Academic literature on the topic 'Performance standards – Nigeria'

Globalization, capital market crash and the Enron’s case led the accounting profession to insist on the need for a single set of high quality reporting standards. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) were first adopted in 2005 by EU countries while Nigeria agreed to adopt in 2012. The question is: How does IFRS adoption improve the monetary relevance of accounting information? Several studies have explored the monetary relevance of IFRS adoption; however, they are based on foreign countries while Nigerian researches do not contain empirical evidence as they are mostly theoretical. This study therefore seeks to investigate the effect of IFRS adoption on financial performance. The study used correlation research design and data on Earnings per Share (EPS), Change in Earnings per Share (CEPS), Book Value per Share (BVPS) and net profit margin

The study examines board size and corporate performance of quoted companies in Nigeria. The objectives of the study are to examine the relationship between board size and total asset of quoted Nigerian banks; to examine the relationship between board size and total revenue of quoted Nigerian banks; to examine the relationship between board size and net profit of quoted Nigerian banks. The study adopted panel research design and census survey approach. The population of this research consists of 21 commercial banks in Nigeria. Data were collected from secondary sources that is audited financial statements. The findings of the study showed that there is a negative relationship between board size and total assets; there is a positive relationship between board size and gross revenue; there is a positive relationship between board size and Net profit. From the above findings, the study concluded that there is a relationship exist between board size and corporate performance of quoted Nigerian banks. The study further recommend that commercial banks and quoted firms must ensure that a proper board of directors is composed in other to institute standards and controls that will boost the net income of the firm; regulatory bodies should ensure that firms constitute a board with a standard size of seven members. The board also must have professionals who have requisite knowledge in the business; firm’s board must ensure that the committees in the board are most effective in safeguarding the asset of the organization and should continuously make decisions that will boost the revenue and net profit of the firm.

This paper examines the effect of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on financial performance of eleven (11) deposit money banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as at December 31, 2014. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test was used to test whether significant differences exist in the profitability, liquidity and leverage ratios of the selected banks using IFRS and Nigerian Statement of Accounting Standards (SAS) based financial statements. The results show that adoption of IFRS does significantly affect financial performance of Nigerian deposit money banks. Specifically, IFRS adoption significantly and positively affects profitability of Nigerian deposit money banks, while it significantly, but negatively affects their liquidity and financial leverage. The study recommends continuous enlightenment campaigns on the potential effects of IFRS implementation by the regulatory authorities, professional bodies and the government as more and more firms in Nigeria change from SAS based financial reporting to IFRS. Furthermore, firms should endeavour to use the opportunity presented by the IFRS to improve their business processes in all ramifications so as to promote uniformity and transparency.

Several adverse reports on quality performance drive the need to assess quality management practice in the Nigerian construction industry. Incidences of building failures and in extreme cases, building collapse have been attributed to poor quality management among other factors. This paper assesses the quality management practices of Nigerian construction firms intending to suggest appropriate courses of action for improving quality performance. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to management staff in 20 construction firms in Abuja, Nigeria. Findings from the study show that inspections and statistical quality control techniques are the most widely used quality management tools by construction firms in Nigeria. However, the study found that the preparation of quality management plans (QMP) and quality auditing (a measure of quality assurance in building production), is not popular among Nigerian construction firms. Inadequate planning arrangements for quality, poor communication of quality requirements and lack of awareness of the benefits of quality management were identified as the most significant issues affecting quality management practice. Therefore there is a low uptake of quality management practice principles within construction organizations in Nigeria. Hence, the need to create awareness for implementing quality management principles and concepts in its construction industry. Keywords: Assessment, Construction industry, Nigeria, Quality management, Quality standards

The study explored adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on financial performance of banks in Nigeria over a time period of ten years spreading over from 2006 to 2016. Data set utilized were randomly gathered across 10 (ten) banks, and analyzed with the use of pooled OLS, fixed effect and random effect estimations alongside the F-test and Hausman test. Result showed that embracing IFRS had insignificant positive effect on ROA of banks in Nigeria (β=0.0038609 p=0.366). It was likewise shown that loan to deposit ratio had a significant negative influence on return on asset (β=-0.0017625 p=0.046). The study established that IFRS implementation had not significantly spurred financial performance of banks in Nigeria, however it has the possibility of doing as such if banks can completely receive and fuse all parts of the Standard in their monetary detailing structure. Subsequently, it is suggested that Regulatory Authorities of deposit money banks should set up an administrative board that will be burdened with the obligation of following the pace of adoption of the IFRS in the country.

