Measuring Press Freedom in a Democratic Society: A Content Analysis of Nigerian Newspapers

The present plurality of ideas in the cornucopia of communicative space throughout Nigeria does not make Nigeria a free and open society. As such, the country’s journalism practice is characterized by intimidation by the state actors. However, anchored on development media theory, this study therefore, investigated the extent of press freedom from the relationship between Nigerian press and President Muhammadu Buhari’s first democratic dispensation. Using quantitative content analysis, individual news story of 2016 fuel scarcity and Naira Devaluation and Dollar appreciation reported in the Nigerian newspapers was used as unit of analysis while systematic sampling was used in selecting the sample. Findings revealed however, away from the partisan relations between Nigerian press and the government, the relationship between the press and the present democratic government is critical with a very little attention to journalists’ repression. Further findings revealed that the press is noticeably free since it repeatedly covered 57.6% and 74.1% of stories considered critical to the government by giving such stories prominence on the front pages of the country’s popular newspapers. The implication of this is that professionalism and objectivity can hypothetically be guaranteed in the coverage of issues that borders on public affairs in any liberal African democracy

Factors affecting entrepreneurship development among the food marketers in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria

The study assessed the factors affecting entrepreneurship development among Food Marketers in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria. One hundred and ten respondents were randomly selected in four markets in Ilorin. The data was analyzed using frequency count, percentage, mean and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The result reveals that mean age of the respondents was 30.5 years and about 58.2% were female. Record keeping skills (mean score =2.42) was the highest ranked entrepreneurial information needs of the respondents while lack of start-up capital (mean score =2.40) was the most severe factor affecting entrepreneurial activities of food marketers. There is a weak positive significant relationship between the entrepreneurial information needs and factors affecting entrepreneurial development of the respondents (r=0.407, p=0.0001). The study recommends that there should be provision of training on entrepreneurial skills based on the identified areas of needs and there should be provision of credit facilities to the food marketers as these will enhance their productivity. Keywords: Entrepreneurial Development, Factors, Information Needs, Food Marketers, Ilorin Metropoli

Entrepreneurial information needs of Agricultural Students of Tertiary Institutions in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria

The study assessed the entrepreneurial information needs of Agricultural students in tertiary institutions in Ilorin metropolis. One hundred and  twenty-three respondents were randomly selected among the final year students of Agriculture in University of Ilorin and Kwara State Polytechnic  Ilorin. The data was analyzed using Frequency count, Percentage, Mean and Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The result reveals that majority (91.1%) of the respondents were willing to go into entrepreneurial activities after graduation from the tertiary institution. The highest  ranked entrepreneurial information need was decision making skills ( = 2.79). Lack of start-up capital was the most severe factor affecting  entrepreneurial activities ( = 2.79). The result reveals that there was a significant relationship between the income (r=-0.356, p=0.0001), factors affecting entrepreneurial activities (r=0.509, p=0.0001) and entrepreneurial information needs of the respondents. The study recommends that there should be creation of more awareness on entrepreneurial opportunities to Agricultural Students of tertiary institutions. Key words: Entrepreneurial activities, Information Needs, Agricultural Students, Tertiary Institutio

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management Procurement Functions: A Case of a Nigerian University

Information Technologys (IT) role in Human Resource Management (HRM) has attracted minimal interest and attention in the academia industry. The few empirical studies available did not examine the effect of IT on HRM on a comparative basis. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the nexus between IT and HRM procurement process in Nigerian Universities (education sector) with reference to the University of Ilorin. Other objectives are to:(i) examine the extent to which IT influences the HR procurement functions (ii) determine the nature of relationship that exist between/among IT tools and HR procurement functions. Questionnaire was served to the entire 50 members of the staff of the University HR department being census approach. Two hypotheses stated were tested using regression and correlation analysis. The findings revealed that IT has a significant effect on HR procurement functions and that IT tools and HR procurement functions are correlated. The study concludes that IT impacts strongly on HR Procurement activities. This study recommends that the management of Nigerian higher Institutions, inclusive of University of Ilorin, should consistently upgrade their HRIT software to cover a significant number of HR activities in line with the best HR practice as its long-term benefits exceed the pains of its initial cost

Small Ruminant Farmers' Perception of Climate Change in Moro Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria

This study examined the small ruminant farmers’ perception of climate change in Moro Local Government Area (LGA) of Kwara State, Nigeria. About 120 small ruminant farmers were selected for the study. Analyticall tools such as descriptive (frequency count, percentage, mean score) and inferential [Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC)] statistics were used to analyse the data. The result revealed that about 57.5% of the respondents were male, average age of 38.3years, income of N56633.33, and household size of about 5 persons. The average number of goat and sheep was 10 and 5 respectively. About 52% of the respondents utilized extensive system of rearing and 60.8% had access to extension services. About 77.5% of the respondents indicated Ministry of Agriculture as their main source of information on small ruminant production. The result revealed that planting of trees/erecting cover to serve as shades to reduce heat stress (90.8%) was the most frequently used adaptation strategies to climate change. About 59.2% of the respondents have high level/status of use of adaptation strategies. The highest ranked perception statement was increase in temperature (4.48), while disease outbreak and high mortality (2.78) ranked highest as factor affecting small ruminant production. It is therefore recommended that there should be provision of information on the adaptation strategies as climate change is now a reality that is not going away and provision of veterinary services to reduce disease outbreak

