Corporate social responsibility disclosure and financial performance of quoted Nigerian cement companies

The issue of CSRD has been recognized as an evolving phenomenon since late 1970’s and it has been given attention in accounting literature with increased pressure from the stakeholders on companies to pay-back to their host communities. This study examines empirically the relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and financial performance of quoted cement companies in Nigeria. Secondary data were sourced and used from the quoted Nigerian cement companies annual reports. A Samples of three [3] companies emerged from the population of five [5] companies using purposive sampling technique method. This study utilizes annual report of ten [10] years period covering [2008-2017] to obtain data for the study. The objective of this study is to examine relationship between CSRD and financial performance of quoted cement companies in Nigeria. Pooled OLS and Random Effect [RE] Panel Estimation analysis methods were used to display and discuss the results using STATA Version 12. The results revealed that corporate social responsibility disclosure have a significant and positive impact on the return on equity and return on capital employed. However, leverage and company size as control variables have a positive significant effects on the financial performance of quoted cement companies in Nigeria. Thus, CSRD is an important component to consider in determining financial performance of companies. The study recommends that quoted cement companies should increase the level of their CSR activities due to its enormous benefits on their financial performance, especially on the ROE and ROCE and Government should set quantum amount of atleast 2.5% on PBT of cement companies for execution of CSR activities to their immediate communities.peer-reviewe

The Antimicrobial Activity of Honey on Bacterial Isolates from Burns/Wound of Patients Attending General Hospital, Ankpa, Kogi, Nigeria

The antimicrobial activity of honey samples from Ankpa, Enjema and Ojoku districts of Ankpa Local Government Area of Kogi State against coagulase negative Staphylococcus species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Proteus species from 200 burns/wound patients attending General Hospital, Ankpa were determined. The sensitivity of honey to the test organisms ranges from 16mm to 19mm in diameter. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the honey samples on the bacterial isolates from Ankpa and Ojoku were 0.16 v/v and 0.32 v/v for honey from Enjema. The results of the study revealed that honey from the area understudy has high antimicrobial activity hence could provide alternative antimicrobial agent to overome the problem of increasing bacteria resistance to synthetic antimicrobial agents. It is therefore recommended that pure natural honey should be stocked in hospitals/clinics in order to encourage its application in the treatment of burns/wound infections

The Impact of The Prophetic Legal Policy on Thenumbness Diplomacy and Contemporary International Relations: an Analytical Study

The policy of the Prophet's legitimacy their role in  The development, progress and culture of what is known today as diplomacy and international relations. andThe policy of the Prophet's legitimacy It means the policy of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and the management of diplomatic relations in times of peace and war, and the relationship with enemiesThis isthe paper about The study inAnalyze it. The researcher chosecurriculum TheShowy Analytical, as he talked about Five points from The impact of the policy of the Messenger, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, in the progress of what is known in our timeDiplomacy and international relations in the light of legitimate politics. In the end it will come to an end Manaljoulesit's up to you tofor politicslegitimacy Effect great and important role in progress Contemporary diplomacy and international relations Especially since the Congress of Vienna in 181

Production of Ceiling Board from Piliostigma Thonningii using Styrofoam Adhesive as Binder

The use of synthetic fibres resulted in environmental degradation and the growing interests towards the utilisation of readily available agricultural fibres as a potential replacement for synthetic fibres. This research aims to produce a ceiling board composite from piliostigma thonningii particulate using styrofoam adhesive binder. The board was produced from the readily available materials leading to the low cost of production. The composition has a formulation of fibre/binder mixing ratios (2:1, 1:1, 1:2 w:w), pressures of (100, 300, 500 kg/m2) and temperatures of (30, 65, 100 °C) respectively. The process was successfully modelled and optimized using a Box–Behnken design method. The optimal conditions for the piliostigma thonningii board were found to be fibre/binder mixing ratio of 1:1 w:w, pressure of 500 kg/m2 and temperature of 92 °C yielded response values of density (151.5 kg/m3), water absorption (9.04 %), tensile strength (16.9 N/m2), thermal conductivity (0.11 W/mK). Hence the board has greater insulating properties and good potential to be used as a ceiling board

