FORENSIC ACCOUNTING AND CORPORATE CRIME MITIGATION

The broad objective of this paper is to examine forensic accounting and corporate crime mitigation in Nigeria. The study was prompted by the dearth of research work on forensic accounting and corporate crime mitigation. Descriptive statistics and percentage analysis using Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 17.0) were used to analyse the responses from the various respondents. Findings from the empirical result indicate that forensic accounting could be a valuation tool in strengthening corporate governance which could help to curb the menace of corporate crime in Nigeria. The researcher made useful recommendations among which are; corporate governance mechanisms should encompass forensic accounting in addition to its composition as contained in the Code of Best Practices on Corporate Governance as issued in 2003. In addition to the introduction of forensic accounting, the auditing profession should also not be left out in this all important innovation by embracing forensic audit to actually unveil fraudulent practices in Nigeria Corporation

Military Expenditure and Economic Growth: Evidence from Nigeria

The impact of military expenditure on economic growth has continued to be a subject of debate in the literature. In several African countries, military expenditure has been on the increase in the last few decades making it imperative to explore the impact of military expenditure on the growth of the economy. This study investigates the relationship between military expenditure and economic growth in Nigeria using annual time series data from 1981 – 2017. In achieving this objective, the study adopted a simple growth model that incorporates military expenditure as a share of government expenditure for the period of study. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) estimation technique was used in testing the relationship between the variables in the model. The result of the study shows that there is a significant positive long-run relationship between military expenditure and economic growth

Soil suitability evaluation for production of improved Cassava (Manihot esculenta) varieties in Kwara State, Nigeria: A GIS-Based and Multi-Criteria analysis

A study was carried out to determine the adaptability of improved cassava varieties in various locations in the eastern part of Kwara State, Nigeria. Four improved cassava varieties and one local variety were investigated in the University of Ilorin (Unilorin) farm and at the Offa area of Kwara State. Physico-chemical properties were used to calculate soil suitability index using Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). Soil suitability and productivity index were interpolated over the Eastern part of Kwara State using a kriging method in SUFER 8.01, GIS software. The results showed that whereas Unilorin had better physical soil properties, the Offa area, on the other hand, showed better chemical soil properties. Soil suitability for cassava production was better in Offa (57.2%) than in Unilorin (37.6%). The spatial analysis showed increasing soil suitability from the northern to the southern regions with the highest suitability in Oyun, Offa and Irepodun districts. The improved cassava varieties produced an average yield of 19-20 tons/ha compared to 5.3-6.5 tons/ha of the local variety. The spatial analysis showed decreasing cassava productivity from the western to the eastern regions with the highest productivity in the Asa, Oyun, Offa and Ilorin districts. It is recommended that the cultivation of these improved cassava varieties be accompanied with good soil fertility management practices like organic fertilizer application combined with inorganic fertilizer microdosing technology in the Eastern Districts of the Kwara State, especially at Moro, Edu, Ifelodun and Isin districts

Fortification of dough with moringa, coriander, and amaranth improves the nutritional composition, health-benefiting properties, and sensory attributes of Nigerian wheat bread

Consumption of bread can be associated with some health issues, which can be improved by fortifying it with plants that are good sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds. This study investigated the effects of fortifying bread with 3 leafy vegetables on the quality of Nigerian wheat bread. Leave powders of coriander, moringa, and amaranths were added to wheat dough at 0% (control), 1%, 3%, 5%, or 7%, and the blends obtained were used to bake vegetable breads, which were then analyzed for proximate, minerals, total phenolics, antioxidant activity, reducing sugars, glycemic index, and sensory evaluation. Results showed that vegetable fortification significantly increased bread ash (from 0.84% in control up to 1.93% in fortified bread), crude fiber (from 1.68% to 3.29%), and nutritionally important minerals Ca, Mg, P, Fe, and Zn (up to 5.2-fold, 5.1-fold, 18.1-fold, 4.1-fold, and 14.0-fold, respectively); it reduced carbohydrates (from 65.65% down to 43.16%), crude lipids (from 2.25% down to 0.44%), and caloric value (from 1239.65 down to 1125.19 kJ/100 g), with little or no effect on proteins and moisture content. The fortification also improved the bioactive properties of the bread, as evidenced by a considerably higher phenolic content (from 0.40 up to 13.95 mg/100 g GAE) and increased antioxidant activities. There was a significant 1.1-to 3.4-fold decrease in the reducing sugars of composite breads with 5% and 7% vegetable powder, and the selected bread formulation with Moringa 7% lowered the glycemic index of rats by 3.5-fold. Fortification did not generally affect the appearance and taste of the breads but decreased other sensory parameters and overall acceptability; the bread sample enriched with 1% amaranth received the highest general acceptance. In conclusion, fortifying wheat bread with the 3 vegetables improves its nutritional quality and can be recommended as a new pathway for the development of more nutritious and healthy bread

Islam and the Cyber World

The mixed reactions on the use of the internet technology which have resulted in different debates and crimes in the cyber world calls for assessment of the Islamic point of view of the issue. Cyber world created avenue for the Muslim Ummah in a form of virtual global community and it encouraged dialogue as well as access to information on a real time basis; and above all facilitated easy access to the Qur’an. Nonetheless, th same tool has opened doors for crimes such as pornography, victimization, bullying, stalking etc. Hence this study reviews the benefits of the internet technology and consequences of its misuse. The frame of reference in measuring both the negative and positive aspects of this technology will be the Islamic standpoint. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n6p51

