Relevance of International Financial Reporting Standards on Accounting Quality in Nigeria

This study appraised the effect of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the Financial Reporting and Accounting Quality in Nigeria. Data were sourced  through  Likert- Scaled Questionnaire. The instrument were administered to a sample size of  220 respondents comprising of the different firms who are believed to be versatile in accounting. Data were presented in tables and analysed with simple percentages. Hypotheses were tested using Chi-Square Statistical Tool. The analysis shows that IFRS adoption positively affect the reliability of it financial reporting.  IFRS has significantly effect on the financial reporting of Nigerian firms. Sequel to the findings, the study recommends that Nigerian firms should invest massively in the Human Capital Development and infrastructure needed to entrench and deepen the adoption and implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards for the  enhancement of   quality of   financial reporting in Nigeria. Keywords: International Financial Reporting Standards, Financial Reporting, Accounting Quality, Nigeria

A framework for targeting water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in pastoralist populations in the Afar region of Ethiopia

Globally, many populations face structural and environmental barriers to access safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Among these populations are many of the 200 million pastoralists whose livelihood patterns and extreme environmental settings challenge conventional WASH programming approaches. In this paper, we studied the Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia to identify WASH interventions that can mostly alleviate public health risks, within the population's structural and environmental living constraints. Surveys were carried out with 148 individuals and observational assessments made in 12 households as part of a Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment. The results show that low levels of access to infrastructure are further compounded by risky behaviours related to water containment, storage and transportation. Additional behavioural risk factors were identified related to sanitation, hygiene and animal husbandry. The Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment visually interprets the seriousness of the risks against the difficulty of addressing the problem. The assessment recommends interventions on household behaviours, environmental cleanliness, water storage, treatment and hand hygiene via small-scale educational interventions. The framework provides an approach for assessing risks in other marginal populations that are poorly understood and served through conventional approaches

Developing and validating a school-based screening tool of Fundamental Movement Skills (FUNMOVES) using Rasch analysis

Background A large proportion of children are not able to perform age-appropriate fundamental movement skills (FMS). Thus, it is important to assess FMS so that children needing additional support can be identified in a timely fashion. There is great potential for universal screening of FMS in schools, but research has established that current assessment tools are not fit for purpose. Objective To develop and validate the psychometric properties of a FMS assessment tool designed specifically to meet the demands of universal screening in schools. Methods A working group consisting of academics from developmental psychology, public health and behavioural epidemiology developed an assessment tool (FUNMOVES) based on theory and prior evidence. Over three studies, 814 children aged 4 to 11 years were assessed in school using FUNMOVES. Rasch analysis was used to evaluate structural validity and modifications were then made to FUNMOVES activities after each study based on Rasch results and implementation fidelity. Results The initial Rasch analysis found numerous psychometric problems including multidimensionality, disordered thresholds, local dependency, and misfitting items. Study 2 showed a unidimensional measure, with acceptable internal consistency and no local dependency, but that did not fit the Rasch model. Performance on a jumping task was misfitting, and there were issues with disordered thresholds (for jumping, hopping and balance tasks). Study 3 revealed a unidimensional assessment tool with good fit to the Rasch model, and no further issues, once jumping and hopping scoring were modified.Implications The finalised version of FUNMOVES (after three iterations) meets standards for accurate measurement, is free and able to assess a whole class in under an hour using resources available in schools. Thus FUNMOVES has the potential to allow schools to efficiently screen FMS to ensure that targeted support can be provided and disability barriers removed.</p

Safeguarding public health at UK airports: an examination of current health security practices

This conference paper was presented at the 42nd Annual UTSG Conference: www.utsg.net/In response to the H1N1 influenza outbreak and the role of air travel in facilitating the virus’s rapid spread around the world, this paper contributes to debates concerning the governance of infectious disease by examining the role of the Port Health Regulations and associated health security practices that are enacted at UK airports. While airports have been at the forefront of measures to prevent the importation of ‘foreign’ infectious diseases since the early 1930s, the present scale of international aeromobility combined with heightened awareness of the role air travel plays in the global spread of human pathogens, the epidemiological obsolescence of many early aeronautical sanitary regulations, and a dearth of academic studies on health security at airports, provide compelling reasons to examine the development, content, and implications of the existing Port Health Regulations and associated health security practices that are performed at UK airports. Drawing on extensive archival research and fieldwork interviews with key stakeholders in the aviation and health care sectors (including airport managers, ‘front line’ customer-facing airline personnel, and medical practitioners), we chart the development of sanitary regulations at UK airports and explore the current practices of health security that are performed at individual sites. We then identify the main challenges involved in safeguarding global public health against the dissemination of ‘foreign’ infectious diseases by air through UK airports and conclude by offering recommendations for improved practice

Matter Outflows from AGN: A Unifying Model

We discuss a self-consistent unified model of the matter outflows from AGNs based on a theoretical approach and involving data on AGN evolution and structure. The model includes a unified geometry, two-phase gas dynamics, radiation transfer, and absorption spectrum calculations in the UV and X-ray bands. We briefly discuss several questions about the mass sources of the flows, the covering factors, and the stability of the narrow absorption details.Comment: 6 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Processed pseudogenes acquired somatically during cancer development

Cancer evolves by mutation, with somatic reactivation of retrotransposons being one such mutational process. Germline retrotransposition can cause processed pseudogenes, but whether this occurs somatically has not been evaluated. Here we screen sequencing data from 660 cancer samples for somatically acquired pseudogenes. We find 42 events in 17 samples, especially non-small cell lung cancer (5/27) and colorectal cancer (2/11). Genomic features mirror those of germline LINE element retrotranspositions, with frequent target-site duplications (67%), consensus TTTTAA sites at insertion points, inverted rearrangements (21%), 5′ truncation (74%) and polyA tails (88%). Transcriptional consequences include expression of pseudogenes from UTRs or introns of target genes. In addition, a somatic pseudogene that integrated into the promoter and first exon of the tumour suppressor gene, MGA, abrogated expression from that allele. Thus, formation of processed pseudogenes represents a new class of mutation occurring during cancer development, with potentially diverse functional consequences depending on genomic context