Ashraf Ahmed

Integration of an Essential Services Package (ESP) in Child and Reproductive Health and Family Planning with a Micro-credit Program for Poor Women: Experience from a Pilot Project in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract In early 1992, a two-phased pilot project, initially integrating a micro-credit program for poor women with a family planning and expanded program of immunization (EPI) (in the first phase) and subsequently and incrementally with an essential services package (ESP) in reproductive and maternal and child health (in the second phase), was initiated in rural Bangladesh. Data on the project show that there has been a significant increase in contraceptive use and a decline in fertility since the initiation of the first phase of the project. There also has been an increase in the dissemination of information on, and utilization of, ESP medical technologies in the intervention community at large.

Poor women's participation in income-generating projects and their fertility regulation in rural Bangladesh: Evidence from a recent survey☆

Abstract The paper assesses the impact of poor womens participation in income-generating projects on their knowledge, attitude, and practice of family planning in rural Bangladesh. By analyzing a 1992 national level household sample survey data collected from the female recipients of collateral-free loans of three relatively large rural development agencies in Bangladesh—the present study shows that the participation in income-generating projects by poor rural women has led to an increased level of contraceptive use and to a decreased level of desire for additional children. These effects are much higher than those of the corresponding levels for Bangladesh as a whole, indicating both the additional effect of income-generating projects as well as the effects of their population education components. Implications of these findings for inducing further increase in contraceptive use in Bangladesh are discussed in the paper.

Interim methadone treatment: impact on arrests.

AIMS This study examines the frequency and severity of arrest charges among heroin addicts randomly assigned to either interim methadone (IM) maintenance or to remain on a waiting list for methadone treatment. It was hypothesized that IM participants would have a: (1) lower number of arrests at 6 and 12 months and (2) lower mean crime severity scores at 6 and 12 months post-baseline. METHODS Available official arrest data were obtained for all 319 study participants for a period of 2 years before and after study enrollment. Crime severity ratings of charges were made using an established measure of crime severity. FINDINGS Participants randomly assigned to IM as compared to those on a waiting list had a significant reduction in number of arrests at 6 but not at 12 months from study enrollment. There were no significant differences in whether participants were arrested for a more severe crime but frequency of severe crime was relatively low in both groups. Additional post hoc analyses based on whether participants were in methadone treatment at 4 and 10 months after original random assignment to treatment condition revealed that those participants not in treatment at these follow-up assessment points were significantly more likely to be arrested and to have a higher mean crime severity rating at 12 and 24 months post-baseline assessment. CONCLUSIONS IM as compared to the waiting list condition, had a significant reduction in number of officially recorded arrests from baseline to 6 months post-baseline. Those who were enrolled in methadone treatment at the 4- and 10-month follow-up assessment, regardless of initial assignment, had fewer arrests at 12 and 24 months post-baseline.

How do MIS researchers handle missing data in survey-based research: A content analysis approach

Abstract Missing data is a common occurrence in survey-based research studies. However, the issue of missing data in Management Information Systems (MIS) literature has been overlooked, unlike the case in other disciplines such as Psychology, Marketing, Statistics, and Operations Management. The aim of this paper is to narrow this gap in the MIS field by investigating how MIS researchers address issues of missing data. This paper briefly outlines the causes of missing data in survey-based research as well as the common remedial techniques available to researchers. The paper also reviews how the common statistical software programs namely PASW (SPSS), SAS, LISREL, AMOS, EQS, and PLS handle missing data. It summarizes the common missing data remedial techniques and procedures and outlines how the presence of missing data affect sample size, statistical power, parameter estimates, ability to cope with different missing data patterns, and ease of implementation. Following that is a review of 749 survey-based research articles published between 1990 and 2010 in nine mainstream MIS Journals. The results reveal that researchers rarely report, explicitly, the presence or treatment of missing data and that when they do – they tend to use the least accurate techniques of listwise and pairwise deletion. The research concludes with recommendations that include a call for editorial policies that encourage the reporting of missing data, the reporting of the chosen missing data treatment techniques as well as the justifications for the techniques adopted by the researchers. The authors assert, based on the research, that following these recommendations will affect the rigor and quality of MIS survey-based research.

