9 research outputs found
A Study of Technological Capability in Selected Rice Processing Firms in Nigeria
No full textIn the advent of processing indigenous rice production, there is need to encourage local technology. This study simply provides an insight into the intertwining capabilities. Mainly, a snowballing primary data technique was used to gather data across the thirty-five licensed rice processing firms in the four geopolitical zones of country using structured questionnaire. Data gathered was then analysed using the descriptive statistics- mean. The results showed that on a Likert rating scale of 5, acquisition capability and production capability were rated above average while creative, supportive and adaptive capabilities were rated low. This indicates that the firms have sufficient capability in the area of acquisition of resources and conversion of technologies while the capability to provide training and improvement of technologies is low. The study concluded that rice processing operations in Nigeria could be enhanced if all technological capabilities are adequately developed. Keywords: Technological capability; rice processing; operations; development; industry DOI: 10.7176/IKM/13-3-02 Publication date:March 31st 202
PROJECT SCOPE AND MARKET SHARE OF SELECTED TELECOMMUNICATION FIRMS IN NIGERIA
No full textTo maintain market share, telecommunication operators in Nigeria invest in complex, innovative projects with large budgets and tight timelines. Managing the project scope of these endeavors is a challenge, although crucial to ensuring that viable products are released and guaranteeing market share among these firms. This study examined the project scope and market share of selected telecommunication firms in Nigeria through the quantitative method and survey research. The study employed a validated adapted questionnaire, which used a six-point Likert-type scale and was administered to the study participants to collect primary data. The reliability test of the questionnaire was achieved with Cronbach alpha values and was between 0.734 and 0.756. The population for the study consisted of 94 project team members selected from three telecommunication firms; the sample size was total enumeration. Data analysis and test of hypothesis were conducted with descriptive and inferential statistics. Analysis result revealed that project scope had a statistically positive and significant effect on market share of selected telecommunication firms in Nigeria (β = 0.245, t = 5.779,
Empirical Investigation of factors affecting information and communication technologies (icts) in Agric-Business among small scale farmers in Esan Community, Edo State, Nigeria
No full textICTs are vital technologies for the development of agricultural sector in Nigeria. Its usage has created wealth to many, both in developed and developing countries. The study evaluated the usage of ICT in agricultural practices and determined factors influencing its usage among farmers in Esan community of Edo State, Nigeria. Data used for the study were generated from a sample of 75 respondents using structured questionnaire and interview schedule. Data collected were analysed using inferential statistical method. The result of ANOVA analysis revealed that factors limiting the use of ICT on farming activities among small scale farmers in the community include inability of farmers to use ICT (0.017 ≤ 0.05), lack of technological infrastructure (0.012 ≤ 0.05), cost of technology (0.039 ≤ 0.05), fear of technology (0.015 ≤ 0.05), time to spend on technology (0.026 ≤ 0.05), value of ICT (0.011 ≤ 0.05) and trustworthiness (0.007 ≤ 0.05). These factors are significant at 0.05 level of significance and tend to have varying impact on the adoption of ICT with respect to age, implying that lower age group tend to favour factors such as: time spent on technology, value of ICT and trustworthiness, while higher age group are compatible with technological infrastructure and the inability to use ICT. The study concluded that the adoption of ICT begins at lower age group, While, at higher age group, this tendency tends to decline. The study recommends that aggressive policy of digital revolution should be lunch in the community and could re-orient farmers and make them conversant with the beneficial effect of ICT in agricultural process
Diffusion of Technological Products: The role of selected technical and vocational colleges in Nigeria.
