Financial Challenges Leading to Premature Contract Termination in Ghanaian Construction Industry: Causes and Mitigation Strategies

This study examines the link between financial challenges and premature construction contract termination in Ghana’s construction industry. The study is grounded in Keynesian economics, which offers insights into the broader economic impacts of these financial challenges, and cash flow management theories, which help analyze the financial viability and liquidity issues that exacerbate these risks. Additionally, financial risk management models are employed to assess the risks related to banking disputes and economic instability, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the financial difficulties contributing to contract termination. Employing a quantitative research approach, Data from 315 industry professionals revealed three key dimensions of financial challenges: Financial Integrity Risks (FIR), Financial Mismanagement and Economic Instability Risks (FMEIR), and Financial Risk Due to Banking Disputes and Instability (FRBDI). Structural equation modelling confirmed the robustness of the proposed model, highlighting the strong correlations between these financial risks and contract termination. The findings emphasize the need for proactive risk management and comprehensive contractual strategies to prevent contract disputes and ensure project viability. For stakeholders in the construction industry, this study underscores the practical importance of implementing rigorous financial risk management strategies. By enhancing project planning, fostering stakeholder collaboration, and ensuring robust contractual arrangements, the industry can mitigate the adverse effects of financial instability and improve overall project outcomes

An initial re-assessment of the population and distribution of the coral Anomastraea irregularis within the Watamu Marine National Park, Kenya, June 2018

Anomastraea irregularis, the crisp pillow coral or irregular honeycomb coral, occurs in intertidal rockpools and along reefs It had anIUCN classification of Vulnerable from 2008 to 2023, but in 2024 it was re-assessed as least concern. It is relatively common in the Watamu Ma-rine National Park. Kenya. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event in 1998 resulted in the loss of c. 60–90% of corals along the Kenyan coast. The coral reef is slowly recovering. During June 2018, we tried to survey all suitable habitat for A. irregularis colonies during the spring low tides. A total of 57 A. irregularis colonies were located and mapped. The individual colony size ranged from 0.5×0.5 cm to 8.4×4.0 cm. The distribution map provides a baseline for future sur-veys of the distribution of A. irregularis within the park

No limbits! The feasibility of providing low-cost 3D printed below elbow and below knee limb replacements in a resource limited setting

Background: South Africa faces the challenge of producing large numbers of prostheses each year. Three-dimensional (3D) printing was investigated as a potential method of efficiently providing prostheses.Objective: To evaluate the need for below-knee (BK) and below-elbow (BE) limb replacements at Groote Schuur Hospital; and to determine the feasibility of providing low-cost 3D printed limb replacements at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH).Methods: We performed a literature review and conducted interviews with staff at the Amputation clinic. Information regarding the need for BE and BK prostheses, qualifying criteria, durability and cost of traditional prostheses, and manufacture times was collected. Communication with e-NABLE and a senior biomechanical engineer provided further information. We investigated the feasibility of producing a 3D printed prosthesis by printing and assembling a prosthetic hand.Results: 3D printing reduces the cost of a BE prosthesis by approximately 26.6% and shortens the manufacturing time; however, 3D printing technology is currently unable to provide adequate weight bearing BK prostheses and is not as cost efficient as traditional manufacturing techniques. Conclusion: It is feasible to provide 3D printed BE prostheses in a resource-limited setting; however, BK prostheses face design challenges and are more costly than those traditionally made.

