Archives-July 2013

Property tax is gradually becoming a major source of revenue for local councils in Nigeria. However, in generating revenue through property tax there is the need for local councils to consider the attitude of the residents within their jurisdiction to payment of the property tax in order to encourage public participation in the usage and the collection of the property tax. The methodology of study therefore is based on the questionaire distribution of 0.00035% of the population of the study and analysed with multivariate analysis. The multivariate analysis examined the payment of property tax as an independent variable against three dependent variables which are Awareness of Property tax, willingness to pay if property tax is splited into forms and willingness to reside or shift location if the property tax is reviewed upward. The result of the study suggest that with a calculated alpha level of 0.024 which is less than 0.05, commercial property occupants in this local government will shift location if the property tax is reviewed upward. It is the recommendation of the study therefore, that there will be the need for local government to set up a machinery to monitor the attitude of the residents as this findings may be different in other local government areas.

Widespread perception about the motivations behind decision making process in purchase of a new product is crucial for the success behind the development of innovative products. This article used a quantitative research method to test hypothesises that were associated with different stimulating factors of consumers personality traits that affect the sale of new products; at the same time, it helped to highlight factors that have a significant effect. A non-probability convenience sampling method was used to distribute questionnaires to 105 students living in the UK. This research paper has found out that differences in personality traits of consumers have a significant effect on buying behaviour and intentions in case of new products, which in turn affects the final purchase of the products.

Stock price forecasting is a prominent phenomenon for investors and other financial information users. Indeed, stock price prediction has been regarded as an interesting yet challenging process in the advanced world of business. Various economical or non economical factors have effected on stock market behavior, hence stock price forecasting is recognized as one of the most complicated subjects in business. In past, statistic-based methods were suggested to solve this problem. In recent decade, nonlinear based fuzzy time series models methods, artificial neural networks, fuzzy neural networks and combined prediction models have been recommended. There have been permanent debates about different methods of forecasting precision among those authors who selected artificial intelligence in forecasting. Therefore comparative analyses are crucial. This study by applying neural networks and minimizing stock price forecasting error designs and provides stock price forecasting model, in comparison to combined artificial neural networks technique. Results show that the combined neural network model forecasts more appropriately and is faster with higher estimation capability in stock price forecasting in relation to single neural networks.

In the present study, the defatted successive ethyl acetate and methanol extracts from Trapa natans fruit peel were evaluated for their protective effects on paracetamol-induced liver damage in Wistar albino rats. Serum biochemical parameters viz. serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum alkaline phosphatase (SALP), total protein, bilirubin, cholesterol, triglycerides were evaluated. All biochemical findings indicated that both the test extracts exerted significant hepatoprotective efficacy against paracetamol-induced hepatic damage in rats. The methanol extract was found to be more effective than the ethyl acetate extract. Therefore, from the present study it can be concluded that T. natans fruit peel had remarkable hepatoprotective activity in rats.

This is the study to evaluate the performance of new design of biogas unit and to enhance the biogas production by using different parameters. The raw material to be fed in digester will be the food waste which gets generated everyday from restaurant full of crowd in the locality. With this unit, biogas equivalent to two kg of LPG can be generated from the feeding of approximately 15 kg of food waste every day. This is the only design available which allows the user to choose how much biogas pressure he wants. Biogas thus produced can be checked for quality by different inoculums and additives. Thus the cost of disposing the food waste can be saved and the energy can also be recreated and reutilized for restaurant benefits. Hence the atmospheric contamination automatically gets prevented.

