Corporate Governance Parctices and Chanllenges in Africa

This paper examined the practice of corporate governance in developing countries, and specifically in Africa. To carry out the exercise, the efficacy of corporate governance mechanisms and legal (legislation) framework were examined. The paper observed a weak or non-existing compliance and/or enforcement of corporate governance legislation. It concludes that corporate governance in most African countries is ineffective, inefficient and has ultimately failed. The paper therefore, recommends that for African countries to reap the benefits of effective corporate governance there is the need to review existing legislations and to strengthen the enforcement mechanism of the regulatory institutions. Key Words: Governance, Stewardship, Stakeholders, Ethics, Accountability

The influence of media on political knowledge amongst undergraduate students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Knowledge about politics and government activities increases due to the socialization and enlightenment functions of the mass  media. Youths and students are the largest bloc of voters in Nigeria but seemingly least political informed. This study examines the frequency of the forms of media accessed and level of political knowledge among Nigerian students. It also assessed the relationships between political knowledge and access to  radio, television, newspaper, and social media. Moreover, it investigated the predictive influence of the frequency of media access on Nigerian  students’ political knowledge. The study adopted Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) to explain how media is used to the advantage of people. Using cross-sectional survey research design, a structured questionnaire was used to collect information on students’ demographic, frequency of  media access and knowledge of Nigerian politics from 246 randomly selected students of the Polytechnic, Ibadan (Mean age is 25.07 years, SD = 6.23). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Findings identified social media as the most frequently use media,  followed by radio, television and newspaper.31% of the respondents had very high political knowledge while 3% had no political knowledge. Access to radio is the only significant correlate (r = 0.42, p<0.05) and independent predictor (β= 0.43, t=-3.98, p<0.05) of political knowledge although access  to radio, television, newspaper and social media are significant joint predictors of political knowledge (R2= .18, F (4, 241) = 4.32). Therefore, the study concludes that radio is the foremost source of political knowledge amongst undergraduate students in Ibadan, Nigeria. It recommends that various  media institutions and political analysts should take advantage of the social media to make more audience politically knowledgeable. Keywords: Political knowledge; Mass media; Social media;  Traditional media; Nigerian students

Polluted Alamuyo River: Impacts on surrounding wells, microbial attributes and toxic effects on Allium cepa root cells

The physicochemical analysis and microbial load of polluted Alamuyo River in Ibadan, Nigeria and selected wells along its course were evaluated. Toxic effects of water samples obtained from upstream(A) and down stream (F) of the river were also evaluated using Allium cepa root assay. The result of the analysis revealed that the water sample contained toxic substances. However, almost all parametersevaluated were within the allowable limit of treated wastewater. High microbial load was observed in river water samples compared to the well water samples throughout the sampling periods with overall highest value observed at Late Rainy Season upstream water sample (LRS-A). MPN of faecal coliform showed that LDS-A, ERS-F and LRS from A – F were significantly different. Echerichia coli, Bacillus substillis, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas fragii were among the microbes observed in the samples. T-test analysis on A. cepa root length showed that only 50% of LDS-A, LDS-F and LRS-A were significantly different from control (P < 0.05) though there were reduction in root length in allconcentrations tested through out the sampling period except 5% ERSA, 10% ERSF and 10% LRSF. Microscopic evaluation of A. cepa cells showed decreasing number of dividing cells and mitotic indiceswere not dose dependent in most cases. Chromosome fragments, bridge, lag and disturbed spindle were the aberrations observed in this study. Our result showed that water samples from the rivercontained toxic substances and high microbial load, which have effects on the surrounding wells due to infiltration

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age.

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Historical Missionary Activity, Schooling, and the Reversal of Fortunes: Evidence from Nigeria

This paper shows that historical missionary activity has had a persistent effect on schooling outcomes, and contributed to a reversal of fortunes wherein historically richer ethnic groups are poorer today. Combining contemporary individual-level data with a newly constructed dataset on mission stations in Nigeria, we find that individuals whose ancestors were exposed to greater missionary activity have higher levels of schooling. This effect is robust to omitted heterogeneity, ethnicity fixed effects, and reverse causation. We find inter-generational factors and the persistence of early advantages in educational infrastructure to be key channels through which the effect has persisted. Consistent with theory, the effect of missions on current schooling is larger for population subgroups that have historically suffered disadvantages in access to education

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

Abstract The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset – with data collected between 2020 and 2022 – to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research

Microbial assessment and prevalence of antibiotic resistance in polluted Oluwa River, Nigeria

Antibiotics are emerging environmental contaminants, causing both short-term andlong-term alterations of natural microbial communities due to their high biological activities. The antibiotic resistance pattern of bacteria from anthropogenic polluted Oluwa River, Nigeria was carried out. Microbial profiling and antibiotic sensitivity tests were carried out on water andsediment samples using 13 different antibiotics. Microorganisms isolated include those in the generaBacillus, Micrococcus,Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, ProteusandStaphylococcus. The microbialcount of isolates from water samples ranged between 94.10·102Cfu/100 ml and156.20·102Cfu/100 ml while that of sediment samples ranged from 2.55·104Cfu g�1to14.30·104Cfu g�1. From the water isolates, 100% resistance to antibiotics was found inMicrococ-cusspp. andPseudomonasspp. while anotherMicrococcus, Streptococcus, StaphylococcusandBacillusspp. showed between 40% and 90% resistances. From the sediment isolates, 100%resistance to antibiotics was found in aBacillusspp. andPseudomonasspp. while anotherBacillus, Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, StreptococcusandProteusspp. showed between 70% and 90%resistances. Multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) was shown by all the isolates and Bacillus, Micrococcus and Pseudomonasspp. showed the highest resistances (100%) to all antibiotics. Thus,Oluwa River is not safe for public consumptio