Research Abstract

ICT has been recognised as an effective tool for scanning the business environment and gaining competitive advantage in the developed economies. However, there is a dearth of information on the strategy for using the tool for business environmental scanning in Nigeria . This research will thus provide information for integrating ICT into strategic business decision processes through environmental scanning by • investigating the methods being used by companies in the manufacturing industry for environmental scanning, identifying the ICT resources and capabilities in the companies and examine the extent of their usage for scanning the business environment, examining the process of ICT capability building in the manufacturing companies and developing strategies for effective use of ICT for business environmental scanning to enhance competitiveness of companies in the industry .

The research is expected to therefore provide information on the extent of the strategic use of ICT by the Nigerian manufacturing companies for scanning the business environment and supporting strategic initiatives. It is also expected to stimulate increased investments in ICT resources and capabilities both at company and national levels. Furthermore, it will provide valuable information to new entrants that may wish to use ICT to leverage entry into industries dominated by very large incumbents

The research is aimed at assessing the knowledge of Nigerian Researchers about protection of inventions through patenting and their level of utilization of patent documents in research. The study is expected to provide the baseline information on the current understanding of the researchers on patent matters, establish the proportion of patentable Research and Development (R&D) results by Nigerian Researchers, evolve strategies for the enhancement of the capacity of the Nigerian researchers to generate patentable Research and Development (R&D) outcomes and form the basis for the development of a monograph for Nigerian researchers, which would promote the employment of patent as a bridge between universities, polytechnics and research institutes on the one hand and industry on the other hand.

Innovation capability consists of the skills, knowledge, resources, creativity and attitude needed to continuously generate and translate ideas into marketable new products, processes and services. A firm that intends to cope with the future must be innovative. However, Nigerian firms have been observed not to be adequately innovative. This project seeks to critically assess the current situation and develop appropriate approaches to bridge the gaps, and improve on the innovation capabilities of the industries by providing information on the innovation capability and level of innovation activities in the various industrial sectors and the research needs of the industry in order to motivate a demand driven research projects in research institutes

It is interesting to note that data on most of the standard S&T indicators are not available in Nigeria; and where they are, such data exist in no systematic manner. This has made it unnecessarily difficult to assess the country’s performance in S&T compared to other countries. This study therefore sets out to evaluate the level of the S & T indicators in the country with a view to determining how to strengthen them for planning purposes that will lead to sustainable national development and international competitiveness. Quantitative information will be provided on S&T inputs in terms of R & D expenditure, human resources and infrastructure needed to support and stimulate a knowledge-propelled economy national economy based on R & D outputs. The study will also give an insight into Nigeria’s competitiveness as it relates to global trends in S & T.

Often policy makers and funding agencies face the question; should indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) activities be supported in development projects? Should investment be made in developing indigenous technologies or develop new technologies? If explored innovatively, indigenous technologies can become an integral part of developmental projects. From the perspective of national competitiveness, systems of knowledge that are less accessible to others offer a potential competitive advantage. Thus, the need to document existing stock of indigenous technologies to ensure that others do not benefit unfairly from indigenous knowledge that is in the public domain without appropriate benefit sharing mechanisms. This study focuses on mapping of indigenous technology of local industries in Nigeria, assess the mode of indigenous knowledge transmission and skill acquisition in the various industry clusters, and identify best practices of industrial knowledge in the various clusters. The study covers three selected clusters in metal pottery, clay pottery and bronze casting.

There is a general consensus by the African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology that drought is one of the major environmental problems that have afflicted the continent with its consequent negative impacts on the socio-economic development of the affected areas. Drought risk is a product of a region's exposure to the natural hazard and its vulnerability to extended periods of water shortage (Wilhite, 2000a). If nations and regions are to make progress in reducing the serious consequences of drought, they must improve their understanding of the hazard and the factors that influence its vulnerability. It is critical for drought-prone regions to better understand their drought climatology (i.e. the probability of drought at different levels of intensity or severity and duration) and establish comprehensive and integrated drought monitoring techniques.

An understanding of long-term trends in drought conditions is important in order to plan for areas that are highly vulnerable to its impacts especially in the context of rain-fed agriculture, water supply and usage. Ability to determine the onset of droughts and map its severity will be a significant development in mitigating negative effects of drought, combating desertification and ultimately promoting economic development. It is within this context that this research intends to assess the spatio-temporal variation and determine recurrence interval of drought in the Sudano-Sahelian Region of Nigeria which is highly vulnerable to drought impacts. The result of the research will further improve and strengthen the scientific understanding of the causes, recurrence and extent of drought in the region.

