A conceptual examination of the effect of problem representation on mindset and fraud risk assessment in the Nigerian deposit money banks

Banks globally are known for their role of financial inter-mediation and when these functions are effectively and efficiently performed, the banking sector flourishes, facilitate economic growth and development. However, fraud has been established as a global threat to the viability of companies and organizations including financial institutions. Technological advancements and continuous introduction of new electronic financial products into banking operations and service delivery, has heightened the propensity for banking fraud. Subsequently, persistent incidence of fraud and forgeries in banks, in addition to constituting a threat to the continued survival and stability of the sector, hampers national economic developments and growth. The study’s main objective is to evolve a functional and effective mechanism for minimizing the incidence of fraud and forgeries within the Nigerian deposit money banks. Subsequently, this study evolves an abstract structure on the intervening effect of problem representation on the forensic accountant and banking examiner’s mindset capability and competence that is, fraud risk assessment which can be applied for prevention and detection of fraud within the deposit money banks. This study aims to disclose the affinity between the three constructs. Findings contribute to existing literature on forensic accounting, banking examination, mindset capability requirement, problem representation and fraud risk assessment of regulators regarding prevention and detection of fraud within deposit money banks

Unusual complication of ventriculoperitoneal shunt

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) is the conventional method of managing hydrocephalus until recently that endoscopic third ventriculostomy is becoming popular. The major disadvantage of VPS is the fact that it constitutes a foreign body and prone to complications such as mechanical blockage, shunt infection, shunt migration and rarely shunt protrusion. Shunt extrusion through the vagina and anus are rare but have been documented. We present a rare case of shunt migrating through the external inguinal ring into the scrotal sac in a patient

Testing of Detection Tools for AI-Generated Text

Recent advances in generative pre-trained transformer large language models have emphasised the potential risks of unfair use of artificial intelligence (AI) generated content in an academic environment and intensified efforts in searching for solutions to detect such content. The paper examines the general functionality of detection tools for artificial intelligence generated text and evaluates them based on accuracy and error type analysis. Specifically, the study seeks to answer research questions about whether existing detection tools can reliably differentiate between human-written text and ChatGPT-generated text, and whether machine translation and content obfuscation techniques affect the detection of AIgenerated text. The research covers 12 publicly available tools and two commercial systems (Turnitin and PlagiarismCheck) that are widely used in the academic setting. The researchers conclude that the available detection tools are neither accurate nor reliable and have a main bias towards classifying the output as human-written rather than detecting AIgenerated text. Furthermore, content obfuscation techniques significantly worsen the performance of tools. The study makes several significant contributions. First, it summarises up-to-date similar scientific and non-scientific efforts in the field. Second, it presents the result of one of the most comprehensive tests conducted so far, based on a rigorous research methodology, an original document set, and a broad coverage of tools. Third, it discusses the implications and drawbacks of using detection tools for AI-generated text in academic settings.Comment: 38 pages, 13 figures and 10 tables, with appendix. Submitted to the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Educatio

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries: a prospective, international, multicentre cohort study

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common infections associated with health care, but its importance as a global health priority is not fully understood. We quantified the burden of SSI after gastrointestinal surgery in countries in all parts of the world. Methods: This international, prospective, multicentre cohort study included consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection within 2-week time periods at any health-care facility in any country. Countries with participating centres were stratified into high-income, middle-income, and low-income groups according to the UN's Human Development Index (HDI). Data variables from the GlobalSurg 1 study and other studies that have been found to affect the likelihood of SSI were entered into risk adjustment models. The primary outcome measure was the 30-day SSI incidence (defined by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for superficial and deep incisional SSI). Relationships with explanatory variables were examined using Bayesian multilevel logistic regression models. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02662231. Findings: Between Jan 4, 2016, and July 31, 2016, 13 265 records were submitted for analysis. 12 539 patients from 343 hospitals in 66 countries were included. 7339 (58·5%) patient were from high-HDI countries (193 hospitals in 30 countries), 3918 (31·2%) patients were from middle-HDI countries (82 hospitals in 18 countries), and 1282 (10·2%) patients were from low-HDI countries (68 hospitals in 18 countries). In total, 1538 (12·3%) patients had SSI within 30 days of surgery. The incidence of SSI varied between countries with high (691 [9·4%] of 7339 patients), middle (549 [14·0%] of 3918 patients), and low (298 [23·2%] of 1282) HDI (p < 0·001). The highest SSI incidence in each HDI group was after dirty surgery (102 [17·8%] of 574 patients in high-HDI countries; 74 [31·4%] of 236 patients in middle-HDI countries; 72 [39·8%] of 181 patients in low-HDI countries). Following risk factor adjustment, patients in low-HDI countries were at greatest risk of SSI (adjusted odds ratio 1·60, 95% credible interval 1·05–2·37; p=0·030). 132 (21·6%) of 610 patients with an SSI and a microbiology culture result had an infection that was resistant to the prophylactic antibiotic used. Resistant infections were detected in 49 (16·6%) of 295 patients in high-HDI countries, in 37 (19·8%) of 187 patients in middle-HDI countries, and in 46 (35·9%) of 128 patients in low-HDI countries (p < 0·001). Interpretation: Countries with a low HDI carry a disproportionately greater burden of SSI than countries with a middle or high HDI and might have higher rates of antibiotic resistance. In view of WHO recommendations on SSI prevention that highlight the absence of high-quality interventional research, urgent, pragmatic, randomised trials based in LMICs are needed to assess measures aiming to reduce this preventable complication

