The State of Market Premium Value in Ghanaian Public Universities

Market premium was introduced as part of single spine pay policy package which aims at attracting and retaining critical skills which are in short supply. The study aims at determining both the current and future value of the market premium. Secondary data was collected for this study. The actual percentage of base pay increments from 2012 to 2023 was compiled and averaged for purpose of basic salary and market premium projections. The approved exchange rate of US dollars for book and research allowances from the Ministry of Finance was used to ascertain the amount of dollars the Market premium could exchange for in 2012 against 2023. The data were analysed using Microsoft excel. The study found that the MP has lost its value. The current rate (the year 2023) of the market premium is 37.46% against 114% in the year 2012. The study projected the MP for the next 5 years and found that by the year 2028 the rate of Market premium on basic salaries is likely to be 21.61%. Alternatively, the foreign exchange rate for book and research allowances was also used and found that the amount of the Ghanaian cedi has depreciated drastically against the US dollar. As of 2023 the amount of dollars the 2012 MP of could be exchanged for is $188.22 at the current exchange rate of$10.6198. The study recommended that government should restore the MP value by reviewing and placing the rate of 114% on the current basic salary. Keywords: Single Spine Pay Policy, Market Premium, Equity theory. Expectancy theory, Time value of money, currency depreciation. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/14-14-09 Publication date:July 31st 202

Nurses´ perception of patient safety culture in emergency and critical care services of maternal and child health department of an University Hospital

Introduction: The ultimate goal of every health institution is quality health care. Patient safety is one of the characteristics of high-quality healthcare delivery. Patient safety remains a difficulty in health care delivery, despite technical advancements in medicine and health research, as well as sophisticated health facilities. Many patients still inadvertently get hurt in their pursuit of medical and health care. Unwanted incidents in healthcare are the world's third leading cause of death. Objectives: to evaluate the nurses' perception of the patient safety culture in the Emergency and Critical Care Services of the Maternal and Child Department of University hospital; to identify, strengths, vulnerabilities and opportunities for improvement, training needs or intervention in patient safety culture and respective corrective actions aimed at increasing the quality of care provided by nurses in these areas of activity; and to recognize, in this population of nurses, sociodemographic variables potentially associated with their perception of the patient safety culture. Methodology: The data was collected from 84 participants using a quantitative cross-sectional design. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software, version IBM SPSS, version 28.0.0.0, was used to analyze the data. Results: were presented using, Descriptive and Inferential statistics. According to the findings, patient safety culture received a 49.4 percent overall positive rating. Although teamwork within units has the highest average positive score of 87.8%, Non-punitive response to errors (27.3%) and Staffing (25.9) were both rated as unsatisfactory and the least developed. Conclusion: According to the results, patient safety culture is vital in boosting hospital overall performance and ensuring patient safety with teamwork within units as this was found to be strength (fortress). The overall average positive score seems weak in this study. Management is hereby encouraged to show greater interest in patient safety issues and make it a top priority in policy making

Women’s Autonomy in Ghana: Does Religion Matter?

This paper examines the role of religion in women’s autonomy in Ghana. The study uses data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, with an analytic sample of 1,424 women married to men of the same religious affiliation. The results indicate that the effect of religion on women's autonomy is non-existent. The results show that, Muslim women are as autonomous as Christian women once region and other socio-demographic factors are controlled. Contrary to expectation, women in northern Ghana, who are disadvantaged in terms of education, economic status among others, appear to be more autonomous in some domains of household decision-making than women in southern Ghana, a setting which is more developed and expected to be egalitarian. Majority of Ghanaian women appear to be autonomous across various domains of their lives; however, they largely participate as opposed to solely making decisions

CIVIC AWARENESS AND ENGAGEMENT IN GHANA: THE CURRICULAR IMPLICATION

This study examined the curricular implications of civic awareness and engagement. It specifically focused on civic activities discussed, the level of awareness of civic issues and whether a difference existed between the respondent’s general level of awareness and their civic engagement. The study employed the control group design. The sample size was 120 respondents. A structured questionnaire aided in data collection. The results showed that the respondents with citizenship education endorsed all the civic activity items depicting that they have received education on them, and that the experimental group’s level of awareness on all the civic issues was higher as compared to that of the control group. The findings again showed that there is a significant difference between people with citizenship education and those without citizenship education’s general level of awareness of civic issues. In addition, the results indicated that there is a significant difference between people with citizenship education and those without citizenship education’s wish to take part in community service. The main conclusions drawn from this study is that the difference in the level of civic awareness is due to citizenship education, and that civic awareness increases the likelihood of a person engaging in civic activities. The study recommends that the school curriculum should include activities that promote civic awareness and civic engagement

Enhancing Effective Teaching and Learning Using Multimedia Tutorials with Quizzes on Smartphones

The curriculum of colleges of education in Ghana emphasis on professional values and attitudes, professional knowledge and professional practice to help groom trainee teachers. This paper dwells much on the professional practice. With an averages student population of one thousand five hundred (1500), there is only one computer laboratory with only sixty (60) computers working in Bagabaga College of Education in the Northern Region of Ghana. This brings the average computer student ratio to 1:25. This inadequate computers in the school does not enhance effective teaching and learning thereby making teachers resort to lecture method in teaching practical lessons. The study is to help students in level 200 in Bagabaga College of Education learn practical task in ICT using their smartphones as a substitute for the computer. Five hundred and seven (507) students out of the total population of over one thousand five hundred (1500) students were used in this research as they constitute a year group for the study. Research instruments used are: test and observation. These were used at the pre-intervention and post intervention stages of the research. Multimedia tutorials was developed to assist the learners learn at their own pace in some of the practical tasks. Post intervention information revealed that students’ performance improved significantly. Camtasia studio 7 was used in developing the tutorial with natural Ghanaian narrations by the tutor. The findings of the research revealed practical lessons that are taught by mere demonstrations without students practice do not enhance students understanding of the subject matter. Demonstration coupled with students practice are vital to student understanding of classroom lessons. Keywords: Camtasia studio 7, tutorial, Demonstration, Multimedia, Quizzes, Smartphone. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-4-07 Publication date: February 29th 202