National Social Investment Programmes in Nigeria:A Descriptive Analysis of the Socio-Economic Contributions of N-Power Programme in Benue State

This study analysed the socio-economic contributions of N-Power programme amongst the beneficiaries of the scheme in Benue State.Prior to the introduction of N-Power programme,successive administrations in Nigeria have made concerted efforts towards improving the standard of living of the citizenry through the execution of various welfare or social intervention programmes,but not much successes were recorded.Learning from the mistakes of the past regimes,and by way of deliberate state policy,the Buhari’s government initiated a multi-pronged social investment policy,one of which is the N-power programme that came onboard in 2016,which also doubles as the subject of this study.To achieve the goal of this study,a combination of desktop research and survey design was employed.Questionnaires were administered to 390 respondents through a combination of stratified and random sampling techniques.The results of the survey were matched with that of the secondary data obtained through online websites and other related sources.The result indicated that N-Power made positive contributions to the socio-economic life of the beneficiaries in Benue State:specifically,the scheme contributed in poverty eradication,employment generation,skills acquisitions and capacity building.However,some aspect of our findings revealed that the programme has a number of challenges such as:inadequate cash support,delay in monthly cash transfer to beneficiaries,distance participants had to move to their work stations,absence of posting in N-Teach scheme,and lack of adequate working tools amongst others.To salvage this problem the paper recommended the following solutions:expansion of the scheme to cover N-Teach and other aspects,increment in the monthly cash transfer to cushion the high rate of inflation,support for the participants/beneficiaries in transportation and logistics,enrolment of more youth into the various schemes,proper monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the schemes amongst others.

TV Programmes

TV Programmes, Monday,June 12,2002 (CCTV) Channel 1 18:00 TV Classroom: Computer 18 : 30 Popular Music 19 : 00 News 19 : 30 Weather Report 19:40 Today's Focus(焦点)

Implementation of the Future Earth programme in China:Chinese scientists at the forefront

As a 10-year international research programme jointly initiated by ICSU(International Council for Science),ISSC(International Social Science Council)and others,Future Earth aims to provide critical knowledge required for societies to face the challenges posed by global environmental change and to identify opportunities for a transition to global sustainability(FE,2013).The launching of Future Earth is the outcome of step change in global environment change research and funding strategy and meet the demands for connecting

Main outcomes from in situ thermo-hydro-mechanical experiments programme to demonstrate feasibility of radioactive high-level waste disposal in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone

In the context of radioactive waste disposal,an underground research laboratory(URL)is a facility in which experiments are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing and operating a radioactive waste disposal facility within a geological formation.The Meuse/Haute-Marne URL is a sitespecific facility planned to study the feasibility of a radioactive waste disposal in the Callovo-Oxfordian(COx)claystone.The thermo-hydro-mechanical(THM)behaviour of the host rock is significant for the design of the underground nuclear waste disposal facility and for its long-term safety.The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency(Andra)has begun a research programme aiming to demonstrate the relevancy of the French high-level waste(HLW)concept.This paper presents the programme implemented from small-scale(small diameter)boreholes to full-scale demonstration experiments to study the THM effects of the thermal transient on the COx claystone and the strategy implemented in this new programme to demonstrate and optimise current disposal facility components for HLW.It shows that the French high-level waste concept is feasible and working in the COx claystone.It also exhibits that,as for other plastic clay or claystone,heating-induced pore pressure increases and that the THM behaviour is anisotropic.

Development of the Life Gatekeeper suicide prevention training programme in China:a Delphi study

