Use of Social Media for Information Sharing in the Management of People Living with HIV in Nigeria

Abstract The study investigates the use of Social Media for information sharing in the management of people living with HIV in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to find out the information needs of the PLHIV, the sources of their information, the types of information shared and the challenges. The study had four research questions. A Cross-sectional research design was employed. Questionnaires and interview were the instruments used to collect the data. Four hundred (400) respondents were selected as the sample, The Director General; of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS was also interviewed. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics; frequency, percentages, and chi-square. The qualitative data was interpreted using narrative analysis. The information needs of the People Living with HIV were health-related. Their sources of information were symposiums, physicians, HIV support groups, friends and colleagues, radio, television, HIV journals, magazines and ARV trial centers. They used Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Twitter for information sharing. They also used SM to share information on health development, healthy lifestyle, preventing infecting other People and preventing sexual partners from being infected, among others. The Challenges hindering the use of Social Media were lack of physical interaction, poor network and invasion of privacy, low IT literacy, unreliable information, fear of sharing fake news, poor quality of video and audio transmission, etc. The National Agency for the Control of AIDS used Facebook and Twitter to share information with people living with HIV. Insecurity and lack of funds were the major challenges faced by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS in information sharing. Hypotheses tests showed a significant relationship between the information sources and the types of information shared, there was also a significant relationship between the information needs and the information sources. On the other hand, no significant relationship was revealed between the information needs and the types of information shared. It was recommended to the government and all HIV stakeholders to come up with a policy that will integrate the use of SM in the management of People Living with HIV, The National Agency for the Control of AIDS should also integrate the use of WhatsApp and YouTube for effective information sharing. The government at all levels should specifically create a library, fully equipped with both printed and electronic information resources to encourage the PLHIV to intensify the use of printed information sources

African American farmers tilling for congressional attention: Exploring the agenda status of agricultural support policy and the hopeful permeations of civil rights (1940--1998)

As with similar studies of agenda setting, this research builds on the work of Baumgartner and Jones (1993), King (1997), Worsham (1997), and Tzoumis (2001). Specifically, the focus of this study is on agricultural support policymaking---as it relates to African American farmers. Three fundamental objectives serve as the blueprint for the analysis. The first is to understand how Congress governs the agenda of agricultural support policy over the post-war period. Second, is to learn whether congressional activity is conducive to the interests of African American farmers and, third, is to assess if and when the agenda of agricultural support policy ever intersected with that of civil rights. Three qualifiers help facilitate and focus the analysis: (1) congressional committees are used as the venue of agenda-setting activity; (2) bill introductions; and (3) congressional hearings are used as the measures of agenda status and governmental attention.;The analysis in this dissertation derives from data collected on agricultural-related bills and hearings in Congress from 1940-1998. Through the utilization of both bill introductions and congressional hearings, general patterns of issue composition, committee competition, policy monopoly, and coalitional activity are fundamentally examined. In part, endogenous and exogenous punctuating events are evaluated according to the variation in these patterns.;The first chapter introduces the purpose and layout of the study. Chapter Two examines the evolution of agricultural policy and the travail it created for African American Farmers. This historical analysis will show that by the time New Deal politics produced new public policies, the direction of favoring large farmers was set and followed by government (Browne, 2003, 145). An important product of this accommodation made to large farming interests was the early arrangement of dominant subsystem politics, which consequently influences the direction of agricultural policy well into the late 1960s. Chapter Three describes the two perspectives of agenda setting. This chapter not only serves as a conduit to the research theory, but it also provides the backdrop for the next two analysis chapters.;Chapters Four and Five illustrate the agenda dynamics of agricultural support policy are influenced by the institutional actions of congressional committees/subsystems, policy entrepreneurs, as well as by endogenous and exogenous punctuating events. Findings will illustrate that although Agricultural Committees may serve as the institutional anchor for subsystem arrangement and policy monopoly, punctuating events tend to alter the policy equilibria maintained by such an arrangement. Moreover, such events can and do alter policy outputs as well.;Chapter Six of the research details how group pressure at the state and local level aided in bringing forth legislative assistance and governmental attention to the problems faced by African American farmers. However, due to the limited success and continued complaints of discrimination, African American farmers change venue and take their issue to the courts. As such, the later segment of this chapter details the current status of the class-action lawsuit brought against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and how judicial action has yet to equate to institutional redress. Chapter Seven concludes the dissertation by examining how the research contributes to the understanding of agenda setting, and notes for further research

