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This paper reports the results of an experimental study of the relationship between the effectiveness of aggregate production planning decisions and the form of the information system used to support the decision making. The experiment, involving twenty two graduate business administration students devoting an entire week end to the decision making activity in a simulated, computer based environment, generated results showing significantly different performance according to the form in which information was presented. Decision makers given data summarized through the use of simple descriptive statistics (1) made higher quality decisions than those receiving the same data in standard formats, (2) had less confidence in the quality of their decisions, and (3) took longer to make their decisions.

The small scale cattle fattening enterprise is represents an important component of the agribusiness sector of the economy with great economic, income, poverty reduction and social implications. A large number of farmers involved in cattle fattening just before 3 or 4 months of Eid-ul-Azha (Muslim festival), when they sell the animals with profitable prices. Cattle fattening for beef production have become an important business of the small farmers in Bangladesh. This study examined the profitability as well as operational economics efficiency of cattle fattening enterprise of Rajbari District. Data used to achieve this objective was obtained from 120 nomadic farmers, which were randomly selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Data were generated using a survey schedule as well as direct observation (cost-route method). Descriptive statistics, economics analysis as well as operational efficiency index were used to analyze the data. Results showed that small scale cattle fattening enterprise were profitable and flexible. A net enterprise income of BDT 5559 per cattle was realized by an average enterprise in study area. It was also shown that operational efficiency was not generally high among the entrepreneur. Based on these results, the study advised less efficient entrepreneurs to adopt the practices of the efficient ones in order to make the enterprise more profitable. The study shows that small scale cattle fattening enterprise is profitable due to agribusiness context. Farmers used three years old cattle for beef fattening. Cattle fattening period is 4.5 months in rural study areas of Rajbari district in Bangladesh. Keywords: Economic efficiency; Cattle farming; Profitability DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbau.v9i1.8756 JBAU 2011; 9(1): 141-146

The study assessed the technologies available for empowering women in cassava production in Abia State. The objectives were to determine the availability and utilization of technologies for empowering women in cassava production. Questionnaire was the instrument for data collection which was developed on a 4-point measuring scale and was validated by peer review of researchers in agricultural extension. Reliability was established by the Cronbach’s alpha which gave co-efficient of r ∝ = 0.74 indicating a high reliability. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 240 and the extension filed officers were used as research assistants to facilitate the administration and retrieval of the questionnaire. Data analysis was achieved with the use of descriptive statistics such as frequency, mean which referenced x = 2.50 as the benchmark and inferential statistics as t-test at 0.050 level of significance. The findings revealed that majority (x = 2.56) agreed that technologies were available for empowering women in cassava production while (x = 2.03) indicated that the extent women were empowered utilizing technologies for cassava production was low. The t- test of no mean significant difference was not rejected because t = 0.01 at P ≥ 0.05 which indicated no mean difference between availability and utilization of technologies for empowering women cassava producers. On the basis of the findings the study recommended that more extension field personnel should be employed and retrained on how to train women on how to use the technologies.Keywords: women, empowerment, cassava, production

Background: Birth is a major challenge for the newborn to negotiate successfully from intrauterine to extra uterine life. The first few hours since birth is the most crucial period in the life of an infant for further growth and development, which is largely determined by the quality of care that the newborn receives. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the quality of care provided by nursing personnel to newborn in the labour room. Materials and methods: This study was conducted in BP Koirala Institute of Health Science. Cross sectional, non participatory observational research design was adopted for the study. Care provided by nursing personnel to 814 normal newborns was observed. Samples were chosen by non probability purposive sampling technique. Data was collected through observational method by trained nursing personnel, using 46 items pre-tested, validated and self developed observational checklist. Care provided to newborns was observed from birth to two hours and categorised as good, average and poor based on scores obtained. Data was entered and analysed using SPSS-10. Descriptive statistics- [Mean, percentage, frequencies and standard deviation] was used to describe the quality of care provided to the newborn babies. Results: Overall quality of care was good in 42.36%, average in 57.64% and none of them received poor care. Overall mean score for quality of care was 34.75/46 (75.54 %). Regarding subscales quality of care was good in majority of newborns in areas such as Preparation to receive the baby (76.1%), Initiation of breathing (100%), Maintaining thermoregulation (77.3%), Physical assessment (90.9%), and other aspects of care (95.2%). However the quality of care was poor in majority of newborns in establishment of breast feeding (58.23%) and average in prevention of infection (76.9%). Conclusion: Study findings highlight the need for focus in establishment of breast feeding and prevention of infection. Key words: Quality of care; newborns; nursing personnel; breast feeding; prevention of infection and assessment of newborn. DOI: 10.3126/kumj.v7i3.2729 Kathmandu University Medical Journal (2009) Vol.7, No.3 Issue 27, 231-237

