Assessment of Cost Management Functions of Quantity Surveyors with Lean Methodology

The Construction industry in Nigeria is made up of a wide variety of activities which include the provision of professional and technical services to clients in the built environment. Despite the provision of these services to a large number of clients worldwide, the construction industry is still awash by the chronic problems of low productivity, insufficient quality, time over-runs, and poor safety, which hinder customer delivered value. The Just-In-Time phenomenon is a characteristic of lean production systems which operate with very little “fat” (e.g. excess inventory extra workers, wasted space).This study aimed at assessing the construction management function of the quantity surveyor in line with the principle of lean methodology (Just-In-Time). This was achieved by exploring the cost management function of the quantity surveyor, to investigate the current practice of cost management by quantity surveying firms. Data for the study were sourced primarily with the use of questionnaire and the subsequent data analysis, which employed the use of descriptive analysis of presenting the data as obtained on tables during the field survey and attempts a rudimentary establishment of patterns using percentages. The study concluded amongst others, that: all activities involved in the cost management function of the quantity surveyor are important, and value adding, corresponding to conversion activities in line with the Just-In-time/lean methodolog

An Overview Recognizing Nephrotic Syndrome, Role Of General Physicians, Nursing And Clinical Laboratory

Nephrotic syndrome is a frequently diagnosed kidney illness in childhood, and its advancing stages can result in chronic kidney disease (CKD) and/or end-stage renal disease (ESRD). There is a lack of longitudinal research conducted on a multi-ethnic group to identify potential risk factors that may affect the susceptibility, responsiveness to treatment, and progression of nephrotic syndrome. Temporal correlations cannot be examined using a cross-sectional study design. The clinical nursing pathway encompasses the stages of developing and applying. In a prior study, a specialized nursing team developed a nursing pathway that involved the senior level of care, the visiting physician, the clinical laboratory, and nurses.The main sources of reference were local and foreign studies, as well as the specific characteristics of the patients in the selected group. The implementation of the nursing model must be carried out strictly in accordance with the formulated plan. Subsequently, it is necessary to specify the completed section, while the incomplete section forms the main substance of the following nursing phase. The clinical nursing pathway seeks to improve patient care by promoting collaboration among different healthcare professionals and guiding them in using treatment techniques that are supported by scientific evidence

Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation Induces a Spatial Bias in Whole-body Position Estimates

Letter to the Edito

Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation Induces a Spatial Bias in Whole-body Position Estimates

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Brain Stimulation on 23/07/2015, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2015.07.030 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Peripheral galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) has been shown to temporarily ameliorate left spatial neglect [ 1 ]. Specifically, anodal (facilitatory) stimulation over the left mastoid bone coupled with cathodal (inhibitory) over the right mastoid reduces visuospatial-neglect scores in line cancellation [ 2 ] and line bisection tasks [ 3 , 4 ]. This montage increases activity in the left vestibular nerve and suppresses activity in the right [ 5 ], which has been shown to focally activate vestibular networks that occupy visuospatial attention mechanisms, primarily in the non-dominant hemisphere [ 5 ]. Thus, it appears that electrical stimulation of the peripheral vestibular system can shift visuospatial attention to the left side of space [ 4 ]. However, whether such a shift of spatial attention in normal subjects can influence perception of spatial position during whole-body spatial translations is unknown. We hypothesized that shifting attention to the left would result in participants underestimating spatial position estimates during rightward whole-body translations and overestimating spatial position estimates during leftward whole-body translations

Locomotor adaptation is modulated by observing the actions of others

Observing the motor actions of another person could facilitate compensatory motor behaviour in 29 the passive observer. Here, we explored whether action observation alone can induce automatic 30 locomotor adaptation in humans. To explore this possibility we used the “broken‐escalator” 31 paradigm. Conventionally this involves stepping upon a stationary sled after having previously 32 experienced it actually moving (MOVING trials). This history of motion produces a locomotor 33 aftereffect when subsequently stepping on to a stationary sled. We found that viewing an actor 34 perform the MOVING trials was sufficient to generate a locomotor aftereffect in the observer, the 35 size of which was significantly correlated with the size of the movement (postural sway) observed. 36 Crucially, the effect is specific to watching the task being performed, as no motor adaptation 37 occurs after simply viewing the sled move in isolation. These findings demonstrate that locomotor 38 adaptation in humans can be driven purely by action observation, with the brain adapting motor 39 plans in response to the size of the observed individual’s motion. This mechanism may be 40 mediated by a mirror neuron system that automatically adapts behaviour to minimise movement 41 errors and improve motor skills through social cues, though further neurophysiological studies are 42 required to support this theory. This non‐verbal adaptive mechanism may have evolved to 43 facilitate motor conformity within social groups with respect to environmental hazards or risks

