Socio-Economic Contributions and Marketing of Garcinia Kola (Bitter Kola) in Ijebuode, Ogun State, Nigeria

This study examined the socio-economic contribution and marketing of Garcinia kola to human livelihoods in Ijebu-ode Ogun State. Simple random sampling was used to select 100 respondents from the study area and questionnaires were distributed to the selected respondents. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents while Gini coefficient and cost and return analysis were used to analyze the market structure and profitability. The result showed that 95% of the respondents were females, 35-45 age category have the highest percentage (48%). The finding revealed that the Islamic religion pre-dominate the study area. Acquisition of occupational skill by majority (64%) was through apprenticeship i.e. learning. Price fluctuation was the major challenge (78%) faced by the respondents. The valuation and utilization of the bark of Garcinia kola for treatment of malaria has highest (84%) percentage while the seed was used by majority (60%) to cure cough. The study showed the average profitability of all the markets, New market has the highest gross profit (N8,500) while Oke-aje market has the lowest gross profit (N3,293.75). Computation of Gini-coefficient (G) helped to reveal the structure of the market. The result, G= 0.4708 indicates the oligopolistic nature of the market, which means the study areas were characterized by few sellers. Majority (90%) of the respondents revealed that trading in bitter kola is profitable than trading in other non-timber forest products. Based on this findings, it was recommended that bitter kola marketers in the study areas should endeavor to form a co-operative and also, banking industry in Ogun State Nigeria should be made to consider in giving out loans to the bitter kola traders to enable them to go on mass trading of the products since price fluctuation was the most severe constraint to bitter kola marketing in the study area.

Socioeconomic pathways to inequalities in mental and functional health: a comparative study of three birth cohorts

Background Although the educational expansion is often seen as a mechanism that might reduce health inequalities, socioeconomic inequalities in health (SEIH) have persisted or increased over the past decades. Theories suggest that this persistence could be due to a changing role of education as a ‘gatekeeper’ to access other socioeconomic resources such as occupation and income that are also associated with health outcomes. To test this, we examine whether the mediating role of occupation and income in the education–health relationship differs between three cohorts of 55–64 year old adults. Methods We used cross-sectional data from three cohorts of 988, 1002, and 1023 adults born in 1928/37, 1938/47 and 1948/57 and observed in 1992/93, 2002/03, 2012/13 respectively, who participated in the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We used multigroup structural equation modelling to compare the strength of indirect effects of education via occupational skill level and income to functional limitations and depressive symptoms between cohorts. Results Absolute educational inequalities in functional limitations increased for men and women in later cohorts, and in depressive symptoms only for men. Relative inequalities in functional limitations increased only for women and in depressive symptoms only for men. The indirect effect of education via income on both health outcomes was weaker in the most recent birth cohort compared to the earlier cohorts. In contrast, the indirect effect of education via occupation on functional limitations was stronger in the most recent cohort compared to the earlier cohorts. These differences were mainly due to a decreasing direct effect of education on income and an increasing direct effect of education on occupational skill level, rather than to changes in the direct effects of occupation and income on health. Conclusions The role of education in determining inequalities in health appears to have changed across cohorts. While education became a less important determinant of income, it became a more important determinant of occupational level. This changing role of education in producing health inequalities should be considered in research and policy.

Socioeconomic and marital status among liver cirrhosis patients and associations with mortality: a population-based cohort study in Sweden

Background The importance of socioeconomic status for survival in cirrhosis patients is more or less pronounced within different populations, most likely due to cultural and regional differences combined with dissimilarities in healthcare system organisation and accessibility. Our aim was to study the survival of patients with cirrhosis in a population-based Swedish cohort, using available data on marital status, employment status, and occupational skill level. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 582 patients diagnosed with cirrhosis in the Region of Halland (total population 310,000) between 2011 and 2018. Medical and histopathologic data, obtained from registries, were reviewed. Cox regression models were used to estimate associations between survival and marital status (married, never married, previously married), employment status (employed, pensioner, disability retired, unemployed), and occupational skill level (low-skilled: level I; medium-skilled: level II; medium-high skilled: level III; professionals: level IV); adjusting for sex, age, aetiology, Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, Child-Pugh class, and comorbidities. Results Alcohol was the most common aetiology (51%). Most patients were male (63%) and the median age was 66 years. Occupational skill level was associated with the severity of cirrhosis at diagnosis and the prevalence of Child-Pugh C gradually increased from professionals through low-skilled. The mean survival for professionals (6.39 years, 95% CI 5.54–7.23) was higher than for low-skilled (3.00 years, 95% CI 2.33–3.67) and medium-skilled (4.04 years, 95% CI 3.64–4.45). The calculated hazard ratios in the multivariate analysis were higher for low-skilled (3.43, 95% CI 1.89–6.23) and medium-skilled (2.48, 95% CI 1.48–4.12), compared to professionals. When aggregated, low- and medium-skilled groups also had poorer mean survival (3.79 years, 95% CI 3.44–4.14; vs 5.64 years, 95% CI 5.00–6.28) and higher hazard ratios (1.85, 95% CI 1.32–2.61) compared to the aggregated medium-high skilled and professional groups. Marital and employment status were not statistically significant predictors of mortality in the multivariate analysis. Conclusions Occupational skill level was strongly associated with mean survival and mortality risk. Poorer prognosis among patients with low and medium occupational skill level could not be explained by differences in sex, age, marital status, employment status, MELD score, Child-Pugh class, or comorbidity.