S OCIOLINGUISTICS has been described as the study of verbal behavior in terms of the social characteristics of speakers, their cultural background, and the ecological properties of the environment in which they interact (Hymes 1962; Ervin-Tripp 1964). In this paper we will explore some of the formal aspects of this relationship. We will examine the language usage of specific groups and attempt to relate it to linguistically distinct dialects and styles on the one hand and variables employed in the study of social interaction on the other. The raw material for our study is the distribution of linguistic forms in everyday speech. As is usual in descriptive analysis, these forms are first described in terms of their own internal patterning at the various strata (phonemic, morphemic, etc.) of linguistic structure (Lamb 1964; Gleason 1964). Ultimately, however, the results of this analysis will have to be related to social categories. This condition imposes some important restrictions on the way in which data are gathered. Since social interaction always takes place within particular groups, linguistic source data will have to be made commensurable with such groups. We therefore choose as our universe of analysis a speech community: any human aggregate characterized by regular and frequent interaction over a significant span of time and set off from other such aggregates by differences in the frequency of interaction. Within this socially defined universe forms are selected for study primarily in terms of who uses them and when, regardless of purely grammatical similarities and differences. If two grammatically distinct alternatives are employed within the same population, both will have to be included. On the other hand, in those cases where socially significant differences in behavior are signaled by grammatically minor lexical or phonemic correlates, the latter cannot be omitted from consideration.

This study assessed awareness and use of information and communication technologies among extension agents in Maigana Zone of Kaduna State A.D.P. All extension personnel in the zone (70) were interviewed through the use of structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to achieve the objectives of the study. It was found that 60.15% of the respondents were aware of at least one ICT in the study area. The multiple regression analysis of the relationship between the extension workers’ socioeconomic characteristics and ICT usage showed that level of training and membership of professional association showed a positive significant relationship at p

The study assessed the perception of secondary school student across Borno State towards fisheries as a profession. A total of 300 structured questionnaires was administered among secondary school students in five (5) Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) zone which were Maiduguri, Biu, Gwoza, Bama and Monguno zones. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The result revealed that, 65% of the respondents were male while 25% were female. The source of awareness about fisheries was through their teachers which had 50.70%, 16.27% through mass media, 15.06% through extension agent, 13.57% through friends, while others had 4.6%. The respondents’ interest/likeness about fisheries revealed that 52.14% had interest, 32.14% has no interest while 15.72% are yet to decided. A total of 76.43% had positive perception in practicing fish farming while 23.57% had no interest. Awareness about fisheries as profession revealed that 72.14% are aware while 27.86% are unaware. Conclusively, the perception of secondary school students to fisheries is encouraging, so there is prospect for fisheries as a profession in Borno state. It will be recommended that more awareness should be created to secondary school students about fisheries profession and as prospect for youth empowerment.Keywords: Fisheries, Perception, School, Student, Profession.

The Plochere Color System is a collection of 1248 painted papers, the colors being produced by systematic pigment mixtures. The Munsell book notation of each of the samples is given, and certain regularities and singularities in the system are discussed.

Background An increase in cancer incidence in developing countries is expected due to the possible decline of mortality from infectious diseases, improved healthcare, population growth and increasing life expectancy. It can therefore be anticipated that the number of cancer patients requiring palliative treatment will also rise in Nepal, creating a discrepancy between the requirement and delivery of health care. Estimation of trends is very essential for the planning of future requirements in any such programme. Method This retrospective study analysed the records from the Radiotherapy Department at Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal to calculate the number of cancer patients who received palliative treatment with radiotherapy between September 2000 and December 2008. Descriptive statistics was used for the analysis and subsequently, statistical modelling techniques were applied for forecasting of future trends. Results Of 1001 cancer cases, 363 patients received radiotherapy with palliative intent during the study period. Excluding the constant term from the equation, the Logarithmic model was the best fitted, with R2 = 0.727, p = 0.002 for the forecasting of cancer patients receiving palliative treatment. Using this model, the number of cancer cases receiving palliative radiotherapy at the hospital in the year 2015 was estimated to be 68. Thus, the number of patients requiring radiotherapy with palliative intent shows a pattern of increasing trend over the coming years. Conclusion The data analysed in the present study indicates an increasing future trend of patients requiring palliative therapy at the centre. In the future, a discrepancy may arise between the requirement and capacity of care available to these patients. Government and healthcare agencies of Nepal must ready themselves to promote better strategies for adequate provision to the cancer patients receiving palliative treatment in the coming years. Key Words Statistical Modelling; Palliative Oncotherapy; Forecasting DOI: 10.3126/nje.v1i1.4111 Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2010;1 (1):38-43

THE breeding of domestic animals for economic purposes has for centuries proceeded on the basis of trial and error methods, and by and large is still carried on in the same manner today. Although Wright (1921) more than a quarter century ago laid down most of the genetic principles upon which breeding schemes with predictable rates of gain could be established, it is only recently that, through the efforts of Lush (e.g., 1945) and of his students, the descriptive data which have been accumulating for many years have been subjected to analyses necessary for the formulation of efficient breeding plans. The validation by empirical tests of the theoretical principles deduced by Wright has been slow, largely because of the necessity of collecting data for a long period of time and of the laborious statistical analysis required. With respect to egg production in the domestic fowl such verification has been recently . . .