A Descriptive Analysis of the Social Context of Drinking Among First-Time DUI Offenders

Objective: To understand the role of social context in contributing to the incidence of alcohol-impaired driving. Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted with 161 individuals who received a first-time DUI citation. They were predominantly white (70%), male (62%) and 21 to 45 years of age (62%). They were paid

Outcomes for substance user treatment in women: results from the Baltimore Drug and Alcohol Treatment Outcomes Study.

25 for their participation. Questions were asked about their social network, the social context in which they typically drink, the specific location and circumstances where they were drinking at the time of their citation, risky driving behaviors, in the last month as well as the number of traffic tickets they received and crashes they have been involved in since they started to drive. Results: Two reliable social contexts of drinking were identified through principle components factors analysis: emotional pain and social facilitation. Analyses of variance showed that drinking in a context of emotional pain (eg, to deal with depression, stress) was related to drinking alone at this location and driving when they know they have had too much to drink. Drinking in a context of social facilitation (eg, with friends, to be sociable) was related to drinking more frequently and with others (versus alone) at this location. Social facilitation was also positively related to driving over the speed limit and running a red light/stop sign. Conclusions: The social context of drinking is important for understanding the social network of drinking drivers, because most (86%) said that someone from their social network was with them at this drinking location. The need to understand how significant others influence the context of drinking as well as the likelihood of impaired driving is critical for program development. These results suggest that different types of interventions are needed for offenders depending on their social context of drinking.

Factors affecting desired family size in Bangladesh.

The Baltimore Drug and Alcohol Treatment Outcomes Study is a large study focusing on a single city. Over 1000 adult male and female substance users entering treatment in 16 publicly funded substance use treatment programs in the City of Baltimore between 1998 and 1999 were evaluated at four time periods (intake, 30 days after treatment, 6 month, and 12 month follow-ups). A comprehensive psychological battery was administered at each assessment interval. In this article, we report on the seven domains (alcohol, drug, medical, legal, employment, family, and psychological) of the addiction severity index (ASI) with the 459 women who participated in the study. Overall, statistically significant differences across time showed improvement as a result of substance user treatment were found in six of the seven ASI domains; no statistically significant effects for time were found for the medical composite scores. Drug and alcohol use among the participants was significantly reduced as early as 30 days after treatment. We discuss these findings in relation to the specific treatment needs of women who are addicted.

Recent evidence on trends and differentials in Bangladesh fertility: an update

Factors affecting desired family size in rural Bangladesh are examined using data from contraceptive prevalence surveys conducted between 1983 and 1991. The analysis suggests that mothers having two sons and one daughter are more inclined to perceive their family as complete than those having three sons and no daughter. Logistic regression analysis indicates that important determinants of desire for more children are age of woman, current contraceptive use status, work status, and family planning workers visit. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Characteristics of DUI offenders with a high versus low perceived risk of arrest.

A comparison of contraceptive and fertility data for 1985-91 with data for 1983 shows that fertility has continued to decline in Bangladesh, in all segments of society. The magnitude of decline varied according to educational level, region and urban-rural locality. The percentage decline in total marital fertility rate was somewhat higher among urban than rural residents; educated women showed greater declines than uneducated, increasing the overall educational differences in total fertility by 1991. Factors contributing to the recent decline in fertility are discussed.

Atypical Mycobacterial Infection in A Diabetic Patient: A Case Report

Objective: To compare offenders with high versus low perceptions of risk for being stopped by police for drinking and driving using measures of beliefs, behaviors, social context of drinking, and perceived influence from a significant other in their social network. Method: Telephone interviews were conducted with 161 individuals who received a first-time driving under the influence (DUI) citation in Maryland. They were divided into 2 groups: those who felt that it was almost certain or very likely that they would be stopped by the police if they drove after having too much to drink (n = 56) and those who felt that it was only somewhat likely or unlikely (n = 105). Results: The 2 groups did not differ in terms of age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, employment, or marital status. Offenders with a low perceived risk of being stopped were less likely to believe that they would be convicted if they were stopped and arrested. They were more likely to report having an encounter with an aggressive driver, running through a stop sign or traffic light, drinking in a context of social facilitation, knowing someone in their social network who had received a DUI citation, and having a member of their social network suggest that they had had too much to drink and could not drive safely. Conclusions: The social context of drinking and the relationship they have to their social network have important implications for influencing first DUI offenders and preventing them from recidivating.