Journal articles on the topic 'Information behavior – Nigeria – Case studies'

The aim of this study is to examine how accountability is practised by charity institutions in Nigeria.The paper employs Ebrahim’s charity accountability framework to analyse BudgIT’s website, public related documents and news. It is observed that the practice of accountability by BudgIT lays emphasis on upward accountability to donors, focused on primarily reporting basic descriptive financial and performance information. However the research is based on a content analysis of a single charity organisation and, therefore, any generalising of the conclusions beyond BudgIT may not represent the reporting behaviour of all charity institutions in Nigeria.This paper is among the few studies that investigate the reporting behaviour of charitable institutions in a developing country, thus contributing to the scanty literature on charitable accountability in Nigeria.

Maternal mortality accounts for most deaths in agrarian communities of Nigeria due to poor access to midwives services and inadequate Skilled Birth Attendants (SBAs). The Midwives Service Scheme (MSS) was established to engage more SBAs and advocate better utilization of pre and post-natal care services. Studies have focused on maternal mortality reduction, however, information on underlying factors that predispose MSS target beneficiaries to its utilization is scarce. Therefore, utilization of MSS among women farmers in southwestern Nigeria was investigated. A four-stage sampling procedure was used. Three states from southwestern states (Oyo, Ogun and Ekiti) were randomly selected. Thereafter, ten Local Government Areas (LGAs) from eighteen LGAs that adopted MSS programme in the selected states were sampled. Also, 30% of the MSS facilities in the sampled LGAs were selected, resulting in 13 MSS facilities. Proportionate sampling technique was used to select 20% of registered women farmers in the selected 13 MSS facilities to give 207 respondents. Interview schedule was used to collect data on respondents’ socioeconomic characteristics, Maternal Health Information Sources (MHIS), Maternal Health Information Seeking Behavior (MHISB) and utilization of MSS. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. About (55.6%) of the respondents had formal education. MHISB and effectiveness of MSS was rated low by 53.2% and 55.6% of the respondents, respectively. MSS was moderately utilized by 64.7% of the respondents. The MSS utilization was 49.24 ± 11.39 (Oyo), 45.08 ± 9.28 (Ogun) and 44.00 ± 10.71 (Ekiti). Respondents’ education (χ2 = 12.85), family size (r = 0.02), monthly income (r = 0.48) related positively and significantly (r = 0.27) to MSS utilization.

Background: Using directives have been the standard approach of changing public behavior. But studies have shown that directives fail because people hate being told what to do. Telling individuals to use limited resources and other social amenities in rural areas to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection may lead to skepticism in practice of public health recommendations on COVID-19 prevention. Even non-availability of basic hand washing facilities (soap and clean water) which form fundamental mechanism to prevent COVID-19 can expose people to infection. Study assesses factors and conditions that influence the practice of Center for disease control (CDC) preventive measures against COVID-19 in rural areas.Methods: This is a qualitative study that utilized information from 36 health care professionals under the aegis of committee for COVID-19 prevention. These committee members are working together in partnership with state government to provide services to control, prevent and cushion effects of COVID-19 pandemic.Results: Findings from 36 health care professionals made up of 10 (27.8%) females and 26 (72.2%) males showed that factors such as denial of existence of the virus, labeling virus as only urban limited, poor knowledge of mode of transmission, terming virus as ploy politicians use to siphon resources meant for rural development contributed to non-observation of CDC guidelines for COVID-19 prevention.Conclusions: Denying existence of COVID-19 and not observing CDC guidelines will increase community transmission thereby, expose people in communities to infection. Therefore, education is needed to enlighten people in communities on benefits of observing CDC guidelines.

Abstract Emergencies are bound to happen anywhere at any time and as such pre-planning is necessary. This study outlined a procedure by which students on a university campus can be evacuated safely, while optimising use of available resources. Applications of optimisation techniques in campus emergency planning studies are not common, especially in developing countries. Collaboration of students is essential for a successful campus emergency evacuation, as such this study examined factors that will predict students’ behaviour in an emergency. The study adopted a location-allocation (L-A) model based decision support system (DSS) to implement the campus evacuation plan. The DSS was implemented within a geographic information system (GIS) environment. A total of 150 students were selected randomly across six faculties at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria for the study. In the event of an emergency it is proposed that all the students will move to designated assembly areas. The output from the emergency decision support system will be used to direct students from the assembly areas to appropriate evacuation points. The DSS was specifically applied in this study to find the locations of five evacuation points that will minimise travel distances of all students from thirteen assembly areas. The results from the DSS showed the average travel distance is 328.43 metres. This study used the binary logistic regression model to predict factors that will influence students to assist in an emergency. The result of the analysis showed that their level of consciousness of emergencies is the only factor that will significantly influence them to assist in an emergency. The findings from this study showed that for a disaster resilient university it must develop an all-hazards comprehensive plan, conduct regular emergency training and exercises, and develop a partnership with the host community for joint use of emergency resources. Keywords: Decision Support System ; Emergency Preparedness; Evacuation Plan; Location-Allocation Models; University Campus.

The study examines postgraduate student’s information seeking behavior in the faculty of management sciences, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. Information play critical role in human daily activities such as school life, work, marital life and any other kind of scenario. The concept of information seeking behavior has attracted researchers’ attention and has been of great concern to stakeholders in the academia. Academic libraries avail information from different sources and formats. Objectively the study examines postgraduate students’ information seeking behavior in order to understand students’ information seeking behavior and provide guide to improve the quality of education and performance. Survey research design were use and the population consist of the entire postgraduate students in the faculty of management sciences at Bayero University, Kano, due to difficulty to reach all the population, purposive sampling were applied which result to the selection of (200) respondents comprising of (50) respondents from each of the four departments and questionnaire were issued to them. From the findings it is obvious that in the course of carrying out their studies postgraduate students seek information as a result of activities they engage such exam preparation, dissertation/thesis work, updating knowledge, lecture notes update, personal reading and general reading. However, the result implies that majority of the respondents use library for information concerning exam preparation while the lowest is for general reading to improve their knowledge. The study conclude that postgraduate students do engage in information seeking behaviour for various reasons even though these are hinder by some obstacles. The study recommends the need for management to improve service delivery in the aspect of electronic library, researchers should be guided easily and educated so as to facilitate easy collection of library materials, users should also be guided to enhance easy retrieval of information, continuous training of library staff should be given attention in order for them to be friendly and give quality service to information seekers and finally problem of poor electricity supply should be addressed to make the environment conducive for learning.

