Nigerian Teachers Perception on the Use of ‘SMS Communication on Students’ Conventional Writings

The newly invented short message service (SMS) communication occasioned by the emergence of mobile telephones is a new phenomenon in communication. This form of communication oftentimes disregards the basic rules of English grammar especially among youths and this has raised a major worry for the society in recent times. This concern is that SMS communication is gradually taking over written communication and indirectly jeopardizing students’ usage of the Standard English language in their academic writings. Within this context therefore, this paper investigates Nigerian teachers’ perception of the pervasiveness of the SMS language among students and how this form of communication is jeopardizing students’ formal academic writings. A survey was carried out among the teachers in the six zonal headquarters of Post Primary School Service Commission (PPSSC) in Anambra State, Nigeria. A sample of 400 teachers was randomly selected. Two schools were randomly sampled from each zone making twelve schools, and about 33 teachers were sampled from each school. Findings show that teachers are aware students use SMS communication because they observe that it filters into their academic writings, particularly in written examinations. The study also identified that the form of SMS language commonly used among students is replacing words with alphabets such as ‘U’ in place of ‘You’. Based on the findings, the study concludes that SMS language in communication is very detrimental to the students’ academic writings and recommends that students who use the SMS language in their written examination should be strictly penalized. Keywords: Short Message Service; SMS communication; Teachers’ Perception; Text messaging; academic writings, Nigeria

Communicating Non Verbal Impressions: Perspectives on the Exposed Feminine Cleavage

Every day, people communicate millions of spoken and unspoken messages. Among the unspoken messages or non verbal messages is the exposed cleavage. For anybody that sizes up a lady, the eyes naturally go to any exposed cleavage. Attraction or attention appears instant. The question therefore is: why the trend of women exposing their cleavage with skintight blouses or dresses? If the goal of ladies who expose their cleavages is to attract attention, then the exposed feminine cleavage, with its attention grabbing quality, could work like magic. This study sought to establish the predominant impressions created by the non-verbal message of the exposed feminine cleavage. Two qualitative research designs – Focus Group Discussion and In-depth Interviews – were used to study ‘beholders’ perceptions of the exposed feminine cleavage. The results of the study established the message of the exposed cleavage as attention capturing and seductive. Moderation in dressing was recommended by the study so that the incidents of rape and sexual harassments associated with suggestive dressing would be reined in. Keywords: Non verbal impressions, exposed feminine cleavage, attention grabbing, non-verbal messag

TRENDS IN SOCIAL MEDIA ADOPTIONS IN NIGERIA: EVALUATING YOUTH’S PARTICIPATION IN 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The global surge of social media accessed on mobile technologies especially among youths has brought about extraordinary opportunities in the society and have enabled a new trend in political communication. Today, social media networks are agents of sudden surge of virtuous public sphere dynamics with political campaigns thriving online; and through the smart mobile devices, making access easier and plausible. In Nigeria a public sphere of connectedness and discussion has also been in the making particularly since the advent of GSM in 2001 and social media penetrations in 2006. The political participation of the Nigerian youth vis-a-vis their presence on social media via mobile technologies must therefore, be put on the scholarship radar in order to determine how much influence it exerts on the polity. Hinged on the Diffusion of Innovation and Technological Acceptance Model, this study investigated how young people in three states Enugu, Anambra and Ogun states were politically activated to participate in the 2015 Presidential Elections with respect to their social media presence accessed on mobile technologies. A total of 600 youths were purposively selected from three LGAs in the three selected states and surveyed. Results indicated that the numerous mobile text messages and social media updates sent by politicians during the campaign influenced voting decisions with a minimal effect. Therefore, it is recommended that the polity be educated on the essence of mobile technologies in governance so that they can utilize it as an effective political communication tool for national development

Mapping inequalities in exclusive breastfeeding in low- and middle-income countries, 2000–2018

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)—giving infants only breast-milk for the first 6 months of life—is a component of optimal breastfeeding practices effective in preventing child morbidity and mortality. EBF practices are known to vary by population and comparable subnational estimates of prevalence and progress across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are required for planning policy and interventions. Here we present a geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence estimates from 2000 to 2018 across 94 LMICs mapped to policy-relevant administrative units (for example, districts), quantify subnational inequalities and their changes over time, and estimate probabilities of meeting the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) of ≥70% EBF prevalence by 2030. While six LMICs are projected to meet the WHO GNT of ≥70% EBF prevalence at a national scale, only three are predicted to meet the target in all their district-level units by 2030

