A Prototype AHP System for Contractor Selection Decision

Contractor selection process is generally believed to be marred with lots of bias in most developing nations, which sometimes leads to incompetent contractor being selected because it is based mainly on human experience and feelings. In particular, in a culturally biased country like Nigeria where most contractors’ selection process is not based on performance but rather on whom you know, not paying attention to important factor/criteria but rather on selfish personal gains, which directly or indirectly affect the public in different forms could have some negative effects on projects. The failure of managers to be objective in decision-making in regard to contractor selection has great consequences for the government as well as corporate organizations in terms of cost incurred, delivery time, and impact on the general welfare of the people. Hence, there is a need for managers to be interested in the selection of contractors, suppliers of materials, equipment, and services as failure or inefficiency on the part of the contractor that could affect the well-being of the people negatively and damage the performance rating of the government. Developing an appropriate model to address the problem of poor contractor evaluation would, no doubt, be a great relief in the selection of contractors. This chapter presents a prototype system for contractor evaluation decision

Community Research Advisors As Research Partners: An Analysis of Their Training

Clinical research is an increasingly important aspect of medical practice resulting in benefits believed to be most pronounced at the level of the patient. The Lay Health Advisor model has been identified as a useful modality for medical health education in historically difficult to access communities. At present there is a paucity of information concerning how the Lay Health Advisor model may be used to impact clinical research in hard to reach communities and even less information concerning the training of Lay Health Advisors used in this capacity. This paper attempts to assess the training of Lay Health Advisors called Community Research Advocates with pre and post questionnaires concerning their general knowledge about the clinical research process.Master of Public Healt

Pass the popcorn: "obesogenic" behaviors and stigma in children's movies.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of obesity-related behaviors and attitudes in children's movies. METHODS: A mixed-methods study of the top-grossing G- and PG-rated movies, 2006-2010 (4 per year) was performed. For each 10-min movie segment, the following were assessed: 1) prevalence of key nutrition and physical activity behaviors corresponding to the American Academy of Pediatrics obesity prevention recommendations for families; 2) prevalence of weight stigma; 3) assessment as healthy, unhealthy, or neutral; 3) free-text interpretations of stigma. RESULTS: Agreement between coders was >85% (Cohen's kappa = 0.7), good for binary responses. Segments with food depicted: exaggerated portion size (26%); unhealthy snacks (51%); sugar-sweetened beverages (19%). Screen time was also prevalent (40% of movies showed television; 35% computer; 20% video games). Unhealthy segments outnumbered healthy segments 2:1. Most (70%) of the movies included weight-related stigmatizing content (e.g., "That fat butt! Flabby arms! And this ridiculous belly!"). CONCLUSIONS: These popular children's movies had significant "obesogenic" content, and most contained weight-based stigma. They present a mixed message to children, promoting unhealthy behaviors while stigmatizing the behaviors' possible effects. Further research is needed to determine the effects of such messages on children

The unbuilt environment: culture moderates the built environment for physical activity

Abstract Background While research has demonstrated a link between the built environment and obesity, much variation remains unexplained. Physical features are necessary, but not sufficient, for physical activity: residents must choose to use these features in health-promoting ways. This article reveals a role for local culture in tempering the effect of the physical environment on physical activity behaviors. Methods We developed Systematic Cultural Observation (SCO) to observe place-based, health-related culture in Lenoir County, NC (population ~60,000). Photographs (N = 6450) were taken systematically from 150 most-used road segments and geocoded. Coders assessed physical activity (PA) opportunities (e.g., public or private activity spaces, pedestrian-friendly features) and presence of people in each photograph. Results 28.7% of photographs contained some PA feature. Most were private or pedestrian; 3.1% contained public PA space. Only 1.5% of photographs with any PA features (2% of those with public PA space, 0.7% of those with private) depicted people despite appropriate weather and daylight conditions. Conclusions Even when PA opportunities existed in this rural county, they were rarely used. This may be the result of culture (“unbuilt environment”) that disfavors physical activity even in the presence of features that allow it. Policies promoting built environments designed for healthy lifestyles should consider local culture (shared styles, skills, habits, and beliefs) to maximize positive outcomes

