Status And Determinant of Men’s Knowledge Towards Family Planning Techniques in Nsit Atai Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

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This study investigates married men’s knowledge of family planning techniques and the demographic factors influencing their understanding and use of contraception in Nsit Atai Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data was collected from 97 respondents through a structured questionnaire that covered their demographics, knowledge of family planning, and constraints to adoption. The sampling method involved simple random selection during church gatherings and visits to healthcare centers. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that most respondents had high knowledge of barrier methods (e.g., condoms), with 80.4% reporting well-known awareness. However, awareness of other methods, like intrauterine devices (IUCDs) and sterilization, was lower, with only 32% and 37.1% reporting well-known knowledge, respectively. Significant factors influencing knowledge included age, marital duration, number of children, and the number of male children. The correlation analysis revealed strong relationships between knowledge and age (r = 0.503), and the number of male children (r = 0.630). Cultural and religious beliefs, especially among Christian respondents (82.5%), were key constraints to family planning adoption, with 19.3% citing fear of side effects and 17.2% thinking that contraception was only for women. The study also identified the influence of household size, with larger families showing less willingness to adopt family planning. The results underscore the importance of culturally tailored family planning education and improving access to family planning services. The study advocates for greater male involvement in reproductive health and community-driven awareness campaigns to overcome barriers to contraception use.

Analysis of Sustainable Rice Supply Chain Model Using Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) in Sidenreng Rappang Regency

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Indonesia is a country where most of its population lives from agriculture, making the agricultural industry sector an important industry for people’s lives. One of the commodities in this sector is rice, which is the raw material for rice production. Indonesia is ranked first in ASEAN countries with the highest rice and rice production based on data from the ASEAN Statistical Year Book 2021, where rice production was 55.53 million metric tons in 2020. Sidenreng Rappang Regency is known for its high rice production. The purpose of this study is to analyze whether the sustainable rice supply chain model in Sidenreng Rappang Regency has been running well or not. This study uses the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) method, and the populations studied are farmers, rice mills, and seller. The first stage of work in this study is to identify levels 1, 2, and 3 of the KPI SCOR for each population. The second phase involves determining the score for level 3. The third stage involves determining the weight of each level. The fourth stage determines the final value of levels 3, 2, and 1 of all populations. Based on the analysis conducted, the total value of supply chain performance for the farmer population was 38.28. Rice milling resulted in a total value of supply chain performance of 53.19. 53.02 was the total value of the seller population and 53.02 was the performance of the supply chain.

A Comparative Review of Cranial Surgeries in Two New Neurosurgery Centres in an Urban and Rural Environment in Southeast Nigeria

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Background: The Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUTH), Orlu is rural based and commenced neurosurgical services in January 2016 whereas the Imo State Specialist Hospital (IMSSH), Owerri is in an urban environment and commenced neurosurgical services in April 2021. The demographics of cranial pathologies operatively managed in both hospitals were compared.

Aims: The study aimed to descriptively compare the number of cranial surgeries performed in both hospitals including the age, gender distribution and cranial pathologies of patients surgically managed in both hospitals.

Methods: The surgical records of all neurosurgery patients who had cranial operations at IMSUTH, Orlu, from January 2016 to June 2020 (42 months excluding 2018), and at IMSSH, Owerri, from April 2021 to July 2024 (40 months) were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: During the study periods, there were 26 cranial surgeries, in IMSUTH, Orlu giving an average of 1 cranial surgery in 2 months whereas there were 192 spine surgeries in IMSSH, Owerri, giving an average of 5 cranial surgeries per month. The mean age of the patients was 41 years for patients in IMSUTH and 39 years for patients in IMSSH, with a male to female ratio of 2:1 and 1.5:1 respectively. The mean age for male patients was 36 years for IMSUTH and 39 years for IMSSH while that of female patients was 51 years for IMSUTH and 32 years for IMSSH. The peak age range was in the age group 0-19 years for both IMSUTH (n=11, 42.3%) and IMSSH (n=69, 36%), followed by the age group 60 – 79 years for both IMSUTH (n=6, 23.1%) and IMSSH (n=55, 28.6%). The highest frequency of cranial surgeries was performed for hydrocephalus for IMSSH (n=85, 44.3%). This was followed by cranial haematoma (n=52, 27.1%), cranial tumours (n=33, 17.2%) and cranial infection (n=13, 6.8%). Although the findings in IMSUTH were similar, hydrocephalus (n=9, 34.6%) and haematoma (n=9, 34.6%) were the same in frequency, followed by cranial tumours (n=5, 19.2%) and cranial infection (n=3, 11.5%).

Conclusion: Cranial pathologies are not uncommon in our resource poor settings, especially in the urban environment and with a male preponderance for cranial surgeries. Congenital hydrocephalus is the most common cranial pathology in our paediatric age group, whereas chronic subdural haematoma is the most common cranial pathology in our elderly population. Trauma related cranial pathologies appear to be more common factors for cranial surgeries in rural settings relative to our urban settings.

