Contraceptive use among women in Ogoja and Obudu Local Government Areas, Cross River State, Nigeria

Sexual behaviour in human societies is embedded in a complex web of shared ideas. Moral rules and regulations, obvious associations and obscured symbols are part of the complex behaviour patterns. Sexual behaviour varies from one culture to another, from one stage of development to another as well as from one period of history to another. Many factors including biological, social, political, educational, economic and religious affect sexual behaviour. This study was undertaken to assess women’s knowledge of modern contraception, examine the role of culture in contraception use and find out the relationship between background characteristics and contraception use. The results of this study indicate that knowledge of contraception is relatively low in both rural and urban centres of the study area. Given the importance of family planning to the reduction of growing population, it is crucial to embark on an aggressive education and enlightenment of the people on the need to use contraception in order to prevent unwanted, unintended and ill-timed pregnancies. The media should be effectively harnessed to take its rightful position in the dissemination of information to the people

Effect of Gender on Academic Performance of Maritime Trainees in Nigeria Taught with Web-Based Resources

A research project was undertaken into the effects of utilization of Web-based resources and the academic performance of maritime trainees in Nigeria. This paper reports on the results of the aspect of the research which investigated the effect of gender on the academic performance of maritime trainees in Nigeria when Web-based resources are used for instruction. Pretest posttest non-equivalent control group design was employed using a total of forty maritime trainees, twenty participants each in the experimental and control groups, from the maritime industry in Nigeria. Findings showed that no significant difference exists between the academic performance of male and female maritime security trainees

Age of Sexual Debut and Patterns of Sexual Behaviour in Two Local Government Areas in Southern Nigeria

The study examines the age of sexual debut and patterns of sexual behavior in Ugep, Cross River State, and Badeku and Olunloyo in Oyo State. A survey of households and individuals was conducted in the three communities; qualitative data were also collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussion. The median age of first sex among never-married males and females were 17 years and 18 years respectively; more than one in five adolescents have had sex before age 16. Nevermarried males and females initiated sex earlier than ever-married, older respondents. That 14 percent of married men keep other sexual partners besides their wives is indicative of substantial extramarital relationship; also 12 percent of never-married male respondents with regular sex partners have other sexual partners. Condom use is fairly high, especially in sexual relations involving non-regular partners. The higher likelihood of alcohol use in sexual liaison with non-regular sex partners is suggestive of high prevalence of transactional sex and spontaneous or unplanned sex under the influence of alcohol, with their implications for the spread of HIV and AIDS. The study underscores the need for adolescent sexual and reproductive health education and behaviour change communication among all segments of the population and inculcation of values less favourable for the spreadof sexually transmitted infection.(Afr J Reprod Health 2012; 16[4]: 81-94)

Preliminary Phytochemical Screening and Proximate Analyses of Leaf Extracts of Newbouldia laevis (Boundary Tree)

This work is designed to enrich the available scientific data on the phytochemistry and nutrient content of N. laevis leaves. The method of cold maceration was used in the extraction by serial exhaustive extraction method. The phytochemical screening of Newbouldia laevis was using through controlled experiment. Qualitative phytochemical screening and proximate analyses of Newbouldia laevis was studied using extracts of n-hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol which were obtained extract from powdered plant part. The extracts were subjected to qualitative phytochemical screening using standard procedure and the results shows that all the phytochemicals screened for were revealed in various leaf extracts. Alkaloids and flavonoids are present in all the extracts except ethyl acetate that did not show the presence of alkaloids. Only phlobatannins and tannins were absent in all the extract, steroid is present only in acetone. The proximate analysis revealed the nutritional composition of Newbouldia laevis to be 6.03% of moisture, 7.96% of ash, 9.81% of crude protein, 16.50% of fat, 33.40%. The diversity of phytochemical present suggested that N. laevis could serve as a source of drugs. Keywords: Newbouldia laevis, phytochemistry, Nutrient

Investigation and Comparative Analysis of Energy Potentials from Different Biomass Sources

Comparative analysis of energy potentials from different biomass sources were investigated to determine the energy potential stored in them: biomass materials used were cattle manure, wood and dry grass. Instruments used for this investigation includes: coffee can, thermometer, stop watch, heat source etc. simple heat equation was used to evaluate the heat potential in each material. Results shows that heat energy of cattle manure was 0.33264788J, wood was 0.1661868J and that of dry grass was 0.1001J. Showing that cattle manure has higher energy potential than wood and grass, meaning it will have more application for energy generation

Concept mapping teaching strategy, achievement and retention of SS II English language students in Rivers state

This study was on Concept Mapping Teaching Strategy, Achievement and Retention of SS II Students in English Language in River State. The poor academic performance of students in this subject area has been attributed in part to obsolete teaching strategies by researchers and educational critics. Two objectives were set for the study. The population for the study was all the students in senior secondary II in Obio/Akpor and Ikwerre Local Government Areas of Rivers State. An experimental research design, specifically the non-randomized control group pretest-posttest design with an intact class was used for the study. The sample consisted of a total of 202 students, made up of 124 males and 78 females. Two types of instruments: English Achievement Test (EAT) and English Retention Test (ERT) were used. The test items in the instrument were validated by the researchers’ colleague in the Department of Educational Technology/Library Science. A reliability coefficient of 0.87 for both instruments by Kuder Richardson formular 21. The subjects were pre-tested before exposure to the two different teaching strategies, and posttest administered to the groups. The data collected from the pretest and posttest were statistically analyzed using t-test. The results obtained showed that significant difference exist in the achievement and retention of subjects in English language taught with concept mapping strategy and those taught with lecture method. The application of Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) showed that students in English language taught with concept mapping strategy achieved and retained significantly better than those taught with lecture method. Based on the finding, the paper submitted that concept mapping teaching strategy is the more effective in the enhancement of students’ academic achievement and retention in English language. The study recommended that, the teaching strategies of English language teachers should be very flexible to incorporate new strategies. Concept mapping teaching strategy should be adopted and integrated into the secondary school curriculu

