Ru(III) Complexes of some Nitrogen-Oxygen Donor Ligands

Pd(II), Pt(II), Rh(III), Ir (III) and Ru(III) complexes of propiophenone and butyrophenone semicarbazones (abbreviated PSC and BSC, respectively) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic moments and IR and electronic spectral studies. The complexes were found to have the composition of M(PSC/BSChC12 (M= Pd or Pt) and M(PSC/BSChC13 (M= Rh, Ir and Ru). All the complexes are diamagnetic except Ru(PSC/BSC)3C13, which is paramagnetic, Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes are of square planar geometry. Rh(III), Ru(HI) and Ir(III) complexes are six-coordinate octahedral. Various ligand field parameters have been calculated and discussed