Background Youth suicide has been a pressing public mental health concern in China,yet there is a lack of gatekeeper intervention programmes developed locally to prevent suicide among Chinese adolescents.Aims The current Delphi study was the first step in the systematic development of the Life Gatekeeper programme,the first gatekeeper programme to be developed locally in China that aims to equip teachers and parents with the knowledge,skills and ability to identify and intervene with students at high risk of suicide.Methods The Delphi method was used to elicit a consensus of experts who were invited to evaluate the importance of training content,the feasibility of the training delivery method,the possibility of achieving the training goals and,finally,the appropriateness of the training materials.Two Delphi rounds were conducted among local experts with diversified professional backgrounds in suicide research and practice.Statements were accepted for inclusion in the adjusted training programme if they were endorsed by at least 80%of the panel.Results Consensus was achieved on 201 out of 207 statements for inclusion into the adapted guidelines for the gatekeeper programme,with 151 from the original questionnaire and 50 generated from comments of the panel members.These endorsed statements were synthesised to develop the content of the Life Gatekeeper training programme.Conclusions This Delphi study provided an evidence base for developing the first gatekeeper training programme systematically and locally in China.We hope that the current study can pave the way for more evidence-based suicide prevention programmes in China.Further study is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Life Gatekeeper training programme.

Reasoning and Rehabilitation cognitive skills programme for mentally disordered offenders: Predictors of outcome

AIM To investigate factors predicting treatment completion and treatment outcome of the Reasoning and Rehabilitation Mental Health Programme(R&R2MHP) cognitive skills programme for mentally disordered offenders. METHODS Secondary analysis of data previously obtained from 97 male patients who were sectioned and detained under the United Kingdom Mental Health Act in low, medium and high security hospitals and who had completed R&R2MHP. Predictors of treatment completion included background variables and five outcome measures: Four self-reported measures of violent attitudes, social problem-solving skills, reactive anger and locus of control and an objective measure of behaviour on theward that was completed by staff. Completion of the 16 session programme, which was delivered on a weekly basis, was classified as ≥ 12 sessions.RESULTS It was found that the R&R2MHP is appropriate for delivery to participants of different ages, ethnic background, and at different levels of security without the completion rate or treatment effectiveness being compromised. Participants taking oral typical psychotropic medication were over seven times more likely to complete the programme than other participants. Behavioural disturbance on the ward prior to commencing the programme predicted non-completion(medium effect size). As far as treatment completion was concerned, none of the background factors predicted treatment effectiveness(age, ethnic background, level of security, number of previous convictions and number of previous hospital admissions). The best predictor of treatment effectiveness was attitude towards violence suggesting that this should be the primary outcome measure in future research evaluating outcomes of the R&R2MHP cognitive skills program. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that a stable mental state is a key factor that predicts treatment completion.

The ISBT working party on rare blood,mission and achievements and its relationship to a rare blood programme in Asian countries /regions

The provision of Rare Blood for special purposes on a worldwide basis is now an accepted part of modern transfusion practice. The ISBT Working Party, working in conjunction with the International Blood Group Reference Laboratory in England as well as other organisations, plays a pivotal role in ensuring that adequate systems are in place to meet clinical needs. The contribution of Asia to the Rare Donor programme is at present small. Some of the reasons for the relatively low input to date include a lack of knowledge of the systems available, the stage of development of transfusion services in some countries and the general absence of well developed blood group serology reference Centres. Much remains to be done if Asia is to contribute significantly to the problems of blood supply to patients with a need for rare blood. However, there are already indications that more countries in Asia are at the stage of transfusion development that will permit them to be of more assistance to the International Rare Blood Programme and thereby better meet Asian and other international needs. Various recommendations will be presented to the Symposium for endorsement. The ISBT Working Party on Rare Blood will give any assistance that is required to facilitate improved methods that will improve the availability of Rare Blood internationally.

The Role of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Rural Development in the Karakorum, Hindu Kush & Himalayan Region: Examples from the Northern Mountainous Belt of Pakistan

Pakistan is predominantly a mountainous country where rural development activities are characterised by inconsistency, politically motivated short-term projects without proper feedback. Since the inception of the country, the top-down approach has been followed, and the same development plans that were formulated for the plain areas have been extended to the mountains without any modification. In doing so, neither the participation of the local communities was cared for, nor the mountain specificities were considered in the planning process. Moreover, the representation of the local inhabitants was improper and contradictory to the facts. This biased approach has been one of the main causes for the failure of development projects carried out by different agencies of the Government. Contrary to the perception of the state authorities, the mountain communities proved to be more open to accept new approaches and demonstrated the capacity and capability of being a dependable development partner. In this paper, a detailed account of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme （AKRSP） has been presented to assess and evaluate the approach followed by this non-governmental organisation （NGO）, and the response of the local inhabitants as collaborators in the development process. The achievements of the AKRSP from project planning, implementation and monitoring can be adopted as a model for rural development not only in the plains, but also in the mountainous areas of the developing countries in the world.