No full textThe study aimed at determining the role played by TVET in diffusing technologically produced products in Nigeria, with an emphasis on Lagos state. Federal, State, and Private TVET located and registered in the state were adopted. Similarly, TVETs offering 100 percent related courses: agriculture, textiles, fashion, design, fabrication and welding, electrical electronics, block and brick-laying, information communication technology [ICT], energy and power generation, carpentry, printing and publishing, and building construction formed the basis for the TVET selection in the state as well. Thus, out of its two hundred and twenty (220) beginning and graduating year students and eighty (80) teachers’ population across the three TVET purposively selected in the state, one hundred and seventy-one (171) sample sized using the Taro Yamane sampling technique was arrived at. Data sourced was arrived at through the administered questionnaire and the result were analysed using the descriptive, mean-frequency and percentage on a representative Likert scale of 1-5 indicating not diffused (NS), poorly diffused (PD), moderately diffused (MD), diffused (D) and highly diffused (HD). The result showed that, on the extent of diffusion, agricultural product is scaled 5 at 4.84 mean, followed by ICT, block and brick-laying and carpentry at 3.98, 3.64 and 3.45 mean respectively. Direct sales represent the most effective channels of diffusion at 23 percent. However, among the three arms, private TVET has the highest level of diffusion of technologically produced products. (ABS) Keywords: Innovation, Diffusion, Technology, Products, Vocational knowledge DOI: 10.7176/IKM/12-5-05 Publication date:December 30th 2022
Strategic Management: A Policy To Enhance Sustainable Business Development In Small And Medium Scale Enterprises In Nigeria
No full textINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND PROJECT PLANNING IN THE NIGERIAN FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
No full textInformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been known as vital technologies that are associated with production mechanisms for technological progress. The study examined the impact of ICT on project planning activities in Nigerian food and beverage industry. Data from primary sources were obtained through the use of questionnaire and interview scheduled on one hundred and seventy five (175) purposively selected users of ICT across three Departments of food and beverage firms in Nigeria. This was with a view to elicit information on the level of outputs and significance of the application of ICT to the performance of the industry. Data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the analysis of variance shows that there were significant difference in the mean rank of respondents’ opinion on ICT to improve quality (F=110.07, P = 0.05), reduce cost (F=110.07, p<0.05), improves process (F=140.93, p<0.05), and reduce processing time (F=184.36, p<0.05). Evidence shows that Internet usage, Virtual Private Network (VPN), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) had strong impact on product quality, process improvement, cost and time reduction. It was concluded that the absence of ICT in the firm will slow down the effective coordination of raw materials
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TOWARDS SCIENCE AND ART COURSES
No full textThis study did a comparative analysis of the attitude of students towards Science and Art courses. Also, a comparison of the attitude of male and female students towards Arts and Science courses was done. The population consisted of all the students of senior secondary schools from the six south-western states of Nigeria. The sample consisted of 1440 students, selected using stratified sampling technique. The instrument used was the Science-Oriented Attitudinal Scale (SOAS) adopted from Omirin (1999). The instrument was already validated by the author, with the item validity coefficients ranging between 0.31 and 0.57, and a reliability coefficient of 0.89. Two null hypotheses were generated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that there was a significant difference between the attitude of students towards Science and Art courses. The result further showed that the attitude of male and female students towards Science and Art courses are not different. Based on the results of this study, some recommendations were made. It was recommended that teachers should be encouraged to instil positive attitudes in students towards both Science and Art courses. Attitude and interest of students should be used as one of the yardsticks for admission into schools
Biosynthesis, characterization, and antidiabetic study of bimetallic copper–silver nanoparticles from Mangifera indica leaf extract
