Gender-based Household Compositional Changes and Implications for Poverty in South Africa

Poverty is one of the most challenging socio-economic problems in South Africa. Though poverty rates have been substantially reduced in the post-apartheid period, many South Africans remain poor. Available evidence also indicates a substantial gender gradient to the prevalence of poverty in the country. A standard indicator of gendered power structures is the gender of the household head. We examine the effect of transitioning from a male- to a female-headed household over time (relative to remaining in a male-headed household) on changes in the probability of transitioning into poverty from a non-poor state over a two- to six-year period. This type of longitudinal analysis is largely lacking in South Africa, where most previous studies have largely focused on cross-sectional and repeated cross-sectional analyses. The results indicate that transitioning from a male- to female-headed household is associated with an increase in the probability of falling into poverty from a previous non-poor state. The results hold true across all poverty lines and also indicate that the effect of gender-based transitions is not significant in the short term (i.e. for the one-period transitions), but over more persistent transitions

Antibiotics prescription pattern and determinants of utilization in the national health insurance scheme at a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

Background: Subsidizing the cost of medicines through insurance schemes increases consumption of medicines and may contribute to irrational use of antibiotics. Objectives: To describe the systemic antibiotics prescriptions patterns and analyze the determinants of their utilization in the National Health insurance Scheme (NHIS).Methods: Established WHO guideline was followed to conduct this cross-sectional retrospective study at University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Data were collected from randomly sampled prescription sheets of one year duration. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the predictors of antibiotics prescriptions.Results: The results are based on 802 sampled out-patients NHIS prescriptions. Average number of medicines per encounter was 4.0 ± 1.8, whereas 46.9% of antibiotics were prescribed by generic name. Penicillins (most frequently amoxicillin/clavulanate), and nitroimidazole (most frequently metronidazole) were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics with percentage share of 43.3% and 22.2%. Being <5 years old, and taking more than 4 medicines (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.37-3.55) were the factors associated with the highest risk of antibiotics exposure.Conclusion: There were poly-pharmacy, and non-adherence to generic antibiotic prescriptions. Penicillins (amoxicillin/clavulanate) were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic class. Being < 5 years old, and taking more than 4 medicines were significant predictors of antibiotics exposure.Keywords: Antibiotics; national health insurance scheme; Nigeria; poly-pharmacy; prescription

Internal Control System and Quality Audit Work

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported that the backward development in the Nigeria banking sector is attributable to the weaknesses in the internal control systems and poor audit work of the banks. This has clearly pointed out the picture of how fraud has penetrated in the financial strength of Nigerian Banks. In a nut-shell, the damage which this menace, called fraud has done to the banks is innumerable and needs urgent attention. Therefore, the attempt to put an end to this economic degradation, gave rise to the topic of this research study the internal control system and quality audit work in the banking sector in Nigeria with Access Bank PLC as a case study. However, this study verifies the conception that an effective and efficient internal control system has a greater influence on the quality of audit work. Data captured for this study, were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistical methods. The descriptive analysis involves the use of tabulation and percentages. While the inferential statistical method involved the use of the chi-square. This study reveals that internal control system has a great influence on the operations of the bank and consequently on their quality audit work. Base on the above point, it was recommended that a good internal control system should be employed by the management of every organization. Keywords: Internal control, fraud, audit quality, banking secto

Overview Of Losses And Solutions In Power Transmission Lines

Growing popupulations and industrilization creat huge need for electrical energy. Unfortunately, electricity is not always used in large demand in the same location it is been generated. So, long cables or wires are used to transmit the generated electricity either through Underground or Overhead system method, which is reffereed to as Transmission of Electrical Energy. This transmission those not take place without encoutering loses, which is the soul aim of this report. Studying the various types of loses encouted during electrical transmission. The losses are either Technical losses or Non-technical Losses. The technical losses, which includes the; Corona loss, Juole effect, Magnetic Losses, and skin effect. While the Non-technical (commercial ) losses include, theift of electricity, vandalism to electrical substatio ns, poor meter reading, poor accounting and record keeping, etc. There could be no best way, by explaining the various methods of Analysing calculations on how to solve this technical losses, and also explaining measures to be taken to makesure that transmission losses can be reduced to bearess minimum. KEYWORDS----- Transmission Line, Losses, Energy, Electricity, Distribution Line, Voltage, Power Station, Corona Effect, Resistive Effect,  Technical Losses, and Electrical Power