Development of a New Concept for Fire Fighting Robot Propulsion System

An additional cost to human loss and property destruction during fire disaster is fire fighters injuries and death. The recent statistics of 63,350 fire fighters injuries that occurred during the year 2014 confirms that firefighting still presents great risks of personal injury to the fire fighters [1]. The lack of details on information about the victims trapped in fire and situation in the fire zone increase the risk to fire fighters [2, 3]. To reduce these fatalities fire fighting robots (FFRs) emerged as possible solutions therefore they are developed and researched on. The FFRs are designed for either prevention or emergency (same as intervention) tasks of fire and are applied indoor or outdoor. However, the prime movers of the majority of the FFRs are electrically powered [4] which made them to be suitable for preventive task alone and inappropriate for the emergency task. Their inappropriateness is due to the vulnerability in high temperature environment that characterised fire emergency. Thus, alternative propulsion systems for the mobility of fire fighting robots in emergency setting are evolving. Furthermore, literature survey reveals that water powered hydraulic propulsion system has been the only alternative to the drawbacks of dc motors in the hot environment. The mechanism was implemented on snake fire fighting robot for tunnel fire application [5]. In the mechanism, hydraulic motor was used to actuate the snake joints for mobility while water provides power for the hydraulic motors. However, the snake robot was designed for outdoor application. Consequently, the need for an autonomous fire fighting robot with a novel propulsion system becomes imminent

Comparative Study of the Political View of Abdur-Rahman Al-Kawakibi and Shakib Arsalan

Both al-Kawakibi and Arsalan lived in late nineteenth century characterised with decline of the Muslim nations and the British, French and Italian imperialism. Muslims became promoters of the imperialist cause and Muslim elites were separating religion from politics an idea en route to secularism. The state of Muslims during this period was same everywhere, though varies in degree. Muslims lag far behind in almost everything. Al-Kawakibi and Arsalan rose to identify the causes of the decline of the Muslim ummah as majorly an internal factor than external. Similarly they promoted the return to Al-Qur’an and fundamental principles of Islam, and further advocated Knowledge for all, without dichotomy between religion and science. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n6p53

Prediction of dry ice mass for firefighting robot actuation

The limitation in the performance of electric actuated firefighting robots in hightemperature fire environment has led to research on the alternative propulsion system for the mobility of firefighting robots in such environment. Capitalizing on the limitations of these electric actuators we suggested a gas-actuated propulsion system in our earlier study. The propulsion system is made up of a pneumatic motor as the actuator (for the robot) and carbon dioxide gas (self-generated from dry ice) as the power source. To satisfy the consumption requirement (9cfm) of the motor for efficient actuation of the robot in the fire environment, the volume of carbon dioxide gas, as well as the corresponding mass of the dry ice that will produce the required volume for powering and actuation of the robot, must be determined. This article, therefore, presents the computational analysis to predict the volumetric requirement and the dry ice mass sufficient to power a carbon dioxide gas propelled autonomous firefighting robot in a high-temperature environment. The governing equation of the sublimation of dry ice to carbon dioxide is established. An operating time of 2105.53s and operating pressure ranges from 137.9kPa to 482.65kPa were achieved following the consumption rate of the motor. Thus, 8.85m3 is computed as the volume requirement of the CAFFR while the corresponding dry ice mass for the CAFFR actuation ranges from 21.67kg to 75.83kg depending on the operating pressure

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY ANALYSIS OF NIGERIAN ROAD TRANSPORTATION SECTOR: EFFECTS OF INFLUENCED FUEL DEMAND PATTERNS

Petrol and diesel utilisations in the Nigerian road transportation sector have been assessed, using exergy efficiency and improvement potential as parameters. The mean petrol engine exergy efficiency was 13.05%, while that of diesel engines was 10.79%. The average improvement potential of petrol engines was 2.07×1011 MJ, which was 75.6% of average input exergy. Diesel engines had an average improvement potential of 5.15×1010 MJ, which was 69.2% of average input exergy. Practical constancy of the exergy efficiencies of the engines left input exergy values as the sole determining factors of improvement potentials of the systems. Petrol fuel was found to be utilised, away from sustainable path, more than diesel fuel. This observation was found attributable to subsidisation of petrol downstream sector and simultaneous deregulation of the diesel downstream sector as well as the preponderance of petrol engines in the road transportation sector. In conclusion, it was recommended that a mechanism be put in place to check the unsustainable petrol fuel utilisation in the transport sector

Prediction of dry ice mass for firefighting robot actuation

The limitation in the performance of electric actuated firefighting robots in high- temperature fire environment has led to research on the alternative propulsion system for the mobility of firefighting robots in such environment. Capitalizing on the limitations of these electric actuators we suggested a gas-actua ted propulsion system in our earlier study. The propulsion system is made up of a pneumatic motor as the actuator (for the robot) and carbon dioxide gas (self-generated from dry ice) as the power source. To satisfy the consumption requirement (9cfm) of the motor for efficient actuation of the robot in the fire environment, the volume of carbon dioxide gas, as well as the corresponding mass of the dry ice that will produce the required volume for powering and actuation of the robot, must be determined . This article, therefore, presents the computation al analysis to predict the volumetric requirement and the dry ice mass sufficient to power a carbon dioxide gas propelled autonomous firefighting robot in a high-temperature environment. The governing equation of the sublimation of dry ice to carbon dioxide is established. An operating time of 2105.53 s and operating pressure rang es from 137.9kPa to 482.65kPa were achieved following the consumption rate of the motor. Thus, 8.85m 3 is computed as the volume requirement of the CAFFR while the corresponding dry ice mass for the CAFFR actuation ranges from 21.67kg to 75.83 kg depending on the operating pressure