Participating in Research: Attitudes within the African American Church

We assessed associations between pastor and congregant characteristics and congregant attitudes about research participation among African American churches

Connecting communities to health research: Development of the Project CONNECT minority research registry

Prevention and treatment standards are based on evidence obtained in behavioral and clinical research. However, racial and ethnic minorities remain relatively absent from the science that develops these standards. While investigators have successfully recruited participants for individual studies using tailored recruitment methods, these strategies require considerable time and resources. Research registries, typically developed around a disease or condition, serve as a promising model for a targeted recruitment method to increase minority participation in health research. This study assessed the tailored recruitment methods used to populate a health research registry targeting African-American community members

Evaluating a Community-Partnered Cancer Clinical Trials Pilot Intervention with African American Communities

Cancer Clinical Trial (CCT) accrual and retention rates remain disproportionately low among African Americans. Awareness and access to trials are crucial facilitators of trial participation. Strategies developed within a community-based participatory framework (CBPR) are potential solutions to increase awareness and access to CCTs. In this study, we describe the pilot phase of three innovative community-centered modules to improve basic CCT knowledge, awareness of locations to access CCT information, and opportunities to participate in CCTs

Adolescents and parental caregivers as lay health advisers in a community-based risk reduction intervention for youth: baseline data from Teach One, Reach One

The purpose of the current study is to describe the demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial characteristics of adolescent and caregiver lay health advisers (LHAs) participating in an intervention designed to reduce risk behaviors among rural African-American adolescents. Teach One, Reach One integrates constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavior and Social Cognitive Theory. It acknowledges that changing the sexual behaviors of African-American adolescents requires changing one's knowledge, attitudes, normative beliefs about the behavior of peers, and self-efficacy regarding adolescent sexual behavior, parent–teen communication about sex, and healthy dating relations among adolescents. Study participants completed baseline questionnaires assessing demographics and psychosocial determinants (knowledge, attitudes, perceived social norms, and self-efficacy) of sexual behaviors. Sixty-two adolescent and caregiver dyads participated. Caregivers included biological parents, legal guardians, or other parental figures. Strengths and areas in need of improvement were determined using median splits. Few adolescents had initiated sex. Their strengths included high levels of open parent–teen communication; positive attitudes and normative beliefs regarding both sex communication and healthy dating relationships; and high knowledge and self-efficacy for healthy dating behaviors. Areas needing improvement included low knowledge, unfavorable attitudes, poor normative beliefs, and low self-efficacy regarding condom use. Caregiver strengths included positive attitudes, normative beliefs, and self-efficacy for sex communication; positive attitudes and self-efficacy for condom use; and low acceptance of couple violence. Areas needing improvement included low levels of actual communication about sex and low knowledge about effective communication strategies and condom use. The current study highlights the value of assessing baseline characteristics of LHAs prior to intervention implementation, as it enables a better understanding of the key characteristics necessary for planning and implementing interventions, as well as engaging in targeted training activities

Information Culture, Work Environment and Employee Job Performance in Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, Nigeria

This study examined the influence of information culture and work environment on employee job performance in Lagos state internal revenue service. A validated survey instrument was tested on 210 employees in Lagos State Internal Revenue Service and showed that information culture positively influenced employee job performance. (R = 0.676; R2 = 0.458; Adj R2 = 0.455; F (1, 190) = 160.43; Sig. = 0.000). Work environment positively influenced employee performance. (R = 0.488; R2 = 0.238; Adj R2 = 0.234; F (1, 190) = 59.53; Sig. = 0.000). The results further reveled that information culture and work environment both have positive influence on employee performance. (R = 0. 691; R2 = 0.477; Adjusted-R2 = 0.472; F (2, 189) = 86.40; Sig. = 0.000)The study concluded that information culture and work environment plays an important role in enhancing employee job performance in Lagos State Internal Revenue Service. The study recommended that Information culture and good working environment should be maintained in the organization. Keywords:  Employee Job Performance, Information Culture, Work Environment, Internal Revenue Servic