Process optimization of resources for packaged water factories in Nigeria

Part of: Seliger, Günther (Ed.): Innovative solutions : proceedings / 11th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, Berlin, Germany, 23rd - 25th September, 2013. - Berlin: Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, 2013. - ISBN 978-3-7983-2609-5 (online). - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:83-opus4-40276. - pp. 108–113.Inaccessibility to drinking water is an intractable growing problem in developing countries such as Nigeria. This paper, presents the energy and manpower input resources needed to increase water accessibility and guarantee sustainable profitable operations. The work relied on detailed questionnaire administration for data collection from water packaging factories within Nsukka and Enugu Cities. The data were collated and Project Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) was used to determine the amount of energy needed. A profit profile was determined for both sachet and bottle water products. The gross energy sequestered by the packaging process is 87.8J for sachet water and 0.52 MJ for bottle water with average of 10 workforces. Also, optimal production rates of 1658 and 1551 were determined for sachet and bottle water, respectively at a profit of N 291,428.29 per day. The results have significant implications for Nigeria’s millennium development goals target for water in 2015

Audit Firm Characteristics and Auditing Quality: The Nigerian Experience

This study examines the link between auditing quality and auditor independence, auditor experience, auditor accountability. Using a sample of 210 respondents made up of finance directors, auditors, shareholders, and financial analysts and employing structural equation modeling technique for data analysis, we find that auditor independence and auditor accountability have a significant relationship with audit quality. We find that auditor experience is not a factor affecting audit quality in Nigeria. We recommend auditors should consider audit risk before embarking upon an audit so as to be independent and accountability conscious. Key words: auditing quality; audit evidence; structural equation modelin

Impact of Audit Evidence on Auditor’S Report

This study seeks to emphasize the importance of audit evidences, their quality characteristics and the professional judgment used to measure and to evaluate them in order to express their final audit opinion. There is no mathematical formula, neither a specific model in order to evaluate the quality of audit evidences. Their quality depends upon the professional judgment concerning the audit technical standards, the accounting references and nevertheless upon the auditor’s ethics. This is one of the reasons for which the financial audit is one of the edges of economical research, highlighting the credibility of financial statements. This study employ primary and secondary source of data. Questionnaires were administered to obtain information about audit evidence and auditor report was obtained through the secondary source. The empirical findings from the binary logistic regression result revealed that sufficiency of audit evidence had a negative but insignificant and reliability of audit evidence had a positive coefficient sign but insignificant. The low value of the Mcfadden R-squared indicated that the null hypotheses were rejected and acceptance of the alternative hypotheses. The study suggested that further empirical work should be conducted in this area. Keywords: Auditor report, Audit evidence, Audit opinion and Auditing standard

Determinants of Audit Quality in the Nigerian Business Environment

The objective of this study was to analyze the determinants of audit quality in the Nigerian business environment. The research empirically examined the relationship between audit quality, engagement and firm related characteristics such as audit tenure, audit firm size, board independence and ownership structure. A regression model was used to analyze the existence of significant relationships between audit quality and the firm/audit related characteristics. Audit firm size, board independence and ownership structure were found to be positively related to audit quality; however, only board independence exhibited a significant relationship with audit quality. Audit tenure exhibited a negative relationship with audit quality which was also not significant. The study recommends the sustenance and possible improvements on the non-executive board composition of organizations. Keywords: Audit Quality, Audit Tenure, Audit Firm Size, Board Independence, Ownership Structure