Banks are expected to operate within acceptable standards of governance for consistent profitable operations. They run heavily on customer deposits, which is confidence-driven. Since the quality of governance is critical to winning and retaining customer confidence and patronage, the imperative for good governance practices in banks cannot be overemphasized. This research paper explores the nexus between governance practices and bank profitability in Nigeria. It adopts the size of bank board and directors’ stake as proxies for corporate governance, with return on assets and return on equity as representations for financial performance. The research incorporates firm size as a controlled variable. The estimation technique of the Generalized Method of Moments was employed. Evidence from the research reveals that board size, directors’ equity, and firm size substantially affect Nigerian banks’ financial performance. Besides, the study shows a robust effect of lagged return on equity on the current level of performance. Therefore, the study asserts that governance in business entities strongly affects their financial performance and recommends maintaining optimum board size to minimize boardroom conflicts. It further prescribes that the requirement for substantial equity stake by directors of banking institutions be sustained, as it secures commitment to governance practices that support profitability. AcknowledgmentThe authors acknowledge the support of Covenant University towards the publication of this paper.

This study investigates the effect of IFRS adoption on the performance of oil and gas marketing companies in Nigeria. The study utilise financial statements of a sample of eight (8) oil and gas companies operating in the country. These companies were purposively selected due to availability of data. Firms’ performance was proxied by Profit Margin (PM), Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) ratios and were considered as dependent variables to be determined by reporting regime (RR) as independent variable. While Current Ratio (CR), quick Test (QT), Total Debt Ratio (TDR) Earnings per Share (EPS) and Equity Debt Ratio (EDR) are use as control variables. The ratios were computed and compared for 4 years (2010 to 2011) before mandatory IFRS adoption and 2012 to 2013 often mandatory adoption OLS, regression with help of eviews 9 was employed for the analysis. The study reveals IFRS adoption has not improved the performance of oil and gas companies in Nigeria. The paper recommended that, oil and gas companies should continue to comply with provisions of IFRS as it will improve their reporting quality which may also improve their performance as result of more investment flow, easy access to capital and comparability.

Nigeria recently witnessed a decade of urban, economic, and social transformation. However, certain features of the Nigerian business environment act as constraints on economic growth. These characteristics also deter investment and exasperate business competitiveness. Inadequate infrastructure is identified as a major constraint to growth and competitiveness. This article summarises the technical development of a City Infrastructure Quality Index (CIQI) aimed at providing a relative measure of performance in urban infrastructure in Nigeria, focusing specifically on factors of production and resources for inclusive economic growth and development. The design of the CIQI adopts quality assurance principles undergirded by a five-stage systematic integration and calibration of spatial statistics derived from secondary data sources. The results have allowed for the piloting of a comparative framework for gauging good practice, excellence and adherence to recognisable standards in the provision of infrastructure across 37 Nigerian urban and metropolitan areas.

Biological treatment of wastewater from Wupa Wastewater Treatment Plant, Abuja was investigated. Wastewater samples were collected from the inlet and effluent point (before and after the ultra violet radiation unit) of the treatment plant. The physicochemical parameters; temperature, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS) and dissolved oxygen (DO) were measured. The Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) were obtained from samples collected from the influent and effluent points using Standard methods specified by the American Public Health Association (APHA). The water samples were also analysed for the presence of bacterial organisms via Total Coliform Count (TCC), Total Bacteriological Count (TBC) and Faecal Count (FC). At the end of the analysis, the percentage removal efficiency of the ultra violet radiation for TCC, TBC and FC were calculated. Results showed that the mean removal efficiency for TCC, TBC and FC were 99.6% , 89.9% and 98.9% respectively; all within the permissible limit of World Health Organization and Federal Ministry of Environment. There was a reduction of 81.5% in COD, 98.9% in BOD which met the required effluent standards. There was significant differences between the pH, TSS, DO, COD and BOD of the influent and effluent (P<0.05). These results showed that there is an urgent need for appropriate steps to be taken for proper management and sanitation of the wastewater before discharging it to the stream, to ensure total conformity with the approved standards.