Maternal serum level of TNF-α in Nigerian women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Introduction: alterations in the circulating level of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) has been proposed to be involved in the pathogenesis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but its role is not completely understood, findings from studies done across different ethnic groups are often inconsistent. We carried out this study to determine maternal serum level of TNF-a and it's association with body weight status in a group of Nigerian women with GDM. Methods: a cross sectional analytical study conducted among 169 pregnant women, 85 with GDM and 84 with normal gestation. Diagnosis of GDM was made between 24-28 weeks gestation according to the WHO diagnostic criteria. Maternal serum level of TNF-α was measured and compared between the study groups. Results: maternal serum TNF-α level was significantly higher in the pregnant women with GDM than in the controls (2.50 ± 0.30 vs. 2.10 ± 0.30 pg/ml, p < 0.05). Also when comparing the serum TNF-α levels of the pregnant women with GDM and the controls for each level of body mass index, serum TNF-α levels remained significantly higher in both the normal weight and overweight pregnant women with GDM compared to their matched controls (2.40 ± 0.30 vs. 1.90 ± 0.20 pg/ml, p < 0.05) and (2.60 ± 0.30 vs. 2.30 ± 0.20 pg/ml, p < 0.05) respectively. Conclusion: it is concluded that pregnant women with GDM in this study have higher maternal serum TNF-α level compared to the pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance regardless of body weight status

Geochemical investigation of gold and chalcophile minerals of Rawayau Area Katsina State, Nigeria

This present study investigated the Gold and Chalcophile mineralisation potentials of the Rawayau area in Northwestern Nigeria. The aim of the investigation is to delineate the likely Gold and Chalcophile mineralisation occurrences in the study area so as to aid further exploration studies that will identify Gold rich targets worth investing resources for detail exploration project before mining. To achieve this, 17 samples (7 rock samples and 10 sediments) were collected and subjected to laboratory analysis at the National Geologic Survey Agency (NGSA) in Kaduna. The geochemical study showed that the Au concentration ranged from below detection level (bdl) to 0.09ppm in the rock samples, while ranging from 0.013ppm to 0.137ppm in the sediments. Ag concentration ranged from 0.37ppm to 0.97ppm with in the rock samples, while ranging from 0.088ppm to 0.229ppm in the sediments, thus showing a higher concentration in both rock and sediments than Au. Significant positive relationship was observed between Ni, Cr, Cu, Mn, Fe, Zn and Co from the correlation analysis. It also revealed a subsurface increment of Gold and Chalcophile concentration of Nickel, Copper and Zinc with higher concentration of Nickel, Copper, Zinc, Manganese, Chromium and Lead in comparison to Gold and Silver. The study concludes that the Rawayau area holds much prospects for Gold and other minerals. It is suggested that further exploratory studies be carried out so as to pave way for the commencement of mining activities in the study area”

Design Construction and Performance Evaluation of Solar Still for Rural Dwellers

This paper is aimed at designing, constructing and performance evaluation of a solar still. The solar still is design and constructed with locally source materials for rural dwellers. The still absorber plate is constructed with 2 mm galvanised plate painted black with an area of 2 m2 to absorb solar radiation effectively. The side wall and the base is constructed with concrete. Sawdust and felt is used between the retaining wall and base to resist heat transfer from the system to the surrounding vice-versa. The top cover of the still is constructed with transparent glass pane of 4 mm housed in an aluminium frame. The catch basin that collects the condensate is constructed with PVC pipe channel of 50 mm. The performance of the still was evaluated with; Overall yield (sum of daily yield and over-night yield) at a different water depth of (20, 40, 60 mm), (5127 ml/m2/hr, 4558 ml/m2/hr, and 3852 ml/m2/hr). The efficiency of the system at different water depth (20, 40, 60 mm) 51.27 %, 45.58 %, and 38.52 %. The water analysis before and after distillation was certified safe and portable for human consumption