this is not about sadness

In this is not about sadness, an unlikely friendship between two complex and traumatised London-based women, one an older Jamaican, the other a young South African, is explored through each character’s use of specific language to relate to space, memory and silence. The lyrical dual-narration allows vernacular language to shape the structure and flow, echoing call-and-response modes familiar to international storytelling traditions. The novel follows pensioner Mrs. Thompson’s and young activist Tebo’s developing friendship and the problems that arise due to their different views on political issues. Their conflictive personalities make for an unusual pair and both carry unspoken trauma. When Tebo cries one day to offer empathy for Mrs. Thompson’s pain, the silence is broken. Their bond is sealed through the acknowledgment of the other’s pain, the personal histories arrive in a space where understanding difference creates possibility for healing and alliance

“Do you need some more explanation?” Practice-led research and the novel Fishing for Naija

This article discusses a practice-led PhD in creative writing that comprises a novel and critical reflection. Border-crossing, borrowed from Gloria Anzaldúa’s book Borderlands/La Frontera (1987), forms the overarching keyword and central tool to contextually tie together theoretical research and practical investigations around language, voice, character development and plot. In the novel, questions of positioning and representation are answered for the protagonist Karl, a young trans* person. We witness Karl and his best friend Abu’s coming of age, and explorations of gender, against the backdrop of gentrification in the King’s Cross area of London, oil exploitation in the Niger Delta, and the London (or UK) riots of 2011. The novel de-contextualizes Yoruba pronouns within the English text, marrying contemporary concepts of gender with Yoruba mythology, in form of the god of the crossroads, Eshu. Eshu is re-imagined in a queer reading (or more precisely writing) to propel us into new possibilities of addressing gender. The project aims to un-silence ancient (mythological) spaces of queer and trans* possibility from within Yoruba cosmology and draws on scholarly discussions of Eshu to uncover the potential of trans* inclusivity

Also by Mail

Also by Mail is a modern family comedy-drama that follows the experiences of Nigerian German siblings Funke and Wale who fly to Nigeria to bury their suddenly deceased father. Their upbringing clashes with their uncle’s expectations and initial misunderstandings soon come to an éclat. When Wale returns to Germany, frustrated, he is bitterly reminded of how little his father acknowledged and prepared them for racist encounters there. Loss and racism, sibling rivalry and cross-cultural etiquette, the play incorporates and subverses it’s urban, neo-African elements of story-telling to give a contemporary picture of a family that struggles not only with the legacy of its patriarch but with being racialized within the German context as well. Where does each stand in a circle of relations and needs? Where does each want to end up? And who is willing to help? It takes an inside-outside job to lighten the mood and the surprise startles them all

Thermal control of some post-harvest rot pathogens of Irish potato (solanum tuberosum l.)

Thermal control effect on the incidence of some post-harvest rot pathogens of Solanum tuberosum (potato) was investigated in this study. Three cultivars of potato tuber whose local names are, Patiska, Mai Bawondoya and Nicola were used for the study. Five pathogenic fungi viz: Botryodiplodia theobromae, Fusarium redolens, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium sp. and Rhizopus oryzae associated with post harvest storage rot of root-tubers, were isolated from diseased potatoes. Among the three species of potatoes used in the study, Patiska was found most resistant followed by Mai Bawondoya, while Nicola was the least resistant. Increase in substrate (i.e. soluble starch or CMC) concentration enhanced a proportional increase in mycelial growth and in the amount of extracellular enzymes produced. Some of these test pathogens were found to produce cell wall degrading enzymes (i.e. amylase and cellulase). Preferential utilization of carbohydrate sources was established in this study based on the growth of test pathogens. Growth on potato broth medium was highest followed by growth on Cocoyam and Sweet potato broth media and least on Cassava broth medium. Growth of the test pathogens on carbohydrate sources was found at variant. The use of hot water treatment at different temperatures was found to significantly reduce post-harvest fungal populations on the surface of root-tubers. The efficacy of blanching in hot water at 60˚C was significantly higher than that of blanching in hot water at other temperatures. The control method adopted in this study showed that the problems of potatoes’ rot disease in storage (especially by the peasant farmers) can be eradicated by thermal treatments without reducing the quality of the Irish tuber

The effect of fraud related problem representation on skills and fraud risk assessment in the Nigerian banking sector

In the era of globalisation, the incidence of banking fraud is a persisting fundamental problem with adverse consequences for financial intermediation, economic development, and growth. The Nigerian banking sector is not an exemption. The introduction of electronic banking services and advancements in technology have further created new challenges for prevention and detection of fraud in the sector. This paper develops a conceptual framework on the mediating influence of fraud related problem representation on skills requirement and task performance fraud risk assessment which can be deployed by forensic accountants and banking examiners working as regulators of banks to prevent and detect fraud. The paper expects to reveal an essential relationship between these variables. The paper contributes to the literature on forensic accounting, enhanced capability (skills requirement, fraud related problem representation) and competence (fraud risk assessment) by forensic accountants and banking examiners for fraud prevention and detection in the Nigerian banking sector