State of Women’s Employment and Education in South Africa

DEEP-IDEA SA Workshop provided an update on the British Commission-funded research project between the Universities of Plymouth, Reading, and Cape Town, focusing on the inclusion of women in construction and the potential positive impact of digital technology. This keynote speech commenced with a visualisation of the beautiful, rural countryside of the Eastern Cape during the late 1960s. Exclusion from mathematics and science subjects applied to all black Africans; additional limitations existed on women, for example, limitations of movement and job opportunities; and the legal status of minors, reversed only by the 1996 final Constitution. Applying cultural-historical activity theory provides insight into progress made, but also the magnitude of the challenge that faced South Africa in 1994, persisting to date. Women now fulfil a range of roles, many at management level, particularly evident in the banking sector, administrative roles, and within the police service. In the construction sector, however, fewer women are employed, although in the informal construction sector, which has grown slightly faster than the formal sector, women have established and lead construction companies. Nationally, women constitute 51% of the population. In education, females have overtaken males at the secondary school level, and now predominate in tertiary enrolment. Registration of women is limited in areas of: electrical infrastructure, engineering, architecture and built environment. Exclusion from mathematics (as opposed to mathematics literacy) and science limits entry to technical qualifications. The unemployment level remains a source of concern, with youth between 15 and 24 years of age at 62.4%, disproportionately affecting young women. The Presidential Youth Initiative, part of the Basic Education Employment Initiative, recommenced in 2025 to offer 200,000 school assistant opportunities. These statistics provide the agenda for participant discussion, including obstacles to mathematics provision

Publications relating to biodiversity on Robben Island

This bibliogaphy lists 200 publications providing baseline knowledge, historical context and perspective, information relating to long-term data sets, and also insights into species, ecosystems, and human impacts on Robben Island, a protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. This platform of knowledge will enable researchers to design better studies, avoid redundant work and measure change. It will also help to identify knowledge gaps, and to guide policy and management decisions

A goby negotiates aerial exposure on the low tide by retreating beneath a rock

Fishes exploit the intertidal zone by coming in and out with the high tide or retreating to small pools or sheltering beneath rocks during the low tide. This note reports an observation of a goby, likely Mugilogobius platynotus, out of the water but retreated beneath a rock, with the rising tide returning water to the goby 70 minutes later. During the time of aerial exposure, the sandy mud beneath the rock was noticeably moister than the surrounding mud exposed to sunlight, and pneumatophores and woody debris potentially contributed to maintaining a humid microclimate beneath the rock

Avian predators of the Indian Chameleon Chamaeleo zeylanicus

This paper presents the seven known records of avian predation on the Indian Chameleon Chamaeleo zeylanicus in India and Sri Lanka. There were four observations in which the predator was the Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela, with single predation events being made by Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis, Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda and Malabar Paid Hornbill Anthracoceros coronatus

How dare you? Broad-billed Rollers Eurystomus glaucurus usurp a threatened Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus from a nest cavity in the Limpopo province of South Africa

This study documents the first recorded instance of interspecific competition for nesting cavities between the endangered Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus and the Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus. Both are secondary cavity-nesters occupying overlapping habitats in southern Africa. Despite the Cape Parrot’s earlier breeding season, which theoretically affords it priority access to cavities, a roller pair was observed attempting to use an actively occupied Cape Parrot nest. This rare interaction reveals potential interspecies conflict where nest-site selection overlaps. Additional examples from both African and Australasian regions suggest that breeding season timing and cavity characteristics often mitigate competition among avian species. The impact of the roller usurping a Cape Parrot nest was significant as only three out of 13 known nest sites were active in 2024 and only one was known to be successful. Therefore, with Cape Parrot populations having dwindled to fewer than 2,000 individuals and breeding success vulnerable to habitat damage and predation, understanding all limiting factors, including interspecific interactions, is vital for conservation. Long-term monitoring across regional nodes underscores the importance of protecting preferred nesting sites to ensure reproductive success and species longevity

African Red-eyed Bulbul in Stanford, Western Cape

An African Red-eyed Bulbul Pycnonotus nigricans was observed in a suburban garden on 26 May 2024, in Stanford, Western Cape, South Africa. There is another record farther south on the Agulhas Plain. Given the fact that this bulbul is expanding southwards, all bulbuls in the Western Cape need to be carefully checked to determine the species

Smooth Hound Shark congregation in the Kromme River estuary, St Francis Bay, Eastern Cape

An aggregation of Smooth Hound Sharks Mustelus mustelus was observed and photographed in an inlet off the Kromme River estuary, in the Eastern Cape, on 9 February 2019. Although such an observation was previously reported from the same location, the exact reason for this has not been confirmed. This short note suggests that the behaviour was related to mating