Rapid urbanization rates impact significantly on the nature of Land Cover patterns of the environment, which has been evident in the depletion of vegetal reserves and in general modifying the human climatic systems (Henderson, et al., 2017; Kumar, Masago, Mishra, & Fukushi, 2018; Luo and Lau, 2017). This study explores remote sensing classification technique and other auxiliary data to determine LULCC for a period of 50 years (1967-2016). The LULCC types identified were quantitatively evaluated using the change detection approach from results of maximum likelihood classification algorithm in GIS. Accuracy assessment results were evaluated and found to be between 56 to 98 percent of the LULC classification. The change detection analysis revealed change in the LULC types in Minna from 1976 to 2016. Built-up area increases from 74.82ha in 1976 to 116.58ha in 2016. Farmlands increased from 2.23 ha to 46.45ha and bared surface increases from 120.00ha to 161.31ha between 1976 to 2016 resulting to decline in vegetation, water body, and wetlands. The Decade of rapid urbanization was found to coincide with the period of increased Public Private Partnership Agreement (PPPA). Increase in farmlands was due to the adoption of urban agriculture which has influence on food security and the environmental sustainability. The observed increase in built up areas, farmlands and bare surfaces has substantially led to reduction in vegetation and water bodies. The oscillatory nature of water bodies LULCC which was not particularly consistent with the rates of urbanization also suggests that beyond the urbanization process, other factors may influence the LULCC of water bodies in urban settlements. Keywords: Minna, Niger State, Remote Sensing, Land Surface Characteristics References Akinrinmade, A., Ibrahim, K., & Abdurrahman, A. (2012). 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Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(20), pp. 15663-15676. Feng, L., Chen, B., Hayat, T., Alsaedi, A., & Ahmad, B. (2017). The driving force of water footprint under the rapid urbanization process: a structural decomposition analysis for Zhangye city in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 163, pp. S322-S328. Fensham, R., & Fairfax, R. (2002). Aerial photography for assessing vegetation change: a review of applications and the relevance of findings for Australian vegetation history. Australian Journal of Botany, 50(4), pp. 415-429. Ferreira, N., Lage, M., Doraiswamy, H., Vo, H., Wilson, L., Werner, H., . . . Silva, C. (2015). Urbane: A 3d framework to support data driven decision making in urban development. Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST), 2015 IEEE Conference on. Garschagen, M., & Romero-Lankao, P. (2015). Exploring the relationships between urbanization trends and climate change vulnerability. Climatic Change, 133(1), pp. 37-52. Gokturk, S. B., Sumengen, B., Vu, D., Dalal, N., Yang, D., Lin, X., . . . Torresani, L. (2015). System and method for search portions of objects in images and features thereof: Google Patents. Government, N. S. (2007). Niger state (The Power State). Retrieved from http://nigerstate.blogspot.com.ng/ Green, K., Kempka, D., & Lackey, L. (1994). Using remote sensing to detect and monitor land-cover and land-use change. Photogrammetric engineering and remote sensing, 60(3), pp. 331-337. Gu, W., Lv, Z., & Hao, M. (2017). Change detection method for remote sensing images based on an improved Markov random field. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 76(17), pp. 17719-17734. Guo, Y., & Shen, Y. (2015). Quantifying water and energy budgets and the impacts of climatic and human factors in the Haihe River Basin, China: 2. Trends and implications to water resources. Journal of Hydrology, 527, pp. 251-261. Hadi, F., Thapa, R. B., Helmi, M., Hazarika, M. K., Madawalagama, S., Deshapriya, L. N., & Center, G. (2016). Urban growth and land use/land cover modeling in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia: Colombo-Srilanka, ACRS2016. Hagolle, O., Huc, M., Villa Pascual, D., & Dedieu, G. (2015). A multi-temporal and multi-spectral method to estimate aerosol optical thickness over land, for the atmospheric correction of FormoSat-2, LandSat, VENμS and Sentinel-2 images. Remote Sensing, 7(3), pp. 2668-2691. Hegazy, I. R., & Kaloop, M. R. (2015). Monitoring urban growth and land use change detection with GIS and remote sensing techniques in Daqahlia governorate Egypt. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 4(1), pp. 117-124. Henderson, J. V., Storeygard, A., & Deichmann, U. (2017). Has climate change driven urbanization in Africa? Journal of development economics, 124, pp. 60-82. Hu, L., & Brunsell, N. A. (2015). A new perspective to assess the urban heat island through remotely sensed atmospheric profiles. Remote Sensing of Environment, 158, pp. 393-406. Hughes, S. J., Cabral, J. A., Bastos, R., Cortes, R., Vicente, J., Eitelberg, D., . . . Santos, M. (2016). A stochastic dynamic model to assess land use change scenarios on the ecological status of fluvial water bodies under the Water Framework Directive. Science of the Total Environment, 565, pp. 427-439. Hussain, M., Chen, D., Cheng, A., Wei, H., & Stanley, D. (2013). Change detection from remotely sensed images: From pixel-based to object-based approaches. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 80, pp. 91-106. Hyyppä, J., Hyyppä, H., Inkinen, M., Engdahl, M., Linko, S., & Zhu, Y.-H. (2000). Accuracy comparison of various remote sensing data sources in the retrieval of forest stand attributes. Forest Ecology and Management, 128(1-2), pp. 109-120. Jiang, L., Wu, F., Liu, Y., & Deng, X. (2014). Modeling the impacts of urbanization and industrial transformation on water resources in China: an integrated hydro-economic CGE analysis. Sustainability, 6(11), pp. 7586-7600. Jin, S., Yang, L., Zhu, Z., & Homer, C. (2017). A land cover change detection and classification protocol for updating Alaska NLCD 2001 to 2011. Remote Sensing of Environment, 195, pp. 44-55. Joshi, N., Baumann, M., Ehammer, A., Fensholt, R., Grogan, K., Hostert, P., . . . Mitchard, E. T. (2016). A review of the application of optical and radar remote sensing data fusion to land use mapping and monitoring. Remote Sensing, 8(1), p 70. Kaliraj, S., Chandrasekar, N., & Magesh, N. (2015). Evaluation of multiple environmental factors for site-specific groundwater recharge structures in the Vaigai River upper basin, Tamil Nadu, India, using GIS-based weighted overlay analysis. Environmental earth sciences, 74(5), pp. 4355-4380. Koop, S. H., & van Leeuwen, C. J. (2015). Assessment of the sustainability of water resources management: A critical review of the City Blueprint approach. Water Resources Management, 29(15), pp. 5649-5670. Kumar, P., Masago, Y., Mishra, B. K., & Fukushi, K. (2018). Evaluating future stress due to combined effect of climate change and rapid urbanization for Pasig-Marikina River, Manila. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 6, pp. 227-234. Lang, S. (2008). Object-based image analysis for remote sensing applications: modeling reality–dealing with complexity Object-based image analysis (pp. 3-27): Springer. Li, M., Zang, S., Zhang, B., Li, S., & Wu, C. (2014). A review of remote sensing image classification techniques: The role of spatio-contextual information. European Journal of Remote Sensing, 47(1), pp. 389-411. Liddle, B. (2014). Impact of population, age structure, and urbanization on carbon emissions/energy consumption: evidence from macro-level, cross-country analyses. Population and Environment, 35(3), pp. 286-304. Lillesand, T., Kiefer, R. W., & Chipman, J. (2014). Remote sensing and image interpretation: John Wiley & Sons. Liu, Y., Wang, Y., Peng, J., Du, Y., Liu, X., Li, S., & Zhang, D. (2015). Correlations between urbanization and vegetation degradation across the world’s metropolises using DMSP/OLS nighttime light data. Remote Sensing, 7(2), pp. 2067-2088. López, E., Bocco, G., Mendoza, M., & Duhau, E. (2001). Predicting land-cover and land-use change in the urban fringe: a case in Morelia city, Mexico. Landscape and urban planning, 55(4), pp. 271-285. Luo, M., & Lau, N.-C. (2017). Heat waves in southern China: Synoptic behavior, long-term change, and urbanization effects. Journal of Climate, 30(2), pp. 703-720. Mahboob, M. A., Atif, I., & Iqbal, J. (2015). Remote sensing and GIS applications for assessment of urban sprawl in Karachi, Pakistan. Science, Technology and Development, 34(3), pp. 179-188. Mallinis, G., Koutsias, N., Tsakiri-Strati, M., & Karteris, M. (2008). Object-based classification using Quickbird imagery for delineating forest vegetation polygons in a Mediterranean test site. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 63(2), pp. 237-250. Mas, J.-F., Velázquez, A., Díaz-Gallegos, J. R., Mayorga-Saucedo, R., Alcántara, C., Bocco, G., . . . Pérez-Vega, A. (2004). Assessing land use/cover changes: a nationwide multidate spatial database for Mexico. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 5(4), pp. 249-261. Mathew, A., Chaudhary, R., Gupta, N., Khandelwal, S., & Kaul, N. (2015). Study of Urban Heat Island Effect on Ahmedabad City and Its Relationship with Urbanization and Vegetation Parameters. International Journal of Computer & Mathematical Science, 4, pp. 2347-2357. Megahed, Y., Cabral, P., Silva, J., & Caetano, M. (2015). Land cover mapping analysis and urban growth modelling using remote sensing techniques in greater Cairo region—Egypt. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 4(3), pp. 1750-1769. Metternicht, G. (2001). Assessing temporal and spatial changes of salinity using fuzzy logic, remote sensing and GIS. Foundations of an expert system. 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Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 26(11), pp. 2310-2323. Yengoh, G. T., Dent, D., Olsson, L., Tengberg, A. E., & Tucker III, C. J. (2015). Use of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to Assess Land Degradation at Multiple Scales: Current Status, Future Trends, and Practical Considerations: Springer. Yu, Q., Gong, P., Clinton, N., Biging, G., Kelly, M., & Schirokauer, D. (2006). Object-based detailed vegetation classification with airborne high spatial resolution remote sensing imagery. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 72(7), pp. 799-811. Zhou, D., Zhao, S., Zhang, L., & Liu, S. (2016). Remotely sensed assessment of urbanization effects on vegetation phenology in China's 32 major cities. Remote Sensing of Environment, 176, pp. 272-281. Zhu, Z., Fu, Y., Woodcock, C. E., Olofsson, P., Vogelmann, J. E., Holden, C., . . . Yu, Y. (2016). Including land cover change in analysis of greenness trends using all available Landsat 5, 7, and 8 images: A case study from Guangzhou, China (2000–2014). Remote Sensing of Environment, 185, pp. 243-257.