Audience awareness and use of Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) in identifying fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria

This study examines the level of audience awareness of, and determining the effectiveness of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)’s use of, the Mobile Authentication Service (MAS) in identifying fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria. The study, anchored on the Uses and Gratification Theory, posits that people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. The theory was used to facilitate the understanding of NAFDAC’s choice of MAS as a new strategy in identifying fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria. Mixed research methods (Survey, In-depth Interview and Focus Group Discussion) were used for this study. Data gathered from a total of 191 respondents in two communities (Warri and Ughelli) representing Delta State Nigeria were analyzed. Results from the study indicate that the audience level of awareness and use of MAS is relatively low and was considered ineffective in the studied areas due to the following reasons: low mobilization of the population especially in rural communities, poor network services, partial implementation of MAS among drug manufacturers and poor infrastructures. Based on the research findings, this study therefore recommends an increased level of awareness through a multi-media approach, improved network services, as well as getting all drug manufacturers registered for the issuance of MAS number so as to enhance the effective use of MAS in identifying fake and substandard drugs in Nigeria.Keywords: Awareness, Use, Mobile Authentication Service, Fake Drugs, Sub-standard Drug

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000–17

Abstract Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation

Mapping geographical inequalities in oral rehydration therapy coverage in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000–17

Abstract Background: Oral rehydration solution (ORS) is a form of oral rehydration therapy (ORT) for diarrhoea that has the potential to drastically reduce child mortality; yet, according to UNICEF estimates, less than half of children younger than 5 years with diarrhoea in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) received ORS in 2016. A variety of recommended home fluids (RHF) exist as alternative forms of ORT; however, it is unclear whether RHF prevent child mortality. Previous studies have shown considerable variation between countries in ORS and RHF use, but subnational variation is unknown. This study aims to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of relative and absolute coverage of ORS, RHF, and ORT (use of either ORS or RHF) in LMICs. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model including 15 spatial covariates and data from 385 household surveys across 94 LMICs to estimate annual proportions of children younger than 5 years of age with diarrhoea who received ORS or RHF (or both) on continuous continent-wide surfaces in 2000–17, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. Additionally, we analysed geographical inequality in coverage across administrative units and estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths averted by increased coverage over the study period. Uncertainty in the mean coverage estimates was calculated by taking 250 draws from the posterior joint distribution of the model and creating uncertainty intervals (UIs) with the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles of those 250 draws. Findings: While ORS use among children with diarrhoea increased in some countries from 2000 to 2017, coverage remained below 50% in the majority (62·6%; 12 417 of 19 823) of second administrative-level units and an estimated 6 519 000 children (95% UI 5 254 000–7 733 000) with diarrhoea were not treated with any form of ORT in 2017. Increases in ORS use corresponded with declines in RHF in many locations, resulting in relatively constant overall ORT coverage from 2000 to 2017. Although ORS was uniformly distributed subnationally in some countries, within-country geographical inequalities persisted in others; 11 countries had at least a 50% difference in one of their units compared with the country mean. Increases in ORS use over time were correlated with declines in RHF use and in diarrhoeal mortality in many locations, and an estimated 52 230 diarrhoeal deaths (36 910–68 860) were averted by scaling up of ORS coverage between 2000 and 2017. Finally, we identified key subnational areas in Colombia, Nigeria, and Sudan as examples of where diarrhoeal mortality remains higher than average, while ORS coverage remains lower than average. Interpretation: To our knowledge, this study is the first to produce and map subnational estimates of ORS, RHF, and ORT coverage and attributable child diarrhoeal deaths across LMICs from 2000 to 2017, allowing for tracking progress over time. Our novel results, combined with detailed subnational estimates of diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality, can support subnational needs assessments aimed at furthering policy makers’ understanding of within-country disparities. Over 50 years after the discovery that led to this simple, cheap, and life-saving therapy, large gains in reducing mortality could still be made by reducing geographical inequalities in ORS coverage