How do people in the “Land of Hornbills” perceive Hornbills?

Summary Sarawak is known as the “Land of Hornbills”, having the Rhinoceros Hornbill as the state emblem and with hornbills also being closely associated with important cultural symbols and beliefs among various local communities. However, up to date there is limited understanding on the perception, awareness, and beliefs of local communities towards hornbills. This paper aims to describe the aforementioned factors in western Sarawak, in hope of acquiring the socio-cultural information needed to fill the gap, and to clarify misconceptions towards hornbill conservation efforts in Sarawak. Data collection was accomplished using Open Data Kit (ODK). A total of 500 respondents were approached in five administrative divisions in western Sarawak, namely Kuching, Samarahan, Serian, Sri Aman, and Betong. The questionnaire was carefully formulated to control acquiescence bias that might arise. Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) modelling was conducted to evaluate the strongest demographic predictor variables influencing the answers and word clouds were used to visualise hornbill species by the local community. Sarawakians acknowledge the importance of hornbills as a cultural symbol (95%) despite hornbills being used for food, medicine, and decoration. Whilst this study describes the perceptions of hornbills in local communities, a comprehensive assessment throughout Sarawak is recommended for better understanding of hornbill importance in other communities. Such socio-cultural information is vital to ensure the success of conservation efforts and for effective management strategies of hornbills within Sarawak.

A Comparative Analysis of Environmental Justice Between Urban Neighbourhoods

Inequality and spatial disparities in the provision of amenities and services is a serious problem that often expressed itself in the realms of social and environmental justice. This study investigated the level of environmental justice or otherwise in the provision of amenities and services in selected Northern and Southern neighbourhoods of Minna. Qualitative and quantitative data were acquired through physical surveys and direct observations of amenities and facilities to aid identification of salient features while a checklist was used to guide the research and converting field data to a digital tool using the Open Data Kit (ODK) tool. With purposive sampling technique, descriptive statistic, spatial data analysis and the Gini coefficient; it was shown that injustice in the provision of environmental amenities is both a cause and effect of distributive and procedural inequities across space. Although there is a moderate level of environmental justice (GC=0.33) on the aggregate in the study area, this is not even across sampled amenities, as there is a low level of equality in the provision of schools (GC=0.51). However, the provision of facilities like water boreholes (GC=0.37) and waste dumpsites (GC=0.28) performed fairly with moderate environmental justice; it is, worrisome to note that access roads recorded a high level of inequality (GC=0.19) – particularly as Bosso town with 40% of the residents of the metropolis only has 20% of access roads, while, Tudun Wada South is having 22% of the road for just 7% of the population. The study, therefore, recommended equitable construction of more access roads across the neighbourhoods; imbibing equity and justice in the provision of more water boreholes and waste dumpsites to help institute more sustainable development and management in Minna and similar cities.

EVALUASI STUDI PENEMPATAN TRANSFORMATOR DAN JATUH TEGANGAN PADA PENYULANG PALOLO MENGGUNAKAN SURVEI PEMETAAN SOFTWARE ODK (OPEN DATA KIT) COLLECT

Power of energy generated from station is the some all the phase. The use of electricity as well as efforts to satisfy customers or consumers of electricity by optimizing the distribution network. By evaluating the distribution network of PT. PLN with the ODK (Open Data Kit) collect method will make it easier to take field samples, find out the long distance of the transformer point by making an arcgis simulation distribution map. After all the data is obtained then to find the voltage drop can be done by analyzing the length of the stretch, the power of the transformer so that it will be known what percentage of voltage drop in the location farthest from the power center.

HOUSEHOLDS PRACTICE AND AWARENESS DIMENSION ON THE RECYCLING OF ELECTRONIC WASTE IN KANO METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Electronic waste generation has been increasing at a rate three times faster than that of general waste stream. Developing nations like Nigeria bear the consequences as it is estimated that 500 containers, each carrying about 500,000 used computers and other electronic equipment, enter Nigeria’s ports every month from the United States, Europe and Asia. To this effect, The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the Federal Government of Nigeria have announced a $15 million initiative to establish an electronic system in Nigeria, which will pioneer safe e-waste recycling in the country. It is against this background that this study was conducted to determine the households’ awareness and practice towards the recycling of e-waste, as well as the most suitable collection pattern within Kano Metropolis. The data for this study was collected using Open Data Kit (ODK) mobile phone platform, which contained questions on households’ characteristics, current practices regarding disposal and recycling of electronic waste as well as their awareness dimension on the recycling of e-waste. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to estimate the average number of unused households’ appliances and also to analyse household awareness and practice. The awareness dimension of the surveyed households about recycling of electronic waste was determined and 97% of the households are aware of the significance of electronic waste recycling. The positive statements presented about awareness indicates a positive awareness dimension about the significance of recycling electronic waste. Among the sampled households, 23% engage in e-waste recycling, and they all do this by selling their wastes (electronic waste, inclusive) to house-to-house scavengers. Majority of the households (77.4%) do not recycle electronic waste. They either keep them at home for decoration, give them out for free, burn them or dispose them in open dumpsites. The average quantity of e-waste prese