The study identified the perception of final year agriculture students of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) and the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) towards farming as a means of sustainable livelihood. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 173 respondents for the study. Data was collected with the aid of a questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings show that 57.22% of the respondents were between the ages of 22-24 years. About 73% of the respondents were willing to take up farming as a means of sustainable livelihood. Livelihood preference of respondents in other areas of agriculture other than farming showed that the majority preferred to work in commercial banks (5.0), agricultural company (3.62), ministry of agriculture (3.23), food processing industry (3.39), agricultural bank (4.05), Non-governmental organizations (4.27) and agricultural marketing departments (4.46). The major perceived challenges of respondents in taking up farming as a means of sustainable livelihood include inaccessibility of land, high cost of farm machineries, and insufficient initial capital. It was recommended that Government agencies and NGOs should make available incentives and farm machineries for Agriculture graduates who are willing to take up farming as a means of sustainable livelihood. Land should be easily assessable to agriculture graduates to encourage their willingness to work, this could be done through lease by the government and other governmental bodies in charge of land allocation.Key words: Perception, Agriculture, Sustainable livelihood, students

This study examined the entrepreneurial competencies among women farmers in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Specifically, this paper described the characteristics of the respondents, identified the characteristics (type, form and duration) of enterprises the respondents engaged in, and examined their constraints to entrepreneurial development. Structured interview schedule was used to collect relevant information from 165 women farmers selected through multi-stage sampling procedure across 6 local government areas of Nasarawa State. Descriptive statistics (percentages and mean) were used to analyze the data. Most (82.8%) of the women entrepreneur were married, and had less than secondary education (82.3%). Also the mean age, household size and annual income was 39, 8 and ₦208,759.38 respectively. Furthermore, the majority (81%) did not belong to their respective business associations. Processing was the major type of business engaged in by many (58.8%) as sole proprietor (87.9%). Persistence, commitment to work contract, and risk-taking ranked highest with a mean score of 2.55, 2.47 and 2.40, respectively among the women entrepreneurial characteristics. Lack of start-up capital (95%), poor infrastructural facilities (93%), and inadequate access to relevant information (89%) were the major constraints to women farmers’ entrepreneurial development. Various tiers of government should create the enabling social and physical infrastructure environments to catalyze entrepreneurial development (with special focus for women) in the rural areas.Key words: Entrepreneurial development, women farmers, rural entrepreneurial challenges, Nasarawa State

W7 HOEVER looks into a publication of the United States Department of Agriculture entitled Food Consumption in the United States, 1909-52 will find in it almost inconceivably detailed statistical information pertaining to national use of food, annually from 1909 to 1952; and from supplementary documents, one can have data for later years too. These give a basis for attempting first to describe and second to explain changing patterns of national food use over as long a time as I could manage. The descriptive statistical work has probably proceeded nearly as far as is necessary. On some matters of interpretation, and particularly the buttressing of hypotheses with statistical evidence, I am still groping. Six summary tables of the basic descriptive statistics have been distributed. I shall focus here upon some but not all of the problems both of measurement and of interpretation of long-term trends. First I shall mention problems of definition and coverage; second, problems concerning relative levels and trends of ingestion and noningestion; third, problems of backward projection; fourth, problems of the causation of changing proportions; and fifth, problems of forward projection.

Rice is a very important commodity. Rice plays an important role in food security, economic stability, and employment. Consumer behavior in rice consumption continues to grow. Improved incomes lead to increased demands on quality. Changes in demographic structures, such as level of education, lifestyle, technology, transportation, and communication, affect the customer preferences and satisfaction with the rice they consume. In line with efforts to increase productivity, the rice should be produced to meet consumer expectations which are constantly evolving. This study aimed to identify the characteristics, analyze the decision-making process, preferences, and customer satisfaction, as well as making the right marketing mix recommendations based on the study of consumer behavior on three different social classes (lower class, middle, and upper). Convinience Sampling was used. The analytical tool used in this study was a descriptive analysis, Important & Performance Analysis (IPA) and the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI). Data processing with descriptive analysis showed some differences in the characteristics of responders and decision-making processes at all three social classes. The differences associated with educational level and family income levels, initial consideration of the purchase of rice, and where to purchase the rice. CSI showed that the total satisfaction on all three social classes is entirely in the range “satisfied”. However, the higher the social class, the higher the satisfaction of the rice consumed. Data processing by IPA showed that the performance, which should be improved based on consumer preference and satisfaction, was a top-class ease of getting rice and seller services. The performance on middle-class consumers have to be improved in assessing durability of rice, grain uniformity, and broken. While the upscale consumer should improve performance in terms of price, flavor, broken, and clean rice.Keywords: consumption, quality, expectation, social class, sample, performance.

