Book Review: Girls of the Factory: A Year with the Garment Workers of Morocco

Review of Girls of the Factory: A Year with the Garment Workers of Morocco by Cairoli Laetiti

Book Review: From the Shahs to Los Angeles: Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women between Religion and Culture

Review of From the Shahs to Los Angeles: Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women between Religion and Culture by Saba Soomekh (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2012

Book Review: Black Women against the Land Grab: The Fight for Racial Justice in Brazil

Review of Black Women against the Land Grab: The Fight for Racial Justice in Brazil by Keisha-Khan Y. Perry; Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013

Phytochemicals—God’s Endowment of Curative Power in Plants

Phytochemicals—God’s Endowment of Curative Power in Plants tried to review the link between the knowledge of God’s pronouncement on plants as man’s source of food and drugs in the Holy Bible to the scientific proofs of the availability of phytochemicals in different species of plants. The abundance of plants in the world as vegetables, spices, fruits, etc. of which more than 80% of their chemical compositions have not been discovered emphasizes the reasons for the search of these phytochemicals as alternative drug sources which are safer and relatively cheaper. Literature is reviewed on different phytochemicals such as alkaloids, saponins, tannins, anthraquinones, and glycosides in the form of cardiac and cyanogenetic glycosides, flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenols considering their chemical properties and their usefulness to man. This review confirmed the outburst that said “the world is too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in nature that is ours.” Therefore, there is an urgent need to search for these various phytochemicals in plants so that we can utilize the potentials in these free gifts from God and not lay waste the curative power endowed on them purposely for man’s health benefits

Predictors of Violence among Drug Abusers in Selected Drug Joints in Mushin, Lagos Metropolis

The prevailing incidence of illicit drug intake among youths in Nigeria is alarming and undermines developmental structure of the society locally and internationally. All over the world today, cases of Illicit drug consumptions by the Nigeria youths has gained its momentum toward negative directions and its impact has degenerated to series of anti-behavioural problems such as trauma, larceny, egocentric suicide, cybercrime, kidnapping, laziness, terrorism, murdered cases, poor manpower supply and retrogressive national and international images among other nations in the world. Extant publications were reviewed for the study in line with broken theory by Keilling and Wilsons were also adopted for the justification of the inquiry. Mixed method and cross section Survey design and Yemane Yaro formula was adopted to select the 400 respondent for the quantitative inquiry but 245 questionnaires were found useful for the study while 10 in-depth interviews were carried out among the participants. The Chi-square result deciphers that youth access to illicit drug (X2)= 56.750a; p< 0.005.) Cost of purchasing of drug (X2)= 59.598a, p< 0.005.) and nature of employment (X2)=46.611, p<0.005.) of youths has significant relationship with violent behaviour. It is advisable youths to avoid joining drug related gangs; Nigeria Government should be willing to provide basic amenities for the youths so as to reduce violent activities in Nigeri

Gender differences in substance use and depression among caregivers

TITLE: Gender differences in substance use and depression among caregivers AUTHOR INFO Memunat Ogunmefun Manik Ahuja Author Affiliations: College of Public Health, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, United States Background: Around 20% of adults in the United States provide care for a loved one, with approximately 61% of these caregivers identifying as women. Typically, a caregiver is defined as someone who provides help and support to a family member or friend who is facing illness or disability as a result of a medical condition. Caregiving may be rewarding, but it can also cause significant psychological strain, leading to adverse consequences, such as turning to substance use to cope with stress. Increased levels of stress in caregivers can make them more susceptible to various health problems, such as depression and anxiety disorders, sleep disturbances, compromised physical health, cardiovascular disease, and substance use disorders. The aim of this study is to examine the gender differences in substance use and depression among caregivers using a nationally representative sample. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System a nationally representative U.S. telephone-based survey of adults aged 18 years and extracted data for non-metropolitan/rural counties. Logistic regression analyses were conducted separately to test the association between self-identified caregiver status and three outcomes, including depression and current alcohol use. We controlled for past month’s income, race, educational status, and age. Caregiver status was identified based on providing care or assistance to a friend or family member over the last 30 days. Results: Overall, 21.7% (n=13,653) of our participants self-identified as a caregiver, while 19.5% reported depression, past month alcohol use (48.2%), past month smoking (13.5%), and past month marijuana use (4.2%). Significant interactions were found between caregiver status and gender (p=.0001). We then stratified by gender. Among males, self-identified caregiver status was associated with higher odds of depression (OR=1.48, 95% CI, 1.41,1.55). Among females, caregiver status was associated with higher odds of depression (OR=1.48, 95% CI, 1.29, 1.39). Caregiver status did not predict alcohol use. Conclusion: Caregiving has been known to cause psychological strain which may be associated with alcohol use and depression. According to this study, being a caregiver may contribute to depression regardless of gender, but it does not necessarily affect alcohol consumption. The gender differences observed in this study highlight the need for interventions and support programs that are tailored to meet the unique needs and challenges faced by male and female caregivers. It is important for healthcare professionals to consider caregiver status and gender when assessing mental health risk factors

