Technology and Increasing Unemployment Rate in Ghana: The Focus on the Packaging Industry

An experiential survey shows the dawn of technology is driving many workers out of jobs in the packaging industry. The research seeks to examine the unemployment rate with the advent of technology and to assess the effects of technology on the Packaging Industry in Ghana. The study's main goal was to identify the effects of technology in the Packaging Industry, hence the needed solutions to the effects that will be evident from the study's findings. An in-depth literature review from various authors has been discussed. For this study, the Research Design employed were the qualitative and quantitative approaches to gather comprehensive views and experiences from respondents for a better understanding of technology and unemployment issues in the Packaging Industry. The methodology engaged for the study included using questionnaires and interviews to reveal significant findings from respective respondents in the Packaging Industry for practical analysis of the study. Through non-probability purpose sampling, an aggregate of 27 respondents to the study comprising 21 package design graduate workers and 6 Packaging Industry managers were selected. Consequently, the researchers' findings revealed that technology had rendered jobless some employable package design graduates in the packaging industry. It is apparent that most companies currently prefer working with a few packaging design workers to achieve more than otherwise considering the current economic hardship and the benefits technology offers the packaging industry. Keywords: Packaging Industry, Unemployment, Technology, Effects, Package design, Jobs DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-33-04 Publication date: November 30th 2022

Possible future trajectory of COVID-19: emphasis on Africa

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused morbidity and mortality in many countries. COVID-19 has also negatively affected the economy of several nations. The dynamics of interaction between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and host, and possible evolution of the virus into more virulent strains pose a threat to global eradication. With the advent of vaccination in most countries, vaccine hesitancy, especially in Africa, is expected to reduce. We also believe that the COVID-19 vaccine would have substantial impact on reducing incidence, hospitalizations, and deaths. A predictor model for COVID-19 infection pattern through to 2025 suggests that recurrent outbreaks are likely to occur. There is a prediction that Africa would not fully recover from the economic crises posed by the pandemic; nonetheless, we expect that economic activities on the continent will improve as countries undertake mass vaccinations and populace attain herd immunity. The growth of e-commerce has been remarkable during the pandemic and we don´t expect trend to decline anytime soon. The pandemic has led to technology and digital platform utilization and/or improvement, which invariably has the tendency to improve quality of lives in the future. These include effective big data monitoring, online shopping, among others. Our future trajectory for recurrent waves of COVID-19 is that these may occur in winter months in temperate climates. We believe that COVID-19 has strengthened Africa´s resilience to future pandemics

Production practices of Local pig farmers in Ghana

Local pig production is of economic, nutritional and socio-cultural importance to livelihoods in Ghana. Data was collected from 176 local pig farmers in four regions of Ghana using pretested structured questionnaire. Majority of the farmers interviewed were males over 30 years and kept crossbred pigs (64%) with income (95%) as their main motivation. In terms of housing for the pigs, most farmers use sheds (39%), about a third had permanent structures (34%), whilst the rest (22%) use stalls with a few keeping their animals in their yards (2%) or having no housing facility (2%) at all. Growth rate of pigs was the most important trait (49%) for the farmers compared to aesthetic traits like coat colour or ear orientation. Majority of the farmers (90%) acquired their breeding stock from family, friends and the open market with only 10% acquiring breeding stock from government breeding stations. Local pig production in the study area was characterised as semi-intensive with huge opportunities for stakeholders to make interventions in provision of improved breeds, housing, feeding and veterinary care to boost local pig production

Origin and phylogenetic status of the local Ashanti Dwarf pig (ADP) of Ghana based on genetic analysis.