This study evaluated the interactions among four key elements of Nigeria 's National Innovation System ( NIS ) namely, the Education and Research, Industrial Production, Finance, and Public Policy and Regulation. The findings of this research indicated weak interactions among these elements, each one carrying out its programme without giving adequate information to the other elements. These findings have been disseminated and discussed at several local and international fora. It is therefore recommended that adequate provisions be made to ensure effective interaction amongst the key elements of the NIS .
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One of the numerous natural resources which Nigeria is endowed with is natural gas, a promising alternative source of energy. Ironically, virtually all the natural gas extracted during the petroleum mining process in Nigeria is flared off. This study concluded that human capital development, establishment of small and medium scale petrochemical plants, liberalization of the industry and provision of basic engineering infrastructure would enhance improved utilization of Nigeria abundant gas resources as feedstock to the petrochemical industry. The study also provided options for reducing waste gas flaring during petroleum production in Nigeria , and the need to diversify the Nigeria 's economic base from a monolithic oil-based economy
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Using secondary data backed-up by interviews, the study analyzed the annual energy demand of the new Port-Harcourt Refining Company from 1989 to 1996. The results of the study showed that the energy demand efficiencies for the eight-year period were very poor. Due to the energy demand inefficiency, an average daily wastage of about 2,707 BOE, estimated to be $50,000 (US Dollars) was incurred (based on the 1989 posted price of $18.61 per BOE). The inefficient energy demand pattern of the refinery was found to be primarily due to l ack of optimal fuel utilization-mix. Appropriate policy intervention was suggested and discussed.
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This study sets out to systematically evaluate the extent to which capability for the manufacture of machinery and equipment exists in Nigeria especially for local supply of the needs of the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs)

The study will attempt to provide a comprehensive audit of the present capabilities in the sector. More importantly, the study shall endeavour a comparative analysis of the present capabilities in Nigeria with that of the Newly Industrialised Countries (NICs).It is hoped that this study would provide systematic data on the machinery and equipment sector and the policy recommendation that would emanate will contribute to the overall technological capability building for the socio-economic development of Nigeria .
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While it is generally agreed that the GSM revolution has had tremendous impact on the nation's economy, the extent of this impact (especially in quantitative terms) is not fully known .

The study will especially investigate the contribution of GSM to the following: capacity building, employment generation/ job creation, productivity, household expenditure and flow of foreign direct investment and their implications for poverty reduction and economic empowerment. The specific effect of GSM on the following sectors: transport, small and medium-scale enterprises, education, finance and banking, manufacturing, health, and agriculture will also be determined.
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Global trends have indicated that stimulating entrepreneurship is one of the most viable ways by which people can be empowered. Having realised this, many industrialised and newly industrialised countries (NICs) have committed resources and time to the promotion of entrepreneurship through various means including specific emphasis on the educational sector especially at the tertiary level. On the basis that entrepreneurship is a culture that can be taught/learnt, majority of these countries have introduced the study of entrepreneurship in their learning institutions. This study hopes to determine in concrete terms the study of entrepreneurship in Nigerian higher institutions
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In order to ‘engender' national and international data collection, it is necessary not only to understand and indicate statistically how women's roles and situations differ from those of men; but to understand how women also may be differentially represented in Science & Technology (S&T) and affected by its implementation.

The main aim of this work thus is to study the occupational activities of female graduate of science and technology-related fields while the specific objectives are to study the enrollment and graduation pattern or trend of female in S&T field in the past 10 years, identify types of employment/occupational engagement of female S&T graduate, assess the factors influencing the performance of women in S&T occupation and make recommendation that would enhance women participation in S&T. In pursuing the stated objectives, the study hopes to answer questions such as whether women have greater difficulty entering science and technology courses, whether women have greater difficulty finding employment (due to unfriendly working environments ), whether there are more women in biological and health sciences than in the physical sciences, whether women receive fewer promotions, and whether women have less access to supervisory positions.
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The main objective of this research is to provide adequate information on ICT waste levels in Nigeria and propose method(s) of effective safe disposal and management techniques. The specific objectives are to q uantify the available ICT equipment and their rate of retirement in organizations, examine the factors responsible for generating disused ICT equipment, assess the existing strategies for disposal of disused ICT equipment, formulate a model for management of disused ICT in Nigeria as a case study, and recommend appropriate policy intervention that will introduce effective disposal management of disused ICT equipment in Nigeria based on the model formulated.

