Youth Voice in Nigerian School-based Management Committees

In Nigeria, School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) aim to provide an opportunity for all stakeholders, particularly the vulnerable groups in the school’s host communities such as young people and women to partake in school governance. Research on the experiences of youth voice in the committees is scant, however, as much of the existing literature on SBMCs focuses on program outcomes. Using qualitative research interviews, observations, and document analysis, this study addressed this gap by exploring how youth participate and express themselves in two SBMCs in Niger State, Nigeria. The findings, which were derived from 19 youth and adult participants, were drawn from SBMC members out of which 12 were youth between the ages 13 and 25, while 7 were adults aged 40 and above. The participants revealed that youth committee members expressed their voice in the committees through participating in a number of committee activities. Specifically, the youth participated in decision-making during meetings, aided in the construction of committee projects, undertook administrative/managerial functions and monitored the committee’s projects. They also participated in revenue generation, planning, school visits and supervision, advocacy, and sensitization campaigns

Mobile Information Systems 3 (2007) 107-132 107 IOS Press High performance publish/subscribe middleware for mobile wireless networks

Abstract. Decoupling, flexible, scalable and asynchronous nature of publish/subscribe paradigms makes them a good choice for mobile wireless networks. However, our research shows that current implementations of publish/subscribe systems as well as the traditional solutions for extending publish/subscribe systems to the mobile domain do not perform well in highly mobile and unreliable wireless settings. We present semi-durable subscriptions, a technique that we have developed to overcome the challenges and the performance concerns publish/subscribe systems face in mobile wireless settings. We discuss the architecture of semi-durable subscriptions and study in detail the effect of various mobility parameters on the performance of semi-durable subscriptions to demonstrate their efficacy in mobile wireless settings. We also discuss system parameters for semi-durable subscriptions and with the help of experimental results demonstrate how these parameters can be controlled to configure a system according to a set of desired characteristics

The Influence of Self-efficacy on The Relationship Between Depression and HIV-related Stigma with ART Adherence Among The Youth in Malawi

 Depression and HIV-related stigma, among other factors, have been inversely linked independently with adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) among the youth. However, the processes through which the various factors influence this relationship is not fully known. Guided by Social Action Theory, we examined the interactive mechanisms through which depression, HIV-related stigma, and self-efficacy influenced ART adherence and whether or not these relationships are moderated by gender. A total of 450 HIV-positive youth (13–24 years) in Malawi receiving ART participated in this cross-sectional study. Moderated mediation analyses were conducted using Hayes’ PROCESS macro 2.11 in SPSS. ART adherence was measured by pill count. Findings showed that self-efficacy mediated the effects of depression and stigma on ART adherence. The analyses also revealed that gender moderated both the direct and indirect influence of depression and stigma (via self-efficacy) on ART adherence. Furthermore, self-efficacy simultaneously mediated and moderated the relationship between stigma and ART adherence. The interactive mechanisms through which various factors influence ART nonadherence must be considered to design effective interventions. To reduce the impact of depression and stigma on ART adherence, medication self-efficacy should be bolstered while taking gender in consideration. Keywords: Adolescent, Antiretroviral adherence, Malawi, Moderated mediation, Social action theory, Youth Abstrak Pengaruh Efikasi Diri Terhadap Hubungan antara Depresi dan Stigma HIV dengan Kepatuhan Terapi ART pada Remaja di Malawi. Depresi dan stigma HIV, di antara faktor-faktor lain, berhubungan terbalik secara independen dengan kepatuhan terapi antiretroviral (ART) pada remaja. Akan tetapi, dalam prosesnya faktor yang memengaruhi hubungan ini belum sepenuhnya diketahui. Berdasarkan Teori Perilaku Sosial, penelitian ini dilakukan bertujuan untuk mengkaji mekanisme interaktif depresi, stigma HIV, dan efikasi diri yang memengaruhi kepatuhan ART, dan untuk mengetahui apakah hubungan ini dimoderasi oleh gender atau tidak. Sebanyak 450 remaja dengan HIV-positif (13–24 tahun) di Malawi yang menerima ART ikut berpartisipasi dalam penelitian potong lintang ini. Analisis mediasi moderated dilakukan dengan menggunakan Hayes 'PROCESS macro 2.11 pada SPSS. Kepatuhan ART diukur menggunakan jumlah pil. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa efikasi diri memediasi efek depresi dan stigma pada kepatuhan ART. Hasil analisis juga mengungkapkan bahwa jenis kelamin memoderasi pengaruh langsung dan tidak langsung dari depresi dan stigma (melalui efikasi diri) terhadap kepatuhan ART. Lebih lanjut,efikasi diri secara bersamaan mediasi dan moderasi hubungan antara stigma dan kepatuhan ART. Mekanisme interaktif dengan berbagai faktor yang memengaruhi ketidakpatuhan ART harus dipertimbangkan untuk merancang intervensi yang efektif. Untuk mengurangi dampak depresi dan stigma terhadap kepatuhan ART, efikasi diri pengobatan harus didukung saat mempertimbangkan jenis kelamin. Kata kunci: Kepatuhan antiretroviral, Malawi, Mediasi tingkat menengah, Teori Perilaku Sosial, Remaj

ICONOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS ON FEMI FANI-KAYODE’S VISUAL GENRE OF CARTOONS AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

Cartoon is a journalistic genre that is presented in simple, sort and catchy formats, which appeal to human sense and consequently allows for quick reception of the messages being communicated. Adejuwon & Alimi in Bello (2022) argued that cartoons serve as medium through which people are informed, educated, and entertained by presenting societal happenings in a hilarious manner. According to Bello, editorial cartoons are designed to satirise current political issues, and offer subtle criticism cleverly coated with humour and satire. Cartoons amuse, yet they are veritable means of exposing social ills and strategic way of conveying messages of deep meaning magnitude

Genotype Directed Therapy in Murine Mismatch Repair Deficient Tumors

The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway has frequently been found activated in human tumors. We show that in addition to Wnt signaling dysfunction, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is often upregulated in mouse Msh2−/− initiated intestinal tumors. NVP-BEZ235 is a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor toxic to many cancer cell lines and currently involved in clinical trials. We have treated two mouse models involving Msh2 that develop small intestinal and/or colonic tumors with NVP-BEZ235, and a subset of animals with NVP-BEZ235 and MEK inhibitor ADZ4266. The disease phenotype has been followed with pathology, 18F FDG PET imaging, and endoscopy. Intestinal adenocarcinomas are significantly decreased in multiplicity by both drug regimens. The majority of tumors treated with combined therapy regress significantly, while a small number of highly progressed tumors persist. We have examined PTEN, AKT, MEK 1&2, MAPK, S6K, mTOR, PDPK1, and Cyclin D1 and find variable alterations that include downregulation of PTEN, upregulation of AKT and changes in its phosphorylated forms, upregulation of pMEK 1&2, p42p44MAPK, pS6K, and Cyclin D1. Apoptosis has been found intact in some tumors and not in others. Our data indicate that NVP-BEZ235 alone and in combination with ADZ4266 are effective in treating a proportion of colorectal cancers, but that highly progressed resistant tumors grow in the presence of the drugs. Pathways upregulated in some resistant tumors also include PDPK1, suggesting that metabolic inhibitors may also be useful in treating these tumors

Maternal mental health research in Malawi: Community and healthcare provider perspectives on acceptability and ethicality

