Developing Java Programs on Android Mobile Phones Using Speech Recognition

Nowadays Android operating system based mobile phones and tablets are widely used and had millions of users around the world. The popularity of this operating system is due to its multi-tasking, ease of access and diverse device options. “Java Programming Speech Recognition Application” is an Android application used for handicapped individuals who are not able or have difficultation to type on a keyboard. This application allows the user to write a compute program (in Java Language) by dictating the words and without using a keyboard. The user needs to speak out the commands and symbols required for his/her program. The program has been designed to pick up the Java constant keywords (such as ‘boolean’, ‘break’, ‘if’ and ‘else’), similar to the word received by the speech recognizer system in the application. The “Java Programming Speech Recognition Application” contains external plug-ins such as programming editor and a speech recognizer to record and write the program. These plug-ins come in the form of libraries and pre-coded folders which have to be attached to the main program by the developer

Professional accountants’ perceptions of servant-leadership: contexts, roles and cultures

The study takes servant-leadership and attempts to find if there is an equivalent concept in management. Leadership and management have been extensively compared and contrasted in research and theory and while there are divergent views of exactly what each entails, others hold the view that they might be equal and complementary. The research design follows a positivist philosophy. An instrument that measures distinct leader, manager and professional role preferences is used to check the discrete operation of three contexts among a sample of members of the accountancy profession. The instrument is derived from contextualising pre-developed and pre-tested servant-leadership measuring instruments. Items from the role preference map instrument are added together with demographic details to come up with a meta-instrument adapted for the study. After validating it through pilot-testing, the instrument is applied in real-world research. The research was conducted among a sample of professional accountants working in 28 countries across four continents in organisations with over 82,000 employees. Statistical analysis, employing; analysis of variance, correlations, frequencies, significances, means, variances and tests of scale reliability was performed on both the data and the instruments. The research found clear and reliable servant-leadership-type behaviours exhibited across the three discreet roles and contexts of leader, manager and professional. Some professional accountancy courses are delivered across many countries in the world. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is one such professional accountancy body that offers qualifications on a global scale. However, as accountants originate from, and practice in diverse cultures and economies around the world they are trained by institutes like ACCA from a common syllabus that has elements of management as a subject. Servant-leadership is a type of leadership that is theorised to be humanistic and spiritual rather than rational and mechanistic. Management practice on the other hand needs rationality and contains some mechanistic elements in typical management functions like coordinating and controlling. The implication is whether servant-leadership attributes can be exhibited if professional accountants contextualise themselves as leaders, managers or professionals. The study focuses on the profession of accountants and tests the operation of servant-leadership behaviours from the manager, leader and professional contexts using pre-tested servant-leadership scales and applying them in specific leader and manager contexts. This approach is new in its treatment of servant-leadership in this fashion. A further original approach is the use of the accountancy profession. This treatment of instruments from other fields like psychology and sociology is new.Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (A.C.C.A.

Development Financial Institution (DFI) Employees’ Awareness and Perceptions of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Practices and Cybersecurity Techniques

The purpose of this study was to assess employees’ perceptions of anti-money laundering practices at the National Development Bank in Botswana. The study used a quantitative approach. A population of 84 respondents who are employees of a development financial institution (DFI), the National Development Bank (NDB) of Botswana was sampled in this study. Out of these, 36 respondents were selected through a stratified random sampling method to ensure representation in all strata. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data.  The study found that employees of National Development Bank understand the concept of money laundering and the stages involved in money laundering. Secondly, the study established that the main causes of money laundering were corruption, politicians and prominent person’s influence, and weak banking and financial systems. Thirdly, the study established that money laundering is harmful to the economy in different ways that include increased national crime, increased corruption, and negative effects on the economy. The study recommended that the management of NDB should adopt anti-money laundering/ combating/ counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regulations laid out by regulating bodies including those of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Bank of Botswana and the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA). In addition to this, the bank management should expose its employee to continuous knowledge of ML/FT through in-house training and external workshops with other industry stakeholders. The bank should also adopt a robust record management system that is able to capture all transactions taking place within it. The system should be robust enough to flag suspicious ML/FT activities taking place through transactions carried out within the bank

Assessment of Employees’ Perceptions on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Practices and Correlation with Organisational Cybersecurity Maturity

