The holistic mission of the church in northern Ghana : a case study of the Methodist Church Ghana

https://place.asburyseminary.edu/ecommonsatsdissertations/1279/thumbnail.jp

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND VERSUS STATED PREFERENCES

The geographical imbalance of public sector teachers is one of the main challenges facing policy makers in developing countries. This study sought to analyze public sector teachers’ decision in choosing a remote and/or rural area job with reference to their historical background. Discrete choice experiment modeling approach was adopted to estimate consideration sets. The survey focused on 120 teacher trainees. The effects of certain attributes based on the findings from the study revealed that teachers were will to trade off location for benefits such as granting of study leave with pay, provision of housing, and early promotion (after 3 years of work). Teachers with rural living experience tended to prefer rural assignments. The extent to which teachers were will to trade off their initial preferences for salary was limited

Multivariate Statistical Evaluation of Geochemical Data from Quartz Vein-Associated Gold Mineralisation at the Badukrom Prospect within the Tarkwaian Base

The Kawere conglomerate at the base of the Tarkwaian Group in the Iduapriem Mine appears to show good prospect for hydrothermal gold mineralisation evidenced by major structures mapped from magnetic and Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) geophysical data. Detailed geological mapping and sampling at Badukrom target which lies within the Kawere rocks confirm the presence of multiple structures as well as quartz veins indicative of potential hydrothermal gold mineralisation. Follow up soil sampling conducted within the area revealed a strong anomalous trend from the southern portion. Two diamond drilled (DD) holes pushed to delineate the extent of the anomalous zones returned narrow veins of significant gold intersections. Twenty-five (25) samples of the Badukrom hydrothermal Au mineralisation intersects were sent for analysis to ascertain the optimum pathfinder element suite for the hydrothermal targets within the Iduapriem concession. A total of fifty-nine elements were analysed via ICP-MS and ICP-OES. Multivariate statistical evaluation was carried out on the results to understand the geochemical associations of Au and the other elements to aid future exploration programmes planned for the hydrothermal targets. Multivariate analysis of the geochemical data using Pearson product-moment of correlation suggests a stronger positive correlation of gold with Iron, Antimony, Sulphur, Chromium, Vanadium respectively. However, the Spearman Rank correlation data indicates that, the optimum pathfinder elements for hydrothermal Au are: As, Sb and Te.   Keywords: Tarkwaian Base, Statistical Evaluation, Hydrothermal Mineralisation, Geochemical Dat

Regional Integration of Equity Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa

Equity markets in developing and emerging economies have grown in number and importance as a result of financial market globalisation. However, their role in economic growth and development is enhanced if nascent markets are integrated with well-established ones. Market integration, measured by the transmission of returns volatility, is identified across a sample of SSA countries, using a unique dataset. Evidence for potential integration between financial markets in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is found. Spillovers are found across markets, some unidirectional and others bi-directional. However, continued illiquidity and incomplete institutions indicate that an integrated financial community remains premature, and considerable regulatory reform and harmonisation will be necessary for this to succeed

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND VERSUS STATED PREFERENCES

The geographical imbalance of public sector teachers is one of the main challenges facing policy makers in developing countries. This study sought to analyze public sector teachers’ decision in choosing a remote and/or rural area job with reference to their historical background. Discrete choice experiment modeling approach was adopted to estimate consideration sets. The survey focused on 120 teacher trainees. The effects of certain attributes based on the findings from the study revealed that teachers were will to trade off location for benefits such as granting of study leave with pay, provision of housing, and early promotion (after 3 years of work). Teachers with rural living experience tended to prefer rural assignments. The extent to which teachers were will to trade off their initial preferences for salary was limited

Working practices and incomes of health workers : evidence from an evaluation of a delivery fee exemption scheme in Ghana

Background: This article describes a survey of health workers and traditional birth attendants (TBAs) which was carried out in 2005 in two regions of Ghana. The objective of the survey was to ascertain the impact of the introduction of a delivery fee exemption scheme on both health workers and those providers who were excluded from the scheme (TBAs). This formed part of an overall evaluation of the delivery fee exemption scheme. The results shed light not only on the scheme itself but also on the general productivity of a range of health workers in Ghana. Methods: A structured questionnaire was developed, covering individual and household characteristics, working hours and practices, sources of income, and views of the exemptions scheme and general motivation. After field testing, this was administered to 374 respondents in 12 districts of Central and Volta regions. The respondents included doctors, medical assistants (MAs), public and private midwives, nurses, community health nurses (CHNs), and traditional birth attendants, both trained and untrained. Results: Health workers were well informed about the delivery fee exemptions scheme and their responses on its impact suggest a realistic view that it was a good scheme, but one that faces serious challenges regarding financial sustainability. Concerning its impact on their morale and working conditions, the responses were broadly neutral. Most public sector workers have seen an increased workload, but counterbalanced by increased pay. TBAs have suffered, in terms of client numbers and income, while the picture for private midwives is mixed. The survey also sheds light on pay and productivity. The respondents report long working hours, with a mean of 54 hours per week for community nurses and up to 129 hours per week for MAs. Weekly reported client loads in the public sector range from a mean of 86 for nurses to 269 for doctors. Over the past two years, reported working hours have been increasing, but so have pay and allowances (for doctors, allowances now make up 66% of their total pay). The lowest paid public health worker now earns almost ten times the average gross national income (GNI) per capita, while the doctors earn 38.5 times GNI per capita. This compares well with average government pay of four times GNI per capita. Comparing pay with outputs, the relatively high number of clients reported by doctors reduces their pay differential, so that the cost per client – $1.09 – is similar to a nurse's (and lower than a private midwife's). Conclusion: These findings show that a scheme which increases demand for public health services while also sustaining health worker income and morale, is workable, if well managed, even within the relatively constrained human resources environment of countries like Ghana. This may be linked to the fact that internal comparisons reveal Ghana's health workers to be well paid from public sector sources.This work was undertaken as part of an international research programme – IMMPACT (Initiative for Maternal Mortality Programme Assessment) – funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Department for International Development, the European Commission and USAID

Altered immunoglobulins (A and G) in Ghanaian patients with type 2 diabetes.

Elevated immunoglobulin levels have been strongly linked to the development and progression of inflammatory disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. This study aimed to evaluate circulating immunoglobulin levels and to identify other metabolic factors that influence humoral immune response among Ghanaian subjects with type 2 diabetes. A comparative cross-sectional study conducted at the National Diabetes Management and Research Center, Accra. Eighty persons with type 2 diabetes were age-matched with 78 controls. Immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin M; interleukin 6; fasting blood glucose; glycated hemoglobin; and lipid parameter concentrations were measured. Blood pressure, anthropometry and body composition indices were also assessed. Median immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G (g/L) levels were higher in the case group compared with controls (0.89 vs 0.74, p = 0.043; 7.58 vs 7.29, p < 0.001). Immunoglobulin G, immunoglobulin A and interleukin 6 levels in the case cohort, respectively, associated weakly with fasting blood glucose (r = 0.252, p = 0.001; r = 0.170, p = 0.031; r = 0.296, p = 0.001). There were positive correlations within the control group for immunoglobulin A versus interleukin 6 (r = 0.366, p = 0.001) and within the case group for glycated hemoglobin versus interleukin 6 (r = 0.190, p = 0.020). Our data suggest that humoral immune response is altered in subjects with type 2 diabetes and that serum immunoglobulin levels could serve as useful biomarkers in the investigation and management of diabetes mellitus