Maternal mental health (MMH) is recognised as globally significant. The prevalence of depression and factors associated with its onset among perinatal women in Malawi has been previously reported, and the need for further research in this domain is underscored. Yet, there is little published scholarship regarding the acceptability and ethicality of MMH research to women and community representatives. The study reported here sought to address this in Malawi by engaging with communities and healthcare providers in the districts where MMH research was being planned. Qualitative data was collected in Lilongwe and Karonga districts through 20 focus group discussions and 40 in-depth interviews with community representatives and healthcare providers from January through April 2021. All focus groups and interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim (in local languages Chichewa and Tumbuka), translated into English, and examined through thematic content analysis. Participants' accounts suggest that biopsychosocial MMH research could be broadly acceptable within the communities sampled, with acceptability framed in part through prior encounters with biomedical and public health research and care in these regions, alongside broader understandings of the import of MMH. Willingness and consent to participate do not depend on specifically biomedical understandings of MMH, but rather on familiarity with individuals regarded as living with mental ill-health. However, the data further suggest some ‘therapeutic misconceptions’ about MMH research, with implications for how investigations in this area are presented by researchers when recruiting and working with participants. Further studies are needed to explore whether accounts of the acceptability and ethicality of MMH research shift and change during and following research encounters. Such studies will enhance the production of granular recommendations for further augmenting the ethicality of biomedical and public health research and researchers' responsibilities to participants and communities

Perceptions of voluntary medical male circumcision among circumcising and non-circumcising communities in Malawi

Three randomised controlled trials in Africa indicated that voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is an effective method to reduce a man’s risk of becoming infected through sex with an HIV-positive female partner. The success of recent public health initiatives to increase numbers of circumcised men in Malawi has been very limited. We conducted in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) with men, women, and male adolescents from non-circumcising and circumcising communities in southern Malawi to better understand their beliefs about male circumcision and the promotion of VMMC for HIV prevention. Results revealed that beliefs about male circumcision, in general, are strongly mediated by Malawian culture and history. Participants have attempted to develop a new meaning for circumcision in light of the threat of HIV infection and the publicised risk reduction benefits of VMMC. Several study participants found it difficult to distinguish VMMC from traditional circumcision practices (jando and lupanda), despite awareness that the new form of circumcision was an expression of (western) modern medicine performed largely for public health purposes. Greater recognition of background cultural beliefs and practices could inform future efforts to promote medical male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy in this context

Operationalising a real-time research ethics approach: supporting ethical mindfulness in agriculture-nutrition-health research in Malawi

BACKGROUND: There have been notable investments in large multi-partner research programmes across the agriculture-nutrition-health (ANH) nexus. These studies often involve human participants and commonly require research ethics review. These ANH studies are complex and can raise ethical issues that need pre-field work, ethical oversight and also need an embedded process that can identify, characterise and manage ethical issues as the research work develops, as such more embedded and dynamic ethics processes are needed. This work builds on notions of 'ethics in practice' by developing an approach to facilitate ethical reflection within large research programmes. This study explores the application of a novel 'real-time research ethics approach' (RTREA) and how this can support ethical mindfulness. This involves embedding ethical analysis and decision-making within research implementation, with a continuous dialogue between participants and researchers. The aim is to improve ethical responsiveness and participant experience, which in turn may ethically support adherence and retention. In this case study, a bioethics team (BT) was embedded in a community-based randomised, controlled trial conducted in rural Malawi, titled the 'Addressing Hidden Hunger with Agronomy'. To identify ethical issues, the researchers conducted ten focus group discussions, fourteen in-depth interviews with key informants, two workshops, observed two sensitisation and three activity meetings conducted by the trial team, and analysed fifteen reports from pre-trial to trial implementation. RESULTS: The RTREA facilitated the identification of social and ethical concerns and made researchers aware of participants' 'lived research experience'. To address concerns and experiences, the BT worked with researchers to facilitate conversation spaces where social and ethical issues were discussed. Conversation spaces were designed to create partnerships and promote participatory methods to capture trial participants' (TPs) perspectives and experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The use of RTREA showed the value of real-time and continuous engagement between TPs and researchers. These real-time processes could be embedded to complement traditional ethical guidance and expert opinions. A deeper engagement appeared to support greater operationalising of principles of inclusion, empowerment, and participant autonomy and supported researchers 'ethical mindfulness' which in turn may support instrumental outcomes of high recruitment, retention, and adherence levels