Corporate Fraud: Causes, Effects, and Deterrence on Financial Institutions in Ghana

This paper focuses on finding the causes, effects, and deterrence and prevention of corporate fraud in the financial institution of Ghana. In particular, we examine the effects of fraud on a firm’s financial performance. A cross sectional model was used to find the effects of financial institutions fraud on financial performance. It was revealed that fraud has a significant negative effects on financial performance i.e. Return on Assets of financial institutions in Ghana. However, structured questionnaires were also used to find out the perception of Accountants, Auditors, and management on the main causes of banking fraud and deterrence and prevention methods in curbing the menace. It was revealed that weaker internal control, inadequate training and fraud policies, failed documents, and proper remuneration are the strong arsenal that causes fraud in financial institutions of Ghana. Moreover, organizational use of password protection, good remuneration, employee’s background checks, and adequate fraud training were perceived as the most deterrence and prevention method in fighting fraud in financial institutions. Our results have practical implication for management, accountants, auditors, and all stakeholders in financial institutions on the effects of fraud on firms financial performance and in mounting fool proof methods in curbing this canker and reducing it to its bearest minimum. The study contributes deterrence and prevention methods aimed at improving its effectiveness in reducing fraud in Ghana and West Africa

Evaluation of Changes in Ghanaian Students’ Attitudes Towards Science Following Neuroscience Outreach Activities: A Means to Identify Effective Ways to Inspire Interest in Science Careers

The scientific capacity in many African countries is low. Ghana, for example, is estimated to have approximately twenty-three researchers per a million inhabitants. In order to improve interest in science among future professionals, appropriate techniques should be developed and employed to identify barriers and correlates of science education among pre-university students. Young students’ attitudes towards science may affect their future career choices. However, these attitudes may change with new experiences. It is, therefore, important to evaluate potential changes in students’ attitudes towards science after their exposure to experiences such as science outreach activities. Through this, more effective means of inspiring and mentoring young students to choose science subjects can be developed. This approach would be particularly beneficial in countries such as Ghana, where: (i) documented impacts of outreach activities are lacking; and (ii) effective means to develop scientist-school educational partnerships are needed. We have established an outreach scheme, aimed at helping to improve interaction between scientists and pre-university students (and their teachers). Outreach activities are designed and implemented by undergraduate students and graduate teaching assistants, with support from faculty members and technical staff. Through this, we aim to build a team of trainee scientists and graduates who will become ambassadors of science in their future professional endeavors. Here, we describe an approach for assessing changes in junior high school students’ attitudes towards science following classroom neuroscience outreach activities. We show that while students tended to agree more with questions concerning their perceptions about science learning after the delivery of outreach activities, significant improvements were obtained for only two questions, namely “I enjoy science lessons” and “I want to be a scientist in the future.” Furthermore, there was a generally strong trend towards a change in attitude for questions that sought information about students’ perceptions about scientists (both positive and negative perceptions). In addition, outreach providers reported that their involvement in this public engagement scheme helped them acquire several transferable skills that will be beneficial in their studies and career development. These include vital skills in project and time management, teamwork and public speaking. Altogether, our findings provide novel indications that the development of scientist-school outreach partnerships in Ghana has valuable implications for science education and capacity development

Evaluation of individual and combined markers of urine dipstick parameters and total lymphocyte count as a substitute for CD4 count in low-resource communities in Ghana

We evaluated the individual and combined levels of urine dipstick and total lymphocyte count (TLC) as surrogate markers for CD4 count in a low-resource community in Ghana. This cross-sectional study recruited 200 HIV-infected patients from the Saint Francis Xavier Hospital, Assin Fosu, Ghana. Complete blood count, CD4 count, and urine dipstick analysis were measured for participants. The threshold values were determined as

Tools for faculty assessment of interdisciplinary competencies of healthcare students: an integrative review

Increasingly, interprofessional teamwork is required for the effective delivery of public health services in primary healthcare settings. Interprofessional competencies should therefore be incorporated within all health and social service education programs. Educational innovation in the development of student-led clinics (SLC) provides a unique opportunity to assess and develop such competencies. However, a suitable assessment tool is needed to appropriately assess student progression and the successful acquisition of competencies. This study adopts an integrative review methodology to locate and review existing tools utilized by teaching faculty in the assessment of interprofessional competencies in pre-licensure healthcare students. A limited number of suitable assessment tools have been reported in the literature, as highlighted by the small number of studies included. Findings identify use of existing scales such as the Interprofessional Socialization and Valuing Scale (ISVS) and the McMaster Ottawa Scale with Team Observed Structured Clinical Encounter (TOSCE) tools plus a range of other approaches, including qualitative interviews and escape rooms. Further research and consensus are needed for the development of teaching and assessment tools appropriate for healthcare students. This is particularly important in the context of interprofessional, community-partnered public health and primary healthcare SLC learning but will be of relevance to health students in a broad range of clinical learning contexts

Evaluation of Individual and Combined Markers of Urine Dipstick Parameters and Total Lymphocyte Count as a Substitute for CD4 Count in Low-Resource Communities in Ghana

We evaluated the individual and combined levels of urine dipstick and total lymphocyte count (TLC) as surrogate markers for CD4 count in a low-resource community in Ghana. This cross-sectional study recruited 200 HIV-infected patients from the Saint Francis Xavier Hospital, Assin Fosu, Ghana. Complete blood count, CD4 count, and urine dipstick analysis were measured for participants. The threshold values were determined as <350 cells/μl for CD4, <1200 cells/μl for TLC, and ≥+ on urine dipstick analysis. The mean age of participants was 43.09 years. Proteinuria ≥ + [aOR = 4.30 (3.0–18.5)], leukocyturia ≥ + [aOR = 2.91 (1.33–12.5)], hematuria ≥ + [aOR = 2.30 (1.08–9.64)], and TLC < 1200 cells/μl [aOR = 3.26 (3.94–15.29)] were significantly associated with increased risk of CD4 count < 350 cells/μl. Using the individual markers, the best substitute marker for predicting CD4 count < 350 cells/μl was proteinuria at a cutoff point ≥ 2++, AUC of 0.973, sensitivity of 97.6%, specificity of 100.0%, PPV of 100.0%, and NPV of 89.1%. A combination of ≤ 1200 TLC + ≥ 2++ (leukocyturia + proteinuria + hematuria) yielded an AUC of 0.980, sensitivity (72.8%), specificity (100.0%), PPV (100.0%), and NPV (97.9%). Proteinuria could serve as a noninvasive screening tool, but the combination of proteinuria, leukocyturia, hematuria, and TLC serves as a better substitute marker for CD4 count in monitoring the disease progression among HIV patients in low-resource communities

Theory and description in African Linguistics: Selected papers from the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics

The papers in this volume were presented at the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics at UC Berkeley in 2016. The papers offer new descriptions of African languages and propose novel theoretical analyses of them. The contributions span topics in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics and reflect the typological and genetic diversity of languages in Africa. Four papers in the volume examine Areal Features and Linguistic Reconstruction in Africa, and were presented at a special workshop on this topic held alongside the general session of ACAL

Theory and description in African Linguistics: Selected papers from the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics

The papers in this volume were presented at the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics at UC Berkeley in 2016. The papers offer new descriptions of African languages and propose novel theoretical analyses of them. The contributions span topics in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics and reflect the typological and genetic diversity of languages in Africa. Four papers in the volume examine Areal Features and Linguistic Reconstruction in Africa, and were presented at a special workshop on this topic held alongside the general session of ACAL

Theory and description in African Linguistics: Selected papers from the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics

The papers in this volume were presented at the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics at UC Berkeley in 2016. The papers offer new descriptions of African languages and propose novel theoretical analyses of them. The contributions span topics in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics and reflect the typological and genetic diversity of languages in Africa. Four papers in the volume examine Areal Features and Linguistic Reconstruction in Africa, and were presented at a special workshop on this topic held alongside the general session of ACAL

Theory and description in African Linguistics: Selected papers from the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics

The papers in this volume were presented at the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics at UC Berkeley in 2016. The papers offer new descriptions of African languages and propose novel theoretical analyses of them. The contributions span topics in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics and reflect the typological and genetic diversity of languages in Africa. Four papers in the volume examine Areal Features and Linguistic Reconstruction in Africa, and were presented at a special workshop on this topic held alongside the general session of ACAL

Theory and description in African Linguistics: Selected papers from the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics

The papers in this volume were presented at the 47th Annual Conference on African Linguistics at UC Berkeley in 2016. The papers offer new descriptions of African languages and propose novel theoretical analyses of them. The contributions span topics in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics and reflect the typological and genetic diversity of languages in Africa. Four papers in the volume examine Areal Features and Linguistic Reconstruction in Africa, and were presented at a special workshop on this topic held alongside the general session of ACAL