The safety record of most petrochemical industries in the world and Nigeria in particle, has not been able to come down to the maximum allowable range of 0 - 0.1 percent of tolerance on recordable injuries, due to increasing failure rates of equipment within the plant. Investigations on the maintenance audit carried out on the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) revealed that 85 percent of such failures are directly linked to improper adaptability of an effective maintenance management strategy and plan within the petrochemical industries in Nigeria. Equally, the growth and continuous operation of any plant depends to a large extent on the maintenance of the equipment that refines the Crude Oil and natural Gas. As such, various maintenance management systems have been used over the years for the actualisation of the above purpose but with minimal success. This is evident in the fact that the level of maintenance performance of most Nigerian Petroleum Companies is always on the corrective maintenance model, which indirectly implies that the plant normally breaks down before maintenance management is applied. A critical look at the deficiency of improper adaptability of these maintenance management plans have conspicuously manifested in five major categories of maintenance failures which includes the following; * Failure of safety critical equipment due to lack of maintenance * Human error during maintenance * Static or spark discharge during maintenance in an intrinsically unsafe zone * Incompetence of maintenance staff, and * Poor communication between maintenance and production staff. These gaps as identified in this research must be corrected in the Nigerian Gas Industry if meaningful progress is to be made. Gas – To – Liquid technology is a very complex technology and with natural gas as the basic raw material, the technology not only looks intimidating but also is full of potential hazards. People are naturally afraid of the complex nature of gas in a confined environment (because of its highly combustible nature), its gaseous state makes it more complex for it to be kept under control and at the same time be moved from one form to another at different temperatures and pressures. The maintenance audit carried out on the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) revealed some major loopholes in the maintenance management strategies adopted in the country. The audit reveals that the degree of adherence to conditions attached towards the maintenance management strategy of this equipment (in this case Gas field equipment) was too poor. Based on the above, this research is meant to improve the existing maintenance management strategy, by developing a Maintenance Management Strategy (MMS) that will be suitable for gas field equipment in the Escravos Gas–To– Liquid (EGTL) plant, planned to be commissioned in Nigeria early 2011. The need to research the above mentioned Maintenance Strategy became imperative due to the fact that the rate at which most of the petrochemical plants in the world are being gutted by fire, mainly due to poor maintenance management systems is alarming. This research work proffered solutions that will reduce or completely eliminate the highlighted problems above. This was based on investigations and analysis carried out in the chosen research area. Models were developed for the actualization of this Improved Maintenance Management Strategy (IMMS), so that the desired safe operability of the gas field equipment in the Escravos Gas–To– Liquid (EGTL) plant will be achieved without maintenance failure of any kind.
Thesis (M.Ing. (Development and Management Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology: Human Resources Management, Durban University of Technology, 2013.
The research investigation focused on performance appraisal policy and its impact on employee performance in Guaranty Trust Bank in Nigeria. The aim of the study was to ascertain the extent to which the performance appraisal policy at Guaranty Bank contributed to employee performance. Arising out of the performance appraisal reviews, an important finding revealed that the training which employees received resulted in improved job performance. The performance appraisal reviews also showed that when feedback reports were effectively used they consequently improved employee performance. The research design was quantitative in nature and a closed ended structured questionnaire was used to gather the primary data. The survey method was used for all the employees of Guaranty Trust Bank in Nigeria. The questionnaire was administered to all 150 target respondents using the personal method and a high response rate of 100% was obtained. The data gathered were analyzed using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) for the statistical tests. The initial analysis involved the use of descriptive statistical tools. The main findings revealed that employee participation in the performance appraisal was generally high and this increased job satisfaction and enhanced employee performance. The results also revealed that manager-subordinate interaction was very cordial and this boosted employee performance. Moreover, the majority of respondents preferred performance appraisal to be used regularly for career pathing in the organization. The study recommends a set of guidelines which could be used in improving the current performance appraisal policy and further boost employee performance. The study concludes with directions for future research.