The significance of health information management practice to the effectiveness of a healthcare delivery system cannot be overemphasised. A well-structured and coordinated health information management system has been known to generate the information needed for decision-making at all levels of healthcare delivery. However, the state of health information management in Nigeria, as is the case in most African countries, is a cause for concern. Observation and past studies have highlighted challenges facing the practice of health information management in Africa to be centred around the quality of professional training, inadequately qualified practitioners, disgruntled practitioners, government’s indifference towards the practice, lack of policies and inadequate technological infrastructure among others. This article examines some of the challenges facing health information management practice in Nigeria and makes recommendations that may uplift the profession.

Summary This paper presents case studies focused on the interpretation and integration of seismic reservoir monitoring from several fields in conventional offshore and deepwater Niger Delta. The fields are characterized by different geological settings and development-maturity stages. We show different applications varying from qualitative to quantitative use of time-lapse (4D) seismic information. In the first case study, which is in shallow water, the field has specific reservoir-development challenges, simple geology, and is in phased development. On this field, 4D seismic, which was acquired several years ago, is characterized by poor seismic repeatability. Nevertheless, we show that because of improvements from seismic reprocessing, 4D seismic makes qualitative contributions to the ongoing field development. In the second case study, the field is characterized by complex geological settings. The 4D seismic is affected by overburden with strong lateral variations in velocity and steeply dipping structure (up to 40°). Prestack-depth-imaging (PSDM) 4D seismic is used in a more-qualitative manner to monitor gas injection, validate the geologic/reservoir models, optimize infill injector placement, and consequently, enhance field-development economics. The third case study presents a deep offshore field characterized by a complex depositional system for some reservoirs. In this example, good 4D-seismic repeatability (sum of source- and receiver-placement differences between surveys, dS+dR) is achieved, leading to an increased quantitative use of 4D monitoring for the assessment of sand/sand communication, mapping of oil/water (OWC) front, pressure evolution, and dynamic calibration of petro-elastic model (PEM), and also as a seismic-based production-logging tool. In addition, 4D seismic is used to update seismic interpretation, provide a better understanding of internal architecture of the reservoirs units, and, thereby, yield a more-robust reservoir model. The 4D seismic in this field is a key tool for field-development optimization and reservoir management. The last case study illustrates the need for seismic-feasibility studies to detect 4D responses related to production. In addition to assessing the impact of the field environment on the 4D- seismic signal, these studies also help in choosing the optimum seismic-survey type, design, and acquisition parameters. These studies would possibly lead to the adoption of new technologies such as broad-band streamer or nodes acquisition in the near future.

The study of information seeking behavior has over the years attracted the attention of information professionals, resulting in numerous studies conducted with a view to understanding why people seek information, how they seek it, and the problems they encounter. While the information seeking behavior of several professional groups has been studied, an important and influential group of professionals, Muslim clerics (Ulama; sing.--Alim) has been totally neglected. Thus, the main objective of this study was to investigate the information seeking behavior of the Ulama in a developing country. The study investigated such questions as how do the Ulama in Nigeria seek information to perform their preaching and counseling roles? What search strategies do they deploy? Is there a relationship between demographic factors and information seeking patterns? The study used the survey research method. The target population was made up of 973 Ulama dispersed within twenty-seven Local Government Areas of Borno State in Nigeria. A proportional stratified random sampling technique was used to arrive at the sample size of 281. The study used a questionnaire to collect data which was subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. The study found out that the Ulama consult different sources and resources for different roles. For purposes of preaching, the Ulama mostly consult their personal collections to use resources such as the Qur’an, Hadith, and commentaries by other scholars. However, when performing a counseling role, they consult secular resources and informal channels of information such as council of Ulama, colleagues, or friends and relatives. The study also found out that the Ulama deployed different search strategies to identify and locate information when using public and institutional libraries, information and communication technology facilities, or informal channels. The study has also established significant relationships between demographic factors and search strategies adopted. Finally, the study identified the similarities and differences between the information seeking behaviors of the Christian clergy and the Ulama.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the student’s behavior towards information security and test critical factors that are affecting its awareness, which was carried out among the undergraduate students of An-Najah National University, Palestine. Previous studies have shown that end-users present the weakest link in the security chain. The attacks on computer systems are continuously becoming serious problems which raise the interest among researchers. In achieving the goal of this study, surveys of 80 university students' data were collected and analyzed using SPSS to examine the theoretical model. It is hoped that the outcome of this study will contribute in developing a proper understanding of the factors influencing the behavior of university students towards information security behavior. Additionally, it is anticipated that the findings of this study to lead to more awareness programs that can be used to promote privacy and security protection behaviors of information security.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the information seeking behaviour of scholars working at Shaqra University in both Arabic and English languages; to investigate if there are differences in the way scholars seek information while using different languages; to identify challenges while seeking information and to describe the approaches followed by the scholars to seek information. The study deployed a quasi-experimental approach. The sample of the study consisted of 20 participants who are affiliated to Shaqra University. Each participant was asked to solve five tasks, which were designed to capture participants’ information seeking behaviour. Think aloud protocol was also used to gather more data from the participants to enrich the collected data and to fully understand scholars’ behavior. The study found that the participants’ information seeking consists of four main stages: identifying the information needs, selecting the keywords, examining the results and filtering the results. The data revealed that there is no difference between information seeking in Arabic and English languages. However, participants who are from a non-Arabic background were more accustomed to searching information in the English language. There are few studies investigating information seeking behavior of Arabic language speakers. Additionally, fewer studies have tried to explore differences in information seeking behavior while using different languages. The value of the current study lies in being the first study that focuses on investigating information seeking behavior at Shaqra University. Additionally, it is one of a few studies that examine cross-language information seeking practices of Arabic language speakers and the obstacles that face them.

