Douglass Residential College

About: Douglass Residential College is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cognitive development & Experimental psychology. The organization has 119 authors who have published 124 publications receiving 4707 citations. The organization is also known as: New Jersey College for Women & Douglass College.

Promotion of softening and ethylene synthesis in bartlett pears by 3-methylene oxindole.

Abstract: A purified preparation of 3-methylene oxindole (3-MeOx) was applied to Bartlett pears (Lyrus communis) by vacuum infiltration. The infiltrated fruit were kept at room temperature at atmospheric or at one-twentieth of an atmospheric tension. The rate of softening was markedly enhanced by the application of 0.1 and 1 mum 3-MeOx. At 10 mum 3-MeOx the promotive effect of the compound was diminished. All the employed concentrations of 3-MeOx exceeded the effect of applied ethylene. The enhancement of softening in fruit kept under hypobaric conditions suggests that the action of 3-MeOx is a direct one and not an indirect ethylene effect. 3-MeOx also showed stimulation in the onset of ethylene synthesis, shortening the time required to obtain the peak in ethylene synthesis from 5 days by the control to 3 days by 0.1 mum and 2 days by 1 mum of the applied compound. As with softening, 3-MeOx at 10 mum diminished the rate of ethylene synthesis.The results suggest that 3-MeOx could function as a senescence promoter in fruit. Also, since auxins retard ripening while 3-MeOx promotes ripening, the action of 3-MeOx may be considered as that of an auxin antagonist. The occurrence and the mode of action of 3-MeOx as a possible senescence factor in fruit are discussed.

The Impact Of Oil And Gas Production On The Nigerian Economy: A Rural Sector Econometric Model