AbstractFarmers in most parts of Africa and Asia still practice subsistence farming which relies minly on seasonal rainfall for Agricultural production. A timely and accurate prediction of the rainfall onset, cessation, expected rainfall amount, and its intra-seasonal variability is very likely to reduce losses and risk of extreme weather as well as maximize agricultural output to ensure food security.Based on this, a study was carried out to evaluate the performance of the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) numerical Weather Prediction Model and its Subseasonal to Seasonal (S2S) precipitation forecast to ascertain its usefulness as a climate change adaptation tool over Nigeria. Observed daily and monthly CHIRPS reanalysis precipitation amount and the ECMWF subseasonal weekly precipitation forecast data for the period 1995–2015 was used. The forecast and observed precipitation were analyzed from May to September while El Nino and La Nina years were identified using the Oceanic Nino Index. Skill of the forecast was determined from standard metrics: Bias, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Anomaly Correlation Coefficient (ACC).The Bias, RMSE, and ACC scores reveal that the ECMWF model is capable of predicting precipitation over Southern Nigeria, with the best skill at one week lead time and poorest skills at lead time of 4 weeks. Results also show that the model is more reliable during El Nino years than La-Nina. However, some improvement in the model by ECMWF can give better results and make this tool a more dependable tool for disaster risk preparedness, reduction and prevention of possible damages and losses from extreme rainfall during the wet season, thus enhancing climate change adaptation.

Secondary school as a gateway for the development of other sectors of the educational system provides primary school leavers with the opportunity for qualitative education, the platform for skills and knowledge for vocational work, or higher institutions admission. In Nigeria, public discussions frequently focus on educational standards. This study aims to examine the influence of students' reading habits on students' academic performance. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The schools in Ibadan North LGA were randomly selected, making a total of five schools. Each of the participants was randomly selected, totaling 300 students. There was a significant positive relationship between student reading habits and student academic performance (r = 0.84). At F=1.31, there is no significant difference in the reading habit of male and female students. Reading habit enhances the academic performance of students. Therefore, students should be encouraged to inculcate in them the reading habit by providing enabling environment and infrastructures that will stimulate students to read.

Job hopping between formal and informal sectors represents an important driver of welfare and productivity changes. The study investigates the patterns, forms, and drivers of informality and factors determining hopping between formal and informal jobs in Nigeria. The data obtained from the general household surveys (GHS) was estimated with binary logistic regression technique within and between waves of each GHS across 13 primary economic activities in the formal and informal employment. The authors found high hopping from informal to formal in six sectors including manufacturing, buying and selling, construction, financial services, professional services, and education. Focus was also on dividing the households into three stages of life course. There is a greater hopping among early adulthood than any other age categories. Hence, bottlenecks to performance and productivity of the identified sectors should be adequately tacked to engender an improved formal sector characterised with better remuneration and living standards of its workers.

This chapter demonstrates—using Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa as comparative case studies—how federalism in Africa shares the forms, structures, and discursive practices of classic federal theory, while, at the same time, it also differs from classic federal theory in its normative articulations and institutional frameworks due to its syncretic configurations. To identify and illuminate the syncretic features of federalism in these countries, the chapter first presents the original logic, formation, and fundamental elements of federalism, as well as the reasons for its successes and failures, as developed in classic federal theory; explores how federalism takes new pathways—in both its original purpose and formation—in Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa; and examines how the fundamental elements of federalism in these countries are a blend of syncretic convergences, adaptations, and innovations. And building on this, the chapter argues why it is necessary to rethink the classic standards for assessing the successes and failures of federalism and proceeds to discuss how this can help to improve the performance of federalism in fostering constitutional democracy in these countries. The chapter concludes by suggesting that if federalism is to ensure the practice of constitutional democracy in Africa, then democratic values, human rights, and constitutionalism should all animate its normative and institutional underpinnings of self-rule and shared rule, as they do in classic federal theory.