Factibilidad de una aplicación móvil para el monitoreo de contactos de tuberculosis multidrogorresistente en Perú

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo realizar una validación de un aplicativo móvil Open Data Kit (AM-ODK) en contactos expuestos a tuberculosis multidrogorresistente (TB-MDR) en Lima. Utilizando un cuestionario en una aplicación en un dispositivo móvil Android, se registraron 129 contactos intradomiciliarios de 29 casos índice de TB-MDR en tratamiento, en diez establecimientos de salud de Lima Sur en agosto de 2018. Se encontró un tiempo medio de registro por contacto de cuatro minutos. La frecuencia de síntomas de TB activa entre los contactos de TB-MDR fue 3,1%. Treinta y un encuestados completaron un cuestionario de aceptabilidad; todos manifestaron sentirse cómodos o muy cómodos con el registro de sus datos en AM-ODK, aunque 10% expresó inquietudes sobre la confidencialidad. Se concluye que el AM-ODK fue una herramienta viable y aceptable para registrar contactos intradomiciliarios expuestos a casos con TB-MDR. Estudios futuros deberían considerar el uso de plataformas móviles para el monitoreo de contactos de TB-MDR.

Effect of beneficiary participation in program design and implementation on satisfaction and acceptability among internally displaced persons in Borno, Nigeria

Insurgency and other security challenges have intensified across Nigeria with a resultant displacement of over a million people from over 100,000 households who depend on interventions from government and non-governmental organizations for survival since 2009. We conducted the study to determine the level of involvement of the displaced persons in planning, implementation and review of these interventions, and the effect of the participation on satisfaction with the interventions among camp dwellers in selected camps in Borno, Nigeria. A total of 278 internally displaced persons (IDPs) across 9 IDP camps were surveyed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data was collected using Android-based Open Data Kit (ODK), exported into Microsoft Excel, and analyzed with SPSS version 21. Out of the 278 respondents, 143 (51.4%) were male, 82 (29.5%) respondents were within the age bracket of 26-35 years and above (mean age 38.9±12.3), over 78% were married, and 29.9% were involved in trading before their displacement. Among the respondents, 256 (92.1%) had benefitted from at least one intervention during their stay in the IDP camps. Over 96% of the beneficiaries were female, compared to 87.4% of males, which was statistically significant (p<0.05). All the respondents within the age group 26-35 years and above 45 years old who had received information about the interventions were satisfied, and this finding was statistically significant (p<0.05). Overall, 91.5% of respondents who had benefitted from previous interventions would like to be involved in all the intervention stages (planning, implementation, and review). In comparison, 100% of IDPs who benefitted from previous interventions would like to be involved in the implementation, and 96.8% of them would like to be involved in planning the proposed interventions. To ensure maximum coverage, and that optimum benefit is derived from development projects, beneficiaries should be involved in all stages of the project cycle.

High burden of tuberculosis infection and disease among people receiving medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder in Tanzania

Objective To determine the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) disease and infection as well as incident TB disease among people who use drugs (PWUD) attending Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) clinics in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Methods In this prospective cohort study, a total of 901 consenting participants were enrolled from November 2016 to February 2017 and a structured questionnaire administered to them through the open data kit application on android tablets. Twenty-two months later, we revisited the MAT clinics and reviewed 823 of the 901 enrolled participant’s medical records in search for documentation on TB disease diagnosis and treatment. Medical records reviewed included those of participants whom at enrolment were asymptomatic, not on TB disease treatment, not on TB preventive therapy and those who had a documented tuberculin skin test (TST) result. Results Of the 823 medical records reviewed 22 months after enrolment, 42 had documentation of being diagnosed with TB disease and initiated on TB treatment. This is equivalent to a TB disease incidence rate of 2,925.2 patients per 100,000 person years with a total follow up time of 1,440 person-years. At enrolment the prevalence of TB disease and TB infection was 2.6% and 54% respectively and the HIV prevalence was 44% and 16% among females and males respectively. Conclusion PWUD attending MAT clinics bear an extremely high burden of TB and HIV and are known to have driven TB epidemics in a number of countries. Our reported TB disease incidence is 12 times that of the general Tanzanian incidence of 237 per 100,000 further emphasizing that this group should be prioritized for TB screening, testing and treatment. Gender specific approaches should also be developed as female PWUDs are markedly more affected with HIV and TB disease than male PWUDs.