Thermo-chemically cracked cocos nucifera shells were converted into useful adsorbent using chemical activation method. Regeneration of the spent carbon was carried out via thermal regeneration method. The re-derived filter was used in the adsorption of nickel (Ni) from a simulated Ni2+ solution. Qualitative characterization was carried out using the Fourier Transformed Infra Red Spectrophotometer while Atomic Adsorption Spectrophotometer was used to analyze the equilibrium phase Ni2+ concentration. Comparative study of the derived and regenerated activated carbons was carried out using kinetic adsorption studies approach. From the experimental runs, it was evident that derived cocos nucifera shells activated Carbon provided slightly higher removal efficiency values than the vice for Nickel uptake. Investigations with applicability test supported the pseudo second order kinetics as best model in explaining the sorption rate (k2 = 0.744) as against the proposed linear and first order kinetics. Generally, reuse of spent coconut shell carbon and its investigated film diffusion transport mode in removal of Ni2+ is critical a study with a worthwhile adoption in remediation study.

A bulk of the Nigeria wealth is derived from Oil and Agriculture which lies in abundant quantity in rural communities. Current estimates put the rural population at over 80% of the entire population of almost 160 million people. So far, not much in terms of infrastructural development has been done to bring this bulk of concentration of both human and material resources to contribute optimally to national economy. The neglect has resulted to the mass exodus of rural dwellers and in turn has made the rural area qualitatively and quantitatively depopulated, and progressively less attractive for socio-economic investment. It is against this backdrop that this paper evaluates the impact of Nigerian commercial banks on rural populace in Oyo metropolis and; also to determine the relationship that exists between various activities of commercial banks and its rural populace. In line with the objectives, two hypotheses were formulated. The population of the study is the eight (8) Commercial Banks in Oyo metropolis and three (3) were selected as sample size. The study utilized data from primary source. Data were obtained from the questionnaires administered. The time frame for the study is ten years, covering the period of 2002 to 2011. The technique of analysis used in the data was Analysis of variance (ANOVA). We concluded that even though commercial banks activities such as giving out loans and receiving deposit has positive impact on the rural economy, there is room for the Commercial banks to gear more of its activities towards empowerment of the rural populace. Commercial banks should also strategize on how to attract and retain more deposits so as to further improve on their lending performance towards the rural dwellers. In addition to establishing a policy framework that maximizes the incomes of the working rural dwellers through policies to promote rural self-employment and reliability.

Due to the influence of emotional factors on child rearing method and the role of parenting style in Thought, Behavior and their academic success, this study aimed to determine the association between parenting style and academic success in Students in Harsin, Iran. This study is a descriptive study of correlation type. Statistical sample are 284 students in first year of high school (164 boys and 120 girls) in school year 2011-2012 in Harsin, Iran. The data collection instrument for the measurement of emotional intelligence parental is Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire shrink and for Measure parenting style is Parenting styles questionnaire. And Academic success was assessed by the student's end of the semester grade. Data was analyzed by SPSS software and Pearson correlation coefficient and simple regression. Between emotional intelligence and authoritarian parenting style, authoritative parenting practices, there is a significant positive relationship. The relationship between emotional intelligence and permissive parenting style was found to be negative and significant. The results of the analysis of the data shows that between authoritarian parenting practices and children's academic success (48/0 = r) and authoritarian (33/0 = r) there is a significant positive relationship. And there is a significant negative relationship between the academic success of students and permissive parenting style (6/0- = r). In general we conclude that emotional intelligence is related to parents' parenting style, and parenting style, in turn, is related to student's educational success. And forceful approach is more associated with academic success.

This study is about to explore the relationship among professional competence, job satisfaction and career development confidence of chefs in Pakistan. Results exhibited that working attitude and communication skill are the most likely influential construct for professional competence and culinary related knowledge had the lowest reported ratings. Job selection satisfaction showed low ranking then current job satisfaction. Structural equation modeling results demonstrated that professional competence directly effect job satisfaction and career development confidence and job satisfaction had no direct effect on actual career development confidence. Implication for these results is discussed.

This paper explores the features of the domestic child workers in Bangladesh and then addresses the responses of the governmental initiatives. It aims at analyzing the situation of domestic child workers and then discussing the current initiatives of the government with its limitations, and finally provides some suggestions for way out. The paper argues that the government responses are very inadequate in the light of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in Bangladesh. This way, the paper contributes a dynamic and multi-dimensional understanding of how the government combating domestic child workers’ issue for securing their bright future.