Culturally adapted behavioral treatments can optimize care. Following standard guidelines we adapted and tested a hypertension education program among primary care patients with hypertension from rural Nigeria. We reviewed literature and collected qualitative information from hypertensive patients to implement the first three of five cultural adaptation stages: Information gathering, Adaptation design, and Preliminary adaptation testing. Information obtained was used to adapt a Cardiovascular Health Education Program (CHEP) from a similar program Culturally Appropriate Hypertension Education (CAHE). CHEP was evaluated among 149 hypertensive patients using pre, − post design, and performance of behavioral goals. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic contents. CHEP retained essential features of CAHE and added new culturally relevant information. Local context factors like substitutability of dietary salt and exercisability with cultural activities motivated healthy behavior and enhanced cultural fitness. Culturally permissive unhealthy practices were discouraged; intentional weight gain (big is beautiful), and non-smoking tobacco use (sniffing, licking). Performance of behavioral goals was outstanding; over 60% practiced self-set goals effectively. Standard cultural adaptation of behavioral education program demonstrated potential to limit cardiovascular diseases among hypertensive patients. Guideline-based culturally adapted intervention increased hypertension self-management capabilities among hypertensive primary care patients from rural Nigeria.

Employee performance appraisal is often considered a core management task in most standard organizations because it could potentially inspire an employee towards the pursuit of organizational goals and objectives. Meanwhile, issues such as delay in appraisal processes, inevitable human error, and emotional status of the appraiser, are common with the traditional appraisal methods. Hence, this research proposes a fuzzy decision-support system based on Henri Fayol's 14 principles of management for the appraisal of employees' performance. A questionnaire consisting of 44 structured questions was designed based on these principles and administered to the employees of Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria. Fuzzy inference system that incorporates Mamdani computational technique was built based on the feedback extracted from the questionnaires, and used for appraising the employee performance. Experimental results show that the proposed system could predict the appraisal status of an employee with 75% accuracy in comparison to the conventional appraisal method.

Humans are facing complex problems such as learning how to solve computational problems and academic failures. This research focused on the impact assessment of collaborative learning strategy on solving computational problems among students in Nigeria. A mixed research design was used and the population was 1600 senior secondary school students. A stratified random sampling method was used to select 240 SS III students for the study. The mathematics and computer programming performance tests instrument for data collection were validated by experts in educational measurement and evaluation. A reliability coefficient of 0.79 was obtained for the test instrument. The data collected were analysed using mean, standard deviations and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) statistical tools. Findings revealed that the use of collaborative learning strategy was effective on student's academic performance in solving mathematical and programmatically based problems. Recommendations on students' learning activities were suggested for the enhancement of students' learning experiences.

The changing climate is a concern to sustainable water resources. This study examined climate change impacts on river discharge seasonality in two West African river basins; the Niger river basin and the Hadejia-Jama’are Komadugu-Yobe Basin (HJKYB). The basins have their gauges located within Nigeria and cover the major climatic settings. Here, we set up and validated the hyper resolution global hydrological model PCR-GLOBWB for these rivers. Time series plots as well five performance evaluation metrics such as Kling–Gupta efficiency (KGE),); the ratio of RMSE-observations standard deviation (RSR); per cent bias (PBIAS); the Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency criteria (NSE); and, the coefficient of determination (r2), were employed to verify the PCR-GLOBWB simulation capability. The validation results showed from satisfactory to very good on individual rivers as specified by PBIAS (−25 to 0.8), NSE (from 0.6 to 0.8), RSR (from 0.62 to 0.4), r2 (from 0.62 to 0.88), and KGE (from 0.69 to 0.88) respectively. The impact assessment was performed by driving the model with climate projections from five global climate models for the representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. We examined the median and range of expected changes in seasonal discharge in the far future (2070–2099). Our results show that the impacts of climate change cause a reduction in discharge volume at the beginning of the high flow period and an increase in discharge towards the ending of the high flow period relative to the historical period across the selected rivers. In the Niger river basin, at the Lokoja gauge, projected decreases added up to 512 m3/s under RCP 4.5 (June to July) and 3652 m3/s under RCP 8.5 (June to August). The three chosen gauges at the HJKYB also showed similar impacts. At the Gashua gauge, discharge volume increased by 371 m3/s (RCP8.5) and 191 m3/s (RCP4.5) from August to November. At the Bunga gauge, a reduction/increase of -91 m3/s/+84 m3/s (RCP 8.5) and -40 m3/s/+31 m3/s/(RCP 4.5) from June to July/August to October was simulated. While at the Wudil gauge, a reduction/increase in discharge volumes of −39/+133 m3/s (RCP8.5) and −40/133 m3/s (RCP 4.5) from June to August/September to December is projected. This decrease is explained by a delayed start of the rainy season. In all four rivers, projected river discharge seasonality is amplified under the high-end emission scenario (RCP8.5). This finding supports the potential advantages of reduced greenhouse gas emissions for the seasonal river discharge regime. Our study is anticipated to provide useful information to policymakers and river basin development authorities, leading to improved water management schemes within the context of changing climate and increasing need for agricultural expansion.

