The Effect of Regulations on Performance of Microfinance Institutions in Promoting Small Business Growth in Ghana

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have emerged to provide financial services to the poor who were hitherto, excluded from the formal financial system. MFIs have pursued the objective of providing financial services to the poor through two different approaches: the welfarist approach and the institutional approach. The welfarist approach focuses on poverty alleviation by emphasizing the depth of outreach, i.e. reaching the very poor and vulnerable in society with microfinance products. The institutionalists, on the other hand, focus on institutional sustainability by pursuing financial self-sufficiency while serving significant numbers of the poor i.e. breadth of outreach. Despite differences in the two approaches, the performance of MFIs should be assessed on the extent to which they fulfil their common objective of meeting the financial needs of the poor. However, for MFIs to reach out to large numbers of the poor with financial services, their businesses should be conducted on sound operating principles. This requires that MFIs are regulated. Regulation is therefore, important to effective operation of MFIs but can limit their ability to reach the very poor with appropriate financial services. Up until recently, MFIs in Ghana were regulated by various bodies. The rural and community banks and savings and loan companies, regulated by the Bank of Ghana (BoG), had the most rigorous compliance requirements ensuring effective governance. In contrast "susu" operators, regulated by the Ghana National Association of "Susu" Collectors, had the least compliance requirements and the most weak governance structures. This study seeks to examine the effect of regulation on the performance of MFIs in promoting small business growth in Ghana. Small business provides an avenue for income generation by a large segment of the poor, many of whom do not have the qualifications and experiences to be employed in positions that generate sufficient income to meet their needs

Infección simultánea de ninfas de Ixodes ricinus por dos especies de Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato: posibles implicaciones de las manifestaciones de clínicas

Los datos de estudios Europeos indican que en humanos, genoespecies particulares de Borrelia burgdorferi pueden asociarse con las manifestaciones clínicas específicas de la enfermedad de Lyme. Las infecciones por B. burgdorferi sensu stricto tienden a conducir a síntomas artríticos, mientras que las infecciones por B. garinii parecen ocasionar complicaciones neurológicas. Las manifestaciones cutáneas tardías (acrodermatitis) parecen estar asociadas con B. afzelii (1). Las manifestaciones clínicas mixtas han sido también descritas (2). Recientemente se ha demostrado, mediante el uso de la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR), que el DNA de más de una de las tres especies de Borrelia asociadas con la enfermedad de Lyme en Europa estaban presentes en los fluidos biológicos de los pacientes de enfermedad Lyme (3). Estos datos generan la pregunta en lo que concierne al crecimiento relativo de especies de Borrelia después de una mordedura por una garrapata dualmente infectada, la importancia clínica de la infección humana ocasionada por más de una de las especies de Borrelia, y el origen de estas infecciones múltiples. Este último punto evoca la siguiente pregunta: ¿Estas infecciones resultan de las mordeduras consecutivas por dos garrapatas infectadas o desde una única mordedura por una garrapata infectada por más de una especie?Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Infección simultánea de ninfas de Ixodes ricinus por dos especies de Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato: posibles implicaciones de las manifestaciones de clínicas

Los datos de estudios Europeos indican que en humanos, genoespecies particulares de Borrelia burgdorferi pueden asociarse con las manifestaciones clínicas específicas de la enfermedad de Lyme. Las infecciones por B. burgdorferi sensu stricto tienden a conducir a síntomas artríticos, mientras que las infecciones por B. garinii parecen ocasionar complicaciones neurológicas. Las manifestaciones cutáneas tardías (acrodermatitis) parecen estar asociadas con B. afzelii (1). Las manifestaciones clínicas mixtas han sido también descritas (2). Recientemente se ha demostrado, mediante el uso de la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR), que el DNA de más de una de las tres especies de Borrelia asociadas con la enfermedad de Lyme en Europa estaban presentes en los fluidos biológicos de los pacientes de enfermedad Lyme (3). Estos datos generan la pregunta en lo que concierne al crecimiento relativo de especies de Borrelia después de una mordedura por una garrapata dualmente infectada, la importancia clínica de la infección humana ocasionada por más de una de las especies de Borrelia, y el origen de estas infecciones múltiples. Este último punto evoca la siguiente pregunta: ¿Estas infecciones resultan de las mordeduras consecutivas por dos garrapatas infectadas o desde una única mordedura por una garrapata infectada por más de una especie?Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Infección simultánea de ninfas de Ixodes ricinus por dos especies de Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato: posibles implicaciones de las manifestaciones de clínicas

Los datos de estudios Europeos indican que en humanos, genoespecies particulares de Borrelia burgdorferi pueden asociarse con las manifestaciones clínicas específicas de la enfermedad de Lyme. Las infecciones por B. burgdorferi sensu stricto tienden a conducir a síntomas artríticos, mientras que las infecciones por B. garinii parecen ocasionar complicaciones neurológicas. Las manifestaciones cutáneas tardías (acrodermatitis) parecen estar asociadas con B. afzelii (1). Las manifestaciones clínicas mixtas han sido también descritas (2). Recientemente se ha demostrado, mediante el uso de la reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR), que el DNA de más de una de las tres especies de Borrelia asociadas con la enfermedad de Lyme en Europa estaban presentes en los fluidos biológicos de los pacientes de enfermedad Lyme (3). Estos datos generan la pregunta en lo que concierne al crecimiento relativo de especies de Borrelia después de una mordedura por una garrapata dualmente infectada, la importancia clínica de la infección humana ocasionada por más de una de las especies de Borrelia, y el origen de estas infecciones múltiples. Este último punto evoca la siguiente pregunta: ¿Estas infecciones resultan de las mordeduras consecutivas por dos garrapatas infectadas o desde una única mordedura por una garrapata infectada por más de una especie?Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria

Assessing an organizational culture instrument based on the Competing Values Framework: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses

BACKGROUND: The Competing Values Framework (CVF) has been widely used in health services research to assess organizational culture as a predictor of quality improvement implementation, employee and patient satisfaction, and team functioning, among other outcomes. CVF instruments generally are presented as well-validated with reliable aggregated subscales. However, only one study in the health sector has been conducted for the express purpose of validation, and that study population was limited to hospital managers from a single geographic locale. METHODS: We used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to examine the underlying structure of data from a CVF instrument. We analyzed cross-sectional data from a work environment survey conducted in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The study population comprised all staff in non-supervisory positions. The survey included 14 items adapted from a popular CVF instrument, which measures organizational culture according to four subscales: hierarchical, entrepreneurial, team, and rational. RESULTS: Data from 71,776 non-supervisory employees (approximate response rate 51%) from 168 VHA facilities were used in this analysis. Internal consistency of the subscales was moderate to strong (α = 0.68 to 0.85). However, the entrepreneurial, team, and rational subscales had higher correlations across subscales than within, indicating poor divergent properties. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two factors, comprising the ten items from the entrepreneurial, team, and rational subscales loading on the first factor, and two items from the hierarchical subscale loading on the second factor, along with one item from the rational subscale that cross-loaded on both factors. Results from confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the two-subscale solution provides a more parsimonious fit to the data as compared to the original four-subscale model. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that there may be problems applying conventional CVF subscales to non-supervisors, and underscores the importance of assessing psychometric properties of instruments in each new context and population to which they are applied. It also further highlights the challenges management scholars face in assessing organizational culture in a reliable and comparable way. More research is needed to determine if the emergent two-subscale solution is a valid or meaningful alternative and whether these findings generalize beyond VHA

Factor structure and factorial invariance of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire among children of prisoners and their parents

Parental imprisonment has been linked to a variety of adverse psychological outcomes for children and adolescents. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been widely used to assess behavioural and emotional difficulties among 7-17 year olds in the general population and more recently has been utilised among samples of children of prisoners. Previous research has variously tested traditional one-, three- and five- factor solutions to the SDQ, and more recently one bifactor solution has been examined. Based on a sample of children of prisoners (N = 724) and their non-imprisoned parent or caregiver (N = 658), the aim of the present study was to simultaneously compare nine alternative factor structures, including previously tested models and alternative bifactor solutions. Tests of factorial invariance and composite reliability were also performed. The five-factor model was found to provide the best fit for the data. Tests of factorial invariance revealed that the five-factor model provided an equally acceptable, but not identical fit, among boys and girls. Composite reliability scores were low for the Conduct Problems and Peer Problems subscales. The utility of the SDQ in measuring psychological functioning in response to parental imprisonment is discussed

Development and validation of a questionnaire assessing volitional competencies to enhance the performance of physical activities in chronic low back pain patients

BACKGROUND: Motivation has long been emphasized as the most important determinant of action. However, there is a substantial gap between people's goals and their attainment. Patients may be motivated and yet unable to take action if their volitional competencies are insufficient. One of the important tasks of volition is goal-maintenance. Research has stressed the importance of a volitional tool, the implementation intentions. Implementation intentions indicate where, when, and how the action leading to the goal will be performed. Forming implementation intentions favours the execution of goal-directed efforts, and reinforces the relationship between intentions and behaviours. Results from various studies clearly suggest that volitional competencies and implementation intentions could play a role in low back pain (LBP) patients. However, there is at present no questionnaire allowing assessing the capacity of implementation intentions of physical activities in LBP patients. METHODS/DESIGN: This study will develop such a questionnaire, using a 3-step approach. A first qualitative step to build categories and generate items; 30 patients suffering chronic LBP will be invited to participate in semi-structured interviews; verbatim and derived items will then be submitted to a panel of experts, using a Delphi method; a second quantitative step to examine the properties of items, and determine the factorial structure of the questionnaire; 100 patients suffering chronic LBP will be recruited to respond to this phase; and third, preliminary psychometric analyses (item-scale correlations, construct validity, reliability); 180 chronic LBP patients will be recruited for this phase of the study. The relationships between implementation intentions and variables affecting physical activity on chronic LBP patients, i.e. pain, physical capacities, fear-avoidance beliefs, kinesiophobia, work status, and level of physical activity will be considered. DISCUSSION: Developing a questionnaire to assess implementation intentions would allow investigating the role of these intentions in the transition from acute to chronic LBP. The results of this study should contribute to the understanding of the psychological processes at stake in the development of chronic LBP, and in particular to the identification of factors eventually favouring patients' participation in and adherence to active physical treatments