Early marriage is a form of violation of child rights to grow and develop. The Sustainable Development Goals had included early marriage in target 5.3, aiming to eliminate by 2030. This study examines the socio-demographic factors associated with women's early marriage in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Iraq using information extracted from 2019, 2017-2018, and 2018 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICSs) of Bangladesh, Ghana, and Iraq, respectively. The chi-square test examined the association between socio-demographic factors and early marriage separately in all three countries. In logistic regression, key factors were primarily evaluated for determining effects on early marriage separately in all three countries. The mean age of the mother at first marriage was found to be 16.86, 20.23, and 20.05 years in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Iraq successively. According to surveys conducted in Bangladesh, Ghana, and Iraq, education levels of household heads and women, wealth status, mass media, number of household members, and residence were significant factors linked to early marriage. The odds of getting married early were significantly higher among women with no formal education and primary education than women with secondary or higher education in all three countries. In terms of economic status, a negative association was found between wealth status and early marriage in both Bangladesh and Ghana. Based on the findings, the study recommended that government take the necessary steps to reduce child marriage in all three countries by raising women's education and campaigning women by media to harmful effects of early marriage, particularly women from low-income families.

Background. Most maternal deaths occur during childbirth and after childbirth. This study was aimed at determining the trends of health facilities during delivery in Bangladesh, as well as their influencing factors. Methods. This study used secondary data from three Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICSs) in 2006, 2012–13, and 2019. The study’s target sample was those women who gave birth in the last two years of the survey. A two-level logistic regression was applied to determine the effects on health facility delivery separately in these two survey points (MICSs 2012–13 and 2019). Results. The results show that the delivery of health facilities has increased by almost 37.4% in Bangladesh, from 16% in 2006 to 53.4% in 2019. The results of two-level logistic regression show that the total variation in health facility delivery across the community has decreased over recent years. After adding community variables, various individual-level factors such as women with secondary education ( OR = 0.55 in 2012-13 vs. OR =0.60 in 2019), women from middle wealth status ( OR = 0.49 in 2012-13 vs. OR = 0.65 in 2019), religion, and child ever born showed a strong relationship with health facility delivery in both survey years. At the community level, residents showed significant association only in the 2012-13 survey and indicated a 43% ( OR = 1.43 for 2012-13) greater availability of health facilities in urban residences than in rural residences. Using media showed a highly significant connection with health facility delivery in both years as well as an increasing trend over the years in Bangladesh ( OR = 1.19 in 2012-13 vs. OR = 1.38 in 2019). However, division, prenatal care, and skilled services all contribute greatly to increasing the delivery of health facilities in Bangladesh. Conclusions. The results of this study suggest that policymakers need to pay attention to individual and community-level factors, especially women’s education, poverty reduction, and adequate prenatal care provided by well-trained caregivers.

Mobile devices have become attractive learning devices for education. It is common to assume that our current undergraduates are digital natives who are naturally proficient and expert in the use of technology so do mobile devices such as Smartphone. Smartphone has become more of a computing device and are multi-functional, hence, its use as a learning tool needs to be assessed for its effectiveness. Researchers in the field of technology acceptance have been consistently improvising the technology acceptance models to fit in different contextual parameters. Unified Theory of Acceptance and the Use of Technology model 2 (UTAUT2) has gained a lot of credibility in this area and hence better suited for this study. This research is an attempt to understand the potentials of the acceptance of Smartphone underpinning the UTAUT2 model for the undergraduate Business students of a reputed private University in Bangladesh.

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