The relationship between information technology (IT) investment and firm's financial performance of public listed companies in Malaysia

Significant amounts of resources have been and continue to be invested in information technology (IT). Much of this investment is made on the basis of assumption that returns will occur. Prior studies have shown that IT investment increases firm’s performances and operational efficiency. Although, IT investment by Malaysian public listed companies (PLCs) increases annually, but the investment is still insufficient. Additionally, empirical studies and scientific research on IT and firm’s performance in Malaysian PLCs are still lacking. The objective of this research work is to examine the relationship between IT investment and firm’s financial performance in Malaysian PLCs. Firm performance was measured by revenue, return on investment (ROI) and return on assets (ROA). A panel data analysis was applied to the data observed from 2009 to 2012. Data for three years on IT investment and firm’s performance was collected from a sample of 90 firms via annual reports. The result of regressing return on investment against IT investment indicates that there is a relationship between IT investment and return on investment. However, the result of regressing return on assets and revenue indicates that there is no relationship between IT investment and return on assets, IT investment and revenue respectively. The analysis provides useful implications for managers to better understand the relationship between IT investment and firms’ performance so that they can make wiser decisions to maximize the business value of their investments

Diagnosing policy dynamics: The birth & evolution of the pharmaceutical subsystem

The rising cost of prescription drugs in the United States has led patients---older populations and the disabled especially, to seek relief through foreign nations, and internet mail-order sites, which are often hosted and condoned by state and local governments. Patients are traveling to Canada and Mexico to purchase affordable prescription drugs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, American seniors alone will spend 1.8 trillion dollars on pharmaceuticals over the next ten years (U.S. Senate 2007, S 251). This research examines the agenda status and change of pharmaceutical regulation by tracing the evolution of the pharmaceutics subsystem. By employing a punctuated equilibrium approach, I seek to understand if periods of agenda access and issue definition have corresponded to changes in the institutional structure of policymaking.;As such, this study is motivated by three questions: (1) how has Congress governed the pharmaceutical policy agenda over the post World War II era, (2) have periods of agenda access led to venue changes in pharmaceutical regulation, (3) has the image of pharmaceutical policies led to positive or negative feedback, and if so, what factors precipitated such change. Understanding how image and agenda access can impact the institutional structure of policymaking will illustrate how ideas influence the strength and weakness of the pharmaceutical policy monopoly. The results of this study are important because they highlight the institutional factors influencing the cost and availability of prescription drugs. Moreover, this research provides insight concerning federal involvement in regulatory policy

Information Need and Seeking Behaviour of Diploma Students of Federal College of Agricultural Produce Technology, Kano

Understanding information need and seeking behaviour of information users is very crucial. The nature of information behaviour is vigorous thus, information scientist and librarians need to embark on investigation in order to understand the need of their clientele for service provision and improvement. This paper presented the result of an investigation on information need and seeking behaviour of Diploma students of Federal College of Agricultural Produce Technology, Kano. A cross sectional survey research method was used for this study. Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. The investigation revealed that the respondents make maximum utilization of the library; they find the library materials relevant to their information needs. In relation to challenges the respondents faced with the services of the library, the study revealed that some respondents do not know how to find information materials and they do not know how to use the library catalogue. The study also revealed that the students gave some suggestions that will help to improve the library services. Provision of relevant information material and extending the library opening hours were some of the suggestions

Web Accessibility at IU

Discussion will center around the recently-adopted IU Web Accessibility Administrative Practice, including what web designers can do to design accessible web sites from the beginning of the design process. A brief overview of the web accessibility evaluation services provided by the web accessibility team at the Adaptive Technology and Accessibility Center will also be discussed. Brief mention will be made of the ATAC's work on Sakai/Oncourse accessibility as well as emerging standards for the CIC