Linking Accounting/Auditing Environment and the Remittances of Africans in Diaspora

This paper investigates empirically the link between the inflow of Diasporas remittances and the environment of accounting/auditing in 10 African countries. The result using Spearman’s rank correlation indicates the existence of a positive relationship (correlation coefficient rs is 0.36), but the strength of the relationship is weak (significant level of 0.05). The quality of accounting and auditing as represented by their environment is a stimulus that could enhance the inflow of Diasporas remittances. The study therefore recommends that African countries should strategically and proactively refocus attention on developing accounting/auditing environment in order to attract reasonable volume of remittances

Adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Africa: benefits, prospects and challenges

This paper presents the findings of an empirical study on the benefits, prospects and challenges of adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in some African countries. A questionnaire was administered to gather data from respondents made up of users and preparers of accounting information using the Twitter social network. The objective was to find out the perception of users and preparers about what the benefits, prospects and challenges of IFRS adoption are in African countries. The results of the study indicate that IFRS adoption in Africa will have the potential to be beneficial to a wide range of stakeholders. The benefits notwithstanding, there are however, a number of challenges to be faced in the process of adoption of the new standard including the ethical environment in Africa. The study recommends among others that a rigorous IFRS capacity building programme should be embarked upon by all regulatory bodies, firms and training institutions in order to provide the needed manpower for IFRS implementation, monitoring and compliance

Water, sanitation and hygiene in community based care: implications for wellbeing for people living with HIV/AIDS/TB in Durban, South Africa

Majority of the HIV/AIDS patients in South Africa receive health care services at home. However, limited studies have been conducted to examine the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) situation in the homes of the care receivers and its impact on community-based care. The main objective of this study was to explore community health workers (CHW) perceptions on WASH in home-based care and the implications on people living with HIV/AIDS/TB, their family members and the CHW. Participants for this qualitative study were drawn from four community home-based care organizations in four marginalized communities in Durban providing care to HIV/AIDS/TB  clients. Data was collected using participant observation of care-giving activities; semi-structured interviews with five home-based care project managers from the organizations and five focus group discussions with a total of 49 CHW. The study revealed that CHW had limited access to protective materials such as gloves and aprons and therefore tended to avoid carrying out activities that could help maintain proper hygiene in the homes for fear of infection. There was limited and unreliable access to water supply. CHW had to fetch water from immediate neighbours or surrounding areas and this created a time burden for caregivers taking away the time spent with patients. Inadequate access to water influences sanitation and hygiene, and this affects the work of CHW. Government needs to respond promptly to the water and sanitation needs of marginalized communities with limited resources. The findings of the study had implications for policy on WASH and community-based care in low in-come communities.Keywords: WASH, HIV/AIDS, Community-based care, Community health workers, Care-givers

Analysis of Income Diversification Strategies among Farm Households in Oyo State

Diversification of income sources is considered as a desirable option to augments income among small scale farmers. This study evaluates the income diversification among farm households in Oyo State of Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 280 rural households. The data collected were analysed using diversity index and Tobit regression analysis. The results showed that all the respondents participated in arable farming and this accounts for 28.29 percent of the total income. 57.85 percent participated in tree crop income and this accounts for 11.95 percent of the total income, 60.36 percent of the households engaged in non-farm income and it accounts for 19.93 percent of the total income. The results of Tobit regression showed that education, household size, access to credit and extension contact were the factors increasing income diversification among the rural households in the study area. The study revealed that agriculture remains the major source of income among the respondents. Therefore, the study recommends improvement of agricultural activities through the distribution of agricultural inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizers and better extension services delivery in order to boost agricultural production. Keywords: Income diversification, Diversity index, Rural Household, Tobit regression

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE POTENTIAL OF LIQUIFIED PETROLEUM GAS IN VAPOUR COMPRESSION REFRIGERATION SYSTEM

The essence of refrigeration systems cannot be overemphasized especially in this part of the globe. Perishable items are to be preserved for some periods before usage while human comfort should also be also be paramount since we are in the northern hemisphere of the globe. The device hat doe this uses refrigerants as working fluids which are traditional harmful to human beings through depletion of the ozone layer. Majorly Ozone layer protects the earth from warming which could lead to flooding. Common economical refrigerants like CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbons) have been discovered to be harmful to the earth. This article therefore, experimented the quantity replacement of CFCs with Liquefied Petroleum Gas in various mixes. The LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) used consists a mixture of propane and butane in the ratio 6:4 by mass. The blend of the two refrigerants were shaped essentially by blending at least two single-part refrigerants, the GWP (Global Warming Potentials) of a refrigerant mix is the mass-weighted normal of GWPs of individual parts in the mix. That is, to compute the GWP of a mix, one essentially adds the GWP of the singular parts with respect to their (GWP (LPG) x M (LPG)) + (GWP(R-134a) x M(R-134a)) = GWP (blend). From the evaluated GWP of the 6 different % mass composition, the % mass of (100%/0%) was the only refrigerant to adhere to the preferred GWP<150. The mass composition of blend (100%/0%) LPG/R-134a was first performed. In-order to achieve this, 8kg of each of the refrigerant was used. The blend was formed in an empty cylinder which was measured as 2482g with the aid of a digital beam balance, by gradually injecting LPG into the empty cylinder till the mass percentage of the 2000g entered, making the mass read as 4,482g (i.e., 2482g of the empty cylinder + 2000g of LPG). Based on the above observations, it could be inferred that the COP (Coefficient of Performance) of mixed refrigerants blends was higher than that of R-134a indicating that each of the blend exhibit higher performance. The experiment discovered that LPG could be used in the place of R134a without affecting the operation efficiency of a vapor compression refrigeration system. The study concludes that LPG offers the best alternative when the COP and flammability are combined as performance metric