IMPACT OF AUDIT QUALITY ON EARNINGS MANAGEMENT OF LISTED DEPOSIT MONEY BANKS

The study examined the impact of audit quality on earnings management of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria for the period of 2012-2019 The study adopted correlational research design. The study used data extracted from annual reports of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. The study was anchored on the agency theory to establish conceptual relationship between the variables. The population of the study comprised of the 14listed deposit money banks. The adjusted population was 12 listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. The data collected were analyzed with the aid of paneled regression. The findings revealed that there is positive and significant relationship between audit industry specialization and earnings management of listed deposit money banks. However, audit tenure has negative and significant relationship with earnings management of listed deposit money banks. Based on the findings, the study recommends that regulatory authorities in Nigeria such as SEC should come out with a policy that encourages audit firms in Nigeria to create departments within their firms that specialize along industry lines of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)and that auditor tenure of three years and above for external auditors of public companies in Nigeria. This reinforces SEC (2014) code of corporate governance which states that Nigerian public companies can retain external auditors for a period of ten years consecutively, while disengaged auditors can only be reappointed after a period of seven years

Medicine as a career choice: a comprehensive study on factors influencing Sudanese students to opt in/out medical career

Abstract Background The medical profession is one of the most highly respected and desired professions among students worldwide, most likely because it provides opportunities for both a financially and socially rewarding career. However, while it has been quite established that factors such as self-interest, family pressure, friend pressure, and socioeconomic status do influence the choice of medicine among students worldwide, the exact reasons for an individual to join a medical school may actually vary worldwide. The aim of this study was to comprehensively explore factors influencing medical students to opt in/out medical careers in Sudan. Methods An institutional based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at University of Khartoum in the year 2022 with a random sample of 330 students that was obtained from the medical students at the The University of Khartoum, Faculty of Medicine using stratified random sampling. Results Self-interest was the most common factor influencing opting in (choosing) medical profession (70.6%) (n = 233), followed by getting a very high score in high-school that qualifies into the faculty (55.5%) (n = 183). Regarding the factors affecting medical students’ choices, parental pressure was the main factor (37.0%) (n = 122), followed by other relatives’ pressure (12.4%) (n = 41), and 4.2% (n = 14) chose Peer pressure. 59.7% (n = 197) of the participants stated that they were not affected by any of these factors. Most of the participants felt that the general perception of the medical profession by society is that it is prestigious and has good career opportunities, only 5.8% (n = 19) believed that it is “Not appreciated at all” by the society. A statistically significant association was found between the type of admission & parent pressure (p value 0.01). out of 330 participants, (56.1%) (n = 185) have opted out i.e. lost their interest or regretted their choice of medical career. Academic difficulties was the most common factor causing students to opt-out of the medical career (37%) (n = 122) followed by Multiple suspensions of education (35.2%) (n = 116), Current political & security conflicts in Sudan (29.7%) (n = 98), Poor quality of education (24.8%). The proportion of students having regrets for the medical profession was significantly higher among females. Over one third of the participants reported having depressive symptoms more than half days of the week. No statically significant correlation was established between the academic level and having these depressive symptoms and no statistically significant correlation was established between the decision to opt-out and the academic level (class) of the individuals (P = 0.105). Conclusions Over half of Sudanese medical students at the University of Khartoum have already lost their interest or regretted their choice of medical career choice. Whether these future doctor chose to drop out or continue their path in the medical career suggests that they are more prone to serious hardships in their future careers. A careful comprehensive approach should further explore and try to offer solutions for problems like “Academic difficulties”, “multiple suspension of education”, and “poor quality of education” for they were the most common factors that caused medical students to opt out of the medical career