IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL AUDIT IN LOWERING INFORMATIONAL RISK

The financial audit enables the credibility of the financial statements to be improved, from both accountants and financial information users’ standpoints. This audit is required to provide information quality control. The article is intended to submit the causes involved in the occurrence of the informational risk as well as in the ways to lower risks.: financial audit, financial information, informational risk, credibility.

Finite volume analysis of reinforced concrete structure cracking using a thermo-plastic-damage model

This paper proposes modifications to the phenomenological model formulation called CDPM2, developed by Grassl et al. [1]. The proposed modifications are designed to enhance model performance with coupling to temperature effects. A very strong coupling between nonlinear elasticity, plasticity, nonlocal damage evolution and temperature gradient is used to simulate arbitrary crack propagation. The use of FVM to model solid damage is a numerical challenge. This approach presents some advantages such as: ensuring that discretization is conservative even when the geometry is changing; providing a simple formulation that can be obtained directly from a difference method; and employing unstructured meshes. Most authors have neglected the nonlinearity of concrete in the elastic domain from the start of loading to the plastic domain. In this paper we confirm that concrete rheology is not linear even under low loading. Also, since the so-called fracture energy is a key parameter needed to determine the size of cracks and how they propagate in space, we consider that the fracture energy is both material and geometrical parameter dependent. For this reason, we developed a new approach which includes adaptive mesh, nonlinear rheology and thermal effects to re-calculate fracture energy at each time step. Many authors use a constant value obtained from experiments to calculate fracture energy; others use a numerical correlation. In this study, the fracture energy parameter is not constant and can vary with temperature or/and with a change in geometry due to concrete failure. As is well known, the mesh quality of complex geometries is very important for making accurate predictions. A new meshing tool was developed using the C++ programming language. This tool is faster, more accurate and produces a high-quality structured mesh. The predictions obtained were compared to a wide variety of experimental data and showed good agreement

Cryptocurrency Rollercoaster: Volatility Patterns and Market Dynamics in Positive and Negative Events

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Risk Analysis and ManagementCryptocurrencies have gained considerable attention in financial research in recent years. This investigation focused on analysing the volatility dynamics and the impact of both positive and negative events across cryptocurrency markets, high-market and low-market. Employing the bivariate BEKK-MGARCH model, the research aims to identify how cross-market volatility shocks and volatility transmissions range between these markets. The analysis of individual cryptocurrency markets reveals a price volatility dependency on their historical shocks and volatility. Based on the findings, most of the cryptocurrency pairs exhibit uni-directional transmission, either in terms of shock impact or volatility effects. Notably, there is a stronger indication of volatility transmission from high-market to low-market cryptocurrencies, as opposed to the reverse direction. This implies that the performance of high-market cryptocurrencies exerts influence, either positively or negatively, on low-market. The study also highlights the existence of time-varying conditional correlations, mostly demonstrating a positive relationship. Moreover, the research integrates positive and negative events into the assessment, observing that within the event study conducted on price returns of cryptocurrencies over an eleven-day event window (-5,+5), negative events significantly have more impact on cryptocurrencies. These findings hold valuable implications for investors, particularly highlighting the importance of considering negative cryptocurrency-related events and taking into account the influence of the main digital currencies in the whole cryptocurrency market, serving as a precautionary measure to mitigate potential financial losses

Cry, the beloved profession: a study of short-text messages service (SMSs) on the teaching profession

A study on how social media is also impacting on the teaching profession in Zimbabwe.The paper is based on a collection of cellular phone text messages (also known as S.M.S (Short-text Message Service) on the teaching profession that are currently being floated around in Zimbabwe. The observation technique was the major data-gathering instrument. The three researchers all set to gather verbatim the SMSs. Over one hundred SMSs on different subjects were gathered and stored in the 'archives' of one of the researchers' phones. It notes that these messages, largely ignored in academic discourse as mere trifles of humor, should be taken seriously as social commentaries. The paper finds that the messages in question bemoan, decry and poke fun on the declining standing of the profession in the country and do so with a condor, merit of form and structure that should earn them a place in the world of literary works of art. The paper calls for the improvement of the status of the profession in Zimbabwe so that the profession is restored to its glorious past

Immunotherapy of Metastatic Melanoma

Immunotherapy is part of the new treatments that significantly improved the prognostic of metastatic melanoma patients. The article reviews briefly the old immunotherapeutic approaches e.g., interferon-ᾳ2 and interleukin-2, and focuses on immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-CTLA-4 inhibitors and anti-PD-1 inhibitors in monotherapy or in combination (dual immune blockade). We detailed the results from CheckMate and KEYNOTTE clinical trials that lead to US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency approvals of the new agents for the treatment of advanced melanoma. The chapter concentrates on the algorithms for BRAF wild-type and BRAF mutated metastatic melanoma treatments, according to American (NCCN) and European (ESMO) guidelines. We underlined the first line, second line, and subsequent lines of treatment for both melanoma subtypes and for particular cases, such as in-transit metastasis or brain metastasis. A special attention was paid to treatment options for early and late disease progression (primary and acquired resistance after adjuvant therapy). Unfortunately, the new immune agents produce a higher toxicity rate, mainly immune adverse events. Also, these drugs can interact with the gut microbiome and with antibiotics, decreasing the efficacy of immune therapy. Finally, we review the new directions for immune therapy e.g., new immune combinations, the association of immune and targeted therapies, and adoptive cellular therapy with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, interleukin-2, and anti-PD-1

Spatial Variation in Some Physical Properties of Vertisols of Kerau in Guyuk area of Adamawa State

This study assessed the spatial variation of some physical properties of vertisols of Kerau in Guyuk local government area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. The objective of this study was to examine the physical properties of vertisols and assess their micro-scale variation at the study site. Physical properties measured are %sand, silt and clay and available water capacity. Soil samples were collected at two depths of 0-15cm and 15-30cm with an auger. A total of 100 soil samples were collected and analyzed using standard analytical methods. Soil properties measured exhibited low coefficient of variability and strong spatial autocorrelations. The spherical and Gaussian models provided the best fit for soil properties of the study site at the scale of measurement. Kriged maps show no relations between surface depth distribution of properties and subsurface depths. Accordingly, Soil conservation measures that would improve soil structure are recommended for vertisols. Keywords: vertisols, microscale, variation, semivariograms, kriging, kerau, rang

Reflections on Gender Sensitivity at Masvingo Teachers’ College: A Special Case of 2006/ 2007 Student Representative Council Elections.

A Zimbabwe Bulletin of Teacher Education (ZBTE) article on gender sensitivity in Zimbabwe Teacher Training Colleges.The paper critically examines the concept gender sensitivity with reference to teacher training, particularly at Masvingo Teachers’ College. It outlines the special place the concept has at the college in question and in teacher training in general. It also critically analyzes the election framework and the electioneering at the above-named institution vis-a- vis the concept. A qualitative research design was used, in particular document analysis of students’ campaign posters, statistics on student enrollment as well as campaign speeches. Observation was intensively used as a data gathering technique whereby the three researchers immersed themselves in the thick of things to capture the minutest of details at the campaign ‘rallies’. It was deemed prudent by the researchers to use initials instead of real names in order to maintain a certain degree of confidentiality. The researchers found out that although the college’s enrollment policy is skewed in favour of females, this has not translated into gender sensitivity in terms of power distribution in student politics across the sexual divide; A case is made for the need not to pay lip service to the concept but to change teaching strategies and other practices so that gender asymmetry is genuinely tackled. Attention is also drawn to the need to sensitize and equip trainee teachers for the work of deconstructing gender