Abstract The successful implementation of a crude oil custody transfer sampling system is a key component to achieving a desired measurement uncertainty for a crude oil metering station or loading/unloading point. Our analysis of thousands of installations worldwide provides practical examples of how operators can be confident that when they install a sampling system, it will deliver the uncertainty that they need to meet the overall custody transfer requirements. Crude oil sampling for custody transfer becomes more challenging as production flow rates decline, oil fields mature, and water cut content increases. It is therefore important that the performance of a sampling system is evaluated on a regular basis and that any limitations are identified. Any risk of change in performance or measurement uncertainty can then be prioritized or minimized. International standards and contracts determine the allowable uncertainty for net oil (oil minus water) for custody transfer/allocation. For accurate allocation of the sources of crude oil or the application of tax tariffs, fluids must be measured prior to being comingled. Automatic crude oil sampling can be challenging because it can require high-energy mixing with low power consumption and negligible pressure loss to overcome stratification and allow representative sampling. The certification, or "proving", of the sampling system provides a basis for establishing and verifying the system's true uncertainty at worst case conditions. There is an abundance of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and studies on crude oil (and water) mixing. However, these are abstract because of the uncertainty in where the water is located and how it may be dispersed at the boundary conditions of any simulation. To provide more robust simulations, we expanded on the established methods by combining simulation data with known theoretical calculations and engineering laboratory test data as well as hundreds of certifications (proving) results from around the world. Automatic sampling systems using dynamic mixing technology delivers a unique solution that enables operators to minimize the quality measurement uncertainty, improve overall balance, and reduce financial loss (and unaccounted for) in custody transfer quality measurements.

Abstract Regulations for decommissioning are bound by international and domestic regulations. There are numerous decommissioning concepts to choose from, such as complete or partial removal, structure severance options which leave behind shell mounds and drill cuttings. However, in several international regulations there appears to be little clarity and/or opposing ideologies. Malaysia and Thailand have accessible resources for decommissioning legislation or guidelines in South East Asia. Nevertheless, they are differences in the regulations of these countries regarding the legal framework, the technical, financial and environmental framework. In this study, the feasibility of existing framework in decommissioning process of offshore installations or structures in Malaysia was studied and compared with international practices. Decision matrix analysis was used to systematically identify, analyse, and rate the performance of relationships between sets of values and information. Moreover, the scale of decommissioning activities over the next years, the data and information obtained were analysed using descriptive statistics approach. The results indicated that Thailand had the best decommissioning regulations because they have strict regulation in decommissioning. Most of the regulations covering the technical section are similar within all countries studied. Finally, recommendations given are from the aspects of frameworks on in-situ full or partial decommissioning, clarity on liabilities and residual risk management, financial security, residual risk funds, workflow optimisation, information management system, and waste management.