BACKGROUND: The Ashanti Dwarf Pig (ADP) of Ghana is an endangered pig breed with hardy and disease resistant traits. Characterisation of animal genetic resources provides relevant data for their conservation and sustainable use for food security and economic development. We investigated the origin and phylogenetic status of the local ADP of Ghana and their crosses with modern commercial breeds based on mtDNA, MC1R, Y-chromosome sequence polymorphisms, and genome-wide SNP genotyping. RESULTS: The study involved 164 local pigs sampled from the three agro-ecological zones of Ghana. Analyses of the mitochondrial D-loop region and Y-chromosome sequences revealed both European and Asian genetic signatures, with differences between the geographical zones. Black coat colour is the most predominant within the breed, with black MC1R alleles of both Asian and European origin. European alleles for spotting are present at a low frequency in the sample set, and may account for the occurrence of spotted piglets in some APD litters. PCA analysis of SNP data revealed a strong location and breed effect on clustering of local Ghanaian pigs. On a global level, Ghanaian local pigs cluster closely with European pigs of commercial origin, but we identified intervals via FST analyses that may elucidate loci for ADP specific traits. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of both European and Asian contributions, with differences between geographical zones probably reflects trading and colonial influences. Understanding the effects of admixture on important adaptive and economic traits of the ADP and other local breeds in Africa is critical for developing sustainable conservation programmes to prevent the decline of these genetic resources.The authors are grateful to Cambridge in Africa Research Excellence (CAPREx) for the award of Post-doctoral Fellowship to ROA, and the Alborada Trust for supporting the Research. G.L is supported by the European Research Council (337574-UNDEAD), and BMS is supported by BBSRC grant number BB/N000129/1. CAS is funded by the Department of Pathology and Hughes Hall, Cambridge

In-vitro Anti-cercarial activity of extracts and steroidal alkaloids from the stem bark of Holarrhena floribunda (G. Don) Dur. & Schinz

Context: Schistosomiasis continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among the neglected tropical diseases. Apart from the high cost of chemotherapy, concerns over drug resistance and tolerance have been raised in the past decade. Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the anticercarial activity of extracts and compounds from the stem bark of Holarrhena floribunda on cercaria of Schistosoma haematobium. Methods: Hydroethanolic and alkaloidal extracts from the stem bark of H. floribunda were tested on cercaria at concentrations between 500.00 and 15.625 μg/mL for 180 minutes and assessing the percentage viability at time intervals of 0, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes. Praziquantel, used as reference drug, and the isolated compounds were tested at similar concentrations. The cercaria mortalities and IC50 of extracts and compounds were estimated after 30 minutes of incubation. Results: The 70 %v/v ethanol extract showed the highest activity (IC50=20.09±1.11 μg/mL) with praziquantel giving IC50 of 695.50±1.12. The alkaloids holonamine, holadienine and conessine, isolated from the stem bark, showed considerable cercaricidal activity with the latter recording an IC50 of 33.28±1.04. Conclusion: The study gives first-hand knowledge of the anti-cercarial activity of H. floribunda and its steroidal alkaloids. This gives credence to the traditional uses of the plant as an anti-parasitic agent

A world of lies

This article reports two worldwide studies of stereotypes about liars. These studies are carried out in 75 different countries and 43 different languages. In Study 1, participants respond to the open-ended question "How can you tell when people are lying?" In Study 2, participants complete a questionnaire about lying. These two studies reveal a dominant pan-cultural stereotype: that liars avert gaze. The authors identify other common beliefs and offer a social control interpretation

Comparative study of antibody titres in layers boosted with inactivated Newcastle disease vaccine and the thermostable ND I-2 vaccine