Cranial Surgeries in a New Neurosurgery Centre in an Urban Specialist Hospital in Southeast Nigeria: A 40-Month Review

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Background: The Imo State Specialist Hospital (IMSSH) commenced neurosurgical services in April 2021 with outpatient consultations, and a cranial surgery performed in the same month was her first neurosurgical procedure. This is an audit of cranial pathologies surgically managed in the hospital in her first 3 years since the commencement of neurosurgical procedures.

Aims: The study aimed to look at the pattern of cranial pathologies surgically managed in the hospital from the commencement of neurosurgery services, including their age and gender distribution, the cranial pathologies and their distribution.

Methods: The surgical records of all neurosurgery patients who had cranial surgical operations at IMSSH, Owerri, from April 2021 to July 2024 (40 months) were retrospectively reviewed.

Results: One hundred and ninety-two (192) patients had cranial surgical operations during the study period (an average of 5 surgeries per month). The mean age of patients was 39 years with a male-to-female ratio of 1.5:1. The mean age for male patients was 43 years while that of female patients was 32 years. The peak age range at presentation was in the paediatric age group, 0 – 19 years (n=69, 36%), followed by the elderly age group, 60 – 79 years (n=55, 28.6%). The highest frequency of cranial surgeries was performed for hydrocephalus (n=85, 44.3%). This was followed by cranial haematomas (n=52, 27.1%), cranial tumours (n=33, 17.2%) and cranial infections (n=13, 6.8%). Among cases of hydrocephalus, hydrocephalus in children (n=46) accounted for the highest number of cranial surgeries, while among cranial haematomas and cranial tumours, chronic subdural haematoma (n=27, 59.1%) and meningiomas (n=13, 39.3%) accounted for the highest frequencies respectively.

Conclusion: The study showed a male preponderance for cranial pathologies surgically managed in the hospital, with hydrocephalus in children and chronic subdural haematoma in the elderly having the highest presentation in our environment. A focus on preventive measures against hydrocephalus and chronic subdural haematoma may help in reducing the burden of these diseases in our environment.

The COSO ERM Implementation Perspective Analysis on Manufacturing Company: Case Study PT Alcomex Indo

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Internal control implementation of PT Alcomex Indo, a manufacturing company focused on aluminum extrusion based on COSO ERM perspective. This research conclude that the internal control of objective settings in the expenditure cycle is not fully implemented and stated that there is no budgeting system which resulted in the lack of performance evaluation in the expenditure cycle.

Development Strategy of Punti Kayu Tourism Forest in Palembang City, Indonesia; Willingness to Pay (WTP) Base Recommendation

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Punti Kayu is one of the natural tourism forests in Palembang City. Punti Kayu natural tourism forest is a conservation area with a development concept based on protecting the diversity of plant and animal species. Willingness to pay is one of the things that must be considered by tourism managers because the ticket price offered is unknown about the willingness to pay of tourists, there the researcher is interested in conducting this study to find out how satisfied visitors who visit Punti Kayu Nature Tourism and how willing tourists are to pay the ticket price if using the travel cost method. This study aims to (1) determine the level of satisfaction consisting of ticket prices, attractiveness, facilities and experience of visiting Punti Kayu and determine the comparison of satisfaction levels based on the area of origin, (2) determine the value of willingness to pay based on travel costs and determine the relationship between value. willingness to pay with the satisfaction level of visiting Punti Kayu, (3) knowing the formulation of Punti Kayu development strategy in Palembang City.The data processing method used was the calculation of the satisfaction level score, the willingness to pay analysis using the travel cost method and the development strategy analysis using the SWOT analysis. The satisfaction level of tourist visits who became respondents was 60 people and an average score of 3.51 with the satisfied category was 53.30 percent. The result of the analysis of willingness to pay the visit of Punti Kayu respondent based on the travel cost method is Rp30,196.36. Based on the results of the spearman correlation calculation, the sig. (2-tailed) is 0.01 < 0.05, so there is the relationship between willingness to pay and the level of satisfaction. The results of the analysis of Punti Kayu’s development strategy are in quadrant I formulation, namely the SO strategy with the strategy being to make several sports areas such as jogging track and make interseting photo spot such as adding a flower garden with an aesthetic impression.

