Factors associated with access to condoms and sources of condoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Background: Evidence has shown that the prescribed lockdown and physical distancing due to the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have made accessing essential health care services much more difficult in low-and middle-income countries. Access to contraception is an essential service and should not be denied, even in a global crisis, because of its associated health benefits. Therefore, it is important to maintain timely access to contraception without unnecessary barriers. Hence, this study examines the factors contributing to limited access to condoms and sources of condoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. Methods: This study used the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) wave 1 survey dataset. The NIDS-CRAM is a nationally representative survey of the National Income Dynamics Survey (NIDS) conducted via telephone interview during COVID-19 in the year 2020. This is the first secondary dataset on COVID-19 conducted by NIDS during pandemic. A total of 5304 respondents were included in the study. Data were analysed using frequencies distribution percentages, chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: Almost one-quarter (22.40%) of South Africans could not access condoms, and every 7 in 10 South Africans preferred public source of condoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those who were from other population groups [AOR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.19-0.74] and those who were in the third wealth quintile [AOR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.38-0.93] had lower odds of having access to condoms while those respondents who were aged 25-34 [AOR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.27-0.83] and those with a secondary level of education and above [AOR = 0.24; 95% CI = 0.08-0.71] were less likely to prefer public source of condom. Conclusions: This study concludes that there was limited access to condoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the preferred source of condoms was very skewed to public sources in South Africa. Strategic interventions such as community distribution of free condoms to avert obstruction of condom access during the COVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemics should be adopted

Association between knowledge of Human Immunodeficiency Virus transmission and consistent condom use among sexually active men in Nigeria: An analysis of 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey.

An estimated 1.7 million people were living with HIV in Nigeria in 2020, with over 86,000 people newly infected. Although the global rates of HIV have remained consistent over time, Nigeria has the second-highest number of people living with HIV and contributes to 9% of the global burden of HIV/AIDS. This is due to several structural and individual-level factors that limit knowledge of HIV and condom utilization. In this context, this study examines the association between knowledge about HIV transmission and consistent condom use among sexually active men in Nigeria. The data utilised in this study was sourced from the latest Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey conducted in 2018. The sample included a total of 9,346 men between the ages of 15-59 years who were sexually active at the time of data collection. Frequency distribution, univariate and multivariable analyses were performed at 95% confidence interval and p-value less than 0.05 to determine the association between the key independent variables and covariates. The results showed that 85.03% of sexually active men who had no knowledge of HIV engaged in inconsistent condom use. The key independent variable showed that sexually active men who had knowledge of HIV had higher odds [AOR = 1.37; 95%(CI = 1.10-1.72)] of consistent condom use compared to those without knowledge of HIV. However, sexually active men who were previously married [AOR = 0.38; 95%(CI = 0.24-0.61)], and those residing in the South Eastern region of Nigeria [AOR = 0.62; 95%(CI = 0.44-0.96)] had lower odds of consistent condom use. This study established the association between HIV knowledge and consistent condom use among sexually active males in Nigeria even after controlling for confounders. Educational level, wealth index, and ethnicity are also associated with condom use. This calls for the consideration of social determinants of health, localised and cultural health promotion and targeted public health strategies at all governmental levels to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria. [Abstract copyright: Copyright: © 2022 Bolarinwa et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

EXAMINATION OF ICT RESOURCES SITUATION AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS IN ADEYEMI COLLEGE OF EDUCATION ONDO, NIGERIA

This study examined the ICT resources situation and academic achievement of business education students. It was conducted in the Department of Business Education, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was used. The population and samples used for the study were 2009/2010, 2010/2011, 2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2014/2015 set of business education students. Three research questions and two hypotheses were raised to guide the study. Primary data collected from the Department of Business Education of the college which is ICT resources data and students’ academic performance obtained from the final year results of the sessions under study were used for the study. The data were analyzed using simple percentage and mean. Findings revealed that ICT resources were grossly short- supplied and the available ones have become obsolete. It was also revealed that the students’ academic achievement were very low as a result of dearth of resources required for effective teaching and learning. There is no significant difference between the academic achievements of the students but there is significant relationship between resource allocation and students’ academic achievement in the sampled college. Government and other stakeholders in education were encouraged to come together to salvage the resource situation and the poor academic condition obtained from the programme.  Article visualizations

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Economies of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have been growing slowly in recent time. Economic growth is thought to affect inequality but not much is known about the nature of such relationship in SSA and there is no concordance among the few available. This paper examined the relationship between economic growth and inequality in the region using data from 1990 to 2017estimated with the Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Model and Granger Causality. Hausman’s test suggested the superiority of the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) over the Mean Group (MG) Model. The PMG results showed that economic growth had significant and negative effect on income inequality (proxy by GINI-coefficient) in the long run suggesting a state of the later part of the Kuznet curve. This is in addition to the negative effect in the short run which is contrary to the theory. Furthermore, the result of the Granger Causality test revealed evidence of unidirectional relationship running from economic growth to income inequality in the region. Therefore, the study recommended that governments of Sub-Saharan African countries should implement policies and programmes capable of sustaining and improving inclusive growth in order to avoid high income inequality in the region.     &nbsp

DOES HEALTH AID REDUCE HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE IN NIGERIA?

