Suchergebnisse

Background: Snoring is a clinical condition that causes some serious social and health problems among populace. Objective: This study was to determine the prevalence, knowledge, attitude and perception of respondents in Ekiti, South western Nigeria toward snoring. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among adult population in three local government areas of Ekiti State, South-West Nigeria. A multistage random sampling technique was adopted to select 241 respondents for this study. A simple random sampling by balloting was used to select one Local Government Area (LGA) each from the three senatorial districts. This study was carried out inform of an outreach programme over a period of 4 months from January to April, 2019. A pre-tested interviewer semi-structured open ended questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data on socio-demographic variables, knowledge, attitude and perception of the respondents on snoring. Data generated were descriptively analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 20.0 and the results were presented in tables, charts and adjusted odd ratio. Results: A total of 241 respondents were analyzed, made up of 88 (36.5%) males with a male to female ratio of 1:1.7. The mean age was 38.6 years (SD ± 10.3). The age group 30-39 years has the highest response which constitutes 38.6%. Majority (91.3%) were Christian and 172 (71.4%) were married. The estimated prevalence of snoring among couples was 30.7%. Only about 109 (45.2%) of the respondents were adjudged to have positive attitude. Factors such as occupation, education, knowledge and attitude were found to be significantly related to the perception of respondents about snoring at 0.05 levels. Conclusion: The prevalence of snoring in this study was 30.7%. Despite good knowledge and perception of snoring among the respondents, less than half of them has positive attitude towards snoring. It is important to identify the causes of snoring and treat them immediately to avoid complications.

Teachers play an important role in the development of human capital by nurturing and building the intellectual capacity of learners. Academic research revealed that teachers, particularly in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges are faced with array of challenges constricting the drive towards equipping students with the appropriate practical skills as a result of dwindling motivation. Previous studies in the canon of motivation and performance studies have largely focused on industrial organizations and financial institutions with a sparse attention on teachers of TVET colleges of education in Nigeria. The paper seeks to stimulate the important discourse of motivation as a pathway to the realization of effective teachers' performance in Nigeria's TVET colleges of education. The Multiple Case research design was employed with a total of 120 teachers recruited from three selected TVET colleges. Findings revealed that intrinsic motivation has no significant association with teachers' performance. A positive and significant association exists between extrinsic motivation and teachers' performance. Amongst all other factors of motivation, total basic salary package appears to be the most impactful motivating factor for teachers. The study makes a case that for a proactive and robust teachers' performance, TVET must appreciate and harness effective extrinsic motivational strategies for viable teachers' performance.

Worldwide, under-five mortality (U5M) rate is highest in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). There exists a gap in knowledge on the pathway through which Parental Educational Homogamy (PEH) influences U5M in SSA. In this study, we tested the research hypothesis' PEH is not associated with under-five children's survival probability in SSA. Demographic and health survey datasets for 21 SSA countries were analyzed. Cross-sectional design and multi-stage cluster sampling technique were used for sample selection in each of the countries under investigation. The dependent variable was the survival status of a newborn to age 59 months while the main independent variable was PEH generated from information on wife's and husband's level of education. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Cox-proportional hazard model and Brass-adjusted model (α=0.05). Under-five mortality rate ranges from 56/1,000 live born in South Africa to 190/1,000 live born in Sierra-Leone. Across countries, U5M rate was higher among the children of parents with at most primary education than that of parents who had at least secondary education. This pattern of U5M rate was also observed for children of parents where husbands were more educated than their wives. Maternal age at birth, sex of the child, toilet facility, type of cooking fuel, tetanus injection during pregnancy, and birth weight were significantly associated with U5M in 14, 11, 8, 7, 11, 14 and 20 countries respectively. A significant relationship was established between PEH and U5M in 11 of the 21 studied countries but was identified as a predictor of U5M in Congo Democratic Republic, Gambia and Zimbabwe. Parental educational homogamy exhibits a pattern of relationship with U5M in SSA. Ensuring that individuals particularly women have at least secondary education before childbearing will facilitate an U5M reduction in SSA.