Occupations and the Non-Standard Employment Career: How the Occupational Skill Level and Task Types Influence the Career Outcomes of Non-Standard Employment

This article examines to what extent the occupational skill level and task types determine whether non-standard employment (NSE) leads to a stepping-stone or a trap in the careers of workers. For this purpose, a typology of the individual careers of workers in the Netherlands who entered non-standard employment in 2007 is created using multichannel sequence analysis. This typology allows for classifying careers in terms of employment security and income security. An analysis of this typology shows that working in occupations with high-level tasks does not preclude trap careers with low levels of employment and income security. Routine tasks do not have an unequivocal effect on career outcomes, while manual tasks generally lead to trap careers. The combination of routine and manual tasks makes it most likely for NSE to function as a trap in workers’ careers.

False self-employment: the role of occupations

PurposeThis paper analyses the relation between occupational characteristics and the probability that a worker in the Netherlands has a false self-employed arrangement instead of an employee arrangement. These are arrangements in which self-employed workers perform tasks in the hierarchy of the firm as if they were employees.Design/methodology/approachData from the Dutch Labour Force Survey is used to analyse the relationship between occupational skill, routine and wage level and the probability to be a false self-employed or a standard or non-standard employee.FindingsThe results show that the probability to be false self-employed decreases slightly with the skill level of the occupation, but there is no evidence that false self-employment is more likely in low paid, routine occupations. Workers in the lowest paid occupations are more likely to have a non-standard contract as an employee. False self-employment arrangements are more likely in the (lower) middle paid occupations. Finally, the results show that working in the highest paid occupations increases the probability of being in a false self-employed arrangement, but only in arrangements that are characterised by economic and organizational dependency. These are arrangements with financial dependency on one client for income combined with dependency on this client on when and where to work.Originality/valueThis study makes an important contribution to the literature on identifying vulnerable self-employed workers as well as to the literature on mechanisms behind the growth of solo self-employment.

Connecting Hands and Heads: Retooling Engineering Technology for the “Smart” Manufacturing Workplace

Technological change, global competition, and a protracted economic downturn combined to usher in and hasten a new era in manufacturing. The digitally integrated factory, where machines are computer controlled, production is digitally connected to suppliers and customers, and all aspects of operation are constantly monitored and analyzed, requires workers with a new and emerging array of skills. This study analyzes data on occupational skill requirements and employment projections and combines it with insights gleaned from a series of focus groups and follow-on interviews with manufacturers across Ohio to explore current and projected workforce challenges faced by manufacturers. One key finding that emerges from the data and focus group responses is a broader understanding of the considerable engineering and technology skills associated with several occupations critical to manufacturing operations.

Job Insecurity: A Comparative Analysis between Migrant and Native Workers in Australia

Job insecurity is a modifiable risk factor for poor health outcomes, and exposure to job insecurity varies by population groups. This study assessed if job insecurity exposure varied by migrant status and if the differences varied by gender, age, educational attainment, and occupational skill level. Data were from wave 14 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. The outcome was job insecurity. Exposure was migrant status defined by (1) the country of birth (COB), (2) the dominant language of the COB, and (3) the number of years since arrival in Australia. Data were analysed using linear regression, adjusting for gender, age, educational attainment, and occupational skill level. These covariates were also analysed as effect modifiers for the migrant status–job insecurity relationships. Migrant workers, especially those from non-English speaking countries (non-ESC-born), experienced higher job insecurity than Australia-born workers; however, these disparities disappeared after 11+ years post-arrival. The migrant status–job insecurity relationships were modified by educational attainment. Unexpectedly, the disparities in job insecurity between non-ESC-born migrants and Australia-born workers increased with increasing educational attainment, and for those most highly educated, the disparities persisted beyond 11 years post-arrival. Our findings suggested that continuing language skill support and discrimination prevention could facilitate migrant integration into the Australian labour market.

Does the effect of disability acquisition on mental health differ by employment characteristics? A longitudinal fixed-effects analysis

Purpose Longitudinal studies have suggested a causal relationship between disability acquisition and mental health, but there is substantial heterogeneity in the magnitude of the effect. Previous studies have provided evidence that socioeconomic characteristics can buffer the effect but have not examined the role of employment characteristics. Methods We used data from 17 annual waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey to compare the mental health of working age individuals before and after disability acquisition, using the Mental Health Inventory, a subscale of the SF-36 health questionnaire. Linear fixed-effects regression models were used to estimate the effect of disability acquisition on mental health. We tested for effect modification by two characteristics of people’s employment prior to disability acquisition: occupational skill level and contract type. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to handle missing data. Results Disability acquisition was associated with a substantial decline in mental health score (estimated mean difference: − 4.3, 95% CI − 5.0, − 3.5). There was evidence of effect modification by occupational skill level, with the largest effects seen for those in low-skilled jobs (− 6.1, 95% CI − 7.6, − 4.5), but not for contract type. Conclusions The findings highlight the need for social and health policies that focus on increasing employment rates, improving the sustainability of employment, and providing employment services and education and training opportunities for people who acquire a disability, particularly for people in low-skilled occupations, to reduce the mental health inequalities experienced by people with disabilities.