Growth performance, haematological and biochemical study of Clarias gariepinus (Burshell) fingerlings fed formlulated Rana galamensis (Galam) meals

A 56-­‐day feeding experiment involving Clarias gariepinus fingerlings was conducted to investigate the growth response, serum and biochemical parameters of the fingerlings to formulated feed from Rana galamensis at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% inclusion levels. 180 fingerlings were divided into 5 treatment groups containing 36 fingerlings and each group was further replicated 3 times. A significant difference (P<0.05) was established in the growth parameters determined in the C. gariepinus fingerlings fed with the four frog formulations, namely, final weight, total weight, and mean feed gain, mean weight gain and feed conversion ratio The 40% R. galamensis ration elicited higher growth values than all other rations. Similarly, significance difference (P<0.05) was established in the serum (Total protein, Albumin and Cholestreol) and biochemical (Na+. K+ and HCO3 -­‐) parameters determined in the blood samples collected from the fingerlings fed with the four frog formulations. The increasing values observed in the growth factors, serum and biochemical parameters of the fingerlings when increasing level of R. galamensis protein was incorporated into the fish diet is an indication that the formulated feed can serve as growth promoter as well as rich sources of mineral supply to the fish; hence, a potential protein source for aquacultural practices

Evaluation of the Nutritive Importance of Fresh and Dry Cyperus esculentus (Tiger nut) Available in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria

Fresh and dried Cyperus esculentus nuts were obtained from a local market (Sabo market) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. These nuts are chew, serve as snacks and used as sources of food and medicine in Nigeria. In this study; proximate, mineral content (using AAS), vitamins and sugar compositions were determined using standard methods [1] The results of the proximate composition revealed that the dry nuts contained higher amount of the nutrients present (fat 35.43 %, protein 9.70 % and ash 4.25 %) than the fresh nuts (32.13 %, 7.15 % and 3.97 %). The result of the mineral content shows that, calcium, iron and manganese were higher in the dry nut than the fresh nut.Sugar composition result shows that sucrose and glucose were the prominent sugar present and were higher in the dried nut than in the fresh nut.The result of the vitamin compositions revealed that vitamin A was equally present in both fresh and dried nut, while fresh nut contained higher amount of vitamin B1(2.25 mg/100g) and B3(3.47 mg/100g) other vitamins were in traces in both nuts.The result of this study showed that both fresh and dried nuts of C. esculentus are of high nutritional value based on their proximate, mineral, vitamin and sugar contents. Keywords: Proximate, mineral, vitamin, sugar, nuts DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/11-16-05 Publication date:August 31st 202

Caregivers’ health-seeking behaviour for children participating in an integrated school health programme in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Caregivers are active members of the healthcare team, and the uniqueness of their role in caring for a sick child is holistic, as no other healthcare team member is consistently aware of all the facets of the child’s life. The integrated school health programme (ISHP) aims to improve access to healthcare services and promote equity for school-going children by delivering comprehensive healthcare services. However, not much attention has been paid to understanding caregivers’ health-seeking experiences within the context of the ISHP

HOST PLANTS OF THE COTTON MEALYBUG, PHENACOCCUS SOLENOPSIS TINSLEY (HOMOPTERA: PSEUDOCOCCIDAE) IN THREE SELECTED TOWNS OF NIGERIA, AND ITS INFESTATION PATTERN

Reconnaissance surveys were carried out for field infestation of Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley from 2006 to 2010 in seventy five (75) vegetable gardens located in three (3) towns– Ogbomoso, Abeokuta and Ibadan in Nigeria. No cotton mealybug infestation was observed in Abeokuta and Ibadan, but twenty four (24) plants in 16 different families were observed as its hosts in Ogbomoso area. Of the 24 species, weeds constituted 45.8%, vegetables 29.1%, herbs 12.5%, cereals 4.2%, fruit trees 4.2% and pulse 4.2% each. Infestations started on the abasial leaf surface and advanced to the mid-ribs, petiole, young and succulent stems and buds. Corchorus olitorius and Amaranthus hybridus were the most susceptible of the trialled plant species with heavy root infestation in addition to that of the leaf. On heavily infested plants, certain ants were found together with P. solenopsis; on cowpea however, Aphis craccivora and the ants formed a complex with the mealybug on the flower buds. Of the three towns surveyed, P. solenopsis could be said to be restricted to backyard gardens around Ogbomoso at the moment. However, a nation-wide survey is very necessary now to determine the current status of the mealybug in Nigeria.Â