Antibiotic stewardship programmes in intensive care units:Why,how,and where are they leading us

Antibiotic usage and increasing antimicrobial resistance(AMR) mount significant challenges to patient safety and management of the critically ill on intensive care units(ICU). Antibiotic stewardship programmes(ASPs) aim to optimise appropriate antibiotic treatment whilst minimising antibiotic resistance. Different models of ASP in intensive care setting, include "standard" control of antibiotic prescribing such as "de-escalation strategies"through to interventional approaches utilising biomarkerguided antibiotic prescribing. A systematic review of outcomes related studies for ASPs in an ICU setting was conducted. Forty three studies were identified from MEDLINE between 1996 and 2014. Of 34 nonprotocolised studies, [1 randomised control trial(RCT), 22 observational and 11 case series], 29(85%) were positive with respect to one or more outcome: These were the key outcome of reduced antibiotic use, or ICU length of stay, antibiotic resistance, or prescribing cost burden. Limitations of non-standard antibiotic initiation triggers, patient and antibiotic selection bias or baseline demographic variance were identified. All 9 protocolised studies were RCTs, of which 8 were procalcitonin(PCT) guided antibiotic stop/start interventions. Five studies addressed antibiotic escalation, 3 de-escalation and 1 addressed both. Six studies reported positive outcomes for reduced antibiotic use, ICU length of stay or antibiotic resistance. PCT based ASPs are effective as antibiotic-stop(de-escalation) triggers, but not as an escalation trigger alone. PCT has also been effective in reducing antibiotic usage without worsening morbidity or mortality in ventilator associated pulmonary infection. No study has demonstrated survival benefit of ASP. Ongoing challenges to infectious disease management, reported by the World Health Organisation global report 2014, are high AMR to newer antibiotics, and regional knowledge gaps in AMR surveillance. Improved AMR surveillance data, identifying core aspects of successful ASPs that are transferable, and further well-conducted trials will be necessary if ASPs are to be an effective platform for delivering desired patient outcomes and safety through best antibiotic policy.

Training Teachers for Extensive Reading Programmes

It has been suggested that the success of an ER project can largely rely on several elements,such as the selection of appropriate materials,establishment of management system,workshop for training teachers. Among those,teachers play an indispensable role due to the fact that it is the teachers who are capable of turning conceptions into actions,who get students engaged and bridge and gap between the goals of the programme and the reality in classroom. This paper is an attempt to outline a detailed picture to demonstrate how to offer effective training courses which can enable teachers to play"multiple roles"to make great contribution to the development of an ER project.

Building a Methodology for the Design of an Environmental Services Payment Programme for the Mangroves of Mexico

Environmental Services Payment Programmes are not entirely new and they are more flexible than the usual command-and-control type of regulation. In the 1990s for example, an Environmental Services Payment programme was introduced to cope with the forestry system and pay benefits to farmers for the good that their forests would produce. This review examines the possibility of using Environmental Services Payment programmes for Mexican mangroves as they are an important resource against natural disasters, and reducing greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, for example, and they are constantly invaded by the human race which impacts on their destruction. The review aims at constructing a methodology that can be applied to the implementation of Environmental Services Payment programmes. The value of this study is in aiming a straight arrow at the environmental problems outlined in this paper, problems that have not been fully resolved to date, especially in Mexico where it is not officially recognised that mangroves play an important role in the mitigation of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, Environmental Services Payment Programmes in Mexico have not pinpointed specific types of area. We conclude this paper with elaborating on our ten-point strategy for implementing Environmental Services Payment programmes which includes, in brief: 1) Fully accepting the importance of the mitigation of greenhouse gases via mangroves;2) designing a Environmental/Ecosystem Services Payment Programme with particular emphasis on Mexican mangroves;3) identifying specific environmental services and their level from local to international;4) formation and implementation of a system of “whoever benefits must pay”;5) building of a knowledge base of owners and others who benefit from environmental services;6) hypothetical models of particular Environmental Services Payment programmes must be constructed;7) clarifying who must pay;8) grouping all sectors that must pay;9) inspiring all actors to cooperate via 10) the impact of a Citizens’ Council, for example.

