Occupational Health and Safety and Organizational Commitment: Evidence from the Ghanaian Mining Industry

AbstractBackgroundThis study seeks to examine the relationship and impact of occupational health and safety on employees' organizational commitment in Ghana's mining industry. The study explores occupational health and safety and the different dimensions of organizational commitment.MethodsA cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. The respondents were selected based on simple random sampling. Out of 400 questionnaires administered, 370 were returned (77.3% male and 22.7% female) and used for the study. Correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to determine the relationship and impact between the variables.ResultsThe findings of this study revealed positive and significant relationship between occupational health and safety management, and affective, normative, and continuance commitment. Additionally, the results revealed the significant impact of occupational health and safety on affective, normative, and continuance commitment.ConclusionManagement within the mining sector of Ghana must recognize the fact that workers who feel healthy and safe in the performance of their duties, develop emotional attachment and have a sense of obligation to their organization and are most likely committed to the organization. Employees do not just become committed to the organization; rather, they expect management to first think about their health and safety needs by instituting good and sound policy measures. Thus, management should invest in the protection of employees' health and safety in organizations

Irrational use of antibiotics and the risk of diabetes in Ghana

Epidemiological studies show clearly that Caesarean birth, perinatal or neonatal irrational antibiotic use is strongly associated with increased risk of obesity and diabetes in later life. Irrational use of antibiotics is a great global public health concern especially in developing economies like Ghana due to poor regulation on medicines. Unfortunately, this concern has been reduced to the fear of development of resistant organisms and the destruction of the world’s limited range of antibiotics therapy at the expense of other insidious risks including the development of metabolic and atopic diseases. These risks however appear to have greater implications on public health systems of developing economies. Here, we review the ignored role of antibiotics in the global obesity pandemic and project the risk that it poses to the health system of a developing economy like Ghana.Funding: Department of Pharmacology, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah university of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaKeywords: Antibiotics, resistance, “thrifty gene”, diabetes, Ghan

Foregrounding the Verbal Process: A Corpus Stylistic Analysis of Adichie’s Zikora (2020)

Literature mirrors societies. While the plethora of studies on African literature, spanning from the early 21st century, have discussed literary texts in their political spectrums, recent studies using transitivity analysis have offered new and objective understandings of these novels. Nonetheless, most transitivity analyses have been fixated on characterization, style and themes. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to use corpus procedures to examine the transitivity of verbal process types in Adichie’s recent novel Zikora. Assisted by corpus linguistics, the study used transitivity as an analytical framework to analyse the verbal process in the text. From the analysis, three major findings are reported from the discussion. First, through the verbal processes, the Adichie deconstructed the myriad suffering and subjugation of women through dialogic means and taking responsibility for their livelihood. Second, the foregrounded verbal processes reflect the attribution of processes to other characters than accounting for the literary effects projected through the clauses. Finally, while the writer used the projected clauses to attribute the verbal processes to others, the dominant use of the first-person mode of narration identifies a sharing of roles to account for the writing of the literary work. Following these findings, the study extends the scholarship on literary stylistics and provides implications for further research in other genres of (African) literature

Hospitality management competency requirements of the hospitality industry in Ghana: practitioners' and educators' perspectives

This paper assessed industry practitioners’ and educators’ views on the competencies required by the hospitality industry in Ghana. Data was collected through a survey of 111 respondents. Means were used to rank the competencies, whilst T- test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to explore the differences in competencies perceived to be required by the industry practitioners and educators. It was found out in terms of importance that practitioners preferred leadership, administrative, conceptual and technical competencies whilst educators favoured conceptual, leadership, administrative and technical competencies. Except for ability to maintain hygiene standards and ability to develop contingency plans, there were generally no statistically significant differences between the views of practitioners and educators with regards to competencies required by the industry. It is recommended that there should be more collaboration between hospitality practitioners and educators in Ghana

Terminalia ivorensis A. Chev. ethanolic stem bark extract protects against gentamicin-induced renal and hepatic damage in rats.

The aim of present study was to investigate the possible protective effects of an ethanolic stem bark extract of Terminalia ivorensis on gentamicin – induced nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Groups of animals received either gentamicin alone or in combination with 100, 300 or 1000 mg/kg of extract for a period of 14 days. On the 15th day, the modulatory effect of Terminalia ivorensis was examined by assessing biochemical and renal markers of hepatic and renal damage. Markers of oxidative injury including reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase and lipid peroxidation were assessed. Histology of the kidneys and the liver were also processed for analysis. The extract at a dose of 100-1000 mg/kg significantly reduced elevations in creatinine, urea and serum enzymes evoked by gentamicin. Additionally, the low levels of reduced glutathione and the antioxidant enzymes from the gentamicin treatment were significantly improved in the extract-treated animals. The results correlated well with the histopathological findings as the extract reversed the severe architectural distortions of the kidneys and liver caused by gentamicin. We conclude from the study that, the ethanolic stem bark extract of Terminalia ivorensis protects the liver and the kidneys against gentamicin-induced renal and hepatic damage