Impact of Managerial Skills on Small Scale Businesses Performance and Growth in Nigeria

The impact of Small Scale Businesses (SSBs) on economic growth and development has attracted global attention of policy makers and academic researchers. In Nigeria, many financing policies were designed and implemented to boast the sector but the results contradicted expectations. Virtually no comparative study ever place Nigeria ahead of any of her co-developing countries. Some experts and researchers in the area thus, are of the view that the hidden factor responsible for this deficient performance maybe lack of managerial skills on the part of their proprietors. This study therefore, was designed to examine the impact of managerial skills on SSBs performance in Bauchi state of Nigeria. Questionnaire technic was used to collect data from 58 SSBs in the state and analyzed using simple linear regression to test the hypothesis on the relationship between the two variables. The study found that managerial skills have significant impact on SSBs performance. The study concluded that inadequate managerial skills are factors militating against SSBs performance and recommended that government, Non Government Organizations and SSB owners’ unions should provide adequate training and development programmes to improve the managerial skills of SSB owners and their management. Keywords: Managerial Skill, SSBs and SSBs’ Performanc

Bacteriological and elemental quality of Clarias gariepinus (cat fish) samples from River Lavun, Bida Niger state, Nigeria

Background: River Lavun, located near Bida is a source of domestic water for the populace. Fish from this river is consumed by general populace. Polluted river water contaminates its fish, it is therefore, necessary to evaluate bacteriological and elemental quality of fish from this river which have been reported earlier to be polluted.Objective: To evaluate the bacteriological and elemental quality of fish from River Lavun, with a view of assessing its potential health hazard.Methodology: Three live cat fish (Clarias gariepinus) were obtained from River Lavun monthly for six months for analyses. Using standard methods, microbial load was determined, while susceptibility profiles of the identified isolates was obtained using disc diffusion technique. Elemental contents of the fish were determined using  atomic absorption spectrophotometer.Results: Heterotrophic plate counts ranged from 1.5±0.3 to 5.4±0.6×105 (cfu/g) while faecal coliform counts ranged between 3.8±1.2 and 6.8±2.4×102 (cfu/g). The Enterobacteriaceae constituted 69.8% of the isolates comprising, mostly Klebsiella spp. (20.8%), Enterobacter spp. (17.0%), Escherichia coli (13.2%), Salmonella  spp. (9.4%) and Serratia spp. (5.7%). Staphylococcus spp. constituted as much as 30.2%. A high proportion of these organisms were resistant to erythromycin,  tetracycline, ampicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanate and cefuroxime. However,  Staphylococcus spp. were generally susceptible to the test antibiotics. A high  number of isolates (67.9%) were multi-drug resistance. Three elements: Iron, Zinc and Nickel were above permissible limit in fish prescribed by FAO/WHO.Conclusion: Fish from this river is polluted with some pathogenic bacteria and  contains some elements that could be hazardous on consumption.Keywords: Bacteriological, contamination, resistance, elemental

Influence of Building Contractors’ Performance on Construction Process in Nigeria: A Review of Emerging Literature

Building construction is a process that involves the interplay of many actors in the building industry. One of the actors that play a significant role, from inception to completion of a building project, is the building contractor. However, his performance is greatly influenced by some factors. Such factors include labour, building material, construction methods, equipment, site management and the likes. The study attempts to extensively review such factors that affect the building contractor’s performance and productivity during the construction process. The findings of the extensive review of related literature are cross-sectional in nature. It was discovered that such factors varies from location to location and based on the settlement pattern, culture and social cohesion of people. The study concludes that, for a proper measurement of building contractor’s performance to be achieved, all such factors should be incorporated and earnestly observed. Keywords: Building Contractor, Building Performance Indicator, Construction Process, Contractor’s Performance and Performance Measurement