The existing solid waste management principles are increasingly being replaced with discussions on circular economy (CE) principles in contemporary deliberations on solid waste handling. This shift is supported by the global adoption of the concept of sustainable development. The CE offers better prospects to solid waste management and has been implemented successfully in its full theory, practice, and policies in some developed locations of the world. The socio-economic disadvantages, insufficient expert knowledge and a lack of information have hindered its appropriateness and implementation in low and middle-income countries. Hence, the current research study examines the challenges and opportunities of implementing the circularity principle at the industrial sector level of a typical developing economy—Nigeria. Four different industries were selected for this case study—telecommunications, water packaging, pulp and paper and the food industry. These industries represent the major waste streams in an urban solid waste mix (waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), plastic, paper and organic). This study discovered several barriers and existing pre-conditions in place that could either foster or militate against the smooth and successful application of a CE model as a simple modification of the generic model. This study also discussed future directions on the implementation of the model.

ABSTRACTThe paper describes an investigation into the information search activities of senior Japanese executives involved in strategic decision-making in Japanese trading companies. The research task was conducted over a twelve-month period between 2000-2001, at five well-known Japanese kaisha (see Appendix 1 for a list of Japanese expressions used in this paper) headquartered in Tokyo. This paper identifies sources of information that are dev-eloped and used by executive decision-makers in evaluating strategic alternatives. As well modes of access to the identified sources are highlighted and analysed.Results from the study indicate the prominence of distinctive Japanese managerial practices such as nemawashi and settai, in developing information sources. As well it was found that these practices strongly influence how information sources are accessed. Executive decision-makers from the Presidential level to Divisional Manager level who participated in this study were emphatic in their belief that strategic decision-making in most situations is reliant upon the network of information sources cultivated by decision-makers as well as their skill in accessing the various sources.

PurposeSystems educational reform in developing countries through effective principal capacity- building programs is essential for improving student learning, with the purpose of this paper being to use case studies to identify key success factors in the implementation of an instructional leadership program in the developing country of Kiribati.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach involving mixed methods including semi-structured interviews and document analysis was used within three purposively sampled schools to examine implementation success factors relevant to instructional leadership literatureFindingsThe case studies reveal the overall value of the Kiribati instructional leadership program involving school leader workshops and ongoing coaching support, with instructional leadership reflecting directive and collaborative, as well as transformative theoretical aspects. Key implementation success factors within researched schools were leaders undertaking regular observations in classrooms, systematic tracking of student achievement and nurturing a positive culture for learning, as well as establishment of various collaborative processes involving community and teacher peer learning groups.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides in-depth information through teacher and school leader interviews and examining relevant school documentation artefacts. A limitation is that the study involved only three schools and was undertaken less than a year into program implementation. Future research involving more schools and several years after implementation would be beneficial to investigate sustainability across the school system and longer-term program impacts.Practical implicationsThe data provides practical tips for school leaders regarding effective teacher capacity-building approaches, as well as providing information for policy makers, especially in developing countries, about effective professional development programs for school leaders and teachers. 10; 10;Originality/valueThe study examines a system-wide workshop series and coaching approach to school leader and teacher capacity-building in a developing country from a theoretical and practical perspective relevant to instructional leadership and also transformational leadership, which is an under-researched area. 10; 10; 10;

Extant studies in the field of consumer behavior and information technology acceptance have established that adoption of electronic banking is determined by several factors. While several of these studies emanate from developed nations, few are available in developing countries like Nigeria. Aside, most of these studies concentrate on intention to adopt and failed to find out why customers lack trust and do not satisfy with the services render to them. Hence, this study looks into issues of trust and satisfaction of e-banking adoption and their relationship with other determinants as this will help to increase the rate of adoption of e-banking that is generally low in Nigeria.

Traditionally, child rearing in Nigeria closely reflects the “spare the rod and spoil the child” maxim and as such spanking, flogging, slapping, beating and evening starving a child as a form of punishment for wrong doing and as a method of behavior modification are common. These are not necessarily considered as maltreatment or abuse of the child. Despite the adoption and implementation of the Child Rights Act in Nigeria, violence against children seems to be on a steady increase. Stories of sexual molestation, rape, child labour, infliction of physical injuries and use of children for rituals by parents, guardians and other members of the society abound. Violence against children is considered as those acts by other persons especially adults that undermine and threaten the healthy life and existence of children or those that violet their rights as humans. In Nigeria newspapers are a major source of News, second only to radio and television in coverage, currency and content. National dailies are newspapers with daily publications and national spread or coverage. This study analyzed the frequency, length, prominence level, direction and sources of information reported on violence against children in the selected national daily newspapers. It then provided information on the role of the newspapers in Nigeria in the fight against child violence and public awareness of the impact of violence against children on development of the nation and the attempts to curtail such violence. The composite week sampling technique in which the four weeks of the month are reduced to one and a sample is randomly selected from each day of the week was used. As such 168 editions of Daily Sun and Punch newspapers published from January to December of 2016 were selected. Data were collected using code sheet and analyzed via content analysis. The result showed that the frequency of the newspapers’ reportage of violence against children in Nigeria was low. Again, it was found that the length or space given to reports on violence against children was inadequate, the direction of the few reports on violence against children was in favor of the course or fight against child violence and these newspapers gave no prominence to reports on violence against children. Finally, it was found that major source of news about violence against children was through journalism; government and individual sources provided only minimal information. Adeline Nkwam-Uwaoma and Mishack Ndukwu Keywords – children, Newspapers Reportage, Nigeria, Violence Nkwam-Uwaoma is with the Department of Mass Communication , Imo State University, P.M.B. 200 Owerri , Nigeria (corresponding author, phone +2348035414973; email: nkwamuwaomaadline@yahoo.com ) Ndukwu is with Imo State University, P.M.B. 2020 Owerri, Nigeria (email: mishack.cj@gmail.com ).

