The Media and the Offence of Criminal Libel in Ghana: Sankofa

This article critically examines the repealed criminal libel law in the light of the 1992 Constitutional provisions of Ghana as well as judicial precedents. It seeks to evaluate the constitutionality of criminal libel laws and their implications for freedom of the media. This article brings to fore the implications of re-introducing such laws into the Ghanaian legal system. It argues that the re-introduction of criminal libel laws would contravene the letter and spirit of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, thus unconstitutional. It contends that the nature of criminal libel laws is such that it impedes the development of media freedom and practice. Finally, it suggests that both the media and individuals should be empowered to express their opinions within a free and fair political and economic environment. Keywords: Media, Press Freedom, Freedom of Speech, Criminal Libel, Seditious Libe

Susu: A Dynamic Microfinance Phenomenon in Ghana

Susu is a popular form of savings in most developing economies. It is practiced in different forms and under different names in both developing and developed countries. In spite of its contribution to the socio-economic development of both developing and developed countries, it remains under-researched. There is therefore the need for further research into this complex financial phenomenon. This paper thus, critically examines existing literature on Susu and other micro savings phenomenon. It shows that Susu is a complex and dynamic social phenomenon. In substance, it discovered that susu shares similarities with other micro savings schemes such as rotating savings and credit schemes, accumulating savings and credit associations as well as Christmas hampers and Christmas clubs in England and the United States respectively. It establishes that similar to other micro savings schemes, the object of Susu is to help rural, poor and low income earners meet their economic, social or communal needs. Keywords: Microfinance, Susu, Ghana, Informal Finance, Micro Savings, Rural Economie

Formal Enforcement Mechanisms and Informal Transactions

Operators of informal transactions developed certain interest in the relaxed nature of the business as compared to formal transaction because of its controversial laid down procedures and probably, the cost involved. However, due to the relaxed nature of informal transactions, it could be envisaged that, the environment would develop faster since its not strictly regulated. This paper critically examines the legal process of enforcing financial transactions in Ghana and, in particular, how appropriate and applicable such enforcement mechanisms are to informal financial transactions. It also explores the interplay between formal and informal financial transactions. The main aim of this paper is to outline the legal implications of formal and informal enforcement mechanisms regarding exchanges within and between informal financial entities. Keywords: informal finance, financial transactions, enforcement.

Sources of Currency Depreciation in Ghana

This paper investigates the factors driving the real exchange rate in the Ghanaian economy. The paper aimed at finding the principal factor(s) that influence the real exchange rate and explains the channels by which these factors exert their influence using standard empirical methods of vector autoregressive (VAR) models. The paper established that inflation rate differentials and interest rate differentials influence the exchange rate through the expectations medium. Domestic and foreign money supplies which are exogenous macroeconomic variables were also found to be important in the Ghanaian money market as far as the exchange rate matters. The paper also highlighted how the great recession in the United States may have affected the cedi/dollar rate of exchange after this economic event swept through the United States generating spillover effects on economies around the world

PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES OF EDUCATING A DEAF-BLIND STUDENT IN A UNIVERSITY IN GHANA

This study explored the challenges and prospects of educating a deaf-blind student in a public university in Ghana. The study utilised an exploratory qualitative research design based on interviews and observation to explore how the deaf-blind learner navigated university life. The study found that the challenges experienced by all stakeholders included a lack of knowledge and understanding about deaf-blindness, communication challenges, inadequate preparation of educators/teachers and resource persons, lack of support structures for all stakeholders, and the time-consuming nature needed to educate the deaf-blind learner. The study recommends continuous in-service training on basic knowledge of deaf-blindness, instructional and socially inclusive strategies, and communication modes for deaf-blind learners for all stakeholders. A collaborative team approach to delivering training and inclusive education that involves all stakeholders is necessary. The study concludes that if lecturers of learners who are deaf-blind are provided with the necessary training on the skills and knowledge of facilitating communication with their students, this would, in turn, contribute positively towards teaching and learning.  Article visualizations

Drumming among the Akan and Anlo Ewe of Ghana: an introduction

It is generally recognized that the cultivation of music in any given society is limited by its tradition and history. Where ethnicity defines the boundaries of social and cultural life, particular traditions of drumming tend to be similarly confined. As a number of studies have been made of individual Akan and Anlo Ewe drumming styles, which have much in common (see references), it may be useful to offer here a general comparison of stylistic features of these two peoples, for there are also important differences that can be attributed to factors of ethnicity

