Socio-Demographic Factors Influencing the Use of Assistive Technology among Children with Disabilities in Malawi

This paper aims to address the information gap on the influence of socio-demographic factors on access and utilization of Assistive Technology (AT) among children with disabilities in Malawi. Thus, it contributes towards the realization of the recommendations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities and the development of a framework for creating an effective national AT policy. The paper used two statistically matched datasets, namely, the 2017 survey on Living conditions among persons with disabilities in Malawi and the 2015-16 Malawi Demographic and Health survey. Logistic regression and structural equation modeling techniques were utilized to assess the influence of socio-demographic factors on the use of AT among children with disabilities. The results indicate that there is a high level of unmet need for AT among young children aged 2 to 9 and those living in urban areas. The results further indicate that children with multiple disabilities have lower odds (OR = 0.924) of using AT for personal mobility compared to children with a single functional difficulty. These results entail that AT needs for children with multiple disabilities are not adequately addressed. Therefore, when developing policies on AT, younger children and those with multiple disabilities need to be specifically targeted.

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Factors Associated with Distribution of Pre-Eclampsia and Eclampsia Among Rural and Urban Women in Child Bearing Age – A Case of Mbala General Hospital, Northern Province, Zambia

TEXILA INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH ◽

10.21522/tijph.2013.09.03.art008 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 81-91

Author(s):

Daniel Sinkala

Keyword(s):

Pregnant Women ◽

Pregnancy Outcomes ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Economic Status ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Socio Economic Status ◽

Resource Limited ◽

Rural And Urban ◽

Socio Demographic Factors

Preeclampsia and eclampsia cases continue to rise in northern Zambia as people search for babies and continuity of clans’ survival. Due to the competitive nature of cultural demands/ myths on pregnancy and maternal socio-demographic factors (low-age, low socio-economic status, and poor health-seeking behaviour), women in rural prefer unprofessional primary health care services that are presumably affordable to them thereby, delaying in seeking for professional healthcare services. High levels of poverty in resource-limited areas have put many female adolescents at risk of falling pregnant. Thus, this study probed on the interaction between these maternal socio-demographic factors and disease distribution in both rural and urban areas with respect to various pregnancy outcomes. The study used retrospective quantitative methods in eliciting information from data sources (women, registers) in Mbala, Mpulungu, Senga, and Mungwi districts covering 3-year period (2017-2019). In all, 202 female respondents from Northern Zambia were interviewed through self-administered questionnaires. Thereafter, data were analysed using a statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS v16). Findings indicate severe; socio-economic status and low maternal age affect pre-eclampsia disease distribution coupled with adverse pregnancy outcomes more in rural than urban areas. The better the socio-demographic conditions, the lower the disease distribution with good pregnancy outcomes. However, worsening maternal socio-demographic conditions may increase the incidence of pre-eclampsia among pregnant women of northern Zambia. The study recommended interventions tarred towards public health programmes such as social behaviour change and communication (SBCC) towards adolescent women and socio-economic empowerment of pregnant women in resource-limited areas. Keywords: Average ANC timing, Preeclampsia, Residency, Socio-economic, Teenage pregnancy.

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Determinants of school choice and their relation to success to the institution: a comparative study between public and private schools in Bangladesh

International Journal of Educational Management ◽

10.1108/ijem-07-2019-0254 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 35 (1) ◽

pp. 217-231

Author(s):

Tamgid Ahmed Chowdhury ◽

Ishrat Jahan Synthia

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

School Choice ◽

Private Schools ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Choice Model ◽

School Characteristics ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Public And Private ◽

Content Type

PurposeThis paper aims to identify the determinants of school choice and factors that define the success of a school as perceived by the parents and then compare “Public” and “Private” schools with respect to the explored criteria to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the institutions.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on 1,121 quantitative data collected through survey questionnaire from the parents living in urban areas of Bangladesh. The school choice model was developed and validated by applying structural equation modeling.FindingsThis paper offers a statistically significant, robust and reliable five-dimensional 23-item school choice model that includes both school characteristics and preferred outcomes as perceived by the parents. Characteristic-wise comparisons in terms of characteristics revealed that public schools are superior to private institutions in fulfilling several choice criteria such as parents–teacher relationships, performance of the teachers, offerings of special programs, safety assurance in the campus and in having bigger campus with playground. On the other hand, private schools dominate in providing better educational environment, arranging training to the teachers, ensuring satisfactory library services and delivering information effectively to the parents. Among outcome determinants, government schools are well ahead in creating self-discipline, morality and good work habits among students. Private schools are superior in developing critical thinking skill of the kids.Originality/valueThere is a gap of comprehensive empirical study on school choice in South Asia region that includes both school characteristics and outcomes. Therefore, this paper contributes significantly to the relevant literature.

