Census politics in deeply divided societies

Population censuses in societies that are deeply divided along ethnic, religious or linguistic lines can be sensitive affairs – particularly where political settlements seek to maintain peace through the proportional sharing of power between groups. This brief sets out some key findings from a research project investigating the relationship between census politics and the design of political institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya, Lebanon and Northern Ireland

Building consumers’ trust in electronic retail platforms in the Sub-Saharan context: an exploratory study on drivers and impact on continuance intention

Lack of trust can have a negative influence on consumers’ willingness to use electronic retail (e-tail) platforms especially in countries with weak regulations and poor consumer rights. This paper examined factors that can be employed to build consumer trust and continuance intention to use e-tail platforms in Sub-Saharan Africa. Data were collected from 207 respondents and analyzed using structural equation modelling with the PLS software. The results show that information quality, perceived usefulness, hedonic motivation and perceived risk have a significant influence on consumers’ trust in e-tail platforms. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge that guides efforts for implementation of actions in weak institutional contexts characterized by institutional voids such as those experienced in Sub-Saharan African countries. Finally, the study provides insights that can help managers of e-tail platforms to effectively foster the development of trust in their communities

Agroforestry farmers’ perception of climate change in Ibadan, Nigeria

This study assessed the perception of Agro forestry farmers in Ibadan,Oyo state, Nigeria to climate change (rainfall and temperature) using questionnaires and interviews. Multistage sampling technique was used to draw agroforestry farmers from the population. A total of 120 respondents were selected from eleven (11) communities in Ibadan. Data collected on perception to climate change was coded and analyzed using stata. Result showed that 84% of the Agroforestry farmers perceived a change in rainfall onset with 48% perceived late rainfall onset, 32% early rainfall onset and 4% perceived fluctuation in the onset of rainfall. For rainfall cessation, majority (78% ) of the agroforestry farmers perceived a change in rainfall cessation in the last 20 years. About 48% perceived early cessation of rainfall while 30% of them perceived late cessation. As to the duration of rainfall, 83% of the respondents perceived a change, while 8% do not perceive change and 8% do not know if there is any change. It was also revealed that education level and farming experience of the farmers as well as extension visits are significant factors affecting the farmers perception on climate change.This study shows that the agroforestry farmers in Oyo state have a good understanding of the changing climate. There is therefore need for planned adaptation strategies to enhance resilience of the farmers to climate change and variability. Key words: Climate Change, perception, agroforestry, adaptatio

Evaluating Diversification Strategi Direct Property Investment Portfo

Executive Summary. This paper evaluates diversification strategies adop direct property investments in the Nigerian property market. Annual hold returns were calculated from the data on rental transactions and capital v the 1998-2003 period. Under the assumption that investments are held lon constant correlation model or excess return to standard deviation represe covariance structure of assets’ returns, the findings revealed that property geographic naïve diversification strategies underperformed most of the eff portfolios constructed using constant correlation model. Most of the perfo results were found to be statistically significant at the 0.05 level. The resu that an efficient portfolio may not be more efficient than a naïvely diversif portfolio in all cases

An Evaluation of Property Portfolio Diversification Strategies in Nigeria.

This paper identifies diversification strategies adopted in the Nigerian property market and evaluates the effectiveness of the strategies with a view to determining the benefits of each strategy to investors and also moves the profession in Nigeria forward towards meeting the global trends. This is against the background of greater unpredictability and volatility in the Nigeria property market and the increasing need for investors to diversify risk of their portfolios. Questionnaires backed up with interviews, were administered on 28 institutional property investors in Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt metropolitan areas. Pooled data on rental transactions and capital values for the period of 1998 – 2003 involving 76 properties were also collected from the investors. Data were analysed with the use of frequency distribution, relative importance index, Sharpe’s Index and mean/standard deviation ratio. The study’s results showed that “property type” and “geographic naïve diversification” were the preferred strategies in the Nigerian property market and that these strategies did not give the best protection to investors’ portfolios against the risk situation in the market. The results of the evaluation revealed that the best strategy would be to adopt efficient portfolio strategy and invest better proportions of a real estate portfolio in residential properties located in Lagos metropolitan area

The Role of Ethnic Directors in Corporate Social Responsibility: Does Culture matter? The Cultural Trait Theory Perspectives

This paper investigates the effect of cultural differences between ethnic directors on corporate social responsibility (CSR) of Public Liability Companies (PLCs) in Nigeria. Using the cultural trait theory, the study focuses on how the ethnic directors are influenced when making decisions concerning CSR. Adopting multiple regression analysis of data, the study investigates the three major ethnic groups (Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa) and finds cultural differences between the ethnic directors affect the adoption of CSR. Empirical results indicate that ethnic directors (Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa) were positively and significantly related to CSR. The paper contributes to the corporate governance and CSR debate concerning how ethnic directors’ decisions impact on CSR activities, particularly on the directors who are individualistic and collectivists towards CSR

Sero-prevalence and risk factors for cytomegalovirus infection among pregnant women in a teaching hospital in Ogun state, Nigeria

Background: Infection with cytomegalo virus is usually asymptomatic however in pregnant women the risk of congenital infection and foetal  abnormalities makes antenatal screening for CMV infection necessary. The aim of this study was to determine the sero-prevalence and risk factors for  CMV infection among pregnant women in Babcock University Teaching Hospital (BUTH), Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.Methods: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted between January and May, 2017 on patients attending the antenatal clinic of  Babcock University Teaching Hospital. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Kits were used to determine IgM and IgG anti CMV antibody titresinvenous blood samples obtained from study participants.Results: A total of 80 patients were recruited into the study. The mean age was 30 years.All (100%) respondents were sero-positive for anti CMV IgG  antibodies while 28.75% of respondents were seropositive for anti CMV IgM antibodies.Conclusion: There was a highsero-prevalence rate of CMV infection in the study. Screening of pregnant women for CMV infection is necessary due to the  risk of congenital infection and fetal defects