The Ethical Reasoning Process of Auditors in a Client's Confidential Matter:

The Code of professional conduct issued by Accountancy bodies prohibits Accountants/ Auditors from breaching the rule of confidentiality. Auditors who are · members of the accountancy profession in Nigeria are not allowed to disclose any confidential information concerning their clients without the due permission of the client. However, there are certain exceptions to the rule. Auditors may disclose information of his client without permission in response to a legitimately issued and enforceable subpoena. This study was conducted to investigate the reasoning process of auditors in Nigeria when faced with an ethical dilemma involving sensitive client information. The survey approach, involving three scenarios was used. The findings show that auditors usually adhere to the code of professional conduct in taking decisions. The study also shows that decisions taken in line with the code are not always in accord with good ethical reasoning. It is therefore recommended that the · accountancy profession needs to emphasize the greatest 'good criterion' in drawing up codes of ethics for members

Diversity Combiner in Adaptive Modulation over Fast and Frequency Selective Environment

Signal over fast and frequency selective channel suffers from Doppler and delay effects due to propagation mechanism such as reflection, refraction and diffraction resulting in poor quality reception. Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) and Adaptive Modulation are some of the techniques previously used to address this problem, but each of these techniques suffers from signal fading and interference distortion as result of weak signal and delay spread respectively. Therefore, an Adaptive modulation technique which incorporates MRC is developed over fast and frequency selective Rayleigh fading channel. The system model in this study employed 10,000 bits randomly generated, gray encoded and modulated with M-ary Phase Shift Keying (M-PSK). The signals were filtered using square root raised cosine filter and then transmitted over fast and frequency selective Rayleigh fading channel. At the receiver, two paths at 100km/hr and 200km/hr were combined using MRC, the channel was estimated using Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) to change the constellation size of the modulation in accordance with the severity of fading. The process was simulated using MATLAB software package. The performance of the proposed system was evaluated using Bit Error Rate (BER) at mobile speeds of 100km/hr and 200km/hr. At Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of 10dB, the BER values of 0.0003, 0.0013, 0.0686, and 0.3009 were obtained for conventional MRC with BPSK, QPSK, 8PSK, and 16PSK signaling scheme respectively as against 0.0011 for adaptive MPSK at a mobile speed of 100km/hr while at 200km/hr, the BER values of 0.0134, 0.0161, 0.1947, 0.4116 were obtained using MRC with BPSK, QPSK, 8PSK and 16PSK respectively as against 0.0134 for adaptive MPSK. In conclusion, adaptive modulation incorporating MRC gave the best result due to lower BER values obtained at all SNR considered. The effect of fast and frequency selective Rayleigh channel has been reduced at high speed. Keywords: Adaptive Modulation, Maximal Ratio Combining , M-PSK, Rayleigh Environment, Bit Error           Rate (BER), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)

DEPRESSIONARY EFFECT OF PROXIMITY OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES TO WASTE DISPOSAL SITES IN NIGERIA (A Case Study of Solous Landfill Site)

It is important to know if and to which extent proximity to waste disposal sites or treatment plants depresses residential property values for many reasons. Whether as a measure of the impact of the sites on health and general welfare of the resident, or to ascertain the degree of monetary depression that would be suffered by property investors or even for future planning, it is imperative to know how these sites impact on the lives of the residents. Past studies have researched these impacts using a variety of hedonic models and Marginal Implicit Pricing, however, this study takes a special focus on the resident’s perspective based on the linear proximity to waste disposal sites. 260 questionnaires were distributed to residents within 1km to the site and Estate Surveyors in the area. The correlation between respondent’s profile and opinions are analyzed and it revealed that the site has major impacts on the residents perceived quality of life, security and total outlook of the area. It also showed that there is a negative correlation between the distance from landfill and the perceived quality of life of residents

Assessing the connectedness between corporate governance mechanisms and financial performance of listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria

This research examines the nature of relationships that exist between corporate governance mechanisms (board composition, audit committee, board size and corporate governance disclosure) and financial performance (return on equity, profit margin and return on asset) in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Secondary data from the audited financial statements of the fifteen listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria were employed. The test of hypotheses and other analysis of data were done using Pearson Correlation and regression analysis generated from SPSS, version 17. Findings from the study revealed that insignificant but positive relationship does exist between board composition and the performance of oil and gas companies in Nigeria. Evidence also exist that corporate governance disclosure level has a positive and significant impact on the ROE. This study therefore suggests that board of directors and stakeholders of oil and gas companies in Nigeria should pay more attention towards enhancing the independence of their audit committees and the extent of their corporate governance disclosure in order to enhance their level of profitability.peer-reviewe

Odontogenic tumors in Nigerian children and adolescents- a retrospective study of 92 cases