Phenolic Compounds in Water: Sources, Reactivity, Toxicity and Treatment Methods

Phenolic compounds exist in water bodies due to the discharge of polluted wastewater from industrial, agricultural and domestic activities into water bodies. They also occur as a result of natural phenomena. These compounds are known to be toxic and inflict both severe and long‐lasting effects on both humans and animals. They act as carcinogens and cause damage to the red blood cells and the liver, even at low concentrations. Interaction of these compounds with microorganisms, inorganic and other organic compounds in water can produce substituted compounds or other moieties, which may be as toxic as the original phenolic compounds. This chapter dwells on the sources and reactivity of phenolic compounds in water, their toxic effects on humans, and methods of their removal from water. Specific emphasis is placed on the techniques of their removal from water with attention on both conventional and advanced methods. Among these methods are ozonation, adsorption, extraction, photocatalytic degradation, biological, electro‐Fenton, adsorption and ion exchange and membrane‐based separation

Video-analysis inference automated ECG (VID-ECG): improving video-based heart rate detection and exposing security risks of ECG-based biometric authentication

Many recent biometric authentication methods using heart signals in the form of ECG and its components have been proposed to be used as a unique security key for body area networks (BANs) to authenticate individuals and protect privacy and network security. In this thesis we show how compo- nents of information on cardiac activity, heart rate and beat-to-beat heart pulse information can be extracted easily using our video-based non-contact method and expose the vulnerability of such biometric security protocols. We propose a novel method called Video-analysis Inference Automated ECG (VID-ECG) for pulse extraction by facial video processing. Our al- gorithm combines facial region tracking, motion stabilization, filtering and heart beat information extraction methods to allow automated extraction of each pulse from subject facial videos. VID-ECG results show a high level of accuracy and, unlike related methods in this area, VID-ECG does automatic extraction without knowledge of any frequency range. It is also able to han- dle natural motion in subjects. We applied VID-ECG on a wide range of subjects with varied skin tones, and found accuracy to be high, with more than 0.9 cross-correlation with ground truth and error less than 0.085% of average heart rate for each sample. Results have also been compared with a previously proposed video based method for heart rate extraction, and ac- curacy and beat-to-beat correspondence have been shown to be significantly improved, mainly due to the more realistic filtering used and improved mo- tion handling features of VID-ECG. As we are able to obtain many components of cardiac activity such as average heart rate information and close to real-time beat-to-beat informa- tion, we discuss the implication of our results and how VID-ECG exposes the vulnerability of ECG/cardiac data based biometric authentication meth- ods to remote attack using easily obtainable video data from omnipresent commodity cameras around us today in public and private spaces

Bismuth-Based Nanoparticles as Photocatalytic Materials

Bismuth-based nanoparticles are a unique category of materials that possess interesting properties such as excellent chemical, electrical, optical and catalytic activities among others. The application of bismuth-based nanoparticles as photocatalytic materials has caught the interest of the scientific community in recent times due to these unique properties. Consequently, a number of data have been generated in relation to the photocatalytic application of these nanoparticles. This chapter intends to organise and provide the recently generated information on the use of bismuth-based nanoparticles in photocatalytic degradation processes. A detailed discussion is provided on bismuth-based nanoparticles including bismuth chalcogenides, bismuth vanadate, bismuth oxyhalides and other bismuth-related nanoparticles. Attention was also paid to the modification of these nanoparticles to improve their photocatalytic activities. The application of the modified nanoparticles in various photocatalytic processes with emphasis on water treatment, waste gas treatment, hydrogen production and air purification has also been thoroughly discussed

An Overview of Post-Harvest Losses in Tomato Production in Africa: Causes and Possible Prevention Strategies

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important crop cultivated and consumed worldwide.  It provides a wide variety of nutrients and many health-related benefits to the human body. Tomato production can improve the livelihoods of small-scale producers by creating jobs and serving as source of income for both rural and peri-urban dwellers. Despite all these benefits, many constraints make tomatoes production unprofitable in Africa. Post-harvest looses is one of such constraints. Post-harvest losses have been found to be either an on-farm or off-farm problem. On-farm losses are caused by improper harvesting stages, excessive field heat, improper harvesting containers, poor farm sanitation and improper packaging materials. Causes of off-farm losses includes lack of access roads, inappropriate transportation system, lack of processing factories and lack of reliable market information. Using low-cost intermediate technology intervention can help reduce some of these post-harvest losses making tomato production a more profitable venture in Africa. Keywords: Post-harvest, Losses, Tomatoes