Background: Menstruation is a major stage of puberty in girls, one of the many physical signs that a girl is turning into a woman. Women having better knowledge about menstrual hygiene and safe practices are less vulnerable to RTI and its consequences. Therefore, increased knowledge about menstruation right from childhood may escalate practices and may help in mitigating the suffering of millions of women. This study carried out to gather information regarding menstruation, hygiene related practices and its related problems among adolescent girls along with to review perceptions, belief and expectations regarding menstruation among adolescent girls. Methods: A Cross-sectional study was conducted, 314 girls of 12 to 15 years were identified as sample from 5 girls high schools. Pre tested pre designed questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed by using SPSS (Version 22). Descriptive statistics used to determine mean age of the subjects, age at menarche, frequency of menstrual disorders and activities affected by this condition. Results: Mean age of the sample was 14.25 years, with mean age of menarche 12.6 years. 52.6% of the girls belong to the mothers who are illiterate. 50.7% girls were aware of menstruation before menarche with major source of the information is mother (71.2%). 97.8% perceived menstruation as a normal process. 55.1% participants said they missed their school during menstruation. 96.4% experiencing pain and cloth was most common source of absorbent used by 60.2%. Conclusion: Mothers are the main source of information for young girls. Major reason for absenteeism from school was fear of stain, it has been suggested through cleanliness available for changing absorbent (pad/cloth) the ratio of absenteeism can be reduce.

PpT HIS presentation of descriptive statistics is designed to explore two main questions concerning changes in seller concentration in American manufacturing industries from 1954 to 1966: 1) Over this period, was there any significant upward or downward trend in individual-industry concentration ratios, as indicated both by the frequencies of positive and negative concentration changes, and by the size distributions of these changes? (And, as a sub-question, were there any significant shifts between 1963 and 1966?) 2) WVas there, over the period in question, any systematic relationship between the directions and sizes of concentration changes in individual industries and their concentration ratios in 1954? ' We pose the first question because we would like to know to what extent individual-industry concentration has been responsive since 1954 to increases in the shares of all manufacturing activity controlled by the largest 50, 100, and 200 manufacturing firms, and to the considerable number of large manufacturing mergers. Statistics prepared by the Bureau of Census show a large increase from 1947 to 1954 in the share of total value added by manufacture accounted for by the largest manufacturing firms, and a smaller increase from 1958 to 1963, as follows: 2 Share of total value added by manufacture accounted for by

Background The real state about the spread of the HIV epidemic in Nepal is not clear since the details available are on the basis of risk group. The objective of the study is to extract as much as information possible from available data and find out the trends of HIV cases in future. Material and methods A retrospective study was carried out on the data collected from the Health ministry records of Nepal, between 1988 and 2004. Descriptive statistics and statistical modelling were used for the analysis and forecasting of data. Results Excluding the constant term from the equation, the cubic model was the best fit, for the forecasting of HIV cases(p=0.001). NCASC reported cumulative number of HIV cases up to 2009 differs from our projected cases by 46 (99.99% accuracy in prediction). Using cubic equation, it is estimated that 4773 males, 2163 females and 6936 total reported number of HIV cases will be there in Nepal by the year 2015. Conclusion The HIV cases in Nepal are having an increasing trend. Estimates of the total number of prevalent HIV infections attributable to the major routes of infection make an important contribution to public health policy. They can be used for the planning of healthcare services and for contributing to estimates of the future numbers with severe HIV infection used for planning health promotion programmes. Key words: Statistical Modelling; HIV; Nepal DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nje.v1i3.5570 Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2011;1(3) 106-110

This study identified environmentally sustainable farm management strategies adopted by compound farmers in Mbaitoli Local Government Area Imo State. Specifically, it described the socio-economic characteristics of the compound farmers in the study area, identified the environmentally sustainable strategy adopted by compound farmers, identified compound farming ventures that are mostly adopted, assessed the contributions of compound farming to household food security in the study area and examined factors affecting compound farming in the study area. Of the nine communities in the study area, five were randomly selected for the study. Snowball sampling technique was used in selecting 100 households for the study. Data collection was done using questionnaire and interview schedule and analysed using descriptive statistics. Results shows that organic pesticides (70%), mixed farming (71%), cover-cropping (84%), crop rotation (79%) and mulching (74%) are the major environmentally sustainable farm management practices adopted by compound farmers in the study area. The major compound farming ventures adopted by households were crop production (88%) and poultry (50%). Income generation (Mean = 3.43), reduction of family expenditure on food (Mean = 3.45) and assured availability of food varieties in the family (Mean = 3.35) were the major contributions of compound farming to household food security. The major factors affecting compound farming in the study area were diseases and pests’ infestation on compound farm (Mean = 3.40), labour intensive nature of compound farming (mean = 3.40) and lack of irrigation facilities (mean = 3.38). It was recommended that extension agents should play leading role in conveying innovations and inventions that could enhance compound farming activities of farmers as regards pesticides and insecticides as well as irrigation facilitiesKeywords: Environmentally, sustainable, farm management

This study assessed factors influencing the level of satisfaction with the Growth Enhancement Scheme among farm families in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Two hundred and ninety-six beneficiaries were selected randomly from four randomly selected wards. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logit regression model were used to analyze the data obtained. Results computed from a Likert Scale indicated that majority of the farmers were either satisfied (47.6%) or highly satisfied (14.3%) with the scheme; while 28.6% were dissatisfied and 4.1% were highly dissatisfied. The level of satisfaction with the scheme increased among families with higher farming experience (coefficient = 0.05) and education (coefficient = 0.008); while it decreased with age (coefficient = -0.394) and extension visit (coefficient= -0.328). The study recommended that the scheme be extended for another cycle of five years to consolidate on its achievements and alleviate the bottlenecks before handing over to the private sector.Keywords :GESS, inputs, satisfaction, subsidy.