Background: Online pharmacies benefit consumer healthcare experience through affording convenience, efficiency, greater confidentiality, and improved access to medicines. There are several online pharmacies in Nigeria, however, studies about their use as well as consumer and pharmacists’ perceptions of the service are lacking. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate community pharmacists’ and consumer perceptions of online pharmacy services (OPS) in Uyo metropolis, Nigeria. Method: This was a cross-sectional survey involving community pharmacists and consumers. The survey instrument was a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Survey data was analysed descriptively using frequencies and percentages while X2 was used to evaluate association between variables. Results: In total, 60 community pharmacists and 500 consumers replied to the survey. Although the majority (>85%) of the survey respondents reported frequent internet use, only about a third (28%) of the consumers and 57% of the pharmacists were aware of the availability of online pharmacy services in Nigeria. In general, majority of the consumers were positive about using online pharmacies with approximately two thirds (67%) indicating that they would consider purchasing medicines from the service in future. Also, 83% of the consumers indicated that access to online drug information and medicine advice via the service will be valuable. There was a significant (P<0.05) association between consumers’ online shopping behaviour and their likelihood to use the service. Also, majority (92%) of the community pharmacists in this survey agreed that online pharmacies promote pharmaceutical care and this perceived need was associated with their likelihood to provide the service in future (p=0.002). Consumer concerns about the service included the risk of substandard and counterfeit medicines, internet security, unavailability of prescribed brands, chances of ordering wrong medicines and uncertainty about timely delivery. Conclusion: Overall awareness of the availability of online pharmacy services in Nigeria is limited in the survey population despite reported frequent internet use in this cohort. Generally, our findings suggest the potential for future uptake of online pharmacy services and highlight the need for a standardised approach to service provision as well as a regulatory framework to improve consumer confidence and alleviate the concerns raised. Article Type: Original Research

Despite the high level of awareness of sustainable practices around the globe, and literatures on its adoption in businesses, studies showed very few studies are conducted in less advanced countries like Nigeria. Given the rising consumption of resources, apprehension for the environs and sudden realization among people for practices that are friendlier, the trend is gradually picking up in the Nigerian hotel industry. The hotel is facing challenges accepting green practices due to little information on green practice and its perceived benefits, government inability to enforce regulations on environmental sanitation, and absence of enlightenment promotion of green practice. This study strives to determine factors likely to motivate hotels to adopt innovative ways of operating in Nigeria. Based on Rogers’ theory of innovation diffusion, this study decided to establish perceived innovation characteristics, perceived environmental characteristics, organizational characteristics and stakeholders’ influence as determinants for likely adoption. Data was collected from General Managers of hotels (363 in number) in Abuja and Lagos. Using Partial Least Squares (PLS) path modelling, the findings indicate all perceived predictors positively correlated to likelihood of adoption.

Purpose Islamic banking is an emerging product in Nigeria; it has evolved as a new reality in the Nigerian financial scene since 2011. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for the study of Islamic banking adoption behavior among bank customers in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach This study is a literature and theoretical review of past studies to develop a comprehensive framework for the study of Islamic banking adoption behavior in Nigeria. Findings In this conceptual study, the researcher identified 12 independent variables, namely, relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, trialability, uncertainty, promotional efforts, awareness, customer involvement, perceived information quality, profit/loss sharing and religiosity, as suitable variables for the study of Islamic bank adoption in Nigeria. Practical implications As Islamic banking is an innovative and unique product, which differs from conventional banking, it is hopeful that upon validating the framework, it will provide useful insight on the adoption behavior of Islamic bank customers in Nigeria. Social implications This study will be useful to Islamic banks in gaining and maintaining their existing customer, and policymakers, regulators and other relevant stakeholders will be able to strategize in accordance with their respective assignments toward the development and growth of the Nigerian financial industry. Originality/Value Most previous studies concentrated on product attributes of innovation adoption. But, this current study inculcated the consumers’ attitude and perception toward adoption of Islamic banking. Thus, the authors then propose several factors that can influence adoption of Islamic banking in Nigeria.

Purpose The paper aims to introduce the reciprocal expectations (RE) approach to co-leadership and outlines the complex environments within which public services operate. Design/methodology/approach A case study of two government departments is undertaken to apply the RE approach within a public services context. Findings The application of the RE approach to co-leadership resulted in the mending of broken relationships, thereby providing the basis for stable, effective government, and restoring Ministerial confidence in the government departments. Practical implications Strong and effective co-leadership can be achieved when attributes of trust, honesty, and clear expectations are facilitated and mutually adopted. Originality/value The organizational context of elected and professional leaders in government is complex, unique, and requires special attention. The RE approach is original, and the case studies contribute to the knowledge of co-leadership and the benefits of the RE approach to good governance practice.

The study investigated the Information and Communication Technology and learning of English phonetics in selected senior secondary schools in Rivers State. The study employed a descriptive survey design. A sample of ten (10) senior secondary schools was selected from Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. 15 students were randomly selected from the 10 schools which came to a total of (150) students based on the objectives of the study five research questions were formulated four hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The data collected was analyzed using simple descriptive methods of mean and standard deviation (SD) to answer the five research questions. Chi-Square(x2) and t-test were used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the research revealed that there are low availabilities of ICT in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. The study also revealed that teachers of oral English rarely possess the skills to use the ICT facilities to teach oral English in the public and private secondary schools in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. The urban areas are more exposed to the use of ICT than their mates in the rural area. Students in the rural area and their mates in the urban area have similar problems in the leaning of phonetics. Based on the results it was recommended that the use of ICT to teach oral English should be encouraged in senior secondary schools. The recommendations, suggestions for further studies and contribution to knowledge were made.

Abstract Although, studies have shown several cases of kidnapping in both developed and developing countries but the case of a developing country like Nigeria is seems to be pathetic and worrisome, largely because of its contributions to the ancient slave trade that greatly affected several Nigerians for many centuries in the past. With such awful experiences in the past and its contribution to backwardness of the human race, one would have thought that cases of kidnapping would never occur in Nigeria, but the reverse has been the case in the contemporary. Hence, several studies have emerged on the subject of kidnapping in recent times. However, it could be observed that these studies are strongly connected with rituals power, wealth and traditional purposes. While the nature of the Nigerian society which is characterised by injustice and its contributions to the menace of kidnapping has been hitherto neglected in academic literature. The present study intends to address this flaw in knowledge by addressing the three research questions raised. Being a review paper, the study engaged secondary data in collecting relevant information to analyse and illustrate questions raised. The study argues that if the current high level of injustice in Nigeria could be reduced, there may be a corresponding reduction in the cases of kidnapping.