Survey of Masakwa Sorghum Growing Areas in Northeastern Nigeria

Masakwa sorghum is a post-rainy season sorghum grown mainly in the Chad Basin area of Borno State, NE Nigeria. Production practices, and the major constraints to production, were assessed in a survey of 24 villages

Maternal and child health interventions in Nigeria: a systematic review of published studies from 1990 to 2014

BACKGROUND: Poor maternal and child health indicators have been reported in Nigeria since the 1990s. Many interventions have been instituted to reverse the trend and ensure that Nigeria is on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. This systematic review aims at describing and indirectly measuring the effect of the Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) interventions implemented in Nigeria from 1990 to 2014. METHODS: PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched from 1990 to April 2014 whereas POPLINE® was searched until 16 February 2015 to identify reports of interventions targeting Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health in Nigeria. Narrative and graphical synthesis was done by integrating the results of extracted studies with trends of maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and under five mortality (U5MR) derived from a joint point regression analysis using Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey data (1990-2013). This was supplemented by document analysis of policies, guidelines and strategies of the Federal Ministry of Health developed for Nigeria during the same period. RESULTS: We identified 66 eligible studies from 2,662 studies. Three interventions were deployed nationwide and the remainder at the regional level. Multiple study designs were employed in the enrolled studies: pre- and post-intervention or quasi-experimental (n = 40; 61%); clinical trials (n = 6;9%); cohort study or longitudinal evaluation (n = 3;5%); process/output/outcome evaluation (n = 17;26%). The national MMR shows a consistent reduction (Annual Percentage Change (APC) = -3.10%, 95% CI: -5.20 to -1.00 %) with marked decrease in the slope observed in the period with a cluster of published studies (2004-2014). Fifteen intervention studies specifically targeting under-five children were published during the 24 years of observation. A statistically insignificant downward trend in the U5MR was observed (APC = -1.25%, 95% CI: -4.70 to 2.40%) coinciding with publication of most of the studies and development of MNCH policies. CONCLUSIONS: The development of MNCH policies, implementation and publication of interventions corresponds with the downward trend of maternal and child mortality in Nigeria. This systematic review has also shown that more MNCH intervention research and publications of findings is required to generate local and relevant evidence

Associations between adolescent experiences of violence in Malawi and gender-based attitudes, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors

Little is known about adolescent exposure to and factors associated with violence in Malawi. The aim of this research was to describe the prevalence of exposure to violence among adolescents in Malawi, and test the hypotheses that such exposures are associated with genderbased violent attitudes, and with internalizing and externalizing problems. In 2014, 561 primary school pupils were interviewed (50% girls), and logistic regression analysis was performed on gender-stratified data, adjusting for sociodemographic differences. Both girls and boys had witnessed domestic violence (28.5% & 29.6%), experienced emotional abuse at home (23.1% & 22.9%), physical abuse at home (28.1% & 30.4%), physical abuse at school (42.4% & 36.4%), and been bullied (33.8% & 39.6%). Among girls, internalized violent attitudes towards women were associated with emotional abuse at home (OR 2.1) and physical abuse at school (OR 1.7). Condoning rape was associated with physical abuse at school (OR 1.9). Bullying perpetration was associated with emotional abuse at home (OR 4.5). Depression was associated with emotional abuse at home (OR 3.8) and physical abuse at school (OR 2.4). Among boys, violent attitudes towards women and condoning rape were not associated with violence exposure. Bullying perpetration was associated with having been a victim of bullying (OR 2.9) and physical abuse at school (OR 2.7). Depression was associated with emotional abuse at home (OR 2.9), domestic violence (OR 2.4) and physical abuse at school (OR 2.5). These findings can inform programs designed to reduce violence victimization among Malawian girls, both in homes and schools

Associations between adolescent experiences of violence in Malawi and gender-based attitudes, internalizing, and externalizing behaviors

Little is known about adolescent exposure to and factors associated with violence in Malawi. The aim of this research was to describe the prevalence of exposure to violence among adolescents in Malawi, and test the hypotheses that such exposures are associated with genderbased violent attitudes, and with internalizing and externalizing problems. In 2014, 561 primary school pupils were interviewed (50% girls), and logistic regression analysis was performed on gender-stratified data, adjusting for sociodemographic differences. Both girls and boys had witnessed domestic violence (28.5% and 29.6%), experienced emotional abuse at home (23.1% and 22.9%), physical abuse at home (28.1% and 30.4%), physical abuse at school (42.4% and 36.4%), and been bullied (33.8% and 39.6%). Among girls, internalized violent attitudes towards women were associated with emotional abuse at home (OR 2.1) and physical abuse at school (OR 1.7). Condoning rape was associated with physical abuse at school (OR 1.9). Bullying perpetration was associated with emotional abuse at home (OR 4.5). Depression was associated with emotional abuse at home (OR 3.8) and physical abuse at school (OR 2.4). Among boys, violent attitudes towards women and condoning rape were not associated with violence exposure. Bullying perpetration was associated with having been a victim of bullying (OR 2.9) and physical abuse at school (OR 2.7). Depression was associated with emotional abuse at home (OR 2.9), domestic violence (OR 2.4) and physical abuse at school (OR 2.5). These findings can inform programs designed to reduce violence victimization among Malawian girls, both in homes and schools