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Packaging Features Effecting on Milk Buying Behavior in Karachi

International Journal of Business Administration ◽

10.5430/ijba.v10n2p129 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 129

Author(s):

Osaf Ahmed Khan ◽

Danish Ahmed Siddiqui

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Dairy Products ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Quality Standards ◽

Purchase Behavior ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Buying Behavior ◽

Nutritional Information ◽

Primary Strategy

This paper examined the packaging features effecting milk buying behavior. Four packaging features were selected that included nutritional information, price, country of origin, & quality standards, and their impact on milk consumption and purchase behavior is analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. The study was carried out in urban areas of Karachi, among 318 respondents using Likert scale based questionnaire. The findings suggested that all four packaging features have a significant positive impact on consumers buying behavior. Consumers are attracted towards those products which provides enough and adequate amount of information on its products’ packaging. Nutritional information is among one of the important element that needs more focus and it will surely results in a positive way to the manufacturers of dairy products. Hence, producers and marketers of milk should focus on their product’s packaging features especially on the verbal element as a primary strategy in order to influences consumers buying behavior.

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Factors That Influence Older Canadians’ Preferences for using Autonomous Vehicle Technology: A Structural Equation Analysis

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/0361198118822281 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2673 (1) ◽

pp. 469-480 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Hany M. Hassan ◽

Mark R. Ferguson ◽

Saiedeh Razavi ◽

Brenda Vrkljan

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Older Adults ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Autonomous Vehicles ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Well Being ◽

Transportation Systems ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Willingness To Use

Accessible and safe mobility is critical for those aged 65 years and older to maintain their health, quality of life, and well-being. Being able to move beyond one’s home and participate in activities in older adulthood requires consideration of both transportation needs and preferences. This paper aims to address a gap in evidence with respect to understanding factors that can affect older adults’ perceptions and willingness to use autonomous vehicles. In addition, it examines how these factors compare with those of younger adults to better understand the potential implications of this technology on mobility and quality of life. Using responses of those aged 65+ to a national survey of Canadians, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to identify and quantify factors significantly associated with older adults’ willingness to use autonomous vehicles. The SEM results suggest that factors such as using other modes of transit (e.g., sharing rides as passenger, bicycle, public transit, commuter rail, ride and car sharing) as well as distance traveled by automobile, income, gender (being male), and living in urban areas, were all positively associated with older adults’ perceptions of using autonomous driving features. The findings also suggest that older Canadians are more concerned about autonomous vehicles than younger Canadians. This study provides valuable insights into factors that can affect the preferences of Canadians when it comes to autonomous technology in their automobiles. Such results can inform the way in which transportation systems are designed to ensure the needs of users are considered across both age and ability.

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The Impact of urbanization on Food in Security in Amhara Regional State Metropolitan cities

Prizren Social Science Journal ◽

10.32936/pssj.v2i3.60 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 39

Author(s):

Besfat Dejen Engdaw ◽

Melaku Debas Kebede

Keyword(s):

Food Insecurity ◽

Mediation Analysis ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Safety Net ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Regional Government ◽