BACKGROUND: Tumours arising from odontogenic tissues are rare and constitute a heterogenous group of interesting lesions. The aim of this study was to determine the relative frequency of odontogenic tumors (OT) among Nigerian children and adolescents 19 years or younger. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The histopathology records were retrospectively reviewed for all the tumors and tumor-like lesions of the oral cavity and the jaws seen in children and adolescents ≤ 19 years seen between January 1980 and December 2003. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections were re-evaluated and the diagnosis in each case was confirmed or modified according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification, 1992; and were subjected to analysis of age, sex, site of tumor and histopathologic type. RESULTS: A total of 477 tumors and tumor-like lesions were seen in patients ≤ 19 years during the period of the study. Of these, 92 (19.3%) were odontogenic tumors. Benign odontogenic tumors constituted 98.9% of the cases seen, while only 1 case (1.1%) of malignant variety was seen during the period. The mean (SD) age of patients was 14.9 (± 3.1) years (range, 4–19 years). Male-to-female ratio was 1:1; and mandible-to-maxilla ratio was 2.7:1. OT's were most frequently seen in patients aged 16–19 years (46.7%) and the least number (2.2%) were found in patients aged 0–5 years. Among nine histologic types of OT seen, ameloblastoma (48.9%), adenomatoid odontogenic tumor (19.6%) and odontogenic myxoma (8.7%) were predominant. Multicystic/solid and unicystic variants of ameloblastoma were diagnosed in 40 (89%) and 5 (11%) cases respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Odontogenic tumors are relatively common in children and adolescents in Nigeria. One out of every 5 children and adolescents with tumors and tumor-like lesions of oral cavity and the jaws seen in this study had a diagnosis of odontogenic tumor

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (Rosai-Dorfman Disease): Report of a case in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML) is a rare, benign disease of unknown aetiology. This disease typically presents with massive, painless cervical lymphadenopathy but may occur in a wide variety of extranodal sites. This report describes a 43-year old man with a left submandibular swelling and left lateral cervical lymphadenopathy clinically suggestive of a malignancy. Initial cytological examination of a fine needle aspirate specimen taken from the mass suggested a chronic granulomatous inflammatory lesion. A definitive diagnosis of SHML was however made only after excisional biopsy of the lesion. The patient was followed up for 6 months and no recurrence of the lesion was observed. SHML may be considered a rare lesion among Nigerians. Knowledge of its clinical presentation with understanding of the differentials diagnosis is important to avoid unnecessary intervention. The diagnosis can be made from FNAC, histopathology and immune-histochemistry. There is no ideal protocol for the treatment. Follow-up is however necessary to detect relapses

Socioeconomic Uses of Non-Timber Forest Products among Urban Dwellers in Oyo State, Nigeria.

This study assessed the socioeconomic importance of   Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) among  the urban dwellers  in Oyo State. Two hundred and thirty (230) structured questionnaires were administered at household level. Both random and proportionate sampling techniques were adopted. Data were sourced on the basis of senatorial districts. The three senatorial districts are Oyo South, Oyo Central and Oyo North with a population size of 1,764,217, 1,906,814 and 1,909,863 respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents; the multiple regression analysis was employed to determine the factors affecting the utilization of NTFPs. The result of the multiple regression coefficient of 0.79 indicates that 79% of the independent variables explain the dependent variable. Therefore educational level, marital status, household size and household income explain significant variation in the level of utilization of NTFPs in the study area, while variables such as age and sex were not significant in determining the variation in the level of the utilization of NTFPs. Some of the reasons given by the respondents for using the NTFPs include cheapness, availability and accessibility and some of the sources where they obtain the NTFPs were given as market, hawkers, forest and friends. Efforts should therefore be made by government and relevant research institutes to train the people on the domestication of these NTFPs to achieve sustainability, Pharmaceutical involvement to make more refine herbal or medicinal products, and  create more awareness about efficacy of  NTFPs in nutrition and  medicine. Keywords: Nontimber forest products, Utilization, Urban Dwellers

Perception of pregnant women towards midwives: attitude and practice during child delivery in health institutions in Ogbomoso, South-West, Nigeria

Background: This study aims to ascertain pregnant women’s perceptions of the attitudes and practice of midwives during labour in a mission teaching hospital and a state hospital in Ogbomoso, Southwest Nigeria, and to determine whether or not a relationship exists between patients’perceptions of midwives practice during delivery and the occurrence of neonatal deaths. Methods: The survey was conducted by administering the questionnaire adapted from Caring Behaviour Inventory (CBI) to a random sample of five hundred and seventy nine respondent mothers who gave birth in either a Mission teaching hospital or a state hospital in Ogbomoso, Southwest Nigeria. This standardised questionnaire collects demographic data and patient perceptions of nursing attitudes and practice, ranking patients’ responses to a series of statements about the midwives on a four point Likert scale. Data was analysed using Pearson product moment correlation analyses and multiple regression analyses. Results: Our study revealed that there was a positive response on the attitude and practise of midwives during delivery by the respondents. Secondly, there was a positive impression on the influence of the attitude and practice of midwives during delivery by the respondents. Conclusions: There was no evidence of a relationship between patients’ perceptions of midwives practice during delivery and the occurrence of neonatal deaths

Concurrent pleomorphic adenoma in parapharyngeal space and submandibular gland

BACKGROUND: Pleomorphic adenoma in the parapharyngeal space either occurs de novo or as an extension from the deep lobe of the parotid gland. CASE PRESENTATION: A rare synchronous occurrence of pleomorphic adenoma in the parapharyngeal space and submandibular gland of a 48-year-old Nigerian male is reported. CONCLUSION: Pleomorphic adenoma concurrent in the parapharyngeal space and submandibular gland is very rare. A complete surgical excision of both tumors is the treatment of choice