WEANING

Objective: To evaluate the awareness & practices regarding weaning in lactating mothers of infants. Design: A crosssectional descriptive study. Setting: At pediatrics OPD in Ghurki Trust Teaching hospital, Lahore. Period: From Octoberto December 2007.Methodology: A non probability convenience sampling was done to collect data from 50 mothers who were attending out patient departmentalong with their infants on a pre-formed questionnaire. After gathering, data was analyzed & presented in the form of tables & graphs.Results: In the present study, 66% mothers were in the age group of 20-29 years, all were house wives, 34 % were matriculate and 72%lived in joint family system, Mean age of weaning was 4-6 months in more than 64 % of the sample. Among the women interviewed, 44%used home-made weaning diets, 30% used mixture of homemade and commercially prepared diets, while 16% used only commerciallyprepared diets. Breast feeding was continued during and after weaning, by 64% of respondents along with weaning diets. Conclusion:Mothers need to be educated about the importance of weaning, the recommended age of weaning and about the types of weaning food.This can be achieved by using lady health workers and lady health visitors and the mass media. Importance of continued breast feedingwith weaning diet should be emphasized upon.

The use of emoji to establish student wellbeing: does the image reflect the reality?

Introduction: The impact of COVID-19 social restrictions on mental wellbeing of health professional students during placement is largely unknown. Conventional survey methods do not capture emotional fluctuations. Increasing use of smartphones suggests short message service (SMS) functionality could provide easy, rapid data. This project tested the feasibility and validity of gathering data on Therapeutic Radiography student mental wellbeing during clinical placement via emoji and SMS. Methods: Participants provided anonymous daily emoji responses via WhatsApp to a dedicated mobile phone. Additional weekly prompts sought textual responses indicating factors impacting on wellbeing. A short anonymous online survey validated responses and provided feedback on the method. Results: Participants (n = 15) provided 254 daily responses using 108 different emoji; these triangulated with weekly textual responses. Feedback concerning the method was positive. ‘Happy’ emoji were used most frequently; social interaction and fatigue were important wellbeing factors. Anonymity and opportunity to feedback via SMS were received positively; ease and rapidity of response engendered engagement throughout the 3-week study. Conclusions: The use of emoji for rapid assessment of cohort mental wellbeing is valid and potentially useful alongside more formal evaluation and support strategies. Capturing simple wellbeing responses from a cohort may facilitate the organisation of timely support interventions.

‘We Pay to Buy Ourselves’: Netflix, Spectators & Streaming

This article explains how Netflix has transformed the ways in which we interact with media in the contemporary milieu. I argue that Netflix works through a process of planned differentiation, designing unique customization experiences to create a new type of media user that participates in its global and regional release and production strategies. This leads me into a discussion of how the Netflix interface manages the spectators’ experience through a series of connected features. Thus, I detail Netflix’ personalization mechanisms, proposing that, ultimately, its users ‘pay to buy themselves’, or the version of themselves its interface offers back to users upon systematically gathering data on their habits. Finally, I remark that the key characteristics of the current streaming service/spectator relationship are deceptive limitlessness, customization, the automation of content flow and ubiquity, weaving a form of audiovisual engagement that has partially and, at times completely, conquered our everyday.

الجذور التاريخية لنشأة الأحزاب السياسية السودانية

This study deals with the historical roots of the formation of Sudanese political parties. The study aimed to analyz and study the historical development of the action of Sudanese national movement, which secreted political currents that began with political organizations and associations that progressed into political parties that lead the national action and realized self-determination and independence. The researcher adopted the historical, descriptive, and analytical methods for gathering data from sources and references for analysis to reach the results (findings) and recommendations guarantee the study’s ending. The study concluded that although the formation of Sudanese political parties was spontaneous, their existence was inevitable to decide the imperialistic vision, which considers that the country does not yet reach the stage that qualifies it to guide itself. The study recommended that Sudanese political parties have to fulfill what they have promised to do to the peoples of the country according to their platform after the attainment of their end of obtaining independence and do not occupy themselves with gaining the voters' votes and neglect the central issue of tasks achievement and the more significant national goals which are represented by a constant constitution for the country and economic growth, and strengthen the ties of national unity.

Women Entrepreneurship Through the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

The chapter investigated the COVID-19-induced challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe, the strategies used by women entrepreneurs to survive the COVID-19 crisis, and the government support needed by women entrepreneurs to recover from the pandemic. A quantitative research approach using a structured questionnaire was adopted for gathering data. Empirical findings illustrate that women entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe faces a multiplicity of challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, findings indicate that women entrepreneurs are cutting down costs, have introduced new delivery channels, and have reviewed their business models to become more resilient. However, women entrepreneurs also expect the government to offer readily accessible finances, arrange for skills and capacity-building training in response to the new normal, and craft economic recovery policies and packages that are tailored to specifically respond to the needs of women entrepreneurs. The study has both theoretical and practical implications.