Regional State ◽

The Government ◽

The Impact

The process of urbanization in developing nations is attended without fast industrialization processes. As a result of this, the urbanization and urban process are accompanied by diverse problems. Hence this paper is aimed at identifying the effect of urbanization on citizens’ food insecurity by monitoring agricultural foodstuff production as a mediating variable. A quantitative research methodology or approach has been used to depict out urban problems associated with unmanaged urbanization in the Ethiopian, particularly in Amhara regional state. Structural Equation Modeling was employed to run a mediation analysis by decomposing the direct and indirect effects of one variable on the other. Correlation and regression analyses were executed to measure the direction and magnitude of the effect of the independent variable on the dependent. Regression analysis results indicated the existence of a significant direct effect of urbanization on food insecurity of citizens. The mediation analysis result shows agricultural foodstuff production doesn’t play a mediating role between urbanization and food insecurity. The paper, having traced out the effect of the urbanization on food insecurity, provides possible recommendations. The regional government should be very considerate about the pace of unmanaged, unindustrialized and unemployment induced urbanization. The regional government should address all pushing factors that are dragging farmers into the urban areas. So, it is important to find ways to make farmers beneficial from their farm activities. In this regard, the problem raised by farmers is the inability to settle the debt from fertilizers and improved seeds or at least what they get from selling what they have produced is used to settle their farm debt. Some policy measures such as subsidizing the farmer or extending the repayment period of their debt are then essential to help farmers lead a stable life and lead their families. The government/concerned body need to make a cost-benefit analysis by weighing the pressure from the migration of the farmers and the cost of subsidizing the farmers: compare prevention with curative. Moreover, as a short-term solution, the regional government should identify food unsecured urban households and embrace them in food security packages like urban safety-net programs. And enhancing the limited income generation capacity of food insecured households. Key words: Urbanization, Food in Security, Agricultural Foodstuff Production, Amhara Region

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Teachers’ Belief and Efficacy Toward Inclusive Education in Early Childhood Settings in Korea

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11051489 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1489

Author(s):

Sukkyung You ◽

Eui Kim ◽

Kyulee Shin

Keyword(s):

Inclusive Education ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Children With Disabilities ◽

Teaching Experience ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Training Experience ◽

Effective Teaching Strategies ◽

Teachers Beliefs ◽

And Training

In the literature, teacher self-efficacy has been found to increase teachers’ effective teaching strategies and students’ positive learning outcomes in inclusive education, which highlights the importance of identifying and fostering factors associated with increased self-efficacy. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to examine the relations between teachers’ demographic and background variables (i.e., age, teaching experience, and training experience), teachers’ beliefs toward inclusive education, and teachers’ self-efficacy. Specifically, this study aimed to test the mediating effects of teachers’ beliefs toward inclusive education on the relations between teachers’ demographic and background variables and their self-efficacy using structural equation modeling (SEM). Teacher beliefs toward inclusive education included the effectiveness of inclusive education on the social and cognitive development of children with disabilities and on non-disabled students’ understanding of the needs of children with disabilities. Results indicated that whereas teacher age and teaching and training experiences had no direct relations with teachers’ self-efficacy in inclusive education, teaching and training experiences had significant indirect relations with their self-efficacy through their beliefs toward inclusive education. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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Determinants of Smart Meter on Sustainable Energy Consumption Behavior: A Developing Country Perspective

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/21582440211032193 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 215824402110321

Author(s):

Edwin Chukwuemeka Idoko ◽

Chukwunonso Oraedu ◽

Christian Chidera Ugwuanyi ◽

Stephen Ikechukwu Ukenna

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Policy Design ◽

Sustainable Energy ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Perceived Behavioral Control ◽

Smart Meter ◽

Consumption Behavior

Smart meter technology installation as a potent means of energy management is a nascent and evolving phenomenon in most developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The ascendency is exponentially provoking migration from hugely unmetered electricity consumers in favour of smart meter technology. For policymakers to formulate actionable and effective energy policies, a deeper understanding of factors that culture users’ interest in smart meter technology is necessary. Despite the imperativeness of consumers’ viewpoints in policy-design, little contemporary insights still exit regarding those antecedents that propel electricity consumers to switch to smart meter. Accordingly, this study examines determinants of smart meter and their potential influence on sustainable energy consumption behavior among residents in under-reported sub-urban areas in Nigeria. The drivers were employed to extend the Theory of Planned Behavior. One hundred and fifty copies of self-administered questionnaire serve as data collection instrument from participants. Structural equation modeling technique with the assistance of SmartPLS software was utilized in data analysis relating to the hypothesized paths in the research framework. Findings show that bill estimation anxiety and perceived behavioral control were the critical factors that determine smart meter purchase intentions and indirectly influence sustainable energy consumption behavior. Other lesser yet significant constructs were environmental concern, attitude, and subjective norm. Theoretical and potential energy policy/marketing implications of the findings were highlighted.