The Influence of Lipase Enzyme Level and Ca(OH)2 Usage in the Production of Protected Lemuru Fish Oil Supplement on the Texture, Nutrient Content, and Fatty Acid Value of the Product

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The scarcity of  feed energy source to ruminant can be anticipated by adding oil to the feed. However, the effect of adding oil to the feed more than 7% will reduce the activity of fiber-degrading microbes because fat is toxic. In addition, fat in the feed will easily undergo biohydrogenation by rumen microbes so that it will reduce its function. Making fat protection feed using lemuru fish oil with a combination of lipase enzymes and Ca(OH)2 can be a solution because it aims to protect fat from biohydrogenation in the rumen. The experiment used a completely randomized design method with a 3×2 factorial pattern with factors 1) lipase enzyme (0%, 0.5%, and 1%) and factor 2) Ca(OH)2 (20% and 25%). The product results obtained showed that the product quality was in good condition with the product hardness criteria at number 4 (hard). Analysis of variance showed no significant effect on interaction,enzyme factor and Ca(OH)2 factor (P>0.05) on DM, OM, CF and acid number where the combination of L1K20 treatment (1% enzyme and 20% Ca(OH)2) produced the highest DM content of 90.25±1.12%; OM 81.98±1.35%; CF 14.62±0.53%; and the lowest acid number of 0.54±.0.06 mg KOH/g sample. The conclusion that can be given is that the use of a combination of 1% lipase enzyme and 20% Ca(OH)2 in fat protection products produces good quality products in terms of product hardness, high nutrient content and low acid number according to the standard fatty acid number below 1 mg KOH/g sample.

Improving the Management Development Program to Enhance Graduation Rates, Retention, and Effectiveness (Case Study: MDP Mortgage, Maybank Indonesia)

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A robust leadership pipeline is essential for sustained success in the dynamic Indonesian banking sector. Maybank Indonesia’s Management Development Program for Mortgage, designed to cultivate future leaders in this critical business area, faces significant challenges. With a graduation rate of just 51.69% and high attrition, the program falls short of its 80% target, impacting the bank’s ability to develop internal talent and meet strategic objectives. This study employs the DMAIC methodology to diagnose the root causes of this underperformance and propose data-driven solutions. Utilizing tools such as process mapping, surveys, and statistical analysis, the research reveals key weaknesses within the program.

Analysis indicates that inconsistent mentorship practices, characterized by a lack of standardized guidance and individualized support, account for 40% of participant dissatisfaction. Furthermore, a misalignment between the training curriculum and the actual demands of on-the-job tasks contributes to 60% of performance challenges, leading to frustration and decreased participant engagement. To address these critical issues, this study recommends a three-pronged approach: 1) revising the curriculum to reflect on-the-job requirements better, incorporating real-world case studies and simulations; 2) standardizing mentorship processes, providing clear guidelines and training for mentors to ensure consistent support and guidance; and 3) implementing real-time feedback mechanisms, enabling participants to receive timely and constructive feedback on their performance. These targeted improvements are projected to increase graduation rates by 15%, reduce attrition by 10%, and significantly enhance the overall effectiveness of the MDP Mortgage program, ultimately strengthening Maybank Indonesia’s leadership pipeline and contributing to its long-term success in the competitive financial landscape.

Effects of learning culture on English language learning by EFL students at HCMC College of Economics

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The concept of culture encompasses the way people live, including their customs, attitudes, lifestyles, traditions, beliefs, norms, and values within their society (Brown, 2007). Members of a group are aware of the rules of proper and impolite behavior and understand how to use language in various social situations based on a shared set of values, beliefs, and norms. Consequently, languages are used differently depending on the culture. This study aimed to explore the perspectives of Vietnamese students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at HCMC College of Economics on how integrating cultural learning into their English language education influences their learning experience. The research seeks to provide valuable insights into the role of cultural integration in English language education for Vietnamese students. To achieve this, the paper employed quantitative research methods to assess students’ perceptions regarding the importance of incorporating cultural aspects of the English language into their learning process. Additionally, the study examined how the integration of cultural learning impacts the English language proficiency of EFL students. Furthermore, to analyze and interpret the results, the paper recommends employing a qualitative approach, utilizing concepts or findings from previous research to support the data. Based on a population size of 168 students who are third-year English major at Ho Chi Minh City College of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City. The analysis results indicate that students positively value the importance of culture learning in English learning. Also, there is a strong correlation between students’ perceptions for cultural learning, their cultural knowledge, and their English learning progress.

Proposed Business Strategy to Increase Competitiveness for Chemical Textile Company: A Case Study of CV XYZ

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CV XYZ, a chemical textile company, has faced fluctuating profitability, requiring a robust business strategy to improve financial performance and market position. This research identifies the root causes of these challenges and proposes actionable solutions through a comprehensive analysis of both external and internal factors. External evaluations, including market and competitor assessments, are combined with internal analyses such as resource and value chain analysis, core competencies, and the VRIO framework. These insights are summarized in a SWOT and TOWS matrix, highlighting the company’s strengths and weaknesses. The findings reveal that CV XYZ is competitive due to its ability to offer customized products that meet customer needs and provide affordable solutions. Its innovative alkali-based remover and eco-friendly formulations differentiate it from competitors and provide significant growth potential. However, operational inefficiencies hinder performance, such as inefficient workflows, delayed deliveries, and multitasking sales teams. Overlapping roles and the need for further product refinement also present challenges. This study recommends integrating cost leadership and differentiation strategies streamlining operations to reduce costs while maintaining product quality and innovation. This dual strategy will help CV XYZ meet the needs of both price-sensitive and sustainability-conscious customers, improving profitability and ensuring long-term success.