Despite effective vaccination schedules employed in the control of Newcastle disease (ND) in Ghana, the preponderance of ND outbreaks is still high. This study was therefore carried out to compare booster effects of inactivated ND vaccine and thermostable ND I-2 vaccine in layers and its impact on egg production at a private farm in Kumasi, Ghana. Thirty thousand layers (10,000 per group) of 36 weeks old were used for the study. Group C was vaccinated with inactivated ND vaccine (Nobilis Newcavac, South Africa), Group D with ND I-2 vaccine and Group F was the control group, which was not vaccinated. Antibody titres of the birds were determined 10 days and a day before vaccination and from day 4 to day 28 after vaccination using haemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test and the mean titres were calculated. Both inactivated ND vaccine and thermostable ND I-2 vaccine produced booster responses. The inactivated ND vaccine produced a higher average titre increase of 37.20 % compared to ND I-2 vaccine, 33.33 %. Average titres of the control population reduced by 24.26 %. Egg production reduced by 8 % and 3 % in populations vaccinated with inactivated ND vaccine and ND I-2 vaccine respectively. In conclusion, inactivated ND vaccine and the thermostable ND I-2 vaccine produced booster effect with ND I-2 causing minimal reduction in egg production, indicating that the use of easily applicable ND I-2 vaccine should be encouraged

Efektivitas Pembelajaran dengan Memanfaatkan Video yang Dikemas dalam Bentuk Cd Interaktif pada Mata Kuliah Inovasi Pembelajaran Matematika

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pembelajaran matematika dengan memanfaatkan video yang dikemas dalam bentuk CD Interaktif pada mata kuliah inovasi pembelajaran matematika pada mahasiswa dapat mencapai tuntas dan untuk mengetahui pengaruh pembelajaran matematika dengan memanfaatkan video yang dikemas dalam bentuk CD Interaktif pada mata kuliah inovasi pembelajaran matematika terhadap hasil belajar mahasiswa. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian Quasy Experimental. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa semester III jurusan pendidikan matematika IKIP PGRI Semarang yang terdiri dari sembilan kelas. Dengan teknik purposive sampling dipilih dua kelas, kelas 3D sebagai kelas eksperimen dan kelas 3C sebagai kelas kontrol. Variabel penelitian dalam penelitian ini yaitu kreativitas mahasiswa (X) sebagai variabel bebas dan hasil belajar (Y) sebagai variabel terikat. Cara pengambilan data dengan observasi dan tes hasil belajar. Olah data dengan uji banding dan uji pengaruh. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa uji ketuntasan dengan rata-rata 73,25 artinya telah mencapai ketuntasan dan terjadi perbedaan prestasi antara kelas eksperimen dan kelas kontrol yang ditunjukkan dengan rata-rata 73,25 pada kelas eksperimen dan 68,30 pada kelas kontrol serta diperoleh variabel kreativitas mahasiswa berpengaruh positif terhadap prestasi belajar dengan persamaan regresi ?é?ádan pengaruhnya sebesar 12 %. Hal tersebut menunjukkan pembelajaran kelas eksperimen mencapai efektif. ?é?

Antecedents of social media usage intensity in the financial sector of an emerging economy: a PLS-SEM algorithm

The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical understanding of the motivations and benefits of social media usage by small and medium financial enterprises with an empirical study from an emerging economy such as Ghana. Based on previous studies, the current study hypothesizes that customer-firm relationship, financial expectation, firm's visibility and growth, and market share expectation drive social media usage intensity in the financial industry. Quantitative data was gathered from management and staff of SMEs, specifically, financial institution outlets (having social media channels i.e., Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, Linkedln, etc.) was used to investigate the proposed conceptual framework. Using structural Equation Modelling, the research showed that customer-firm relationship, financial expectation, firm's visibility and growth, and market share expectation are positively associated with social media usage intensity within the financial sector. Moreover, it was discovered that financial firms that offer physical products only were equally employing social media networks for marketing communication purposes based on cost-effective motives. At the same time, we found that SMEs are more likely to consider 'market share expectation' as a key motivation for social media adoption by the financial industry. The findings from this study have provided some solutions to potential research issues specific to strategic management practices. Limitations and future research directions are discussed in the concluding remarks.Internal Grant Agency of FaME, Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FaME/2020/005]; Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education Planning Fund [15YJA630026]; Shandong Soft Science Foundation [2018RKB01302]; Shandong Provincial Natural Science FoundationNatural Science Foundation of Shandong Province [ZR2020MG034]; Shandong Social Science Foundation [18CLYJ20