The Cryptic Communication Function of Anagrams in Specific Literary Contexts

The concept of anagrams as a form of cryptic communication has not gained much currency of usage in our contemporary world, particularly in the global South. Apart from its usage as a pastime in leisure and entertainment activities in games and puzzles, its usage has not transcended these pedantic forms and formats into more professional communicative utilities. This study is interested in investigating the communicative forms and formats inherent in the use of anagrams, especially in cryptic communication. It also hopes to emphasise the historical use of such cryptic systems as anagrams, secret codes, and underground symbolic and literary forms of communication, deliberate misinformation, disinformation and propaganda in our contemporary world. The study is nestled within the “Diffusion of Innovations theory” of mass media, which traces how people adopt a new idea or practice based on the available information. The study avers that much utility is inherent in the adoption of a cryptic communication system that can be derived from anagrams and other forms and systems of discreet, secret or crypto-communication, both for deific, ritualistic, medical, psycho-therapeutic, civilian and militaristic uses.   

The Enigmatic Literary Gradations of News as Mass Media Staple/Consumables

News is the enigmatic representation of factual and sometimes concocted daily events. But the presentation of news as a mass media staple goes beyond the mere portrayal of events as they occur. The journalistic output is mostly defined by gatekeepers and entrepreneurs of media outfits. This study adopts a dispassionate look at news as a mass media literary staple and the contributing factors in news portrayals. It discovered that apart from the heuristic perception of news, there is a conundrum behind news-fare and this conundrum is inherent in the internal factor of the mass media stable’s setup itself (house-style and literary ideology), qualifying factors such as media ownership (entrepreneurship), media system (environment) and external factors such as audience/readership as well as individual’s literary perception of the importance of media fare, and the utility of the news-fare itself. The study proffers a mitigation of these influences on the mass media portrayals in order to resolve the conundrum that media fare has become, and to prevent its perception as media farce. News items should not be reduced to a conundrum due to contrived gatekeeper choices in mass media portrayals. This would play a mitigating role in moderating the resulting perception of news as a ruse or as a mere shibboleth that should be endured for its nuisance value

Maternal choices of delivery sites among recently delivered women in Liberia, 2017

Introduction: To reduce maternal mortality, many countries encourage women to deliver in health facilities, where complications can be handled more effectively. In Liberia, attempted home deliveries accounted for about 10% of maternal deaths in 2016/2017. It is therefore necessary to identify the factors influencing maternal choice of delivery site in Liberia. This study seeks to determine the preferred choice of delivery site and factors associated with the choice in Liberia. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to study 630 women of reproductive age who had given birth less than one year before the survey. A two-stage cluster sampling method using a modified WHO 30 by 7 approach was used to select 30 communities (clusters) and 21 women within each cluster as respondents. A pre-tested interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used. Results: The mean age of study participants was 26 ± 6.8 years, with 84% between 18 and 35 years. The median number of births per woman was 5 (1 - 12). The proportion of mothers who preferred health facility over home delivery as their original choice of delivery site was 86%, four times greater than those who preferred home over health-facility delivery (22%), (POR= 3.8, 95% CI: 1.6 – 9.1). Mothers who attended < 4 antenatal visits were 30% less likely to originally choose health facilities as their preferred delivery site compared to those who had 4 or more antenatal visits (60% vs 86%) (POR= 0.7, 95% CI: 0.5 – 0.9). Women living in communities where the leaders had instituted sanctions against women who deliver at home were 10% more likely to choose health facility delivery, compared to those whose communities had no sanctions (POR= 1.1, 95% CI: 1.0 – 1.2). Conclusion: Health-facility deliveries are preferred to home deliveries. County Health Teams should sensitize the community on the benefits of delivering at the health facility and increase community involvement (local authorities)

The Translator’s Faithfulness: A Case of the English Version of Sembene Ousmane’s Money Order

Translation plays a prominent role in the teaching and learning of foreign languages as well as literature. This discipline which could be said to be as old as man himself has always subjected man’s brain to a rigorous linguistics exercise that brings to fore the complex nature of language. It is, therefore, easy to assert that the process of rendering the message of a language into another requires a great deal of intellectual creativity. This study highlights the constraints and the diverse mechanisms the translator has to consider in order to convey the message without mutilating the meaning intended to the target public. The translator is either a faithful one or a betrayer. It is always believed that translating is falsehood. In the case of Le Mandat of Sembène Ousmane, translated to Money Order, some of these constraints and problems a translator faces are exemplified

Occurrence, Species, and Organ Differences in Bioaccumulation Patterns of Phthalate Esters in Municipal Domestic Water Supply Lakes in Ibadan, Nigeria

<div><p>The occurrence of phthalate esters (PE) was examined in biota, ambient water, and sediments of two man-made lakes (Asejire and Eleyele) in southwestern Nigeria. Five fish species (<i>Tilapia zillii, Hepsetus odoe, Parachanna obscura, Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus</i>, and <i>Mormyrus rume</i>) were analyzed for PE levels and used for calculating bioconcentration factors (BCF) and biota–sediment accumulation factors (BSAF). In addition, measured PE levels were thereafter used to calculate the phthalate pollution index (PPI) in biota and the environment. At both lakes, all sampled species had k-factor > 1, showing apparently normal growth and health condition. Higher PE levels were found in sediments compared with water at both lakes, with a pattern showing that di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was predominant PE. While there were no unique patterns of PE concentrations in both lakes, differences were observed in organ concentration patterns that were evident at both lakes. For <i>T. zillii</i>, the BSAF was higher for dibutyl phthalate (DBP) compared to diethyl phthalate (DEP) and lowest for DEHP. The concentration pattern demonstrated that DBP concentrated more in gills (BCF: 6.7), while DEHP concentrated more in liver (BCF: 15.2) of <i>T. zillii</i> at Asejire. At Eleyele, <i>T. zillii</i> liver and gills concentrated less DEP and DEHP. The PPI value was significantly higher in sediment with respective values of 0.27 and 0.44 at Asejire and Eleyele lakes compared with water with respective values of 0.1 and 0.18 at Asejire and Eleyele lakes. Overall, our findings suggest a broader environmental and human health implication of high PE levels in these lakes, since they provide vast water volumes that are used for municipal domestic water supply. Further, these lakes support intense artisanal fisheries, representing significant sources of aquatic food resources for neighboring communities. </p></div