Conservation of heritage buildings has become a very important issue in many countries, as it is in Italy, where a great number of existing buildings of historical–artistic importance are seismically vulnerable. To improve existing building behavior, researchers focus on the design of retrofit interventions. This paper presents the application of energy dissipation devices in the retrofit of two existing Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings, both irregular in plan and along their heights, designed for gravitational loads only. These buildings are representative of Italian public housing built in the 1960s and early 1970s. Technical information and mechanical properties of materials are presented, and non-linear analyses are carried out to evaluate the buildings’ behavior under earthquake loads. Many of their structural members do not satisfy the verifications required by the Italian Building Code. Retrofit interventions with buckling-restrained axial dampers in one building and viscous fluid dampers in the other are proposed. The verifications of the retrofitted buildings and the amount of the energy absorbed by the devices with respect to that absorbed by the unretrofitted buildings show the effectiveness of the proposed interventions. Moreover, it is demonstrated that adequate dispositions of the dissipative devices in plan and along the height increase the torsional stiffness of the buildings, improving their structural response under seismic action.

The coronavirus pandemic may have harmful effects on use of family planning services. Lockdown regulations make it more difficult for people to visit health providers to obtain information about family planning, to discuss side-effects or problems they are experiencing with their current method, and go out to obtain new family planning supplies (e.g., to renew their contraceptive injection). The inability to earn income during the lockdown may also make family planning products and services unaffordable. As a result, efforts to curb the pandemic may cause unintended interruptions in contraceptive use and may prevent non-users from adopting a contraceptive method. Given these rapidly changing circumstances, it is important that family planning implementers make program adjustments without delay. When a timely programmatic response is of the essence, program implementers need simple behavior change models that can be used to inform programmatic decisions. This paper presents a case study of how DKT/Nigeria applied a behavior change model from persuasive design - the Fogg Behavior Model – to make timely adjustments to their contraceptive social marketing program during the course of the COVID-19 lockdown. Other public health programs, including programs that target health areas other than family planning, may be able to use similar approaches to guide the design of timely and responsive program adjustments.

The contemporary world is characterized, among other factors, by the influence of the new computer information systems on the behavior of individuals. However, traditional information systems still have interaction problems with users. The aim of this study was to determine whether the interaction aspects between user versus traditional information systems (particularly the graphics) have been fully studied. To do so, the ergonomic aspects and usability of such systems were reviewed, with emphasis on the problems of visibility, legibility and readability. From that criteria, the evolution of ergonomic studies of information systems was reviewed (bibliometrics technique); and examples of ergonomic and usability problems in packaging were demonstrated (case study). The results confirm that traditional information systems still have problems of interaction between human X system, hindering the effective perception of information.

Effective control efforts on Lymphatic filariasis (LF) are hindered by paucity of reliable data on spatial distribution of the disease. Aim: This study was aimed at mapping and describing the transmission pattern of lymphatic filariasis in order to identify high risk zones of infection in Cross River State (CRS), to guide intervention programmes. Method: An 8-year case record (2006-2013) of Lymphatic filariasis in the 18 local government areas (LGAs) of CRS was mapped using geographical information system, (GIS); employing the graduated colour map with natural break classification method. Thematic (LF incidence) maps generated in ArcView 3.1 were overlaid on vegetation and natural drainage maps of the state. Data on seasonal incidence were mapped through aggregation of attribute data (LF cases) by months. Data analysis was through thematic mapping and descriptive statistics. Results: Thematic maps displayed spatial variation in the distribution of LF in the state; showing Ogoja LGA with highest incidence (61.25%) of the 800 reported cases; Ikom, the lowest; 1(0.125%) and zero case in 7 LGAs. There were no visually remarkable patterns to suggest strong influence of vegetation and natural drainage on transmission. Greater proportion (82.12%) of cases was recorded in the dry season. Conclusion: The study has produced prevalence map of LF in the state, which could guide intervention programmes; and has also revealed paucity of data at the disposal of healthcare authorities, a situation that could hinder large scale intervention. Findings identify poor health-seeking behavior of the population and poor disease surveillance strategies in the state. Community health education, strengthening of public health apparatus and interventions through mass drug administration and integrated vector control, are recommended.

Odontella is a planktonic centric diatom widely distributed in saline waters. Although some studies on marine phytoplankton in Nigeria mention the genus, there is a considerable dearth of information on its distribution in the Atlantic Ocean (Nigeria). This paper examined the density, diversity, spatial and temporal distribution of Odontella species in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Bight of Benin and Bight of Bonny (Nigeria). Phytoplankton samples were collected from 10 locations on the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean (Nigeria), in four seasons (dry-wet, wet, wet-dry and dry). Results revealed that eight species of Odontella, namely O. aurita, O. granulata, O. longicruris, O. mobilensis, O. obtusa, O. regia, O. rhombus and O. sinensis occurred in the Atlantic Ocean (Nigeria). The eight Odontella species showed differential distributional pattern, both spatially and temporally. Akwa Ibom location had the highest Odontella abundance in the South-South region while Ondo was highest in the South-West region. Higher Odontella abundance was recorded in the transition seasons (dry-wet and wet-dry seasons) than in the typically wet and dry seasons. The species O. regia was dominant and widely distributed in the South-West region, while O. aurita was dominant in the South-South region. Relatively, the density of O. longicruris was low throughout the Atlantic Ocean (Nigeria) and at all seasons. O. regia and O. sinensis were the most widely distributed species in the Atlantic Ocean (Nigeria) and occurred all through the seasons studied while O. obtusa occurred sparingly throughout all the seasons.

An interdisciplinary approach explores how journalists embrace the unexpected as part of their reporting routines using Erdelez’s framework of information encountering from the study of human information behavior and the concepts of news routines and story ideation from journalism studies. This paper provides a fresh perspective on the sociology of news in finding that the participating journalists embraced the unexpected by routinizing encountering of story leads and opening themselves to the opportunities they provide.

Background: Emergency contraception refers to methods of contraception that can be used to prevent pregnancy after sexual intercourse. About thirty percent of all pregnancies, and 61% of all unintended pregnancies, ended in an induced abortion in Nigeria, and many women with unwanted pregnancies decide to end them by abortion. Healthcare providers' knowledge and attitude towards emergency contraception is very important for dissemination of awareness, consumer acceptance and use of contraceptives, as health care workers interact with large numbers of women and are reliable sources of information. This study aimed to assess healthcare workers' emergency contraception knowledge, attitude and prescription practice. Materials and Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study. Healthcare workers providing services in Primary Health care facilities of Sokoto metropolis were studied. Using formula for sample size estimation for crosssectional study, a total of 419 respondents were recruited into the study using systematic sampling technique. The instrument of data collection was a structured interviewer administered questionnaire and data was collected by means of Open Data Kit for android App and analysed using IBM SPSS statistical software package version 23. Univariate and bivariate analysis were conducted; level of significance was set at 5%. Results: Few (39.9%) respondents knew that Intra uterine contraceptive devices can be used for emergency contraception, only 15.4% knew how emergency contraceptives work. Most (75.4%) believed that emergency contraceptives should be available only on prescription; and 30.5% felt that emergency contraceptive pills promote irresponsible behaviour. More than half of the respondents (56.5%) had prescribed within the last one month, 48.7% of them prescribed less than 5 times within the month. Only 27(8.0%) have ever prescribed emergency contraceptive pills in advance of need. Conclusion: The study respondents had good knowledge of emergency contraceptives, albeit, with some misconceptions, they also demonstrated good attitude, however, the prescription practice was fair.