This study is aimed to find out the significance of a radio broadcasting evaluation, the method of educational radio broadcasting, and the strategy of broadcasting evaluation for radio partner of BPMRP Pustekkom (The Center of Communication Technology) of the Ministry of Education and Cultures. This study uses a descriptive analysis. The evaluation is carried out to understand the development of the broadcasting, to identify its audience categories, to monitor the audiences, to take the audience data, to meet to audiences, and to survey the audiences. The study shows that the evaluation of radio broadcasting is of important to carry out in order to re-examine a program proposal that is already arranged beforehand. The evaluation is also important to find out the success and the failure of a program.

This study examined the efficiency of resource use among smallholder okra farmers in Ika South and North Local Government Areas of Delta State, Nigeria. A two-stage sampling procedure was adopted in the selection of 113 okra farmers for the study using questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, multiple regression and marginal analyses. The result shows that most of the okra farmers were female. The mean age of the okra farmers was 47 year, while majority (90.3%) of the respondents were married. The mean household size was 5 persons, while the average farming experience was 20 years. The average farms size was 20.3 hectares. Three functional forms were tested and the linear function was chosen based on the number and significance of the parameters. The coefficient of multiple determination (R2) was 0.501which indicates that 50.1% of the variation in the output of Okra was accounted for by the independent variables in the model. The result of the marginal analysis showed that labour, farm size, fertilizer and planting material were underutilized as their ratios were greater than one, while herbicide on the other hand was over utilized. The study recommended that in other to increase the output of okra in the study area farmers have to increase the use of farm size, labour, fertilizer and planting materials since they are technically operating in stage 1 of the production process. Also, the use of herbicide should be decreased in other for these resources to be efficiently utilized.Key word: Resource-use. Okra production, multiple regression, marginal analysis

The study investigated determinants of adoption of recommended cassava production technologies among male farmers in Nasarawa State. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed for the selection of the respondent. Structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data were collected from 60 male cassava farmers selected from 6 out of 13 LGAs in the State. They were Karu, Kokona, Akwanga, NasarawaEggon, Lafia and Obi. Data were analysed with both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, and percentage were used to describe socio-economic characteristics of the respondents. Logit regression model was used to estimate the determinants of adoption of these practices. The results showed that awareness and adoption of these practices were very high (Awareness of all the practices ranges from 90% to 98.3% while the adoption is from 63.3% to 90%). Factors that positively and significantly influenced adoption by male farmers were income (p=0.01) and extension contact (p=0.1). The conclusion was that men made remarkable contribution in cassava production. It was recommended that Governments at all levels formulate policies aimed at encouraging and motivating male cassava farmers. Provision of loans to male farmers and subsidizing of inputs should be ae necessary. Cassava processing industries should be established to add value and increase income.Keywords: Adoption, Cassava Technologies, Male farmers.

The study examined agricultural extension activities for arable crops production in Akure South Local Government Area (LGA), Ondo State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select respondents. Data were collected using interview schedule, and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square. Most respondents (65.6%) were male, 77.1% had formal education with a mean age of 47 years and an average household size of five (4). Furthermore, 80.2% had less than five hectares of land for arable crop farming while 40% of the respondents farmed for family consumption only. Major source of extension services was government agencies. The most accessed services were; choosing of planting dates and introduction to improved seedlings with a mean score of 3.18 and 3.13 respectively. A significant relationship existed between farmers’ perception about extension service and most socio economic characteristics such as; age (χ2 =57.92, P≤0.05) and farm size (χ2 = 65.283, P≤0.05). The study concluded that extension services in the study area were highly accessed and that farmers have high perception about extension services. It recommends more private agencies participation in extension services.Keywords: Extension service, arable crop farmers and perception.

This study investigated the benefits of mobile phone usage among cassava processors in Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 81 cassava processors across four processing centres as respondents. Data collection was by a structured interview schedule. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and a linear regression model. The results show that the majority (80.2%) of the respondents were females; the respondents’ mean age was 37 years. All (100%) the respondents had one level of education or the other with a greater proportion (49.4%) of them having primary education. Their mean monthly income was N88, 395.06. The majority (72.8%) of them owned mobile phones which they used for business communication with customers. There was high level (M>2.0) of use of mobile phones for business communication by the respondents. The perceived benefits of mobile phone usage were reduced cost of transportation (67.9%); stability of prices of raw materials (66.7%); easy access to market information (61.7%) among others. The regression results show that only membership of social group and ownership of mobile phone had significant effects on level of use of mobile phones for business communication. The major constraints to the use of mobile phones for business communication were poor mobile network services in rural areas (63%), Lack of /unstable power supply to charge phones (48.2%) and high cost of recharge cards (47%). It was recommended that governments at all levels should provide electricity to rural communities to promote agricultural production and processing. Cassava processors in the area need to be mobilized by extension service providers (ADP and private) to form cooperative groups to enhance their businesses.Key words: Mobile Phone, Entrepreneurship Skills, Cassava Processors.