Ecosystem Services for Environmental Sustainability

Many of the most valuable contributions of ecosystems to human wellbeing are ecosystem services and are generally underrepresented in assessments. Indirect and direct factors including biophysical dynamics like soil properties, changing climatic conditions, plant functional structures, and anthropogenic activities like changes in land use and land degradation reduce ecosystem services. It is challenging and important to identify these factors and also to estimate their relative contributions to the degradation of ecosystem services. The chapter is an attempt to identify all these important factors and also suggest ways to enhance ecosystem services. Furthermore, incorporation of local knowledge would enable quantifying ecosystem services at a greater spatial resolution and also help in identifying chief factors influencing ecosystem service delivery. Furthermore, a long-term program needs to be established for gathering data towards streamlining ecosystem services wherein involvement of stakeholders is necessary for designing payments for these programs.

The Implementation of Scientific Approach in Teaching English Subject at Senior High School of Riau Province

This study aims to explain the application of a scientific method in teaching English at Riau Province's State Islamic Senior High School 2 (MAN 2). This is a descriptive qualitative study. This study includes one instructor and students from class X. MS.1. Techniques for gathering data include observation, interviews, and documentation. Techniques for data analysis include data reduction, data display, and data verification. The findings of this study suggest that the scientific approach is being used in the teaching of English at State Islamic Senior High School 2 in Riau Province, with the five phases being watching, inquiring, experimenting, associating, and communicating. There are various issues that either stymie or help use the scientific approach in teaching English topics. The time required in five components of the scientific method is an impediment. The next impediment is the material used. Factors that aid in implementation are; interesting material and student effectiveness.

Training strategies for the improvement of NATO Level 2 results for English Functional Level exams in the armed forces

Background: As NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries participate in many international missions and joint operations around the world, NATO considered it a necessity for personnel to be able to communicate in a common language. Therefore, one of the main tasks of the NATO multinational setting is the teaching and the assessment of languages. Consequently, there is a need for personnel to achieve the Standard Language Profiles (SLP). Each NATO country must develop SLP exams to achieve the required levels based on NATO STANAG (Standard agreement) 6001. If the examinees do not achieve those levels and the global results are unsatisfactory, NATO members can be affected by a reduction of financial support or the assignment to NATO postings. This study aimed to create a training strategies proposal (TSP) for personnel to achieve NATO L2. Methods: The study consisted of four separate studies: 1) Preliminary survey/interview of military personnel about NATO L2 training; 2) gathering data from NATO L2 exams after normal training; 3) gathering of data from NATO L2 exams after the TSP had been implemented; 4) Post-training survey. Data was collected from examinees over a period of six months or one year, using mixed data collection methods: surveys, interviews, and exam results. Results: A total of 50 examinees took part in the study. Results showed that the number of examinees who passed the NATO L2 increased after going through the TSP. Conclusions: The results show that the TSP, using newer methodologies and different techniques, improved NATO L2 results. The outcomes of this study will help to inform future training and education programs.

Exploring crisis governance: Quest for functional resilience during COVID-19 in Lithuania

An effective, timely managed and interoperable governance process and its adaptive features are of the utmost importance in dealing with any type of crisis at the state level. This article explores civil society actors’ engagement in Lithuania to identify the functional resilience level in crisis governance of COVID-19. Social capital and adaptive capacity approaches were employed for theoretical consideration and analysis. We hypothesise that linking social capital is more important for enhancing resilience at the beginning of the crisis, while adaptive capacity gains prominence during and after the crisis. Mixed analysis methods were used in gathering data through content analysis, surveys (standardised questionnaires) and interviews with experts from civic (voluntary and non-governmental) and public (local and central government) sectors. The findings provide novel insights into the importance of civil society actors’ engagement in bolstering functional resilience and embedment of a whole of society approach in crisis governance during times of uncertainty.

Is There Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Steroidogenesis and Fertility?

In December of 2019, several cases of unknown atypical respiratory diseases emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province in China. After preliminary research, it was stated that the disease is transmittable between humans and was named COVID-19. Over the course of next months, it spread all over the world by air and sea transport and caused a global pandemic which affects life of everyone now-a-days. A large number of countries, have since been forced to take precautions such as curfews, lockdowns, wearing facemasks etc. Even with vaccines being produced in mass numbers, lack of targeted therapy continues to be a major problem. According to studies so far it seems that elderly people are more vulnerable to severe symptoms while children tend to by asymptomatic or have milder form the disease. In our review, we focused on gathering data about the virus itself, its characteristics, paths of transmission, and its effect on hormone production and secretion. In such, there is insufficient information in the literature worldwide, especially the ones that focus on the effect of COVID-19 on individual organs systems within the human body. Hence, the present evidence-based study focused on the possible effects of COVID-19 on adrenal gland and gonads i.e. on the process of steroidogenesis and fertility.