Abstract: The oil economy of Nigeria is very important to the country, but the people of Nigeria still suffer from a corrupt government. Despite the revenues being brought in from oil exports, the Nigerian government still holds a large unemployment rate and a high poverty rate. This paper shows the amount of oil being produced per day, as well as, the process by which the oil is brought to the market. This paper also shows the labor to GDP ratio, the major exports, and the major imports of Nigeria. Finally, an understanding of the ethnic struggle within Nigeria is looked at, as well as, the illegal oil racketeering that is costing the Nigerian governments billions of dollars. Until the people of Nigeria can take control of its government and rid themselves of the crushing militias that controls the politics in Nigeria, the people are doomed to suffer. INTRODUCTION ince the discovery of Nigerian oil in 1956 and its rise to the tenth largest oil-producing nation in the world, Nigeria has remained a country of political unrest, social disorder and economic instability whose national ills continue to be linked to its greatest but most corruptive factor, „the dark nectar‟ of Africa. Since its transition to civilian rule, political attempts to stabilize friction among Nigerians and multinational oil companies have been made to ensure production and cut export losses. However, fighting between rival ethnic groups continues to slow production and provides an unreliable producer that has been offset by the recent discovery of offshore oil deposits, which is expected to increase GDP. As a major oil-producing nation, the fluctuation of Nigeria oil production, prices and inflation can cause problems for regions such as the United States, Western Europe, and Asia, who have taken refuge in Nigerian oil due to the current tension in the Middle East. With such large potential for success, Nigeria remains one of the poorest countries in the world with much of its profits going to the multinational oil companies that populate the country including Royal/Dutch Shell, ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobile, TotalfiaElf, Agip and PanOcean Oil with the NNPC receiving only 57% of profits. While multinational contractors receive almost half of Nigerian oil profits, local Nigerian contractors receive far less due to their relatively low employment in the oil industry. Not only are local contractors omitted from the large sums received by the multinational oil companies, but also most of Nigeria‟s populations are unemployed with a very small percentage benefiting from its native breadwinner. With the cultivation of massive amounts of money and oil, Nigeria has also reaped havoc upon its environment risking local communities, crops and ecosystems, most of which are given little thought when oil deposits are present. Nigeria‟s plethora of oil can bring it to great heights, expanding its wealth to an impoverished country bringing education, health, political and social order to its people. However, until improvements are made within the newly established government, and relations between the Nigerian people and inhabitant oil companies are properly instituted, Nigeria will continue to cultivate a restless and poorly maintained country. The objective of this paper is to show the impact of oil to the Nigeria economy. S International Business & Economics Research Journal – February 2006 Volume 5, Number 2 62 THE IMPACT OF OIL PRODUCTION ON THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY As the 10 th largest oil producer in the world and the third largest in Africa, Nigeria has an economy that is very dependent upon its oil sector. It accounts for 95% of Nigeria‟s foreign exchange earnings, and they have oil reserves estimated between 24 billion and 31.5 billion. They produce 90 million tons per year. And with an economy based so explicitly around one product, it is almost impossible for it not to affect everything about Nigeria‟s structure and culture. The civil unrest that has plagued the country since the end of the 18 th century was only fueled by demand for control of this new market. In the late 1950‟s, Nigeria began to drill for oil and in 1970 during the oil boom, unrest escalated to an all out civil war. Because of corruption and misuse of power, the oil market has produced very little social and structural development in Nigeria. The general Nigerian population fails to see the investment of the oil revenue back into their lives. Nearly 95% of oil produced in Nigeria is produced through the joint venture there, Shell being the largest and producing nearly 50%. Nigeria sees about 60% of what they produced. Nigerian GDP fluctuates with the booms of oil and overspending of the government and is not always in hand with the amount of oil being produced. Employment and literacy rates have risen slowly with the coming of the oil market but energy output has been severely damaged by drilling and oil spills. Nigeria covers an area of 923,768 sq km (356,669 sq mi) and is by far the most populated of Africa‟s countries. Nigeria has a tropical climate and about two-thirds of Nigeria lies in the watershed of the Niger River, which empties into the Atlantic at the Niger Delta. Petroleum and natural gas, the source of most of Nigeria‟s export earnings, are concentrated in large amounts in the Niger Delta and just offshore. Smaller deposits are scattered elsewhere in the coastal region. There are two main oil markets in Nigeria: an upstream and a downstream. The upstream oil industry, based in the fertile Niger River Delta, is the most important economic sector in Nigeria‟s economy producing over 90% of its total exports. Oil in the upstream market is produced from 5 of Nigeria‟s 7 sedimentary basins: the Niger Delta, Anambra, Benue Trough, Chad, and Benin. About 80% of oil-producing wells are drilled in the upstream sector. The major foreign stakeholder in this region is Shell. But as Nigeria‟s economic backbone, the upstream sector also proves central to the ongoing civil unrest in the country. Nigeria‟s downstream economy has four refineries with a capacity of 445,000 bbl/day. But they often only operate at 40% of full capacity because of fire, corruption, poor management and incapacitation. Cross-border smuggling is an ongoing problem and there are frequent reports of large scale corruption in the distribution and marketing chain. The government through the NNPC has had an all encompassing control over the industry through its shareholding in all the companies involved and in the setting of wholesale and retail prices. This has produced shortages of refined product that Nigeria needs to meet domestic demands and their own quotas (1.89 million bbl/d). Deregulation of the downstream oil area is a stated aim of the government, but this is likely to depend on the still heavily sponsored prices allowed to rise to international levels. Until 1960, Britain controlled Nigeria and their natural resource mines and government participation in the oil industry was limited to the regulation and administration of fiscal policies. In 1960, Nigeria declared independence, but the Nigerian government was not ready for independence. In 1966, the cultural and social tensions between the north and the south erupted into a series of massacres, and a military coup that installed the first series of military governments. This was followed by a three year civil war that left 1,000,000 dead. After the civil war Nigeria joined OPEC. In line with their resolutions, the Nigerian National Oil Corporation was established which in 1977 became the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. It continues to dominate all areas of the oil industry, both up and downstream. Nigeria entered a period of prosperity and quickly rising oil pushed the Nigerian government into a reckless spending spree. Corruption became rampant and when the world recession and oil bust of the 1980‟s hit, inflation soared; there was large scale unemployment, massive debt and widespread corruption. In 1993 a new leader, General Abacha, became the leader. He ruled as a despot and failed to bring about the democracy he promised. He was censured by human rights group for his execution of the play-write Ken Saro-Wiwa and civil unrest again broke out, hindering oil production and still keeping the general population from seeing any sort of return from it. When Abacha died in 1998, he was replaced by General Abubakar who promised a return to civilian International Business & Economics Research Journal – February 2006 Volume 5, Number 2 63 rule. He kept his promise and in 1999, Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military leader and political prisoner until 1998, was elected president. In April of 2000, the Nigerian government set up a new committee on oil and gas reform to deal with the deregulation and privatization of NNPC. Many Nigerians regard oil as a gift from God believe it is their right to enjoy it at cheap prices, a belief which begins to sum up the risks of investing in Nigeria. The civil unrest from the oil market in Nigeria is based around the inequitable sharing of the countries oil revenues among its population. The Nigerians feel as though they are not benefiting from their natural resources, creating the civil unrest that often makes it dangerous or risky to invest in Nigeria; 700 deaths and shut off terminals and flow stations are just some of the results. Corruption within the industry and the government creates a very tough situation when the people lack equitable sharing and the revenue from the oil market is not being pumped back into the economy or the right places in the society. The government has failed to stop this in the past too, and environmental responsibilities of the oil companies are not often addressed. Nigerians border disputes also exacerbate this risky situation. While the Nigerians feel it is their land and their oil, Cameroon and Guinea feel that it is theirs. Negotiations between the two countries have met little if any success.