The purpose of this study was to assess employees’ perceptions of anti-money laundering practices at the National Development Bank in Botswana. The study used a quantitative approach. A sample of 84 respondents who are employees of the National Development Bank (NDB) of Botswana took part in the study. These were selected through a stratified random sampling method to ensure representation in all strata. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data.  The study found out that employees of National Development Bank understand the concept of money laundering and the stages involved in money laundering. Secondly, the study established that the main causes of money laundering were corruption, politicians and prominent persons influence, and weak banking and financial systems. Thirdly, the study established that money laundering is harmful to the economy in different ways that include increased national crime, increased corruption, and negative effects on the economy. The study recommended that the management of NDB should adopt anti-money laundering/ combating/ counter terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regulations laid out by regulating bodies including those of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Bank of Botswana and the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA). In addition to this, the bank management should expose its employee to continuous knowledge on ML/FT through in-house training and external workshops with other industry stakeholders. The bank should also adopt a robust record management system that is able to capture all transactions taking place within it. The system should be robust enough to flag suspicious ML/FT activities taking place through transactions carried out within the bank

Assessment of Employees’ Perceptions on Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Practices and Correlation with Organisational Cybersecurity Maturity

The purpose of this study was to assess employees’ perceptions of anti-money laundering practices at the National Development Bank in Botswana. The study used a quantitative approach. A sample of 84 respondents who are employees of the National Development Bank (NDB) of Botswana took part in the study. These were selected through a stratified random sampling method to ensure representation in all strata. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data.  The study found out that employees of National Development Bank understand the concept of money laundering and the stages involved in money laundering. Secondly, the study established that the main causes of money laundering were corruption, politicians and prominent persons influence, and weak banking and financial systems. Thirdly, the study established that money laundering is harmful to the economy in different ways that include increased national crime, increased corruption, and negative effects on the economy. The study recommended that the management of NDB should adopt anti-money laundering/ combating/ counter terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regulations laid out by regulating bodies including those of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Bank of Botswana and the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA). In addition to this, the bank management should expose its employee to continuous knowledge on ML/FT through in-house training and external workshops with other industry stakeholders. The bank should also adopt a robust record management system that is able to capture all transactions taking place within it. The system should be robust enough to flag suspicious ML/FT activities taking place through transactions carried out within the bank

DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF SELF-NANOEMULSIFYING DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEMS OF MANIDIPINE FOR ENHANCEMENT OF SOLUBILITY

Objective: The present work is aimed at developing liquid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (liquid-SNEDDS) of manidipine. Methods: The manidipine SNEDDS is formulated with excipients comprising Capmul MCM as oil phase, Transcutol P as surfactant, and Lutrol L 300 as cosurfactant. The prepared fifteen formulations of manidipine SNEDDS were performed for emulsification time, percentage transmittance, particle size, drug release, in vitro dissolution and stability studies. Ternary phase diagram plotted using Chemix software. Results: The optimized manidipine liquid SNEDDS formulation (F14) subjected to drug-excipient compatibility studies by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and characterized for particle size, zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy, and stability studies. The morphology of manidipine SNEDDS indicates spherical shape with uniform particle distribution. The percentage drug release from optimized formulation F14 (98.24±5.14%) was higher than that of pure drug (39.17±2.98%). The stability data indicated no noticeable change in drug content, emulsifying properties, drug release, and appearance. Conclusion: Hence, a potential SNEDDS formulation of manidipine developed with enhanced solubility, dissolution rate, and bioavailability

DEVELOPMENT AND IN VITRO EVALUATION OF SOLID DISPERSIONS OF CANDESARTAN CILEXETIL

Objective The main objective of the present study is systematic development of solid dispersions of Candesartan cilexetil by solvent evaporation method to enhance the solubility and bioavailability. Methods In the present study, eighteen formulations of solid dispersions were prepared with 1:1 and 1:3 ratios of drug: carrier and with and without surfactant. There was significant improvement in the rate of drug release from all 20 solid dispersions and the formulation (SD16) comprising Candesartan: containing Soluplus (1:3 ratio of drug:  Soluplus with 2% SLS as surfactant) by solvent evaporation process. Results Final optimized design SD16 contained maximum drug content of 99.08%. In in vitro dissolution studies it shows greater dissolution rate i.e. 99.7±4.2% associated through additional designs and pure drug. The drug was compatible with all the excipients as per FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). From powder X-ray diffraction (p-XRD) and by (SEM) studies it was evident that crystalline form of Candesartan has been converted into amorphous form within solid dispersion design.  Conclusion From these studies we can accomplish solid dispersions are one of the greatest favorable formulation for Candesartan cilexetil for enhancing the solubility and bioavailability of poorly water soluble drugs in the effective group of hypertension and other cardiac problems