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This study aims to assess the nutritional status of children with sickle cell diseases using anthropometric measurements, biochemical markers and dietary intakes.

The study was conducted in 100 children of 3-12 years of age with sickle cell diseases (SCDs) at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. Weight, height and age of participants were used to calculate body mass index-for-age. The mid-upper-arm-circumference-for-age, weight-for-age (percentiles) and height-for-age (percentiles) were compared with standards growth charts for children. Biochemical measures such as serum albumin and ferritin, as well as full blood count, were assessed. Dietary intake was assessed using 24-h dietary recall and food frequency questionnaire.

From the study, 73 and 37 per cent of the children with SCD recorded inadequate intake of iron and vitamin E, respectively, when compared to the recommended daily allowance. Out of the 100 participants, 37 per cent were underweight and 22 per cent were stunted. There was significant difference (p < 0.05) in underweight (weight-for-age) prevalence by gender. A multiple variate regression showed a significant association between zinc (r² = 0.763, p < 0.05) and haemoglobin levels.

The evidence in this paper is relevant for treatment, health education and nutritional counselling of parents with children who have SCD.

User trust in social networking sites (SNS) has become an important issue in SNS discussions. This is because of its impact on knowledge sharing, social commerce, social interaction, among many others. However, information systems researchers have primarily explored the benefits of trust with little attention to its antecedents. In an attempt to address this knowledge gap, this study proposed a model that investigated the factors that promote trust among SNS users. Data was gathered from voluntary respondents using a questionnaire. A PLS-SEM analysis of 912 valid responses suggested that Norm of Reciprocity, Social Interaction Ties and Identification are significant factors that encourage Trust among SNS users. Shared Language was also identified to have impact on Norm of Reciprocity, Social Interaction Ties and Identification. The results of the study provide significant theoretical and practical contributions. They bridge the knowledge gap regarding the formation of Trust on SNS. The model evaluated explains 49.6% of the variance in Trust and thus suitable for analyzing the antecedents of Trust on SNS. Furthermore, with the significance of Identification, Social Interaction Ties and Norm of Reciprocity on Trust, SNS developers are tasked to offer SNS features that proliferate the formation of these factors as well as shared interpretations.

Leadership is basically about influence and ability to cultivate followership. This chapter examined the nature of indigenous socio-political leadership in Africa using Zimbabwe, Sudan and Nigeria as caselets and compared this with the post-colonial or modern-day leadership realities. A survey was conducted among senior executives at Lagos Business School, Nigeria, with a sample size of 200 persons, to find out their perception of the African indigenous leadership system. An overwhelming 90% believe that culture plays a big role in shaping African leadership style. However, two-thirds of the respondents agreed that Africa lacks proper institutional structures to support good leadership, thus encouraging corruption (97% of the respondents) and non-accountability among the leaders. Also, only 5% thought cultural orientation was the reason why the African followers do not hold their leaders accountable. In other words, it is not in the African culture not to hold leaders accountable for their actions. So, what went wrong? We attempted a deeper look at the effect of colonial rule and the attendant militarisation of the African continent. Our conclusion is that the colonisation of the continent by Europe brought significant distortion to the traditional African indigenous leadership institutions and the psyche of the African leader and the followers alike. Post-colonial Africa has witnessed 133 recorded coups d’etat between 1952 and 2016. This chapter is recommended to all those who seek a deeper understanding of the nature of the African indigenous leadership practices and the factors that have shaped these over the years.