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The authors present descriptive data on the 5,312 patients aged 65 or older, admitted in 1967 to the medical and surgical in-patient services of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. These patients accounted for 24 per cent of the total number of adults admitted. The services admitting most of the elderly were General Medicine, General Surgery, Urology, Ophthalmology and Neurology. These patients had a longer average stay in the hospital than the national average for hospitalized elderly; almost 20 per cent of them stayed thirty-one days or longer. Over four-fifths of the elderly were admitted to Private and Semi-Private Pavilion accommodations, and the remainder entered the teaching services of the Semi-Private Division. The Division patients had longer lengths of stay, on the average, than patients in the Pavilions. The patients referred to Social Service were chiefly from the General Medical, Neurological, and Orthopedic services. The most significant factor determining who was referred to Social Service was extended “length of stay.” Over half of the elderly receiving social services were patients whose hospital stays were thirty-one days or longer. It is anticipated that the elderly will become a larger proportion of the sick, requiring more medical care and hospitalization. They will continue to use more bed-days than any other group of patients. It is recommended that health-care institutions become more consciously aware of the elderly and their impact on hospital resources, and that the hospital stay be regarded as one phase in a continuum of care.

Background: Patients’ care when dispensing of Medicines could be ensured through the delivery of drug information either orally or in written form. Pharmacists are expected to ascertain that patients or caregivers have gained clear and complete information. The objective of this study was to assess patient counseling during dispensing of medicines and associated factors in Tikur-Anbessa Specialized Hospital.Method: A cross sectional study was conducted to assess patients’ counseling and a convenient sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and observation checklist and, analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics and odds ratio were used to present study results.Results: A total of 286 respondents were included in this study. Most (93.7%; 94.4%; 91%) of the respondents were told the drug unit dose, frequency of administration and duration of therapy respectively. Less than a third of the patients received information on drug-drug interactions, storage of medications and side -effects. None of the patients were told what to do on missed dose and, none were asked back to repeat their understanding. Three fourth of the patients reported that they were satisfied with the counseling services provided. Females were more likely to be satisfied than males whereas, level of education showed a negative association with pharmacist counseling services.Conclusion: Drug dose, frequency of administration and duration of therapy were the most frequently delivered information to patients. Gender and level of education have significant association with medication counseling service in the study setting.

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Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge and practice of implant retained restorations (IRR) among senior dental students in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Four hundred questionnaires were distributed among senior dental students of five dental schools in Saudi Arabia. Student’s knowledge was assessed regarding which implant restoration [cement retained restoration (CRR) or screw retained restoration (SRR)] better provides the desired clinical properties. Students’ practice of IRR, perception of their knowledge and need for further education related to IRR were also assessed. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were employed to assess collected data. Results: Three hundred and fifty four senior dental students responded at a response rate of 88.5%. Thirty three percent respondents did not have any practical experience of IRR. Students showed a clear preference for CRR with regards to aesthetics (71.4%), passive fit (55.3%), fabrication ease (57.3%) and fracture resistance (40%). SRR were considered to provide better retention (59.6%), soft tissue health (51.1%) and ease of retrievability (72%). Nearly 40% of students agreed that they did not get sufficient information related to IRR in undergraduate courses. Conclusions: Clinical training of IRR is compromised in the undergraduate curriculum in dental schools of Saudi Arabia. The knowledge of dental students regarding IRR was broadly in line with current evidence.

Biological processes at the molecular level are extremely complex and descriptive analysis alone is completely inadequate for evaluation of the relationships between individual functional units. Therefore, it is essential that formalized relationships be established between the operational elements of the system and that the problem be solved in a quantitative manner. In order to facilitate the analysis, it is often useful to set up a functional model of the sys-tem. The validity of such models depends essentially on the available experimental data and the ingenuity of the model builder. Since the performance of a realistic model will be compared with that of the normal system, its success depends essentially on the soundness of the model. We assume, of course, that adequate mathematical procedures are used. In contrast, highly sophisticated mathematical treatment does not produce any significant results when applied to a poor model.

OBJECTIVE To analyze desire for sons/daughters among ladies of Peshawar, Pakistan, with a view to rule out son preference and to study impact of various demographic characteristics on the subject. METHODS Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at Combined Military Hospital, Peshawar, from August 2015 - January 2016; sampling technique was random/probability/non-purposive. Self-designed questionnaire was utilized; carrying questions pertinent to desire for sons/daughters during marital life, and demographic details. Data analyzed via descriptive analysis (SPSS-21), expressed as frequencies/percentages and mean ± standard deviation(minimum/maximum). Sons and daughters desired (dependent variables) were cross-tabulated with independent variables. RESULTS Response rate was 63.25% (n-506). Data revealed following: Sons desired 3.05±2.061(1/12); Daughters desired 1.15±0.767(0/4); 6.1%(n-31) and 0.6%(n-3) desired infinite number of sons and daughters respectively, 18.2%(n-92) did not desire to have even one daughter, while 2.2%(n-11) considered it immaterial to have daughters or sons. There was a significant relation between sons desired and client's education (p