ETHANOL ROOT EXTRACT OF THE AFRICAN APHRODISIAC, MONDIA WHITIE (PERIPLOCACEAE), POSSESES ESTROGENIC ACTIVITY

Objective: To determine the effects of ethanol extract of the dried root Mondia whitie (mondia) on female reproductive system using the chick uterotrophic assay and the rodent estrous cycle studies.Methods: Phytochemical screening was done to detect the presence of secondary metabolites. Using the Chick Oviduct Uterotrophic assay, estrous cyclicity assay in Sprague Dawley rats and serum biochemical analysis, the effects of ethanol root extract of mondia on female reproduction was assessed.Results: Mondia (30-300) mg/kg or estradiol benzoate (0.1-0.8 ug/kg) caused dose dependent increases in chick oviduct of white leghorns. Treatment of rats with Mondia (30-300) mg/kg increased duration of estrous and altered the repeatability of the next cycles. The estrus index ranged between 41.67-49.21 at the doses of mondia used compared with 25 for controls. There were alterations in the lipid profile with reductions in HDL, but increases in VLDL, LDL and triglycerides.Conclusion: Ethanol extract of the dried root Mondia whitie possess estrogen-like activity on the female reproductive systemÂ

Academic Libraries in Ghana and Their Strategies for Coping with the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In March 2020, institutions of higher education shut down in compliance with the directives of the President of Ghana to curb the spread of COVID-19. In July 2020, when the lockdown restrictions were eased, universities resumed teaching, learning, and research in order to continue the second semester of the 2020/2021 academic year. Universities and their libraries immediately adapted to online teaching and the delivery of services and resources to their patrons even though most of them were largely unprepared for this ‘new normal’ experience. This paper adopts the qualitative research design which comprised documentary evidence of experiences of ten public and private universities libraries in Ghana with regard to their resources, services, facilities and staff as well as impact on library users during the pandemic. Findings reveal the strict compliance of the COVID -19 protocols and sanitation practices, the increased use of online databases, social media interventions and virtual training among others. The different strategies adopted by university libraries in Ghana are worth sharing and lessons learned provide a unique opportunity for academic librarians to rethink their key roles and core values in supporting the teaching and learning of their institutions during this very challenging time and the future

Book Reviews

This issue of the CJAS includes reviews of two important books: The Mind of Africa by William Abraham, that was recently re-issued in paperback, and Building the Nation: Seven Notable Ghanaians, edited by Mercy Akrofi- Ansah and Esi Sutherland-Addy. We think that these commentaries provide critical illumation of these important texts, and we are grateful to Professor Emeritus Ivan Addae-Mensah, and Drs Amoah-Boampong and Richmond Kwesi for their thoughtful reflections

HAART therapy in Ghana: comparative assessment of the effectiveness of different HAART combinations at Komfo Anokye teaching hospital.

Objective: Although all marketed antiretrovirals (ARVs) have proven efficacy, genetic differences can result in varied effectiveness. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of different Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) combinations among patients attending HIV clinic at a Major Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Methods: The study was a retrospective study involving 500 patients at an HIV clinic in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Results: Twelve major antiretroviral combinations for HAART were prescribed at the study center. The most prescribed drug combinations were AZT+3TC+EFV and AZT+3TC+NVP. The study identified that HAART, irrespective of the kind of drug combination used, was effective at increasing CD4 count within the first 6 mo of therapy initiation in the study population. However, the magnitude of the increases differed from combination to combination. All HAART combinations with zidovudine as one of the drugs resulted in higher CD4 counts compared with combinations containing stavudine. HAART with nevirapine also resulted in a higher CD4 count than those with efavirenz. However, efavirenz-based combinations appeared to be more effective in critically ill patients and patients with mean CD4+T helper cells count below 100 cell/mm3. More importantly, efavirenz was common among all HAART combinations that resulted in treatment failure. Conclusion: There was significant variation in response to different HAART combination among Ghanaian HIV patients. However, there was no statistically significant difference in mean CD4 count between the two most predominately used HAART i.e. AZT+3TC+EFV and AZT+3TC+NVP

Dialectical Sculptural Experimentations of Postmodern Sculpture in Ghanaian Context

Commemorative and allegorical sculptures are very important constituents in the spatial, temporal and spatio-temporal art forms of any given community or people. This is because, not only are they symbolic, they also represent important landmarks in the history of the people. Constricting formal configuration of commemorative narratives in Ghana is the neoclassical concept of the monument which is heavily modelled on an “idealist myth” (Krauss, 1981,) However exhuming medieval spatial metaphors, this paper expounds how pole ideologies in history Vis a Vis current thought have informed and thus negotiated and expanded the frontiers of formal aesthetic dialogues. Attention will be drawn to the oversubscribed ‘idealist’ ideals (like frontality, the figure, the pedestal and preference for the noble media like stone, wood, bronze ivory cement etc.) in the expressing of commemorative sculpture in Ghana as if it were the modus- operandi. Finally, a research work which used ‘Fante’ proverbs as its principal reference point is introduced not to only seek a defiance of these academic conventions but also explore the vernacular qualities of found media (ready- made) specifically scrap metals which have had former lives before and thus fraught with in context meaning to a new aesthetic end. Keywords: narratives, readymade, hybridity, dualism, dialectic, idealism, materialism, minimalism. DOI: 10.7176/ADS/83-04 Publication date:July 31st 202