There has been influx of official development assistance (foreign aid) into the health sector in Nigeria but little or nothing is known about the impact of such funds on specific health outcomes in Nigeria. Given the economic implication of HIV/AIDS, this study therefore assessed the effect of health aid on the prevalence of the HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Relevant data spanning 1990 to 2017were sourced from World Development Indicator (WDI) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) database and analyzed within the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) framework. Model estimation results revealed that health aid had no significant effect on HIV prevalence in the country. Effective utilization of health aid was advocated in order to reduce the HIV prevalence rate thereby reducing the accompanying burden on the people and the economy.   &nbsp

Design of a cross section reduction extrusion tool for square bars

The objective of this project is to design a tool for moderate cross section reduction of bars that are deformed within a channel slider tool that is used for equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE). The bars that are deformed via ECAE have an initial square cross section with a nominal value of 1.00 in2 and aspect ratios (length/width) ranging between 4 and 6. A systems engineering design methodology is used to generate a topbottom approach in the development of the tool's design. This includes defining a need statement, which is the "Need for an area reduction extrusion tool to replace the current practices of machining ECAE processed billets". The system functions and requirements are defined next and used to generate three concepts that are compared to select the winning concept for further refinement. Major components of the selected tool are: a container, ram, base plate, punch plate, four die-inserts, four wedges and four flange locks. For materials, such as copper (C10100) and aluminum (Al6061-T6), that can be processed by this tool, the upper bound extrusion pressure, which is derived by limit analysis, is set at 192 ksi. The upper bound extrusion pressure is constrained by the buckling limit of the ram, which is 202 ksi. The maximum wall stress experienced by the container is 113 ksi. For materials with the same cross section and dimensions, fixed end conditions of the Ram support larger bucking loads when compared to other end conditions such as rounded ends or rounded-fixed ends. With the application of the upper bound method, an increase in the extrusion ratio of the tool causes a corresponding rise in the optimal cone angle of the die further translating to a rise in the extrusion pressure

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENT DISCHARGE ON IBESE RIVER AND INHABITANTS OF VILLAGES ALONG ITS COURSE IN NIGERIA

Quest for industrial hazard impact both on the inhabitants and environment, necessitated the study of Socio-economic Impact (SEI) of Industrial Effluent Discharged (IED) on Ibese river and inhabitants of villages along its course in Nigeria. The SIE of IED was conducted after water quality result of the Ibese River has been ascertained. Based on the water quality result, the river course was demarcated into direct industrial effluent discharged Ibese river site, upper Ibese River site and control (free of effluent discharge) river site outside the Ibese River location. The river that is Free of Industrial Efflu- ent Discharge (FIED) site served as control. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample 10% of farmers from farmers’ organization list in IED and FIED to give a total of 180 farmers selected for the research. Data were collected through the use of interview schedule and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Result revealed that high number (92.3mg/L) of phosphate an acid element and low (3.30) dissolve oxygen were discovered in IED site. Concerning heavy metals, higher mean level Fe 12.63, Pb 2.01 Cu 4.86 and Zn 7.88mg/L were found in IED water quality analysis. Majority (80.0%) of the farmers in FIED areas cultivated between 5.1 and 20 hectares of farms while 50.0% belong to this categories in IED. In FIED, higher proportion (86.0%, 64.0%, and 62.0%) generate income from crop planting, sheep and goat keeping and cassava processing re- spectively whereas fewer (24.4%, 16.7% and 6.6%) generate income from these sources in IED site. Impairment of used water was rated by 93.3% of the farmers as the most prominent harmful effect of IED. Income discrepancy between industrial effluent discharge site and non industrial effluent dis- charge site was statistically different at P<0.005. The finding revealed that SIE of IED is severe in IED site

Journalists’ Attitudes towards the Coverage of Agricultural and Rural Development News in Ogun State.