Abstract Drilling detergents are among the chemical compounds that are increasingly being used in many varieties of drilling fluids. They are aqueous blend of surface-active agents that reduces the surface tension of water-based drilling fluids, reduces the sticking tendency of water-sensitive shale cuttings and aid cuttings removal; leading to cleaner hole, faster penetration rates and lower drilling pressure. Due to the increase in environmental issues associated with the disposal of drilling detergent presently used, drilling companies are exploring options of using environmentally friendly, degradable and renewable drilling detergents. In this study, biodetergents were produced from non-edible seed oils (Ricinus communis oil and Azadirachta Indica oil). The biodetergents and a commercial drilling detergent used in the Niger Delta field were analysed for a number of standard properties required for good drilling detergents. Drilling muds formulated with these detergents were also analysed for a number of standard mud properties. Physicochemical properties analyses showed that biodetergents met the required specification of good drilling detergents. The physicochemical properties of the biodetergents were also comparable to that of commercial drilling detergent. BOD values obtained showed that the biodetergents could easily be broken or biodegraded than the commercial drilling detergent. Toxicity test on Penaeus Monodon showed that biodetergents are more environmentally friendly than the commercial drilling detergent. Drilling mud properties analyses further showed that synthesized biodetergents can be used as an alternative to conventional drilling detergent.

Abstract Smartphones have become near ubiquitous on the global stage placing the power of both computational analytics and communication into the hands of users in both high and low-resource regions alike. The potential to leverage these devices to address inequities in healthcare are enormous. Our development team theorizes that we can create a medical device blending a traditional pediatric phototherapy irradiance meter for the treatment of neonatal jaundice with a mobile smartphone to create a reasonably priced irradiance meter with improved performance specifically for low-resource regions. The result of our work is a minimum viable prototype based on an Android operating system tethered wirelessly to a remote sensor that incorporates a clinical training feature. Based on laboratory tests simulating a clinical environment and field testing in Northern Nigeria, the results were equivalent to standard phototherapy meters with additional expected benefits of cost, mobility, access and clinical training.