The study analyses the efficiency of communication strategies used by Farm Concern International (FCI) in enhancing the production and consumption of African Indigenous Vegetables in Lari Sub-County, Kenya. The study used both quantitative and qualitative research designs and used purposive sampling, followed by random sampling to select 100 farmers from the five villages in Lari Sub County. The data was gathered from the primary sources through the use of structured questionnaire for both quantitative and qualitative. The data was then processed and presented by the use of graphs, tables and pie charts and analysed by use of descriptive analysis. The study used two theories, Rational Argumentation Theory propounded by Cragan and Shields (1998) and Trans theoretical Model (TM) by Prochaska, Johnson and Lee (1998). The study established that the rate of AIVs production has increased since the implementation of DoHoMa Project. The rate of consumption has also increased with the majority of farmers eating AIVs on a daily basis due to their higher nutritional value. Only a few who consumed the value chain three to six times a week. The findings also indicated that FCI majorly used two forms of Ora-Media, barazas and demonstrations, to promote production, consumption and commercialisation of AIVs. The study recommends that agriculture-based NGOs need to use more of demonstrations than barazas because most of the farmers have basic education. The Ministry of Agriculture needs to facilitate farmers to dig boreholes for enhancing irrigation during dry spells.

WOS: 000373939800048 PubMed: 27182267 Objective: An effective interpersonal communication is an essential nursing skill required to help provide quality health care and meet the treatment objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the communication between the psychiatric nurses and the patients in terms of Transactional Analysis Theory ego states. Methods: The quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. The descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) were used in the data analysis and Kendall's Tau-c coefficient was used to assess the agreement among the observers. Results: Of the psychiatric nurses, 66.7% (n = 14) had served as a psychiatric nurse for 1-10 years. Among the nurses, 52.4% (n=11) had received training about communication from any institution/organization. The agreement among the opinions of the nurses, the researcher and the charge nurses about the psychiatric nurses' ego states showed that there was a significant relationship between the researcher's opinion of the nurses' ego states and the charge nurses' opinion of the nurses' ego states in terms of Critical Parent, Nurturing Parent, Adult, Adapted Child and Natural Child ego states. Conclusion: It is suggested that training be offered in regards to raising awareness about ulterior transactions that can affect communication negatively, patient autonomy and therapeutic communication in particular, and patients requiring the use of special communication methods.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the applicationof techniquesofartificialintelligence tocontrolsystemdesign. Aself-organizingsystemisone whichchangesitsbasic structureas a functionofitsexperienceand/or environment. The general aim of a self-organizing system is to evolve toward some desired output state or mode of behavior, in spite of some degree of ignorance of process, inputs, or controls. As its structure changes as a function of experience, the self-organizing system can be said to “learn.” A controller that is also a self-organizing system is called a “self-organizing controller.” Such a controller contains three basic subsystems: (1) sensors, (2) learning network, and (3) a goal circuit. The sensors—accelerometers, rate gyros, and horizon scanners—observe the local environment and provide descriptive data to the learning network and the goal circuit. The learning network consists of decision elements that operate on data input from the sensors and that render a desirable output response.

Objective: This article compares the study design and statistical methods used in 2005, 2010 and 2015 of Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences (PJMS). Methods: Only original articles of PJMS were considered for the analysis. The articles were carefully reviewed for statistical methods and designs, and then recorded accordingly. The frequency of each statistical method and research design was estimated and compared with previous years. Results: A total of 429 articles were evaluated (n=74 in 2005, n=179 in 2010, n=176 in 2015) in which 171 (40%) were cross-sectional and 116 (27%) were prospective study designs. A verity of statistical methods were found in the analysis. The most frequent methods include: descriptive statistics (n=315, 73.4%), chi-square/Fisher’s exact tests (n=205, 47.8%) and student t-test (n=186, 43.4%). There was a significant increase in the use of statistical methods over time period: t-test, chi-square/Fisher’s exact test, logistic regression, epidemiological statistics, and non-parametric tests. Conclusion: This study shows that a diverse variety of statistical methods have been used in the research articles of PJMS and frequency improved from 2005 to 2015. However, descriptive statistics was the most frequent method of statistical analysis in the published articles while cross-sectional study design was common study design.