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ADULT ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURES AND SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS INFLUENCING AGE AT MENARCHE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

Journal of Biosocial Science ◽

10.1017/s0021932013000060 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 45 (5) ◽

pp. 705-717 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

MD. GOLAM HOSSAIN ◽

AI-SZE WEE ◽

MAEIRAH ASHAIE ◽

T. KAMARUL

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Demographic Factors ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Age At Menarche ◽

Anthropometric Measures ◽

The Mean ◽

Socio Demographic Factors ◽

The University

SummaryEarly onset of menarche has been shown to be associated with breast cancer and ischaemic heart disease. Studies on age at menarche of the Malaysian population are poorly documented. This study aimed to determine the influence of anthropometric and socio-demographic factors on the age at menarche of university students in Malaysia. Data were obtained in 2010–11 from 961 students between the ages of 18 and 25 years from the University of Malaya using stratified sampling, and multiple regression analysis was applied. Sixty-three per cent of students reached menarche at the age of 12 or 13 years, with the mean and median of age at menarche being 12.45±1.17 and 12.01 years, respectively. Menarcheal age was positively associated with height (p<0.05) and negatively associated with BMI (p<0.001). Students from urban areas attained menarche earlier than those from rural areas (p<0.05). Students from small-sized families attained menarche earlier than those from larger families (p<0.05). First-born students experienced menarche earlier than those who were seventh-born or later. Obese and overweight students reached menarche earlier than students who were underweight or of normal weight (p<0.01). The variations in age at menarche among the Malaysian ethnic groups were statistically insignificant. The results suggest that heavier and first-born students from small families are more likely to attain menarche earlier than their counterparts.

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Modeling significant factors affecting commuters’ perspectives and propensity to use the new proposed metro service in Doha

Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering ◽

10.1139/cjce-2013-0595 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 41 (12) ◽

pp. 1054-1064 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Khaled Shaaban ◽

Hany M. Hassan

Keyword(s):

Traffic Congestion ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

World Cup ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Transport Project ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Metro System ◽

Significant Factors

The Qatari government introduced a major public transport project titled the Doha Metro system to address the fast growing transportation demands in Qatar’s urban areas and to be ready for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. To benefit from this new metro system in reducing traffic congestion problems in Doha, it must be attractive with a reasonable level of service to attract large numbers of car users to switch to the new metro. This goal can be achieved by a better understanding of the user’s needs and expectations in Qatar. This paper aims to identify and quantify the significant factors affecting commuters’ perspectives, preferences and tendencies to use this new metro network for their daily trips in the future. The data used for the analysis was obtained from a self-reported questionnaire survey carried out among a sample of commuters living in Doha. Different data mining techniques were employed including conditional distributions and two-way analysis. In addition, logistic regression and structural equation modeling approaches were developed. The results revealed that the location of metro stations, the metro station’s features, the metro’s features, gender, the number of daily trips, the purpose of trips, and the average duration of trips in Doha were the significant factors that affected commuters’ willingness and tendency to use the new metro system. The results of this study provide authorities and decision makers in Doha with valuable insights that should be taken into consideration prior to implementing the new metro service to ensure its success.

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Analysis of Factors Influencing Technology Transfer: A Structural Equation Modeling Based Approach

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13105600 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 5600

Author(s):

Sandeep Singhai ◽

Ritika Singh ◽

Harish Kumar Sardana ◽

Anuradha Madhukar

Keyword(s):

Structural Equation Modeling ◽

Technology Transfer ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Small And Medium Enterprises ◽

Academic Research ◽

Unmet Need ◽

Innovation System ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Holistic Model ◽

Successful Transfer

Technology transfer is one of the facets of academic entrepreneurship and acts as a vital element of the innovation system. It forms a sustainable link between research and business communities. A holistic model for successfully transferring technology in developing countries is an unmet need in the context of technology transfer from public-funded academic research institutions to small and medium enterprises. In this work, we developed a conceptual model and undertook an empirical study for the determinants of successful transfer. A questionnaire was prepared and administered to key stakeholders involved in technology transfer. Overall, 321 respondents participated in the survey with congener demography. The conceptualized input factors, viz. micro-level, meso-level, and macro-level factors, are significantly interrelated. The contribution of input factors towards the successful transfer of technology was extensively analyzed and tested using covariance-based structural equation modeling. The results show that the model is a good fit. The study revealed that communication, innovativeness, knowledge, quality of the product, and motivation were the five most important factors for successfully transferring technology.

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