This paper focuses on marketing practice of SMEs in Nigeria. The specific key learning objectives of the paper are; to highlight the strategic importance of SMEs in economic development of any economy; to sketch the patterns of Government support programmes for development of SMEs in Nigeria and Past Empirical Studies of SMEs performance in Nigeria; to highlight the importance SMEs for survival and continued growth of Nigeria Economy; to highlight the impact of environmental factors on marketing practice of SMEs; to establish the extent to which marketing practice of SMEs in Nigeria conforms with marketing principles and functions. The Nigeria marketing environment presents features that are quite different from the developed economies and even quite different from other developing countries. There are for examples infrastructural problems that are unthinkable in the context of developed economy. Equally government support programmes for SMEs are poorly managed such that intended results are not obtained. There are attitudinal problem on the part of the SMEs operators and officials of government supervisory agencies. All these have direct and indirect impacts on marketing practice of the SMEs in Nigeria. The paper falls back on empirical studies of the lead author, his post graduate and undergraduate marketing students, on SMEs, to illustrate the marketing practice of SMEs in Nigeria, a developing economy. Conclusions are drawn based on marketing practice of SMEs in Nigeria. The authors call on scholars and writers on marketing functions of SMEs, especially in Nigeria to shift to providing empirical works in their writings on marketing functions rather than the present theoretical considerations. This is because research based findings could be used to improve the marketing practice of SMEs.In summary, the primary purpose of this paper is to present research based findings of the marketing practice of SMEs in Nigeria. The usual focus of authors on marketing practice is the big firms that have made it in the market place. The marketing practice of SMEs is usually assumed. However, the SMEs dominate the landscape of all economies, from developed, developing to underdeveloped. Since marketing is concerned with the creation of customer, and this should be the valid basis for the existence of any business organization. It is important that the marketing practice of the organization that dominates in all economies should be investigated, and understood so as to be able to improve on the practice.This paper is divided into four segments, the literature reviews, summary of the findings on empirical investigation of marketing practice of SMEs by the lead author, then findings of undergraduate and post graduate students supervised by the lead author, this is another way of looking at the marketing practice employed by the studied SMEs. Then follows discussion of the findings in the light of the environment and conclusion. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n3p243

To investigate the knowledge and practices regarding medical abortion and postabortion care in northern Nigeria among private physicians—the principal providers of such services in the area—122 doctors operating separate clinics in five states—Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Niger, and Taraba—were interviewed by means of a structured questionnaire. The results showed that 22 percent of the doctors reported that they terminate unwanted pregnancies, whereas nearly all reported that they manage complications of unsafe abortion. Manual vacuum aspiration and dilatation and curettage performed singly or in combination were the most common methods of abortion and postabortion care reported by the doctors. Only one doctor reported exclusive use of medical abortion in the first trimester, and three reported its exclusive use in the second trimester. Only 35 percent of the doctors listed misoprostol as a drug that they knew could be used for abortion and postabortion care, and only 12 percent listed mifepristone. By contrast, 49 percent listed inappropriate or dangerous drugs for use in abortion provision in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. We conclude that private practitioners in northern Nigeria have limited knowledge of medical abortion and postabortion care, and that a capacity‐building program on the subject should be instituted for them.

To investigate the knowledge and practices regarding medical abortion and postabortion care in northern Nigeria among private physicians-the principal providers of such services in the area-122 doctors operating separate clinics in five states-Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Niger, and Taraba-were interviewed by means of a structured questionnaire. The results showed that 22 percent of the doctors reported that they terminate unwanted pregnancies, whereas nearly all reported that they manage complications of unsafe abortion. Manual vacuum aspiration and dilatation and curettage performed singly or in combination were the most common methods of abortion and postabortion care reported by the doctors. Only one doctor reported exclusive use of medical abortion in the first trimester, and three reported its exclusive use in the second trimester. Only 35 percent of the doctors listed misoprostol as a drug that they knew could be used for abortion and postabortion care, and only 12 percent listed mifepristone. By contrast, 49 percent listed inappropriate or dangerous drugs for use in abortion provision in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. We conclude that private practitioners in northern Nigeria have limited knowledge of medical abortion and postabortion care, and that a capacity-building program on the subject should be instituted for them. Adapted from the source document.