Assessment of the willingness of doctors to work at coronavirus disease-19 treatment center

Objectives: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is currently ravaging the entire world. Doctors as well as other healthcare workers as front-liners in tackling this disease are at a higher risk of exposure to the virus and its potential consequences. The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge of doctors on the mode of transmission of the virus, to assess their willingness and readiness to work at the COVID-19 treatment center, to identify factors that affect their willingness to work at the treatment center, and to assess their knowledge on infection prevention and control (IPC) practices.Materials and Methods: All medical doctors who attended the COVID-19 sensitization and preparedness meeting with the management of Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State Nigeria, were recruited into the study after an informed consent was obtained. Study period spanned from the beginning of April 2020 to middle of June 2020. A structured, pre-tested questionnaire was administered to collect relevant information.Results: A total of 112 doctors that were in attendance had the questionnaires administered to them; however, 106 (94.64%) questionnaires were returned. Out of these, 64.2% had correct knowledge of the mode of transmission of COVID-19. We observed that only 34.9% of doctors were willing to work in the treatment center while 1.9% were indifferent. The perceived lack of adequate training and insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff were major reasons why some doctors were not willing to work in these centers. Fifty percent of the participants got the correct meaning of donning and doffing and three quarters of them had good knowledge of IPC practice.Conclusion: We found in our study that a substantial number of doctors were unwilling to work in COVID-19 treatment areas due to a number of factors including perceived inadequate PPE and inadequate knowledge. The factors that would influence their willingness to work in COVID-19 treatment center were more training, provision of inducement or extra allowances and life insurance schemes. We recommend that in addition to putting emphasis on training, re-training, and providing appropriate equipment, special inducement allowance, and life insurance for healthcare workers might be helpful to encourage them to work in COVID-19 treatment centers

Exposure to anti-malarial drugs and monitoring of adverse drug reactions using toll-free mobile phone calls in private retail sector in Sagamu, Nigeria: implications for pharmacovigilance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) contribute to ill-health or life-threatening outcomes of therapy during management of infectious diseases. The exposure to anti-malarial and use of mobile phone technology to report ADRs following drug exposures were investigated in Sagamu - a peri-urban community in Southwest Nigeria.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Purchase of medicines was actively monitored for 28 days in three Community Pharmacies (CP) and four Patent and Proprietary Medicine Stores (PPMS) in the community. Information on experience of ADRs was obtained by telephone from 100 volunteers who purchased anti-malarials during the 28-day period.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>A total of 12,093 purchases were recorded during the period. Antibiotics, analgesics, vitamins and anti-malarials were the most frequently purchased medicines. A total of 1,500 complete courses of anti-malarials were purchased (12.4% of total purchases); of this number, purchases of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and chloroquine (CQ) were highest (39.3 and 25.2% respectiuvely). Other anti-malarials purchased were artesunate monotherapy (AS) - 16.1%, artemether-lumefantrine (AL) 10.0%, amodiaquine (AQ) - 6.6%, quinine (QNN) - 1.9%, halofantrine (HF) - 0.2% and proguanil (PR) - 0.2%. CQ was the cheapest (USD 0.3) and halofantrine the most expensive (USD 7.7). AL was 15.6 times ($4.68) more expensive than CQ. The response to mobile phone monitoring of ADRs was 57% in the first 24 hours (day 1) after purchase and decreased to 33% by day 4. Participants in this monitoring exercise were mostly with low level of education (54%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings from this study indicate that ineffective anti-malaria medicines including monotherapies remain widely available and are frequently purchased in the study area. Cost may be a factor in the continued use of ineffective monotherapies. Availability of a toll-free telephone line may facilitate pharmacovigilance and follow up of response to medicines in a resource-poor setting.</p

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management Procurement Functions: A Case of A Nigerian University

Information Technology’s (IT) role in Human Resource Management (HRM) has attracted minimal interest and attention in the academia industry. The few empirical studies available did not examine the effect of IT on HRM on a comparative basis. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the nexus between IT and HRM procurement process in Nigerian Universities (education sector) with reference to the University of Ilorin. Other objectives are to:(i) examine the extent to which IT influences the HR procurement functions (ii) determine the nature of relationship that exist between/among IT tools and HR procurement functions. Questionnaire was served to the entire 50 members of the staff of the University HR department being census approach. Two hypotheses stated were tested using regression and correlation analysis. The findings revealed that IT has a significant effect on HR procurement functions and that IT tools and HR procurement functions are correlated. The study concludes that IT impacts strongly on HR Procurement activities. This study recommends that the management of Nigerian higher Institutions, inclusive of University of Ilorin, should consistently upgrade their HRIT software to cover a significant number of HR activities in line with the best HR practice as its long-term benefits exceed the pains of its initial cost.