Relevance of Soft Skills to Professional Accountants in the Nigerian Finance Industry

The role of accountants has changed rapidly in recent times. As a resulr tlze technical proficiency of the accountant is no longer adequate to enable him effectively carryout his duties. The modern accountants therefore require more than technical skills. The study was therefore designed to investigate the soft skills set required by the accountant in the finance industry to do their job. The data used in the stitdy was obtained from both primary and secondary sources. The main findings were that the modern accountant is ill-equipped to handle his job as he lacks capacity in soft skills. It was also revealed that companies in the finance industry organize in-house training courses for their accounting employees in respect of soft skills. The paper recommends that soft skills be introduce d into the curricula of the professional accounting bodies as well as those of the tertiary institutions in Nigeria

Transactional Sex in Nigerian Universities among Female Students: Drivers and Safety Concerns

Freedom away from parents and guardians for students in higher institutions could have effects on their sexual decisions and behaviours, which when not guided could portend devastating consequences. Such a decision could lead to indulging in transactional sex (TS), a kind of sexual relationship that is adopted in exchange for material and non-material benefits. In this study, we underscored why female students are involved in TS in some Nigerian universities and offer potential remedies that could mitigate or prevent associated negative consequences. The study relied on a qualitative research methodology, adopting in-depth interviews to source data from 40 female students across 5 universities in southeastern Nigeria. Data were analysed in thematic categories that reflected the research questions. Family pressure/parental disconnectedness, gender, peer influence, poor economic background, greed, etc., influenced TS involvement. We also identified some psychosocial and health risks associated with TS. The roles of social service professionals were found to be of much importance, although the universities that were studied barely employed and/or utilised their services

Impact of Exchange Rate Deregulation on Manufacturing Sector Performance in Nigeria

The study examined the impact of exchange rate deregulation on manufacturing output performance in Nigeria over the period 1980 to 2016. The normalized co-integration technique was used to test for long-run relationship between exchange rate and manufacturing output while the granger causality test was used to ascertain the direction of causality between them. Also, the error correction mechanism (ECM) was used to calculate the speed of adjustment of the model to short-run disequilibrium condition. The empirical findings revealed that exchange rate has non-significant positive long-run effect on manufacturing industry output. However, unidirectional causal impact of exchange rate on manufacturing output was established using the pairwise granger causality test. Based on the above result, it is recommended that in discharging the mandate of exchange rate management, the monetary authorities should aim at stabilizing exchange rate through the use of appropriate monetary policy tools as well as support export diversification programmes in order to enhance foreign exchange inflow

Application of High-Voltage, Precision, Low-Power Max9943/Max9944 Operational Amplifier in Industrial Process Control Using ±20ma OR 4-20ma Current-Loop Systems

This article explains how to apply a high-voltage, high-current-drive operational amplifier to convert a voltage signal into a ±20mA or 4–20mA current signal for use in process-control industrial applications. The MAX9943 op amp a family of high-voltage amplifiers that offers precision, low drift, and low power consumption device was used as case study]. Experiments are described and test results presented. Current loops are known for their high immune to noise compare to voltage-modulated signals, a feature that makes it ideal for use in a noisy industrial environment. This signal can travel over a long distance, sending or receiving information from remote locations. A current loop typically includes a sensor, transmitter, receiver, and an ADC or a micro-controller (figure 1). The sensor measures a physical parameters such as pressure or temperature and provides a corresponding output voltage. The transmitter converts the sensor's output into a proportional 4mA-to-20mA current signal, while the receiver then converts the 4mA-to-20mA current into a voltage signal output. This receiver's output is then received, interpreted and converts into a digital signal output by an ADC or a micro-controller. Experiment performed using the relationship the relationship stated in equation 5, shows that if the input voltage level rise above or fall below ±2.5v, the op amp device attains its saturation point and its output voltage can no longer increase. As shown in figure 3, where the curve flatten and no longer follow the ideal linearity characteristics that was supposed

Analysis of Electrical Porcelain Insulators from Local Clays

This paper focused on the chemical analysis of electrical porcelain insulators based on local clays. Test samples were made by conducting some chemical composition test using the Atomic Assumption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The clay samples were also tested for linear shrinkage and apparent porosity. Based on the results obtained, the linear shrinkage values recorded range from 7.29% to 14.29% for Iva Valley formulations, 5.14% to 14.71% for Nawfija and 7.74% to 10.29% for Ekwulobia. It was observed that linear shrinkage decreases as the content of non-plastic materials increases and increases as clay content increases. Iva Valley formulation recorded porosity values ranging from 8.84% to 20.80%. For Nawfija formulation, porosity values range from 10.81% to 17.30% while Ekwulobia formulations gave porosity values ranging from 9.52% to 16.82. Porcelain insulators that constitute the above results were found to have requisite properties that make them suitable for domestic production of porcelains insulators from the clay samples studied

Kinetics and Equilibrium of Crude Oil Sorption from Aqueous Solution Using Borassus Aeothopum Coir

In this study, Borassus aethopum coir (BAC) which is an abundant, cheap, readily available and biodegradable agricultural waste was modified by acetylation using acetic anhydride and NBS catalyst at room temperature. This was to increase their hydrophobic properties and improve their sorption capacity in aqueous environment. The crude oil sorption kinetic data were fitted by intra-particle diffusion and pseudo-first order for raw BAC but the pseudo-second order kinetic model best fits crude oil sorption data for acetylated BAC.  The Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to elucidate the sorption behaviour of crude oil with raw and acetylated BAC. Freundlich isotherm gave the best fit for the equilibrium crude oil sorption data for acetylated BAC and raw BAC. Fourier transform infrared and scanning electron microscope analyses showed clear evidence of successful acetylation. The results presented and discussed in the study suggests that acetylated BAC (ABAC) is more suitable for crude oil sorption than raw BAC, therefore, possesses more potential for application and further development in treatment of oil spillage. Keywords: acetylated borassus aethopum coir, kinetics, crude oil sorption, sorbents, sorption capacity. DOI: 10.7176/CMR/11-2-02

Bioassay-guided optimization of lipid-based erythromycin microparticles

Purpose: To optimize erythromycin microparticles by in vitro bioassay methods based on its antibacterial activity. Methods: The microparticles were produced by high shear homogenization. The effects of different lipid-to-surfactant ratios were studied. The hydrodynamic size of the different batches was evaluated using dynamic light scattering while bioactive drug load per batch was assessed in agar using bioassay methods. The antimicrobial activities of selected batches were tested ex vivo by determination of reduction in bacteraemia following administration of the microparticles to infected animals. Results: All batches had particles with hydrodynamic sizes < 8.5 microns. Batch 7 with a 2: 5: 2.5 (drug: surfactant: stearic acid) ratio, represents the optimized batch with a hydrodynamic size of 2281 nm, a bioactive drug loading capacity (BLC) of 4.67 ± 0.70 % and bioactive drug entrapment  efficiency (BEE) of 10.51 %. The “microparticle MIC” against Staphylococcus aureus was 1.74 x 10-3 μg/ml. Despite containing lower amounts of erythromycin than the pure sample, the microparticles achieved comparable reduction in bacteraemia, with the optimized batch exhibiting lower variation in bacteraemia than the pure drug. Conclusion: Erythromycin microparticles have been successfully optimized with the aid of bioassay methods which has the advantage that only the bioactive drug concentration is factored in. This method eliminates problems posed by inadequate or non-discriminating chemical assay methods. Keywords: Microparticles, Erythromycin, Gastrointestinal, Bioavailability Antimicrobial, Bioactivity, Encapsulatio