Tracking progress of tobacco control in Pakistan against the MPOWER package of interventions : challenges and opportunities

MPOWER is an evidence-based package of the six most effective demand reduction interventions to reduce tobacco use. Global evidence shows that introduction of this package has accelerated and strengthened tobacco control worldwide with over 5 billion people living in 136 countries covered by at least one of these key interventions. This paper comments on how tobacco control laws in a low and middle income country, Pakistan, are meeting the MPOWER package provisions and what the challenges and opportunities for tobacco control are in the country. Pakistan is home to over 24 million tobacco users consuming a variety of tobacco products including 10 million smokeless tobacco users. Pakistan has introduced several laws to meet its international commitments under the framework convention against tobacco control and MPOWER package. However, gaps in existing policies, poor law enforcement, and a conflicting political economy of tobacco in the country pose major challenges for effective tobacco control. The changing political environment with renowned public health activists in current government, an active and independent judiciary, increasing use of social media, and a dynamic civil society offer opportunities to strengthen its efforts for effective policy actions against tobacco use

An examination of who is eligible and who is receiving bariatric surgery in England : secondary analysis of the Health Survey for England dataset

Background: Over 2 million people in England were estimated to be eligible for bariatric surgery in 2006. In 2014, clinical guidelines were updated, widening potential eligibility, meanwhile, obesity prevalence rose. However, numbers receiving surgery decreased, and concerns exist of inequalities in access between population groups. This study is aimed at estimating the number of adults eligible for surgery in England and to compare demographics with those that receive surgery. Methods: BMI and comorbidity status were used to determine eligibility for bariatric surgery within participants of the 2014 Health Survey for England dataset (6938 adults), based on the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines. Results were scaled up using national population estimates. The demographics of eligible participants were compared against 2014/2015 hospital episode statistics for sex and age group using a chi-squared analysis. Results: Of the total population of England, 7.78% (95% CI 7.1–8.6%), or 3,623,505 people, could have been eligible for bariatric surgery in 2014; nearly a million more than if previous guidelines applied. Eligibility peaked at ages 45–54, with most in the 35–64 age group (58.9%). 58.4% of those eligible were women. Patients receiving surgery were far more likely to be female than male (76.1%) and the distribution skewed towards younger ages when compared with those eligible. Conclusion: Bariatric surgery may benefit many people in England; significant investment is required so that service provision is adequate for demand. Differences between demographics of those eligible and receiving surgery may be explainable; however, the potential health inequality should be investigated

TCP Congestion Control: A Contributing Factor to Congestion in Long-Term Evolution Networks

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) has evolved the field of data transmission, bringing about the era of 4th Generation Networks capable of providing broadband speeds to mobile users based on the development experienced in the field of data transmission. There has been a sporadic increase in the utilization of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks, due to the ever-growing utilization of network links and network services, certain issues begin to rise, one of such issues is the problem of congestion. The more utilized a network becomes, the more vulnerable it is to congestion. Data networks become congested when network cannot keep up with the growing demand for the networks resources. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is the most used protocol today, and its application in Long-Term Evolution networks is analysed. This work show that TCP contributed to congestion in Long-Term Evolution networks

A Model for Congestion Mitigation in Long-Term Evolution Networks Using Traffic Shaping

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) has evolved the field of data transmission, bringing about the era of 4th Generation Networks capable of providing broadband speeds to mobile users based on the development experienced in the field of data transmission. There has been a sporadic increase in the utilization of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks, due to the ever-growing utilization of network links and network services, certain issues begin to rise, one of such issues is the problem of congestion. The more utilized a network becomes, the more vulnerable it is to congestion. Data networks become congested when network cannot keep up with the growing demand for the networks resources. The focus of this work is on proposing a model to mitigate the effects of congestion on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks. The model was evaluated using the NS-2 network simulator and Network Utilization, Network Delay, Throughput metrics would be used to evaluate the efficiency of the model. The enhanced model performed better and more efficiently than previous solutions, offering a better way to mitigate the effects of congestion in Long-Term Evolution networks. The results obtained from the simulations showed that the enhanced model if implemented in Long-Term Evolution network will reduce the effects of congestion, improving network throughput and overall performance