This report maps the African landscape of Open Science – with a focus on Open Data as a sub-set of Open Science. Data to inform the landscape study were collected through a variety of methods, including surveys, desk research, engagement with a community of practice, networking with stakeholders, participation in conferences, case study presentations, and workshops hosted. Although the majority of African countries (35 of 54) demonstrates commitment to science through its investment in research and development (R&D), academies of science, ministries of science and technology, policies, recognition of research, and participation in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI), the following countries demonstrate the highest commitment and political willingness to invest in science: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition to existing policies in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), the following countries have made progress towards Open Data policies: Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. Only two African countries (Kenya and South Africa) at this stage contribute 0.8% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to R&D (Research and Development), which is the closest to the AU’s (African Union’s) suggested 1%. Countries such as Lesotho and Madagascar ranked as 0%, while the R&D expenditure for 24 African countries is unknown. In addition to this, science globally has become fully dependent on stable ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) infrastructure, which includes connectivity/bandwidth, high performance computing facilities and data services. This is especially applicable since countries globally are finding themselves in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is not only “about” data, but which “is” data. According to an article1 by Alan Marcus (2015) (Senior Director, Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications Industries, World Economic Forum), “At its core, data represents a post-industrial opportunity. Its uses have unprecedented complexity, velocity and global reach. As digital communications become ubiquitous, data will rule in a world where nearly everyone and everything is connected in real time. That will require a highly reliable, secure and available infrastructure at its core, and innovation at the edge.” Every industry is affected as part of this revolution – also science. An important component of the digital transformation is “trust” – people must be able to trust that governments and all other industries (including the science sector), adequately handle and protect their data. This requires accountability on a global level, and digital industries must embrace the change and go for a higher standard of protection. “This will reassure consumers and citizens, benefitting the whole digital economy”, says Marcus. A stable and secure information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure – currently provided by the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) – is key to advance collaboration in science. The AfricaConnect2 project (AfricaConnect (2012–2014) and AfricaConnect2 (2016–2018)) through establishing connectivity between National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), is planning to roll out AfricaConnect3 by the end of 2019. The concern however is that selected African governments (with the exception of a few countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia and others) have low awareness of the impact the Internet has today on all societal levels, how much ICT (and the 4th Industrial Revolution) have affected research, and the added value an NREN can bring to higher education and research in addressing the respective needs, which is far more complex than simply providing connectivity. Apart from more commitment and investment in R&D, African governments – to become and remain part of the 4th Industrial Revolution – have no option other than to acknowledge and commit to the role NRENs play in advancing science towards addressing the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). For successful collaboration and direction, it is fundamental that policies within one country are aligned with one another. Alignment on continental level is crucial for the future Pan-African African Open Science Platform to be successful. Both the HIPSSA ((Harmonization of ICT Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa)3 project and WATRA (the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly)4, have made progress towards the regulation of the telecom sector, and in particular of bottlenecks which curb the development of competition among ISPs. A study under HIPSSA identified potential bottlenecks in access at an affordable price to the international capacity of submarine cables and suggested means and tools used by regulators to remedy them. Work on the recommended measures and making them operational continues in collaboration with WATRA. In addition to sufficient bandwidth and connectivity, high-performance computing facilities and services in support of data sharing are also required. The South African National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System5 (NICIS) has made great progress in planning and setting up a cyberinfrastructure ecosystem in support of collaborative science and data sharing. The regional Southern African Development Community6 (SADC) Cyber-infrastructure Framework provides a valuable roadmap towards high-speed Internet, developing human capacity and skills in ICT technologies, high- performance computing and more. The following countries have been identified as having high-performance computing facilities, some as a result of the Square Kilometre Array7 (SKA) partnership: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia. More and more NRENs – especially the Level 6 NRENs 8 (Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and recently Zambia) – are exploring offering additional services; also in support of data sharing and transfer. The following NRENs already allow for running data-intensive applications and sharing of high-end computing assets, bio-modelling and computation on high-performance/ supercomputers: KENET (Kenya), TENET (South Africa), RENU (Uganda), ZAMREN (Zambia), EUN (Egypt) and ARN (Algeria). Fifteen higher education training institutions from eight African countries (Botswana, Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania) have been identified as offering formal courses on data science. In addition to formal degrees, a number of international short courses have been developed and free international online courses are also available as an option to build capacity and integrate as part of curricula. The small number of higher education or research intensive institutions offering data science is however insufficient, and there is a desperate need for more training in data science. The CODATA-RDA Schools of Research Data Science aim at addressing the continental need for foundational data skills across all disciplines, along with training conducted by The Carpentries 9 programme (specifically Data Carpentry 10 ). Thus far, CODATA-RDA schools in collaboration with AOSP, integrating content from Data Carpentry, were presented in Rwanda (in 2018), and during17-29 June 2019, in Ethiopia. Awareness regarding Open Science (including Open Data) is evident through the 12 Open Science-related Open Access/Open Data/Open Science declarations and agreements endorsed or signed by African governments; 200 Open Access journals from Africa registered on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); 174 Open Access institutional research repositories registered on openDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories); 33 Open Access/Open Science policies registered on ROARMAP (Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies); 24 data repositories registered with the Registry of Data Repositories (re3data.org) (although the pilot project identified 66 research data repositories); and one data repository assigned the CoreTrustSeal. Although this is a start, far more needs to be done to align African data curation and research practices with global standards. Funding to conduct research remains a challenge. African researchers mostly fund their own research, and there are little incentives for them to make their research and accompanying data sets openly accessible. Funding and peer recognition, along with an enabling research environment conducive for research, are regarded as major incentives. The landscape report concludes with a number of concerns towards sharing research data openly, as well as challenges in terms of Open Data policy, ICT infrastructure supportive of data sharing, capacity building, lack of skills, and the need for incentives. Although great progress has been made in terms of Open Science and Open Data practices, more awareness needs to be created and further advocacy efforts are required for buy-in from African governments. A federated African Open Science Platform (AOSP) will not only encourage more collaboration among researchers in addressing the SDGs, but it will also benefit the many stakeholders identified as part of the pilot phase. The time is now, for governments in Africa, to acknowledge the important role of science in general, but specifically Open Science and Open Data, through developing and aligning the relevant policies, investing in an ICT infrastructure conducive for data sharing through committing funding to making NRENs financially sustainable, incentivising open research practices by scientists, and creating opportunities for more scientists and stakeholders across all disciplines to be trained in data management.