Obong University is a four-year private university located in Obong Ntak, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It is associated with the Churches of Christ, and its sponsoring congregation is the Rivergate Church of Christ in Madison, Tennessee.Founded in 1997 as African College of Management, the following year gave rise to the University of Africa, as Obong University was formerly known. The university is in close fellowship with Obong Christian School (founded 1986), which is sponsored by the congregation of Christians at Mt. Morris, Michigan. The Christian school, also in Obong Ntak, has educated thousands of young people across Nigeria and surrounding countries.The schools are under the direction of Dr. Moses Akpanudo, who, with the help of his Nigerian countrymen and American friends, worked to gain university status for Obong. This elevation was achieved on May 2, 2007.The University houses a Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences with degrees available in Computer Science, Microbiology, and Biochemistry. In the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the University offers degree programmes in English Studies and Religious Studies. It also houses a Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, with degrees in Economics, Accounting, Business Administration, Mass Communication, Marketing, Sociology, Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Public Administration, International Relations and Political Science.In addition to the grade school, there is a more recently completed hospital facility on the university's campus..
Production-sharing contracts (PSCs) and risk service contracts are fundamental instruments for allocating financing risk, petroleum output, costs, and rewards between host governments and investors. A persistent accounting difficulty is how chargeable non-capital costs to current operations are recoverable under the governing contract. This article examines whether charging and recouping such costs in the current year produces effective accounting outcomes in the Nigerian upstream petroleum industry. It is a doctrinal and conceptual analysis—not a quantitative study—of Nigerian legislation, IFRS Accounting Standards and one illustrative historical petroleum contract. The analysis covers the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, a publicly available Nigerian PSC accounting procedure, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and relevant petroleum-fiscal literature. The article develops a dual-screen framework that separates (i) financial-reporting recognition from (ii) contractual recoverability. This distinction shows how a cost may qualify for recovery through cost oil or a service-contract payment without satisfying the criteria for recognition as an asset. Day-to-day operating costs are generally expensed when incurred. Exploration and evaluation, development, tangible production assets, borrowing costs, and decommissioning obligations are treated according to the applicable IFRS requirements and the facts of the transaction. The analysis finds that same-period recovery of properly verified non-capital costs can strengthen liquidity, matching, transparency, and investment incentives, and also create incentives for cost inflation, misclassification, affiliate overcharging, and premature recovery when contractual controls are weak. The paper therefore proposes a contract-to-ledger reconciliation architecture, cost-eligibility matrix, related-party benchmarking, and digital audit trail, with a clear separation of recoverability from capitalization decisions. The framework contributes to petroleum accounting by integrating contractual cost recovery, IFRS recognition, and Nigerian regulatory oversight in a single decision model.
The study examined the digital literacy proficiency among undergraduates of Library and Information Science (LIS) in federal universities in South-South Nigeria and how this proficiency influences peer leadership among their peers. The study employed a descriptive survey design, and a stratified random sampling technique was used to select 408 participants from a population of 2,723 students across nine universities. Data were collected using a self-developed questionnaire, with 327 valid responses analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS version 29. Findings revealed that LIS undergraduates possess a moderate level of digital literacy, with strengths in basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills, digital communication, and information retrieval, but notable gaps in digital content creation, collaborative tools, and identity management. Students were found to utilize both formal and informal methods to enhance their digital skills, demonstrating adaptability and initiative. Furthermore, the study found that digital literacy proficiency moderately influences peer leadership, especially in areas like peer support, academic collaboration, and responsible digital engagement. A statistically significant relationship was found between digital literacy and peer leadership. The results of the study may assist library management in enhancing the digital competencies of LIS students, thereby fostering the development of peer leadership in university libraries. It suggests incorporating advanced digital proficiency in LIS programs, peer-guided learning, and enhancing digital infrastructure to assist students in their progress further.
Multi-word expressions are formulaic language universals with arbitrary and idiosyncratic collocations. Their usage and mastery are required of learners of a second language in achieving naturalness. However, despite the importance of multi-word expressions to mastering a second language, their syntactic architecture and colligational possibilities have received little attention in English language teaching (ELT). This study examined lexical bundles, a type of multi-word expressions, to understand their structure and co-occurrence possibilities with other syntactic elements. It was aided by an automated frequency-driven approach using two corpora, the British component of the British National Corpus – a first language (L1) corpus – and a purpose-built Nigerian Media Discourse corpus – a second language (L2) corpus. Two items of lexical analysis software were used to extract three-word lexical bundles with a minimum of 50 frequencies per corpus. The syntactic structures of the identified lexical bundles were determined, and their in-corpus usages were analysed for their colligational characteristics. Results showed that both corpora had instances of general and genre-specific lexical bundles (LBs) with varying frequencies. Five categories of lexical bundles with different structural patterns and peculiar colligational characteristics were identified in the study. Since lexical bundles are more frequently found in both L1–L2 texts, mastering how they are used will further enhance the teaching of English as a second language. The teaching of lexical bundles as a multi-word expression is therefore recommended in ELT as a way of enhancing learners’ proficiency and naturalness in English.
Thrombotic microangiopathies (TMAs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by endothelial damage, microvascular thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia. While the initiating triggers may differ—ranging from infections and autoimmune diseases to genetic complement dysregulation—a unifying pathophysiological feature is injury to the vascular endothelium. Recent advances have highlighted the critical role of pro-inflammatory cytokines in mediating endothelial dysfunction, contributing to both the initiation and propagation of thrombotic events in TMAs. Cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) have been implicated in promoting endothelial activation, increased permeability, leukocyte adhesion, and procoagulant changes. These effects contribute to the loss of vascular integrity and the formation of microthrombi. Moreover, cytokine-mediated inflammation appears to be a common feature across various TMA subtypes, including Shiga toxin-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), atypical HUS, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), and secondary TMAs. The intensity and profile of cytokine involvement may vary, but their pathological influence on endothelial health remains a shared mechanism.
The global demand for clinical social work has risen alongside the growing need for specialized mental health interventions. In Zimbabwe, rise in drug and substance abuse has exacerbated mental health crises, yet clinical social work remains underdeveloped due to gaps in education, regulation, and professional identity. This study examines barriers to professionalizing clinical social work in Zimbabwe, addressing: (1) What systemic and structural obstacles hinder its development? (2) How do cultural and financial factors affect its recognition? The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 16 purposively selected participants, including regulators, educators, and practitioners from various settings. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), five key themes emerged: outdated regulatory frameworks, theoretical and disconnected social work education, weak professional identity in clinical settings, cultural and spiritual barriers, and limited financial incentives. Participants highlighted the need for more explicit clinical guidelines, inadequate faculty expertise, and resistance from other professions as significant obstacles. Additionally, cultural beliefs favoring spiritual and traditional healing over formal interventions further marginalized clinical social work. Low remuneration and restricted opportunities for private practice diminished professional motivation. These findings suggest an urgent need for regulatory reforms, curriculum alignment, and economic incentives to nurture clinical specialization and improve practitioner retention. Integrating cultural and spiritual practices into clinical frameworks could enhance acceptance and accessibility. In conclusion, addressing these gaps through multi-sectoral collaboration and systemic reforms can establish clinical social work as a cornerstone of Zimbabwe's mental health system, ensuring its sustainability and relevance while improving mental health outcomes in the country.