Sociological Implications on Safety of Journalism as a Profession in Nigeria

All over the world, Journalists are known as the fourth realm of the Estate charged with the responsibility of disseminating information to the societal members. Despite the contribution of the noble profession towards nation building, large number of journalist in the past and recent time in Nigeria faces series of challenges ranging from kidnapping, assault, harassment, torture, arbitrary detention, murder, imprisoned at the virtue of saving the nation. The gravity and magnitude of the prevalence insecurity in the profession has gotten to a state of psychological trauma and lost of interest for the profession. Several publications were reviewed; Anomie (Robert Merton) and Situational Crime Prevention (Ronald Clarke) theories were adopted. Qualitative method and purposive sampling technique was adopted in conducting in-depth interviews among 10 public members and 25 journalists from 4 media print Organisations, 3 radio stations and 2 television stations in Nigeria, In Nigeria journalist are faced with numerous insecurity issues and there is an urgent need to readdress the issues to save the nation from retrogressive development. Several recommendations are stated to safe the profession( a) the struggle for the survival of the profession should not be left alone to either the Government or the journalists it should be collectively addressed by all, More so, proactive methods,  deterrence measures target hardening, access and facilitators control  needs to be in placed to tackle the menac

Youth Employment Insecurity and Development in Nigeria

The alarming rate of employment crisis among the youths is one of the manifestations of insecurity in Nigeria which has negatively eaten deep into developmental project of Nigeria. Youths are generally considered as the bedrock, prime-mover and cornerstone for achieving progressive development in any nations, Once, youths are denied opportunity to gainful employment they easily turn to negative innovations that may be detrimental to nation development. Unemployment as a social milieu will negate socio-political, economic and educational development of the nation. However, average Nigerian goes to sleep at night with one eye closed while other opened which may lead to poor manpower development, physical harassment delinquency, criminal activities, psychological trauma as a result of civil unrest among others.. Content systematic method of analysis was adopted in reviewing relevant publications from different search engines such as EMBASE, PDF, Scholarly Google, Scopus, JSTORS to supports the outcome of the inquiry.  Social Contract Theory by Auguste Comte, Classical and neo-classical theories by Schumpeter, Boulding, were adopted to justify the causes, consequences and solutions to youths unemployment in Nigeria. On this ground, the following recommendations were made the Nigerian government, philanthropists and Non-governmental organizations should learn more on the value associated with social contract as the main determinant of social development Also, more recreational vocational and formal  learning centers should be institutionalized to make room for employment accessibility, flexibility and employability among  youths for creativity among others

Knowledge, attitude, and utilization of HIV counseling and testing by female sex workers in Lagos State, Nigeria

Objectives: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic continues to expand among female sex workers (FSWs) who have limited access to and utilization of HIV counseling and testing services (HCT). HCT plays a pivotal role in increasing knowledge and awareness to prevent, treat, and control HIV/AIDS. The study objective was to determine the knowledge, attitude, utilization of HCT among brothel-based FSWs (BBFSWs). Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 300 BBFSWs in Lagos State. The respondents were recruited by snowballing after a multistage sampling method was used in the selection of the brothels. The data was collected using an adapted interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 23. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Majority (63.0%) of the respondents were between the ages of 21-30 years and 67.4% had good knowledge of HIV and HCT. About 75.0% had a positive attitude towards HCT and 55.6% of FSWs in this study had utilized an HCT center in the past. The main reason for not taking HIV test was the fear of a positive result (90.6%) while the main reasons given for not visiting any HCT center were lack of confidentiality (13.3%), stigmatization (14.8%), and distance to the HCT center (67.2%). Conclusion: There was a good knowledge of HCT and a positive attitude towards HCT services by the respondents. The main reasons for not taking the HIV test as indicated by respondents were fear of a positive result. HIV-stigma related issues should be adequately addressed

Intimate partner violence as an obstacle to safer sex practice in South Africa.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.Intimate partner violence is one of the major forms of violence against women, and it contributes to the inability of women to practice safer sex. This study uses a triangulation method to explore the relationship between intimate partner violence and condom use. Secondary data was used for both the quantitative and qualitative analyses. The results from both the quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that women who report intimate partner violence are less likely to use condom. Other results from the quantitative analysis revealed that women with high socio-economic status are more likely to use condom. However, the qualitative analysis revealed that women experience intimate partner violence irrespective of their socio-economic status. Nevertheless, the two analyses revealed that a woman is less likely to use condom if her partner dislikes it. Moreover, negotiating for condom use could lead to further violence. As a result of this, there is need to target both men and women when addressing the issues of intimate partner violence and safer sex practice