Complementary Education Programme and the opportunity to learn in the Northern Region of Ghana

This study seeks to critically investigate the contribution of the School for Life (SfL) model of complementary education programme (CEP) in providing access to quality basic education in the Northern Region of Ghana. In so doing, it aims to examine the linkage between the SfL curriculum and pedagogy, and that of the Ghanaian lower primary school. This will enable a better understanding of the knowledge and skills that CEP graduates attain to enable them to integrate into formal education. The study is set against the background of the call for a replication of the SfL model as a mechanism for providing basic education to all marginalized communities. It is conducted using qualitative and quantitative approaches that fully capture the perspectives, experiences and learning achievements of pupils and other actors associated with both the complementary and formal education sectors in the Northern Region. The study examines the planned, implemented and received curricula of the two systems analysing them within a social constructivist framework. Implicit in this analysis is a comparison of the two curricula. This thesis shows that SfL‘s CEP is not formally structured to meet the requirements of the formal school curriculum. The curriculum materials and training offered to the facilitators do not make mention of the formal school curriculum. SfL has a restrictive focus on literacy and numeracy instruction delivered solely through the mother tongue of the pupils utilising learner centred approaches. Meanwhile the formal school curriculum lacks a clear focus and is embedded within an ambiguous language policy that allows teachers to code switch at their discretion. While the two curricula share similar characteristics of locally relevant themes or topics, the SfL curriculum is functionally relevant as it is designed to meet the social economic lives of the learners and their communities. The study also shows SfL graduates in formal school performing at almost the same level as pupils who enrolled in formal school through the regular route. Thus while SfL graduates miss the first three years of primary schooling, once they enrol in grade 4, there is no significant difference between the performances of the two sets of students

Understanding the Factors that Influence Saving Decision among Small Business Owners in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana

This paper seeks to understand the factors that influence saving decision among small business owners in two municipalities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, using the probit model. Through a multi-stage sampling technique, data was collected with the aid of structured questionnaire from 304 small business owners in the study areas. Results indicate that with different saving plans, 81 percent of the respondents have savings account and actually save, with majority of this proportion saving about GH¢16.00 daily. Interest rate on savings, knowledge about savings, available saving schemes to benefit from as well as motive of future purchase are the main factors that are more likely to positively and significantly influence saving decision of small business owners. Policy measures directed at providing small business owners with financial literacy on saving are recommendable. Also developing tailor-made saving products for small business owners to benefit from and increasing interest rate on savings should be considered. Keywords: saving decision, small business owners, Greater Accra, Ghan

Interrogating the Teaching and Learning of English in Nigeria: Still in Search of an Enabling Principle

With the understanding that effective communication is the central goal in any second language situation, this paper examines how best to achieve this in the light of the current curriculum for the teaching of English in Nigeria. The way the English language is taught at all the levels of education in Nigeria leaves a lot to be desired, and therefore does not hold a promise of actualising the very end of language teaching and learning, which is the development of learners' communicative competence. The teaching and learning of English in Nigeria today is largely grammar-based, so that learners only take grammar lessons, leaving out the colour of language, which is literature. If literature is the colour of its language, teaching any language without its literature is teaching a bleached language. Any teaching method that adopts this antiseptic learning of the target language may not achieve much, as literature presents the best examples or manifestations of language use, and would serve as a veritable point of encounter with the language. The position of this work is that the divorce between ‘language' and ‘literature' in our educational curriculum is an anathema

Optical nanolithography using a scanning near-field probe with an integrated light source

An ultracompact near-field optical probe is described that is based on a single, integrated assembly consisting of a gallium nitride (GaN) light-emitting diode (LED), a microlens, and a cantilever assembly containing a hollow pyramidal probe with a subwavelength aperture at its apex. The LED emits ultraviolet light and may be used as a light source for near-field photolithographic exposure. Using this simple device compatible with many commercial atomic force microscope systems, it is possible to form nanostructures in photoresist with a resolution of 35 nm, corresponding to λ/10. © 2008 American Institute of Physics

Spatial and temporal variation in otolith chemistry for tautog (Tautoga onitis) in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island coastal ponds

The elemental composition of otoliths may provide valuable information for establishing connectivity between fish nursery grounds and adult fish populations. Concentrations of Rb, Mg, Ca, Mn, Sr, Na, K, Sr, Pb, and Ba were determined by using solution-based inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in otoliths of young-of-the year tautog (Tautoga onitis) captured in nursery areas along the Rhode Island coast during two consecutive years. Stable oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotopic ratios in young-of-the year otoliths were also analyzed with isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Chemical signatures differed significantly among the distinct nurseries within Narragansett Bay and the coastal ponds across years. Significant differences were also observed within nurseries from year to year. Classification accuracy to each of the five tautog nursery areas ranged from 85% to 92% across years. Because accurate classification of juvenile tautog nursery sites was achieved, otolith chemistry can potentially be used as a natural habitat tag

CORRELATE OF PRINCIPALS’ ETHICAL LEADERSHIP DIMENSIONS AND TEACHERS’ JOB COMMITMENT IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

This study determined the correlation between teachers’ perception of principals’ ethical leadership dimensions and their job commitment in state government owned public secondary schools in Anambra State. To this end, the study was guided by 4 research questions. The population consisted of 6,328 teachers in the 257 state government owned public secondary schools in the State. A sample of 672 teachers was drawn using multi-stage sampling procedure. Data were collected using two instruments; Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS) which was adapted from Yilmaz (2006) and Teachers’ Commitment Scale (TCS) adapted from Allen, Meyer and Smith (1993). The instruments were validated by three experts. Internal consistency reliability index of 0.75, 0.68, 0.71 and 0.74 were obtained for the four sections of ELS with an overall reliability index of 0.72 while 0.84 was obtained for TCM using Cronbach’s alpha method. Data analysis was done using Pearson’s correlation analysis for the research questions. P-value was used to determine the significance of the correlation. The findings revealed among others that a substantial positive correlation of 0.69 existed between teachers’ perception of principals’ communicative ethics and their job commitment, a substantial positive correlation of 0.78 existed between teachers’ perception of principals’ climatic ethics and their job commitment, a very high positive correlation of 0.84 existed between teachers’ perception of principals’ ethics in decision making and their job commitment. The study recommended among others that secondary school principals should constantly display ethical behaviours such as being selfless, humble, patient and just in their dealings with teachers in order to stimulate teachers’ sense of belonging to the school.  Article visualizations

Assembly of Bifurcation and Trifurcation Bipolar Plate to Design Fuel Cell Stack

A current producing cell has anode flow plates 22 and cathode flow plates 20. Each of the flow plates 20, 22 defines a membrane face 26, a collector face 24, and a center axis C perpendicular to the membrane face 26 and the collector face 24. Each of the collector faces 24 define a plurality of cooling channels 74, 76, 78 and a plurality of transport channels 62, 64. The cooling channels 74, 76, 78 of the cathode flow plates 20 extend radially relative to the center axis C thereof to overlap the transport channels 62, 64 of the anode flow plates 22. The cooling channels 74, 76, 78 of the anode flow plates 22 extend radially relative to the center axis C thereof to overlap the transport channels 62, 64 of the cathode flow plates 20 for providing cooling axially between the cooling channels 74, 76, 78 of the anode flow plate 22 to the transport channels 62, 64 of the cathode flow plate 20 and between the cooling channels 74, 76, 78 of the cathode flow plate 20 to the transport channels 62, 64 of the anode flow plate 22

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MALE AND FEMALE PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP ROLE PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE

The study compared male and female principals’ leadership role performance in secondary schools in Anambra State. Three research questions guided the study and Three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted 6,382 teachers in state government owned secondary schools in the six education zones of Anambra State. A sample size of 2,439 teachers was drawn using multi-stage sampling procedure. A researchers’ developed instrument titled “Principals’ Role Performance Questionnaire” (PRPQ) structured on a four point scale and validated by three experts was used for data collection. The internal consistency of the instrument was ascertained using Cronbach’s Alpha and this yielded reliability coefficients of 0.84, 0.86, and 0.81 for the three parts of the PRPQ. Of the 2,439 copies of the instrument administered, 1,860 were retrieved and used for the analyses. Mean score was used to analyze the research questions and t-test for testing the hypotheses. The findings of the study shows that teachers perceived male principals performance in maintenance of discipline and management of conflict to be greater than that of their female counterparts. Teachers perceived male and female principals performance on supervision of instruction to be the same. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the government should as a matter of urgency organize training programs for the principals on strategies for maintaining discipline in the schools. The State Government should also consider appointing male principals to those schools worst-hit by indiscipline