No full textAbstract Nanoparticles (NPs) have become essential in various scientific fields due to their diverse applications. The green approach, which emphasizes eco-friendly and cost-effective methods, has been reported to be effective for successfully synthesizing NPs. This research focused on the development of an easy and eco-friendly approach for synthesizing bimetallic copper-silver nanoparticles (Cu–AgNPs) using readily available medicinal plant leaves from Mangifera indica (M. indica) and evaluating their antidiabetic activities. Fresh M. indica leaves were collected, rinsed, air-dried, pulverized, and subjected to cold extraction using water as the solvent to obtain the M. indica leaf extract, which was then mixed with the metal precursors to form the biosynthesized Cu–AgNPs. The phytochemicals in the leaf extract were studied. The formation of Cu–AgNPs was monitored and confirmed by UV-vis absorption, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. The antidiabetic activity of the synthesized Cu–AgNPs was evaluated using the standard α-glucosidase and α-amylase assays that do not involve the use of animals. The phytochemical analysis confirmed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, anthraquinones, tannins, and flavonoids in M. indica leaf extract. The UV–vis analysis confirmed absorption peaks at 415 nm and 590 nm for biosynthesized AgNPs and CuNPs, respectively, thus confirming the synthesis of Cu–AgNPs. The FTIR analysis revealed that phytochemicals containing–O–H,–C–H,–C–N, and–C = C– functional groups were present in the leaf extract. These phytochemicals are responsible for capping and stabilizing the metal ions. The TEM analysis confirmed that the synthesized Cu–AgNPs are spherical, while the XRD analysis indicated that the formed Cu–AgNPs are crystalline, with a calculated average crystalline size of 33.1 nm. The biosynthesized Cu–AgNPs displayed good antidiabetic activities against α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes at all tested concentrations. Also, the percentage inhibition increases with an increase in concentration. The antidiabetic activities of the biosynthesized Cu–AgNPs against α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes compete well with the standard “acarbose” when compared. The IC50 values of M. indica leaf extract, biosynthesized Cu–NPs, and Acarbose were 5.57, 2.33, and 0.74 against the α-glucosidase and 128.74, 46.16, and 28.40 against the α-amylase. At 100 µg/mL, the biosynthesized Cu–AgNPs inhibited α-glucosidase by 76% and α-amylase by 72%. These findings revealed that the biosynthesized Cu–AgNPs could serve as a potential remedy to combat diabetes. This study was centered on the biosynthesis of bimetallic NPs Cu–Ag using M. indica leaf extract and recording their potential antidiabetic activities
A New Form of Authoritarianism? Rethinking Military Politics in Post-1999 Nigeria
No full textDespite the vast research that has been done on the Nigerian military, virtually all of these studies have failed to critically examine the accepted role of the military in the democratising phase. This is important because the relationship between the political elite and the military in post-military authoritarian states guarantees either democratic consolidation, or its reversal. In Nigeria, despite an appearance of significant progress in subordinating the military institution to democratic civilian authority, the military remains a crucial political actor in the polity. It appears that the military has yet to accept the core democratic principles of civilian oversight of the institution. This thesis, therefore, explores whether a new form of military authoritarianism is emerging in Nigeria, with the aim of understanding Nigeria’s military behaviour in a transitional phase, from prolonged military authoritarianism to democratisation. To examine this military behaviour, Alfred Stepan’s concept of military prerogatives that was used to understand the military’s behaviour in a transitional phase in Latin America is applied to Nigeria.
A crucial understanding of authoritarianism in Nigeria is initially discussed in this study using mainly document analysis strategy to examine whether multi-ethnic states, such as Nigeria, tend to have authoritarian systems. Six hypotheses form the core analysis of this thesis: first, that the military has retained significant military prerogatives; second, that retired military officers are gaining influential political and economic positions; third, autonomous military involvement in human rights abuses since 1999; and fourth, that civilian government oversight remains weak, and facilitates military authoritarianism. These hypotheses are primarily analysed using the elite interview technique. During the first half of 2011, the author conducted field research where serving and retired military officers were interviewed. The fifth hypothesis is that the military has intervened in politics post-1999. The examination of this hypothesis relies primarily on key security-related media reports (mostly newspaper editorials) on the military after 1999. The examination of the final hypothesis, that increases in military expenditures might facilitate a new form of military authoritarianism, relies primarily on descriptive statistical analysis. In addition, this study collated relevant historical materials that relate to the military, utilising national archival collections.
The empirical findings of this research did not identify a new form of military authoritarianism in Nigeria. The study, however, argues that the unrestricted institutional framework accorded the military has contributed significantly to authoritarian practices in the post-military era in Nigeria. This study discovered that there were similarities between the Brazilian and Nigerian militaries in regard to their military spending during their period in power. Both countries had lower defence budgets. Just as in Brazil, it appears that part of the reason the Nigerian military decided to relinquish power in 1999 had to do with its desire to gain a higher budget, something that was precluded in a military government struggling to retain a sense of legitimacy. The military needed a higher budget to modernise and re-professionalise its institution after more than a decade in power. This feature, which the Nigerian military shares with the Brazilian military, appears to justify the application to Nigeria of Alfred Stepan’s concept of military prerogatives.