Recovery approaches in mental health: A qualitative evaluation of the Whole Life Therapy programme for persons with schizophrenia

The recovery approach within mental health services has in recent years been influential in promoting more active participation from service users concerning their treatment and progress, within a move towards models of interventions based on social models and ideas of service user empowerment. Although mental health recovery models are often heralded as ideological goals, comparatively little has been documented about the means of achieving these. This article sets out the nature and content of the Whole Life Programme, used within the Hertfordshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust, and the results of qualitative research into the programme that set out to analyse the impact of its delivery from the perspectives of service users. The research examined the experiences and views of participants receiving treatment several months after the completion of the programme, and also of those who withdrew prematurely, in order to learn from these experiences, adding to our understanding of how one recovery based approach, the Whole Life Manual, can be applied in practice.

A Study of Implementation of Preventive Maintenance Programme in Nigeria Power Industry – Egbin Thermal Power Plant, Case Study

Preventive Maintenance Programme consists of actions that improve the condition of system elements for performance optimization and aversion of unintended system failure or collapse. It involves inspection, servicing, repairing or replacing physical components of machineries, plant and equipment by following the prescribed schedule. It is commonly agreed nowadays that preventive maintenance programme can be very successful in improving equipment reliability while minimizing maintenance related costs. The availability of a complex system, such as steam turbine power plant is strongly associated with its parts reliability and maintenance policy. That policy not only has influence on the parts’ repair time but also on the parts’ reliability affecting the system integrity, degradation and availability. The objective of this paper is to study the effects of Preventive Maintenance Programme (PMP) implementation on the performance of the Egbin 1320 MW thermal power plant in Nigeria. This paper considers the reliability and availability of the 6 x 220 MW steam turbine units installed in the power station. The reliability and availability of the turbines are computed based on a five-year failure database. The availability analysis of available data from 2005 to 2009 shows different results for each unit and variation in availability for different year: availability of unit1 varies between 59.11 to 91.76%;unit 2, 64.02 to 94.53%;unit 3, 28.79 to 91.57%;unit 4, 80.31 to 92.76% and unit 5, 73.38 to 87.76%. Unit 6 was out of service for the past 2 to 3 years. This indicates differences in their systems installation maintenance and operation.

Erratum to “Recovery Approaches in Mental Health: A Qualitative Evaluation of the Whole Life Therapy Programme for Persons with Schizophrenia” [Health 5 (2013) 582-587]

The original online version of this article (Littlechild, B., Smith, A. H., Meredith-Windle, G., Gale, T., Lloyd, M. and Hawley, C. (2013) Recovery Approaches in Mental Health: A Qualitative Evaluation of the Whole Life Therapy Programme for Persons with Schizophrenia. Health, 5, 582-587. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/health.2013.53A077) was published mistakenly with a co-author (who also developed the Whole Life Programme) missing. To reflect the contribution and responsibility of the co-author as well as the affiliations of the authors at the time of the study, we revised authorship and author affiliations of the article.

School Feeding Programme in Nigeria: The Nutritional Status of Pupils in a Public Primary School in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria

About 7.3 million children are estimated to be out of school in Nigeria;majority of them are girls. The Federal Gov-ernment school feeding programme is to provide one meal per school day to all primary school pupils in Nigeria with the objectives of improving the health of school age children, increase their enrolment, retention and completion rate in the primary school. The nutritional status of 160 pupils (80 boys and 80 girls) of a selected public primary school in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria was assessed using anthropometric parameters. Meals were collected and analyzed for nutrient composition and compared to the requirement for their age group. The mid-arm circumference (MAC) ranged between 15 and 21 mm and the body mass index, (BMI) was within the WHO reference standard for healthy children. The crude protein (CP) content of the served foods varied between 12% and 28%. The average intake of amino acids per meal ranged between 122 and 684 mg, vitamins from 0.1 to 0.8 mg while mineral intake varied from 2.7 to 85 mg. The protein digestibility corrected amino acid score varied between 50% and 114%. These results indicated that the feeding programme has greatly improved the nutrition status of these children. The continuation of the programme would go a long way to preventing malnutrition among the public school children.