Redesign of Johar: a framework for developing accessible applications

As the population of disabled people continues to grow, designing accessible applications is still a challenge, since most applications are incompatible with assistive technologies used by disabled people to interact with the computer. This accessibility issue is usually caused by the reluctance of software engineers or developers to include complete accessibility features in their applications, which in turn is often due to the extra cost and development effort required to dynamically adapt applications to a wide range of disabilities. Our aim to resolve accessibility issues led to the design and implementation of the Johar framework, which facilitates the development of applications accessible to both disabled and non-disabled users. In the Johar architectural model, the ability-based front-end user interfaces are called interface interpreters, while the application-specific logic or functionality implemented by application developers are called applications or apps. The seamless interaction between each interface interpreter and app is made possible by Johar. In this thesis, we assure the quality of Johar by detecting and resolving many inconsistencies, omissions, irrelevancies, and other anomalies that can trigger unexpected or abnormal behaviour in Johar, and/or alter the smooth operation of interface interpreters and apps. Our approach to conducting the quality assurance involved reviewing the two components of Johar, johar.gem and johar.idf, by critically examining the functionality of classes in each component, including how classes interrelate and how functions are allocated or distributed among the classes. We also performed an exhaustive comparative review of four documents - IDF Format Specification document, XML Schema Document or XSD, the Interface Interpreter Specification document, and the johar.idf package - which are vital to the smooth running of all interface interpreters and apps. We also developed an automated testing tool in order to determine whether all errors or violations in an IDF (Interface Description File) are detected and reported. As part of this thesis, we designed and implemented an interface interpreter, called Star that presents WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointers) graphical user interfaces to users, which is based on the new version of Johar. This new version evolved as a result of the redesign activities carried out on the Johar components and the various modifications effected during the quality assurance process. We also demonstrated the usage of Star on two apps to prove Johar’s ability to guarantee smooth interaction between interface interpreters and apps. Finally, in this thesis, we designed two other interface interpreters which will be implemented in the near future

Roles of Church Leaders in Peace-Keeping and Conflict Transformation in Nigeria

The modern-day Nigerian society is well known for diverse of crises mainly among the major religious groups within the society Such conflicts are usually orchestrated either by religious sects or ethnic activists who claimed that the government has not been fair to them for whatever reasons The present day Nigeria is convulsing in disorders and violent religious crises Wars and violent deaths are most daily occurrences in every nook and cranny of the nation There have been reported loss of lives and wanton destruction of properties Schools and businesses are being shot down foreign investors no longer see Nigeria as a place to invest peacefully Socially politically and morally the nation is in turmoil Hardly can one speak of progress when the systems failed to maintain at least a minimum level of social decorum The fact that Nigerians can no longer live together in peace is obvious Religious and political conflicts have blinded us Christians in particular are becoming desperate and angry as there is no abating of these conflicts and as the stark reality is dawning on those who live on the frontlines of the conflict that it is just a matter of when and where the next religious conflict will occu

Use and Misuse of the New Media for Political Communication in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

The new media expectedly are to bridge the knowledge gap and compact the global village, however, changes in communication brought about by increasing access to them have engendered complexity, vitality and absurdity in many cases. Scholars have argued that new media make many people, who lack the skills required to scan exposure, select and apply avalanche of massages posted on them every moment, vulnerable. This is compounded by the failure of the print and electronic media to play secondary gate-keeping role before bringing to the mass audience information accessed through the new media. However, these arguments will remain pure scholastic endeavour unless they are connected to the experience of Nigerians during political campaigns. Therefore, this paper examines new media in political communication in Nigeria’s 4th Republic. Based on qualitative content analysis of some new, print and electronic media messages and review of the content of some political gladiators’ new media platforms, the paper presents a situation analysis of the nexus between new media messages and political harmony or conflict in Nigeria. An analysis of the new media contents in Nigeria reveals that although the new media have enhanced political awareness and interaction, however, they are also being used to malign, intimidate and discredit political opponents thus triggering conflicts. The print and electronic media in Nigeria have also accentuated such political conflicts through their over reliance on and re-publication of new media messages without proper gate-keeping. The paper concludes that although beneficial, problems still exist in the utilization of the new media for political communication in Nigeria as their uses are sometimes dysfunctional. Aggressive education of the populace on the limitation of the new media is needed in order to develop required capacity for message scrutiny. News production processes in the mass media should also be conflict-sensitive. No of words: 297 Key words: new media, political communication, print media, electronic media, political conflict, gate-keeping, conflict sensitive, news

Inequalities in smoking prevalence : a missed opportunity for tobacco control in Pakistan

Background: Pakistan is one of the highest tobacco consuming countries in South Asia and consumption is increasing. To implement equity orientated tobacco control policies, the most vulnerable groups must be identified. We aimed to identify these groups using the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) 2012–13. Methods: Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore household and participant characteristics associated with smoking inside the home or tobacco smoking, respectively. Survey weights were used to give nationally representative findings. Results: Data for 12 931 households, 3132 men and 13 538 women were examined. About 58.3% of surveyed households were smoke-free, 39.1% were exposed to indoor tobacco smoke every day, 2.6% less frequently. Significantly more rural households were exposed to indoor tobacco smoke than urban households (45.2% versus 34.9%). Of men, 28.3% reported smoking compared with 1.3% of women. Smoking prevalence was higher in older age groups. Increasing wealth was associated with lower smoking prevalence and indoor smoking. For men, but not women, increasing education was associated with reduced smoking. Conclusions: Inequalities in smoking behaviour impose harm to those who can least afford the financial and health costs. Future tobacco control policies in Pakistan must be sensitive to gender, geography and socio-economic status