There are both macro- and micro-level studies concerning enterprise mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Past studies have focused on M&A valuation, utility of the M&A motives and the strategic behavior during of the M&A process. Few game theory methods in the application of M&A stay mostly in the analysis of Nash equilibrium under the complete information static game. This paper thus aims to analyze the M&A behavior of enterprises within the framework of incomplete information dynamic game, combined with sub-game perfect Nash equilibrium of complete information dynamic game and Bayesian Nash equilibrium of incomplete information.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the use of electronic information resources and facilities among Engineering Scholars in Private Universities in Nigeria using Bells University of Technology, Ota, Nigeria as a Case Study. Scientific investigation involves careful and proper adoption of research design, use of standardized tools and texts in identifying adequate sample techniques for data analysis. In this survey a questionnaire was adapted, tested and employed to collect primary data of academics from Mechanical, Mechatronics, Biomedical, Telecommunications, Electrical-electronics and Computer engineering Departments of Bells University of Technology, Ota Ogun State, Nigeria. In all, a total of forty-two faculty members, associate and research staff participated from the college of Engineering. The questionnaires were distributed among forty-two faculty members from the six departments of the college of engineering, out of which 40 were returned and found to be valid, making a response rate 95.23%. Among the 40 respondents, 2 faculties do not use electronic information resources. Thus, response rate is reduced to 38 (95.00%). In addition individual interview and observation methods were also used to collect the required information. The results correspond with previous studies conducted in other countries. The Engineers still stick to the printed information sources, but they pay good attention to electronic resources. Most of them have access to computer and internet at the office and home. They are regular users of a variety of electronic technologies. Although faced with some challenges. Thus, the applied scientists perceive that modern technology made their work easier. The study focused only on the engineering faculty in the first private university of technology in Nigeria. The survey could be replicated among other faculties such as humanities and or in other private universities in Nigeria and on a larger sample for generalization. Keeping in view the positive trend of engineering towards modern technology, universities and libraries should be adequately funded to provide electronic resources and facilities in the science and applied science discipline. Special training programmes for engineering scholars should also be organized. This is the first study on this topic in a private university of technology in Nigeria. The results can also be used to design services and facilities in academic libraries and information centers in private universities and universities of technology in Nigeria and in other developing countries.

e18198 Background: Clinical trials has continued to sharpen the treatment guidelines in managing breast cancer in the United States. The trends in breast cancer management in developed countries and the shifts in treatment paradigms have impacted on breast cancer diagnosis from an incurable entity in the early 1900s’ to the situation today where most women are diagnosed in early stage and cured while advanced staged women are living with the disease for several years. Clinical research in breast cancer is in its infancy stage in Nigeria. There is an urgent need for more clinical trials in Nigeria geared towards developing treatment algorithms in a bid to increase survival in Breast cancer patients. Methods: A systematic review of all research published on breast cancer since 1963 till 2017 in Nigeria .We reviewed all articles found on PubMed and Google scholar search engines by searching “ Breast cancer in Nigeria”. Using the PRISMA and NIH guidelines, we reviewed classified them based on their study designs into different levels of evidence. Information extracted from studies include, year of publications, study designs and level of evidence. Studies selected were group into seven levels of evidence .Meta-analysis was not considered in the review due to vary study designs and difficulty n pooling then together. Results: Out of 430 published articles cited relating to Breast cancer, only 282 articles where eligible for the systematic review. 56.4%(159) of studies done on breast were cross sectional studies, followed by case – control studies 11.7% (33), then case reports & series 10.4%(29) ,2.8%(8) , only 1.1% (3)of studies cited were clinical trials registered on Clinical Trials.gov on breast cancer treatment. On Levels of Evidence, Level 6 accounted for 54.9 %( 155) followed by Level 7, 18.1 %( 51), level 1, 2, 3 were 0%, 1.1%, 8.9%.Conclusions: A vast majority of research done on Breast Cancer done in the Country are still at the Levels 4, 6 and 7 of Evidence. Clinical trials in Breast cancer treatment are rare in Nigeria, they however provide Level 1, 2 or 3 evidence which helps to develop treatment protocols for Breast cancer Treatment in Nigeria. , it is pertinent to develop more clinical trials so as to improve quality of care and life in breast cancer patients.

This special joint session with shared interest from multiple technical groups (Forensics Professional Group, Product Design Technical Group, Safety Technical Group, and Surface Transportation Technical Group) provides audience members with an opportunity to conduct a forensic analysis of two cases involving human factors issues. The audience will form four groups in order to conduct their analysis of the behavior and actions of either the plaintiff or the defendant(s) involved in their assigned case. Participants in this session will be provided with information about the case they are analyzing, including descriptions of the circumstances surrounding the case and other factual information required to conduct a forensic analysis. One case will involve a collision between a commercial vehicle and a pedestrian, while the other will relate to the alleged failure of an air regulator utilized in diving. The teams will be asked to develop outlines of expert opinions relying on their knowledge, experience, and familiarity with applicable research. At the conclusion of the teams’ discussions, each team will briefly present the opinions reached by the team. To conclude the session, the audience will have the opportunity to discuss both cases and the value of human factors professionals in litigation. This session will emphasize the broad application of human factors and that forensic human factors work is accessible to a variety of practitioners.

Opening ParagraphIn studies of change in indigenous political organisations under the impact of colonial administration, the precolonial situation in Africa is often depicted as essentially static. Anthropologists tend to project a relatively ‘uninfluenced’ state of affairs from the early colonial period into the past. Change seems to occur under European influence. This picture is the result less of the conviction of the authors that conditions were static than of a lack of information on precolonial development. This is especially true for ‘acephalous’ societies; centralised societies often possess detailed traditions concerning their institutional history. In the following case, of the political development of a village in the Nigerian Middle Belt, it has been possible to record precolonial changes of organisation in an acephalous society.

PurposeThis study investigated the impact of conspiracy beliefs on fear of Covid-19 and health protective behavior of university students in Pakistan.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey using an online questionnaire was conducted at three universities in Punjab (e.g. two public sectors and one private sector) with permission from concerned authorities for data collection. A total of 374 responses were received that were analyzed by applying both descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsThe results indicated the prevalence of conspiracy beliefs and fear of Covid-19 among university students of two public sector universities and one private sector university. Furthermore, the conspiracy beliefs of university students predicted their fear of Covid-19. However, conspiracy beliefs did not predict the health protective behavior of university students.Research limitations/implicationsThese results had serious implications for public health in Pakistan demonstrating the critical need for health education and promotion as individual preparedness along with system preparedness is essential to combat Covid-19 pandemic and infodemic. These results are useful for policymakers, healthcare professionals, university administration and library staff for making evidence-based decisions toward health education and promotion related to the Covid-19 pandemic.Originality/valueIt is hoped that the present study would make an invaluable contribution to existing research on promotional health in general and the role of conspiracy beliefs in putting public health at risk in particular as limited studies have been published so far.