The Analysis of an HIV and AIDS Empowering Group Work Programme for Adolescents: A Quantitative Evaluation

In this article an HIV and AIDS group work programme empowering adolescents to deal with the possible death of their parents/caregivers will be evaluated in a quantitative fashion. The data were obtained by means of the Child Functioning Inventory High School (CFI-HIGH) developed by Perspective Training College and the Generalized Contentment Scale (GCS) of Hudson (Bloom et al., 1999: 220). The guidelines for selection and inclusion of respondents in the comparison and experimental groups will be discussed, followed by information on the measuring instruments. The article will conclude with conclusions and recommendations.

Evaluation of BSc Radiologic Sciences and Medical Imaging Technology Programmes in Sudanese Universities from Students’ Perspective

This study sets the objective to involve undergraduate students in the evaluation of radiologic sciences and medical imaging technology programmes in Sudanese universities. Based on the analysis of survey results in which the participants (BSc students undertaking radiologic sciences and medical imaging technology programmes at university level) are asked to answer both closed and open-ended questions, the study seeks to reveal the participants’ perceptions and introspections about the radiologic sciences and medical imaging technology programmes in Sudan. It also attempts to explore the participants’ suggestions and recommendations as to enhance the quality of these programmes with an eye to helping syllabus designers to improve these programmes, thereby bettering healthcare services for the larger good to the community. A brief cross-sectional survey is completed by a total of 105 radiologic sciences and medical imaging technology students, i.e. 39 (37.1%) third-year students and 66 (62.9%) fourth-year students. The majority of participants is satisfied with the programmes, indicating that they are up-to-date and ran abreast with the latest developments in the field. Very few suggest that the programmes should be reviewed for revision, implying that there is room for improvement. Some participants recommend that more training hours in modern imaging modalities (e.g. MRI, CT and U/S) should be introduced. Only one participant recommends the introduction of advanced training centres.

The general motor programmer: its specialization for speech perception &movement

A common neural mechanism—the General Motor Programmer—is proposed by Keane (1999) to underlie both the perception of speech and the initiation of hand movement. A proposal to investigate the specific aspect of cognitive functioning this mechanism is specialized for, namely the timing or place of articulation, is outlined.

Speech by Annette Kennedy, President of International Council of Nurses at Leadership for Change Programme Launching Ceremony in Beijing 2017

Good morning, Ms Yanhong Guo, Deputy Director of Medical Administration, NHFPC, Dr Xiuhua Li, President of CNA, Board members, Mr Edward Zhou, General Manager Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson Representatives, Regional CNA representatives, ICN trainers, Marcia Petrini & Kristine Qureshi, and all the program participants, and other guests.

Forests Policies and Programmes in India: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation

Climate change is a major global environmental and developmental challenge and climate proofing of vulnerable sectors, programmes, natural systems and communities by integrating adaptation and mitigation options into planning process are increasingly becoming an integral part of development. The basic premises on which this could happen are the national and sectoral policies that govern any programmes and actions implemented on ground. This study reviews existing policies, plans and programmes and their implications for climate change. Based on the analyses, key areas of research, policy initiatives and institutional and capacity development needs have been identified, to facilitate climate change adaptation. The forest policies formulated so far in India have been broadly aimed at conservation, reduction of pressure on forests and provisioning of biomass to the large forest dependent population for their fuel and fodder needs apart from generating revenue through production and sale of timber. However, these have not been formulated with climate change as a consideration and therefore may become less effective as climate change and its impacts become increasingly evident. The study clearly identifies that the current policies and programmes have elements/features and activities that directly or indirectly contribute positively towards adaptation, although the primary implications are towards biodiversity and to some extent ecosystem functioning. It finally highlights the need for incorporating climate change concerns in forest sector development programmes and also to address the issue of climate change.