Managing Transitions: Coping Strategies for New Principals in Colleges of Education, Ghana

Principals’ transition in Colleges of Education in Ghana is critical to quality teacher education and training, but it comes with complexities and challenges to newly appointed principals. However, there is a seeming absence of research on strategies for smooth transitions in Colleges of Education in Ghana. This study was therefore conducted to establish strategies that promoted the College of Education principals’ transition management in Ghana. Phenomenological research design was used for the study. Ten (10) newly appointed principals of public colleges of education were purposively sampled for the study. Interview protocol was the research instrument used. The data collected was analyzed using content analysis method. The study established that capacity building, relationship building, appropriate leadership style and maintenance of discipline were key among the coping strategies for smooth transitions. This study then provides a guide for new principals. It was recommended that this area should be further explored and a model for managing transition designed to support College of Education principals’ in transitio

Optimum Currency Area and Shock Asymmetry: A Dynamic Analysis of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ)

This study accesses the feasibility of forming an Optimum Currency Area (OCA) in the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) from the symmetry of economic shocks which affect member economies. It applies a simple bivariate variant of the vector autoregressive (VAR) model. The results relatively suggest the feasibility of the WAMZ forming an OCA. The likelihood of incoming shocks problems seem to exists from the results. It is advisable that future research apply the more informative minimum distance estimation (MDE) technique.optimum currency area, shocks, asymmetry, West African Monetary Zone, vector autoregressive.

Conflict of Interest and University Administrators

The role of Administrators in the functioning, growth and development of any institution is of prime importance. Within the scheme of things, administrators play a critical role in the life of any University. The success of any institution therefore largely rests on the effectiveness and efficiency of Administrators. Unfortunately, little is known about how to recognise and deal with conflict of interest which is inevitable in the working life of any administrator. This phenomenon tends to make some administrators corrupt, inefficient, ineffective and unprofessional in the course of their work. This is a theoretical paper which delves into an area little known by some administrators in general and particularly, administrators in tertiary institutions in Ghana by looking at the Constitution of Ghana, 1992, and the guidelines for public officers. Moreover, the paper explains five principles outlined to help Administrators in dealing with conflict of interest. Specifically, the paper makes the point that managing conflict of interest must be the goal of all administrators in the 21st century, because of the enormous benefits it brings to the institution when there is efficient and effective management. The benefits include that, it is ethical and a good practice; promotes fairness and reduces corruption; reduces the cost of doing business; promotes good public relations; promotes transparency and ensures leadership for the public good. Keywords: conflict of interest, senior administrators, conflict, public officers, registra

The erasure of Vanessa Nakate shows why Africa needs a voice in climate debates

African activists are frequently excluded from speaking on international platforms about global issues such as climate change, despite Africa being disproportionately affected. The erasure of Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate at the COP26 UN climate summit is another example of how western media portrays ‘white saviour’ solutions to the problem, reinforcing the need for real global South involvement

Distortions to Agricultural Incentives in Ghana

Distorted incentives, agricultural and trade policy reforms, national agricultural development, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, F13, F14, Q17, Q18,

Occupational Communication Modes and Symbols: A Study of the Non-Verbal Perspective of Artisanal Marine Fishing Practices in Ghana.

In Ghana, virtually the entire coastline is strewn with marine fishing. Artisanal marine fishing however dominates the industry. The trade is essentially informal in nature. The communication pattern in this occupation is quite unique. Various modes and symbols, both tangible and intangible, serve as communication sources and media of information in the conduct of daily business. This study describes and records the nonverbal modes and symbols of communication in artisanal marine fishing in Ghana. It examines whether there are differences in the observed nonverbal communicative patterns among the sampled communities, and also assesses how time and modernity have affected the kind of communication pattern employed. It is qualitative, and employs a multiple case design that purposively samples three communities in the Central Region of Ghana. It is grounded on Morris’s semiotics on signs, behaviour and interaction, and Wilson’s taxonomy of non-verbal perspective of indigenous communication. Findings show that the stars, winds, waves, cultural events, among others communicate relevant messages to the fisherman. Differences in the nonverbal communicative pattern among the sampled communities are rather minimal, and attributed to variations in local culture. Technological advancement is also gradually catching up on the otherwise traditional occupation. Keywords: Artisanal marine fishing, Non-verbal communication, Culture, Traditional media, Object

Incorporating Machine Learning with Satellite Data to Support Critical Infrastructure Measurement and Sustainable Development

Under the umbrella concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for good, recent advances in machine learning and large-scale data analysis have opened new opportunities to solve humanity’s most pressing challenges. Improvements in computation complexity and advances in AI (e.g., Vision Transformers) have led to faster and more effective techniques for extracting high-dimensional patterns from large-scale heterogeneous datasets (big data). Further, as satellite data become increasingly available at varying temporal-spatial resolutions, AI tools are helping us to better understand the underlying causes of environmental and socioeconomic changes at an unprecedented scale, ushering in an era of data-driven decision-making to support sustainable and equitable development. Based on these, we propose data-driven methods and techniques for critical infrastructure measurement and sustainable development. Using machine learning and remotely sensed data, we show that we can exploit knowledge and temporal-spatial characteristics learned from data-rich regions to improve data-driven predictions in regions with scant to no data. Specifically, we focus on three critical infrastructures: rivers, roads, and electricity access. Knowledge rivers, particularly their discharge, can help us understand how climate change is evolving, its manifestation on global water resources, and its impact on critical sectors like agriculture and renewable energy generation. On the other hand, better roads facilitate societal development, enabling access to local and global markets and socioeconomic opportunities, leading to better equality in service provision, faster socioeconomic development, and, ultimately, better human outcomes. Finally, we develop tools to support sustainable development, focusing on supporting electricity demand stimulation to improve energy access in rural communities. These methodologies and techniques can help emerging economies achieve their primary sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030

Distribution and Growth of Grey Triggerfish, Balistes capriscus (Family: Balistidae), in Western Gulf of Guinea

The grey triggerfish, Balistes capriscus, resource had declined for nearly two decades in West African waters; its distribution and growth remain to be reported after late 1980s. In order to fill this gap, specimens were collected during small pelagic fish stock assessment surveys in 2005 in coastal waters of Benin, Togo, Ghana and La Côte d’Ivoire (Western Gulf of Guinea) from 17 out of 165 swept-area hauls in depths range of 23–60 m. The modal size classes were 27.0–31.9 cm and 32.0–36.9 cm. The age classes were determined by interpreting growth rings on sections of first dorsal spines. Estimates of theoretical growth in length were obtained by fitting the observed length-at-age data to the standard form of von  Bertalanffy growth equation. The estimated L∞ for B. capriscus was 45.1 ± 1.4 cm and the growth rate, K, was 0.21 yr-1. The phi prime (Ö’) growth performance obtained was 2.63, which is comparable to that obtained in the 1980s on the same fish species in waters of Senegal, La Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. The results suggest that the growth and distribution of grey triggerfish in the Western Gulf of Guinea had not changed, in spite of the apparent disappearance of the fish species in many areas of the West African coastal waters for nearly two decades

A perspective of the role of Tanzanian national courts in commercial arbitration

Includes bibliographical references

Analysis of the effectiveness of international partnership agreements in local municipalities in South Africa : case of eThekwini Municipality.

Master of Social Science. University of KwaZulu-Natal. Durban, 2017.Abstract available in PDF file