The study examined the journalists’ attitudes towards the coverage of Agricultural and Rural Development News in Ogun State. Multistage technique was used to select 40 journalists from Print and Electronic media organizations in Ogun State. Primary data were collected with structured questionnaire. Chi-square and Spearman correlation were used to analyze the data collected. Result showed that most (57.5%) of the journalists were male and 72.5% married. Their mean age was 30.6years. About 70.0% were with a minimum of a Higher National Diploma (HND) qualification. Majority (55.0%) were Christians while 45.0% were Muslims. Most (85.0%) of the journalists live in urban areas while few (15.0%) live in semi-urban areas. Result showed that 85.0% of the journalists were operating on a permanent basis while 15.0% were on part time/freelance appointments. Half (50.0%) of the journalists had 6-10 years work experience. Result further showed that 40.0% of the journalists were constrained by organizational problems,75.0% by lack of transportation to rural areas for news coverage, 92.5% by bad roads to rural areas, 55.0% by inadequate equipment and 90.0% were constrained by lack of interest in agricultural news by most of the members of the audience. Chi square analysis showed a significant association between age (c2=82.15, p<0.05), work experience (c2=80.21, p<0.05) and the perception of journalists toward the coverage of agricultural and rural development news. Result further showed an inverse relationship between the constraints experienced by the journalists and their reportage of agricultural and rural development news (r =-0.24, p=0.00). It was concluded that most of the journalists were not favorably disposed to the coverage of agricultural and rural development news owing to the identified constraints and challenges. Keywords: Journalist, Attitude, Agricultural News, Rural developmen

Chilling Effect of Inoculation on the Microstructure and Hardness Property of Hypo-Eutectic Grey Cast Iron

The influence of varied weight percent of inoculant (ferrosilicon) on the microstructure and hardness property of hypo- eutectic grey cast iron was investigated. Four sets of chill wedge samples were produced using two chill wedge wooden patterns (W3.5 and W4). The first set, the control samples W3.5 and W4 were uninoculated. The second, third and fourth sets were inoculated with 1.0wt.%, 1.5wt.% and 2wt.% ferrosilicon respectively to give inoculated samples W3.5 and W4. Wedge test was conducted on the samples at the four different points (1, 2, 3 and 4) in accordance with ASTM A367. From the results, microstructures of the control and the inoculated samples were differently influenced by the varied percentage of the inoculant at the four designated points 1, 2, 3 and 4. The average hardness property of the inoculated samples decreases with increasing ferrosilicon addition. Samples W3.5 and W4 with 1.0wt.% ferrosilicon revealed high hardness property at chill zone, and hardness property of W3.5 was high relative to sample W4 with the values of 34.9 HRA and 30.6 HRA respectively. Similarly, the control samples showed the highest hardness property at the chill zone. Sample W3.5 revealed high hardness value of 33.0 HRA relative to sample W4 of 26.8 HRA at the chill zone

Constraints Associated With Cultivation and Utilization of Soyabean by Farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study identified the constraints associated with the cultivation and utilization of soyabeans by farmers in Ogun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 120 respondents for the study. Primary data were obtained with interview guide. Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Chi-Square were used to analyze the data collected. Results showed that the mean age of the respondents was 54.8years and majority (75.0%) were male. Majority (64.2%) were married while 65.0% were literate. Thirty five percent (35.0%) had been in farming for about 20 years while majority (65.8%) cultivated between 1-3 hectares of land. Most (80.8%) of the farmers were aware of soyabean cultivation with 56.7% having extension agents as their source of information. Other sources of information include the media (radio and television), fellow farmers and friends. Lack of market for soyabean was the foremost constraint against farmers’cultivation of soyabeans while lack of knowledge of soyabean processing was ranked first among the constraints militating against farmers’ utilization of soyabeans. More than half (59.2%) of the farmers utilize soyabean only in the form of soya milk. Chi-square analysis showed a significant relationship between farmers’ cultivation of soyabean and sex (c2=8.34, p<0.05) and educational status (c2=31.43, p<0.05). Correlation analysis showed that farmers’ cultivation of soyabean is significantly related to age (r=0.96, p<0.05), farm size (r=0.78, p<0.05) and years of farming (r=0.68, p<0.05) while age is significantly related to farmers’ utilization of soyabean (r=0.04, p<0.05). It was concluded that age, sex, educational status, farm size and years of farming played significant roles in farmers’ cultivation of soyabean while age determined the utilization of soyabean by the farmers. It was recommended that extension services targeted on soyabean cultivation and utilization should be more vigorously pursued. Keywords: Soyabean, Cultivation, Utilization, Innovation, Constraint