AN INVESTIGATION ON OFFSHORING AND RESHORING: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UK ECONOMY

Many years have seen the offshoring phenomenon to be a continuous occurrence in different parts of the world because it yields major benefits for the firm carrying out the activity but the tide seems to be changing in the market today especially due to the identification of the hidden costs and other. The paper begins by discussing the concepts which are associated with the topic and the various progressions to which it occurs. The drivers to which have caused repatriation to the UK are similar to other counties but a few factors have being identified to be specific to just the UK. Hence, the factors to which drives reshoring were addressed while UK specific drivers such as brand name, quality, skill base and regulated legal frameworks which protects manufacturers were elaborated upon; some barriers which included high labour cost, taxes and energy cost were also identified by manufacturers whom considered repatriation to the UK. The findings provide a comprehensive framework for the analysis of the impact (positive and negative) of reshoring on the economic, social, political, and environmental aspects of the entire UK economy. The research conducted further shows that the integration of manufacturing processes with other forms of businesses can severely boost the economy alongside the right structures and processes to encourage the sustainability of the reshoring occurrence within the UK

Sexual Behavior and Abuse: A Case Study of University Undergraduates in Tertiary Institutions in Imo State, Nigeria

Introduction: In young people including adolescents, risky sexual behavior has been recognized as an important health, social and demographic concern in the developing world. Aim: To assess sexual behaviors and their association with current and life-time occurrence of sexual abuse among female undergraduates in tertiary institutions in Imo State, Nigeria. Methodology: This was a school based cross sectional study involving 600 female students selected from tertiary institutions in Imo State Nigeria, using the multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using a data software (EPI-INFO version 3.3.2). Descriptive variables were presented using summary indices, frequency tables/percentages, and graph while associations between variables were done using the Chi-square and binary regression. A p-value of 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age of the students was 21.73.2 years. About 65.2% of the respondents have initiated sexual intercourse and of this proportion, 75.6% were sexually active in the last one year preceding survey. The mean age at initiation of sexual debut among the students was 18.93.8 years and the commonest form of sexual act practiced was penile/vaginal sex. About 15.2% of the students had been currently abused. Predictors of current sexual abuse were; ever had sexual intercourse (OR.4.63), being within 14-19 years of age at first sexual initiation, (OR: 0.42), had first sexual exposure with a casual partner (OR: 12.38), and being sexually active in the last 1 year preceding study, (OR: 2.16). Conclusion: Risky sexual behaviors were prevalent and were found to influence the occurrence of sexual abuse, among the students. Thus, there is need to institute appropriate prevention strategies to limit risky sexual behaviors and it consequences among adolescents and young adults

Grand Challenges in global eye health: a global prioritisation process using Delphi method

Background We undertook a Grand Challenges in Global Eye Health prioritisation exercise to identify the key issues that must be addressed to improve eye health in the context of an ageing population, to eliminate persistent inequities in health-care access, and to mitigate widespread resource limitations. Methods Drawing on methods used in previous Grand Challenges studies, we used a multi-step recruitment strategy to assemble a diverse panel of individuals from a range of disciplines relevant to global eye health from all regions globally to participate in a three-round, online, Delphi-like, prioritisation process to nominate and rank challenges in global eye health. Through this process, we developed both global and regional priority lists. Findings Between Sept 1 and Dec 12, 2019, 470 individuals complete round 1 of the process, of whom 336 completed all three rounds (round 2 between Feb 26 and March 18, 2020, and round 3 between April 2 and April 25, 2020) 156 (46%) of 336 were women, 180 (54%) were men. The proportion of participants who worked in each region ranged from 104 (31%) in sub-Saharan Africa to 21 (6%) in central Europe, eastern Europe, and in central Asia. Of 85 unique challenges identified after round 1, 16 challenges were prioritised at the global level; six focused on detection and treatment of conditions (cataract, refractive error, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, services for children and screening for early detection), two focused on addressing shortages in human resource capacity, five on other health service and policy factors (including strengthening policies, integration, health information systems, and budget allocation), and three on improving access to care and promoting equity. Interpretation This list of Grand Challenges serves as a starting point for immediate action by funders to guide investment in research and innovation in eye health. It challenges researchers, clinicians, and policy makers to build collaborations to address specific challenge

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

AN INVESTIGATION ON OFFSHORING AND RESHORING: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UK ECONOMY

Many years have seen the offshoring phenomenon to be a continuous occurrence in different parts of the world because it yields major benefits for the firm carrying out the activity but the tide seems to be changing in the market today especially due to the identification of the hidden costs and other. The paper begins by discussing the concepts which are associated with the topic and the various progressions to which it occurs. The drivers to which have caused repatriation to the UK are similar to other counties but a few factors have being identified to be specific to just the UK. Hence, the factors to which drives reshoring were addressed while UK specific drivers such as brand name, quality, skill base and regulated legal frameworks which protects manufacturers were elaborated upon; some barriers which included high labour cost, taxes and energy cost were also identified by manufacturers whom considered repatriation to the UK. The findings provide a comprehensive framework for the analysis of the impact (positive and negative) of reshoring on the economic, social, political, and environmental aspects of the entire UK economy. The research conducted further shows that the integration of manufacturing processes with other forms of businesses can severely boost the economy alongside the right structures and processes to encourage the sustainability of the reshoring occurrence within the UK