PEMANFAATAN SISTEM OPEN DATA KIT SEBAGAI MEDIA PENGUMPULAN DATA

Perkembangan teknologi komunikasi dan informasi yang masif memberi tuntutan pelaksanaan penelitian yang lebih cepat, namun tetap efektif dan efisien. Pengumpulan hingga analisis data merupakan rangkaian proses penelitian dengan alokasi waktu dan dana yang terbesar. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memberikan alternatif pemanfaatan produk teknologi agar proses pengumpulan hingga analisis data dapat berlangsung efektif dan efisien. Pada penelitian ini, sistem Open Data Kit (ODK) dikembangkan sebagai media pengumpulan data. Penggunaan sistem ini dapat memberikan efisiensi pembiayaan pengadaan instrumen penelitian/ kuesioner kertas, dapat meniadakan proses penginputan, kompilasi dan pre-prosesing data sehingga proses analisis dapat berlangsung lebih cepat. Pemanfaatan sistem ODK akan sangat membantu pelaksanaan penelitian agar efektif dan efisien karena penggunaan yang sederhana, dapat dikembangkan sesuai dengan kebutuhan penelitian dan tidak membutuhkan keterampilan khusus untuk dapat mengoperasikannya The massive development of communication and information technology demands a faster, yet effective and efficient research implementation. Data collection to analysis is a series of research processes with the largest allocation of time and funds. This study aims to provide an alternative use of technology products so that the process of collecting and analyzing data can be effective and efficient. In this study, the Open Data Kit (ODK) system was developed as a data collection medium. The use of this system can provide cost efficiency in the procurement of research instruments / paper questionnaires, can eliminate the process of inputting, compiling and pre-processing data so that the analysis process can take place more quickly. The use of the ODK system will greatly assist the implementation of research to be effective and efficient because of its simple use, it can be developed according to research needs and does not require special skills to be able to operate it.

Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurship: Assessing the Impact of Agricultural Training Programmes on Performance

Using the case of the Fadama Graduate Unemployed Youth and Women Support (GUYS) programme, this study investigated the impact of agricultural training programmes on youth agripreneurship performance in Nigeria. A total of 977 respondents comprising of 455 participants of the programme and 522 non-participants were sampled across three states in Nigeria. Data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire programmed on Open Data Kit (ODK). Data were analysed using the Endogenous Treatment Effect Regression (ETER) model. The probit model results revealed that participation in the programme was significantly influenced by age, years of formal education, marital status, current residence, employment type, and perception of training. The empirical analysis showed that after controlling for endogeneity, participation in the programme led to better performance which was measure in terms of average income from agripreneurship activities. These findings highlight the significance of training in improving the performance of young agripreneurs and suggest the need to encourage and out-scale programmes such as the Fadama GUYS, both in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa as they can contribute to better performance of youth-owned agribusiness firms.

Prevalence of aflatoxins in dietary staples in the border county of Busia, western Kenya

Aflatoxins, secondary metabolites of some Aspergillusfungi, are of public health importance. They are major contaminants of cereals and tubers.Data on prevalence of aflatoxin contamination of sorghum, millet and cassava in Busia County are limited. The extent of aflatoxin contamination in dietary staples in Busia County were assessed and potential sources associated with the contamination evaluated.A tool designed to collect sociodemographic profile, food sources and storage locations and vessels and food consumption habits of respondents was loaded onto an Open Data Kit and used in 3 sub-counties. Quantitative data were analyzed using SAS version 15software. Maize, millet, sorghum, cassava and groundnut samples were collectedfrom469 households.Competitive Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay method was used to determine total aflatoxin levels in food samples.Sixty-eight percent of the maize samples were sourced from the market. Approximately 75% of maize samples were stored in polypropylene sacks.Samples of all five foods had detectable levels of aflatoxin.Overall, maize had the highest level of contamination (mean 100ppb; SD 252.9; range 1-1584ppb) with about a third of maize samples above the East African Community regulatory limits (10ppb).The levels of aflatoxin ranged from 0.3 to 740ppb in sorghum, 0.5 to 15ppb in cassava, from 0.5 to 12 ppb in millet and from 0.1 to 2.8ppbin groundnuts.The odds of contamination above 10ppb for market-sourced maize was 1.2 times higher than home-grown maize (OR 1.185, CI 0.554, 2.534). Sorghum stored in buckets had a 12.81 likelihood of having higher than allowable limits of aflatoxin(OR 12.82,CI 2.566, 63.992)than when stored in polypropylene sacks. Aflatoxin is prevalent in the dietary staples consumed in households within Busia County. Residents are at risk of chronic exposure to aflatoxin.Enhanced market surveillance within the county is recommended.