In the quest to meet the stated objectives questions based on the acquisition rate of ict equipment in the country, factors responsible for retiring ict equipment in the organisations in Nigeria, reason(s) for the waste and whether it can be reduced, options available for retiring the ict equipment, and policies put in place to manage the disused ict equipment will be looked into. Finally the study aims to come out with d ata on ICT wastes in Nigeria , quality control policy on ICT equipment being acquired into the country, the appropriate measures that will be put in place to foster the recovery of energy from wastes and better waste management techniques.
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A revolution has been caused by the tremendous advancement in computer technology, software engineering and telecommunications which has resulted in radical changes and advances in the techniques of data and information processing, storage, retrieval and dissemination in Nigeria within a decade.
Therefore, an overview of the general level of development of information technology (IT) in Nigeria is one of the focus of this research with an examination of the extent to which it is being used in support of information delivery and communication in all the sectors of the country. The various components of IT /ICT vis a vis their development and key importance to the general development of national economy and educational advancement would also be researched into. This research shall look into the historical development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria with a view to providing empirical information on the evolutionary trend, accessibility, capabilities in all the sectors of the IT industry as well as assess the policy documents that have been deployed in the industry so far. Specifically, the work will examine the policy instrument; its impact, appraise the level of its implementation and investigate problems militating against the effective implementation of the policy if any.

This research is expected to provide the Nigeria IT industry (government and other stakeholders at all levels) with empirical data from across all the sectors of the Nigerian economy in reality with the accessibility, capability development and as well analyse the impact and implementation of the Nigeria 's IT policy in the various sectors to be examined.
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Innovation – the application of knowledge in production – has been established to be linked to economic growth and firms' competitiveness. Hence, it is crucial for a firm to innovate. The rules of competition in the world today have made it even more important for firms to innovate or liquidate. Globally, many firms have been found not to be adequately innovative and there is a wide gap between firms in sub-Saharan Africa and their counterparts elsewhere. Within the context of developing countries, innovation is best thought of as a process of adopting existing indigenous technologies. To do this, firms need to develop the capability to manage technological change.

Oyelaran–Oyeyinka et al (2002) found out in their study of 50 Nigerian firms that innovation is mostly adaptive and incremental in nature within the Nigerian industrial sector. Because of the presence of constraints which are peculiar to developing countries (such as poor infrastructure and weak innovation systems), the results of innovation studies carried out in developed nations may not be of much use in Nigeria . This study therefore sets out to assess the existing capabilities for innovation within the Nigerian industrial sector with a close-up on 3 industries including the cable manufacturing and metal manufacturers and fabricators sub-sectors. The questions to be answered include: how innovative are these firms?, what specific factors influence innovativeness in these firms?, and what strategies and policies need to be out in place to optimize innovativeness among these firms?

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This study investigated the sources of information for business opportunities and factors that influence the choice and successful practice of women in technological and non technological Micro and Small Scale Entrepreneurship (MSSE) in Southwestern Nigeria. Businesses in the manufacturing and service sectors were considered as technological and non technological industries respectively.
The study revealed that although the women had various knowledge bases and sources of information available to them, the most prominent were self conception, intuition, parents, friends and business associates. However, the sources of information that significantly influence on the choice of technological and non technological ventures by the women were television, trade fairs and community outreach programmes by government agencies. Other factors that influence on the choice of the women were educational background, previous experience, role model/mentor, socio-cultural factor and age.
In conclusion, findings from the result showed that the women in the service sector were about twice the women in the manufacturing sector. There were no respondents from industries such as mining and quarrying, metal fabrications and even building and construction. This could be attributed to the presence of the socio-cultural factor in Nigeria about the type of business women should engage in. However, the result showed that the source of information for women in MSSEs in Southwestern Nigeria were moderately adequate. Six factors influence their choice of either going into manufacturing or service industries. Their average performance is affected by factors such as training opportunities and family and responsibility amongst others.