The study examines adoption level of improved goat production practices by women farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria using Ikenne and Ijebu-Ode zones of the Ogun State Agricultural Development Project (OGADEP) as case studies. A total of 150 respondents were selected for the study using multi-stage random sampling technique. Information was obtained from the women through structured interview schedule. Data were analyzed with the use of frequency counts and percentages while correlation coefficient (r) was used to test the stated hypothesis. Results of data analysis revealed that most of the women were still in active ages of between 40 and 59 years (62%) with 91% of them married and majority (71%) educated. While 6 percent of the women did not adopt improved practices, 40.67% showed low adoption; 33.33% - moderate adoption level and 20% demonstrated high adoption level. Result of hypothesis testing indicated significant relationship between level of adoption and marital status (r = 10.21) and cosmopoliteness(r = 0.30) at 0.05 level of significance and critical level of 0.19.

This article evaluates and illustrates the application of the recent-traumatic episode protocol (R-TEP) with three diverse clients: a child with chronic illness, a woman with a significant loss, and an adolescent who self-harmed. The R-TEP is an adaptation of the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) protocol for early EMDR intervention. Sessions are presented in detail to highlight the shifts in information processing that occur during treatment. Observed markers used to analyze the flow of processing are identified, which include distancing from the trauma; reduction in negative affect or change in reported emotions; accessing more adaptive information; changes in the Subjective Units of Disturbance scale; and the Validity of Cognition scale and Impact of Event Scale—Revised indicating shifts in perception of the traumatic memory. Pre-post R-TEP treatment gains were noted for all clients, with changes in behavior and functioning. Theoretical underpinnings of the R-TEP are discussed with respect to the reported observations. The specific contribution of the protocol is highlighted, considering its procedural components and related plausible mechanisms of change.

Abstract This study examines how Charismatic churches in southwestern Nigeria are attempting to construct new social identities through their doctrines on marriage and sexual practices specifically constructed to set them apart from other social groups. I argue that these perspectives on sexuality revolve around narratives of the body, sexual desire, and conjugal sexual pleasure within monogamous marriages. The strong rejection of polygyny and other sexual discourses are linked to the global exchange of ideas. I make the case that an important device for developing these identities is emotion training and a vision for both public and private behavior. This study is a textual analysis of written and audio material that lays bare their theories and practices. The data reveal a focus on shaping sexual desire and building conjugal love, trust, and respect, but the training also molds other emotions such as fear, guilt, and shame.

Abstract Information and knowledge are the foremost tools in fighting the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Previous studies have focused more on HIV/AIDS and Nigerian undergraduates’ attitudes, beliefs and protective practices than how information factors influence their knowledge of the pandemic. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of access to HIV/AIDS information on its knowledge among undergraduates of federal universities in Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design, with a combination of the purposive, proportionate and stratified random sampling technique used to select 1,679 undergraduates from five universities across five geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Questionnaire was the instrument used for collecting data, which were analyzed using Pearson’s product moment correlation and multiple regression. The most accessible sources of HIV/AIDS information among undergraduates were television (94.5 %), radio (93.0 %) and the Internet/ICT centers (90.5 %). The types of HIV/AIDS information frequently assessed were information on how to refuse sex (Mean=3.15), how to be faithful to one partner (Mean=3.12), sharing of sharp objects (Mean=3.12), blood transfusion (Mean=3.11), unprotected sexual intercourse (Mean=3.10) and how to use condoms correctly (Mean=3.09). Access to HIV/AIDS information (r=0.15) resulted in positive significant relationships with HIV/AIDS knowledge, thus access to HIV/AIDS information has a positive influence on the promotion of knowledge of HIV/AIDS among undergraduates. The level of study was also a predictor of HIV/AIDS knowledge, which was not the case for factors of age, discipline, gender, marital status, tribe and religion. The AIDS service organizations and program developers should come up with strategies that would strengthen and improve the content, accuracy and ease of understanding of HIV/AIDS information that students have access to in order to facilitate its use.

Fitness trackers have broadened the healthcare ecosystem and made self-tracking everyday physical activities possible. Features like heart rate monitoring can help detect health ailments, yet there is little evidence that suggests tracking health indicators and physical activities leads to long-term health behavior change. This proceeding analyzes areas of Human Factors that could be used to increase long-term user engagement. Feedback, information display, and specific design principles and case studies are discussed.

Researchers globally conducted several studies on electrical safety awareness and practices for improving occupational safety and health of workers. However, most of these studies were limited to industry workers, with few focusing on academic workshops/laboratories, and almost none in the case of Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. This study therefore, aims to assess the extent of electrical safety practices among staff and students of electrical engineering department, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. The authors used descriptive research design in which 50-item structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 42 staff and 99 students of electrical engineering department, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. The results show that staff and students do not strictly observe electrical safety practices in the workshops/laboratories. The results also revealed the common causes of electrical accidents in the workshops/laboratories; nature of frequent electrical accidents; and measures to reduce electrical accidents and promote students’ compliance to electrical safety rules and regulations. The researchers limit this study to only department of electrical engineering in the faculty of engineering. Also, only quantitative data was collected from the respondents, without giving consideration to the in-depth information qualitative data (such as interview) would have provide. As such, conclusions derived using quantitative approach from the respondents relies on the genuineness of the information provided by them. The findings provide the faculty of engineering with a basis to introduce ‘Electrical Safety Awareness and Practices’ course into the curriculum.

AbstractStomach flushing is one of the proposed techniques to study lizard diets. Apparently, it is ranged, together with direct observation and faecal analysis, as a non-harmful method for dietary studies. Some works explored the usefullness of stomach flushing, but we lack information about its effect on lizard's survival probabilities. In this paper we studied the effect of stomach flushing in an urban population of the rainbow lizard (Agama agama) from Calabar (Nigeria). During a period of five months of 2010, 147 lizards were noosed, sexed and individually marked. One group of lizards was stomach flushed only once, whereas the rest of lizards were not flushed. The flushed sample of lizards showed a lower survival than non-flushed lizards of all sex and age classes. In this study, the pictured diet from stomach flushing was very similar to results obtained with a faecal analysis of the same lizard population. Thus, both methods seem to be reliable to study the diet of the rainbow lizard. However, our results indicate that stomach flushing increases the probability of mortality (or at least emigration rates) in all age and sex classes, precluding its extensive use as a method to study lizard's diets.

Reciprocity has long been regarded as a potential explanatory mechanism for the maintenance of cooperation. However, a possible problematic case relevant to the theory of reciprocity evolution arises when the information about an opponent’s behavior is imperfect. Although it has been confirmed that imperfect information disturbs the evolution of reciprocity, this argument is based on the assumption that those who attempt to cooperate always succeed in doing so. In reality, mistakes can occur, and previous studies have demonstrated that this can sway the evolution of reciprocity. In this study, removing the assumption that mistakes do not occur, we examine whether imperfect information disturbs the evolution of reciprocity in the iterated prisoner’s dilemma game with errors in behavior. It might be expected that when mistakes occur, reciprocity can evolve more in the case of imperfect information than in the case of perfect information. This is because in the former case, reciprocators can miss defections incurred by other reciprocators’ mistakes owing to imperfect information, which allows cooperation to persist. Contrary to this expectation, however, our analysis reveals that imperfect information still disturbs the evolution of reciprocity when mistakes occur. Additionally, we have determined that the condition under which reciprocity evolves remains unaffected, whatever reciprocators subsequently do when the opponent's last behavior was missed.