Generalized programming systems are now in operational use which (a) maintain large stores of linguistic corpora or descriptive data, (b) perform automatic syntactic analysis, synthesis or translation, (c) prepare concordances or linguistic statistics, (d) perform automatic classification, (e) perform coordinate and associative information retrieval, and (f) process informant data. The analysis and classification capabilities are being combined in a self-organizing linguistic system. Descriptive studies of several languages, notably English, German, Russian, Chinese and Japanese, are in progress. Work is continuing in classification theory and algorithms, with applications in time-shared associative retrieval and automatic linguistic classification. (Author)

OBJECTIVES To analyze prevalence of anxiety and depression among doctors serving in a tertiary care hospital in Lahore, with a study of impact of relevant demographic features. METHODS A cross sectional study was conducted at Combined Military Hospital, Lahore, from February 2014 to Jan 2015. Participants were doctors serving in subject hospital for at least six months duration. Standardized Hospital Anxiety Depression Score (HADS) inventory was selected as inventory. Formal approval from hospital ethical committee and written informed consent from participants were obtained. Demographic characteristics of participants were recorded as independent variables; anxiety and depression scores being outcome variables. Data analysis was done via descriptive statistics (SPSS-20), qualitative data expressed as frequencies, percentages; quantitative as mean ± standard deviation(SD). Cross tabulation was done via chi-square, p-value < 0.05 considered as significant. RESULTS Out of 203 volunteers, 97(47.78%) responded. Score of anxiety was 7.04±4.470, maximum being 19, scores of depression was 4.94±3.605, maximum score being 15. Mild to moderate anxiety and depression were revealed in 33(34%) and 24(24.8%) respectively, while 7(7.2%) and 1(1.0%) had severe anxiety and depression respectively. There was strong positive relation between anxiety and depression (p

This study aims at presenting an overview of geriatric dentistry teaching in Brazilian public dentistry undergraduate courses. The availability of this subject and its characteristics were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics, through searching in official websites, as well as their features. The study has found that less than half of the investigated courses offer geriatric dentistry as a subject, and that they emphasize theoretical basic contents than the actual practice of oral health care with the elderly. The official websites of most universities had the information needed; however, the main characteristics of the courses were not present in all of them. It is important to qualify the subject in the courses where it is available, taking into account both methodology and content, in order for soon-to-be dental surgeons to be apt to care for the oral health of these group of people. Descriptors: Elderly; Dental Education; Aging; Education.

So far we have not drawn the reader ’s attention to the distinction between the so-called parametric and the so- called non-parametric methods used in inference statistics. Although we have not done this, we have in fact already described various statistical procedures of both kinds. It will be convenient now to introduce more formally the terms “parametric” and “non-parametric”, as well as the phrase “distribution-free statistics”. We shall do this as a preliminary to introducing the reader to some non-para- metric techniques of statistical inference which have not yet been presented and discussed.

The decisive incident that forced a decision that a particular individual could no longer remain in the community and must be admitted to a mental hospital was studied from the point of view of the person making this decision. Descriptive data on 100 schizophrenic patients were analyzed to determine whether prompt medical and social work collaboration at the point of admission might prevent hospitalization. Fifty-three patients actually committed or threatened to commit a dangerous act. Thirty-eight patients exhibited behavior that was socially unacceptable. Nine patients were perceived as needing treatment for illness. Only 4 patients requested hospitalization. Demographic and social characteristics were not statistiscally significant in relation to the type of "last straw." As the number of hospitalizations mounted, the crucial event tended to progress from a mild behavioral change to threatening behavior, to actual assault. The final events were "family and community specific"and depended on particular...

A previous report by the authors showed the need for cockpit designers to consider the correlations between anthropometric features when designing workspaces. It was proposed that both the correlations between anthropometric features and the normal bivariate distributions for specific correlations be made available to designers. The present report makes correlations between 96 anthropometric features available to designers.

The outcomes of tourism in relation to the environmental sustainability is to preserve nature, environment, and resources availablity. Therefore, the obligation to maintain sustainability of environmental are become a top agenda for the managers of the star-rated hotels. In line with this spirit the high growth of hotel and tourist arrival in Bali correlated with the high of resources use to meet the demand of hotel guests, it will affect to the environment of hotel and the environmental of Bali. This study surveyed 126 star hotels in Bali (which consists of four (4) one-star hotels, ten (10) two-star hotels, thirty-nine (39) three-star hotels, twenty-four (24) four-star hotels, and forty-nine (49) five star hotels, using a questionnaire, where the alternative answer used the seven (7) options, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and structural equation modelling (SEM). This study successfully established a significant model that describes the relationship between environmental issues, environmental management processes, and the benefits of environmental management processes in star rated hotels in Bali. Also the results of this research demonstrate that: 1. There is a significant relationship between environmental issues to the process of environmental management at star rated hotels in Bali, and 2. There is a significant relationship between the process of environmental management to the the benefits of environmental management processes of the star rated hotels in Bali. Furthermore, the issues of environment is consists of: a. The issue of pressure from tour operator, b. The issue of customer and tourists pressure, and c. The issue of climate change. Then the environmental management process of hotel consists of: a. The wastewater management process, b. The solid waste management processes, and c. The chemical management processes, and finally the benefits of environmental management processes in star hotels are consists of: a. The sustaining the hospitality industry, b. The contribution to community development, and c. The satisfaction of the guests at star rated hotels in Bali. In accordance with these results is it suggested that every hotels are encouraged to do the process of environmental management because through this process, hotel will have a better relationship with the community, it had the preferred of tourists trend, it had became more prudent in term of resources use as a sustainable environmental efforts, and finally these can contribute to preserving the assets of the world for future generations.