The Challenges of e-Tailing in Employment Creation: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria

As more and more manufacturers and retailers turn to e-tailing to increase profits and capture new customers, the emphasis on online shopping means more opportunities for web designer jobs and developer jobs, not to mention an increase in the number of marketing jobs and content roles. This paper investigates the retail sector contribution and strategies for job creation. The research is based on a wide and broad literature review of the latest trends in the Nigeria retail industry, followed and supplemented by quantitative research of the key retailers in the country. The work, among others things identifies the drivers of change and related factors that have a bearing and influence on employment creation based on the emerging opportunities and threats (e.g. Technology). The study also evaluates the effect of e-retailing on job creation in Nigeria and as well investigates the challenges for managing e-tailing in a developing economy. To achieve the spelt objectives, the study utilizes survey design; and data was collected though a self-administered questionnaire from a number of 302 respondents who were retailers in three selected open markets in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State Nigeria. Statistical technique software SPSS was employed to aid the data analysis. Having analyzed the data, the study found out that e-tailing has brought about changes in the ways people buys and this affects many traditional retail outlets. It was also discovered that e-tailing is still ineffective in Nigeria economy. The work among other things, recommends that brick and mortal retailers should strengthen their operations in order to continue being in business. The work in addition to that also advised that Nigeria manufacturers and retailers should go electronic so as to face the digital rivals created by e-tailers

N-Nitrosation of dimethylamine hydrochloride and its toxicology in the wistar rats fed different levels of dietary protein

The present study investigated the in vivo and in vitro effects of orally administered sodium nitrite (NaNO2) and dimethylamine hydrochloride (DMA–HCL) on liver of rats fed ad libitum with high protein diet (64%), normal protein diet (27%) and low protein diet (3.5%). Thirty Male Wistar rats were divided into three groups and kept for four weeks. Group one was given high protein diet, group two was given a normal protein diet, group three was given low protein diet, all the groups were administered with 3mg NaNO2 and 20mg DMA-HCL/kg, using the application of spectrophotometric analysis, centrifugation, histolopathology, enzymatic as well as colorimetric methods. Liver function test, showed significant elevations (P < 0.05) in the AST, ALT, ALP and GGT activities in all the groups compared with the control animals. The histopathology examination exhibited periportal necrosis. Following UV exposure after in vitro incubation of rat liver microsomal plus soluble fraction with NaNO2 plus DMA-HCL, nitrite concentration in the rats fed high protein was highest 4.033 and 0.470 μg/ml, compared to the control rats which was 0.052 and 0.00192 μg/ml before and after UV irradiation. Nitrite loss was significant (p<0.05) before and after UV exposure in all the groups, indicating that the UV-light has degraded the nitrosamine precursors, thereby inhibiting possible nitrosation. The study has revealed that in rats, a high protein diet enhances N-Nitrosation of dimethylamine hydrochloride, liver derangement and the metabolisms in vivo and in vitro of the resultant compound

Rough ends of infinite primitive permutation groups

If G is a group of permutations of a set Omega , then the suborbits of G are the orbits of point-stabilisers G_\alpha acting on Omega. The cardinalities of these suborbits are the subdegrees of G. Every infinite primitive permutation group G with finite subdegrees acts faithfully as a group of automorphisms of a locally-finite connected vertex-primitive directed graph Gamma with vertex set Omega, and there is consequently a natural action of G on the ends of Gamma. We show that if G is closed in the permutation topology of pointwise convergence, then the structure of G is determined by the length of any orbit of G acting on the ends of Gamma. Examining the ends of a Cayley graph of a finitely generated group to determine the structure of the group is often fruitful. B. Krön and R. G. Möller have recently generalised the Cayley graph to what they call a rough Cayley graph, and they call the ends of this graph the rough ends of the group. It transpires that the ends of Gamma are the rough ends of G, and so our result is equivalent to saying that the structure of a closed primitive group G whose subdegrees are all finite is determined by the length of any orbit of G on its rough ends

DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF COMBINED ELECTROMAGNETIC AND MAGNETIC DRUM-BELT CONVEYOR SEPARATOR

Mineral processing operations are faced with many challenges which include effective separation of unwanted materials generated through the extraction process from the bulk material. Magnetic device is a machine used for separating magnetic materials from non-magnetic materials by inducing the magnetic flux. Magnetic and electromagnetic separators are widely used as primary separation equipment. This work was centred on the design and construction of a laboratory-sized dual purpose magnetic and electromagnetic separator for separating the magnetic particles from the rest of the bulk mineral or ferrous materials from foundry sand in a single system. The main components of the equipment include: the hopper, conveyor belt rotating drums, pulley and belt, electromagnet. The approaches to achieving the result reported include the design conceptualization, design calculation, design drawing using the AutoCAD and Inventor software, fabrication and assembly of components. The evaluation showed that electromagnetic separation is more efficient than magnetic separation. The equipment was fabricated at an average cost of 224,000:00 naira

A renewable energy-centred research agenda for planning and financing Nexus development objectives in rural sub-Saharan Africa

In rural sub-Saharan Africa – the global poverty hotspot – the vast majority of cropland is rainfed only, resulting in reduced and unstable yields. Smallholder farmers account for 80% of agricultural production but they have limited access to relevant services to support both commercial operations and their livelihoods: more than two-thirds of rural dwellers have no access to electricity (crucial for crop irrigation, processing, and storage) and about 40% have no access to clean water. Previous research has analysed integrated technological and resource management approaches to tackle these overlapping development gaps. To finance and implement such transformations in resource-constrained settings, it is now crucial to understand the business and investment implications, also considering the strong regional population growth and the increasing frequency and intensity of climate extremes. Here, we lay out a research agenda that promotes the integration of multi-scale modelling excellence along the climate-water-renewable energy-agriculture-development Nexus and the creation of robust business models for private companies that can sustainably support private smallholder farmers of SSAin their effort to eradicate poverty and inequality. The proposed agenda is a cornerstone of the EC-H2020 project LEAP-RE RE4AFAGRI (“Renewable Energy for African Agriculture: Integrating Modelling Excellence and Robust Business Models”). In proposing the agenda, we highlight the importance of integrating energy access into the Nexus framework from both research and investment perspectives

A renewable energy-centred research agenda for planning and financing Nexus development objectives in rural sub-Saharan Africa

In rural sub-Saharan Africa – the global poverty hotspot – the vast majority of cropland is rainfed only, resulting in reduced and unstable yields. Smallholder farmers account for 80% of agricultural production but they have limited access to relevant services to support both commercial operations and their livelihoods: more than two-thirds of rural dwellers have no access to electricity (crucial for crop irrigation, processing, and storage) and about 40% have no access to clean water. Previous research has analysed integrated technological and resource management approaches to tackle these overlapping development gaps. To finance and implement such transformations in resource-constrained settings, it is now crucial to understand the business and investment implications, also considering the strong regional population growth and the increasing frequency and intensity of climate extremes. Here, we lay out a research agenda that promotes the integration of multi-scale modelling excellence along the climate-water-renewable energy-agriculture-development Nexus and the creation of robust business models for private companies that can sustainably support private smallholder farmers of SSAin their effort to eradicate poverty and inequality. The proposed agenda is a cornerstone of the EC-H2020 project LEAP-RE RE4AFAGRI (“Renewable Energy for African Agriculture: Integrating Modelling Excellence and Robust Business Models”). In proposing the agenda, we highlight the importance of integrating energy access into the Nexus framework from both research and investment perspectives

SPARC 2018 Internationalisation and collaboration : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2018 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also the launch of our Doctoral School, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 100 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the research strengths of their works, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research inevitably requires interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised by all major research funders. Therefore engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers