Evaluation of Mid-Year Review of 2014 Seminars: A case study of the CSIR-Water Research Institute, Ghana

Scientific seminars are organized to provide forum for participants to discuss and also bring into the public domain current activities of an organization. To ascertain whether the seminars are achieving its aim, evaluation is usually done to assess the effectiveness. It is against this background that Water Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research organized 2014 mid-year seminar to review its research activities as well as communicate findings of research undertaken by its scientist for the year under review. Hence, the main thrust of this paper is to evaluate the success of 2014 mid-year review seminar. The evaluation for the purposes of quality assurance and future organization of similar seminars were conducted using descriptive statistics analysis of the evaluation questionnaire. The results of the study revealed that 71% of the participants were males while 29% of them were females. Most of the respondents were of the view that the topics presented were relevant and the overall performance of the seminar was good as it was in line with the objectives of the institute, that is, to generate and provide scientific information. Keywords: CSIR-Water Research Institute, Scientific Seminars, Scientific Informatio

Biophysics of Lower Back Pain

Lower back pain is one of the most predominant problems in the general public. It has been traditionally regarded as a mechanical problem by both orthodox and complementary practitioners. This study was conducted to evaluate the lumbosacral angle which is an inherent cause of lower back pain and also investigate the shearing and compressing forces on the lumbar spine. The study was carried out at in a Hospital within the …. Metropolis. A total of 210 patients’ data consisting of 72 males and 138 females was considered. The lumbosacral angle was measured using Ferguson’s method with the MicroDicom software. Patients were grouped into ages; 0 – 20, 21 – 30, 31 – 40, 41 – 50, 51 – 60, 61 – 70, 71 – 80 and 81 – 100. The number of patients in each age group was; 7, 12, 26, 28, 56, 27, 11 and 7 respectively. The average lumbosacral angle evaluated, according to age group was; 36.3º, 39º, 35.81º, 36.23º, 36.55º, 37.5º, 35.89 º and 34.92º. The overall lumbosacral mean was determined to be 36.50º. The lumbosacral angle evaluated was used to determine the corresponding compressive and shear forces at the lumbar region which are the principal predictors of the lower back pain