The Portuguese language on the Gold Coast, 1471-1807

It is well known that a vehicular variety of Portuguese served as the principal language of communication between Africans and Europeans from soon after the first appearance of the Portuguese on the Gold Coast towards the end of the fifteenth century until the demise of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the nineteenth. This paper seeks to reconstruct the circumstances of its establishment and spread and the range of its use. It is argued that it was not “merely” a trade language but was used in a wide variety of situations, and that the label “pidgin” as usually defined is not particularly applicable. In the absence of written documents it is difficult to establish its grammatical features, but a range of historical sources and the evidence of the languages spoken on the coast today make it possible to construct a glossary of well over 100 words in common use

PROJECT REPORT: Research on Vanishing Languages and Practices in the Northern Guang Area in Ghana: a preliminary report

No Abstract

The cultural and historical significance of malopo ritual: A pedi perspective

Indeed, the implicit hypothesis that “there is little possibility, if any, for the Pedi traditional healers to experience the supernatural form of healing without performing music and dancing to it” raises the issue of “What makes the dance potent as a healing therapy?” or ‘What is the role of music in such healing processes?’. This article is a result of a guided investigation carried out in order to answer these questions. The primary sources for data collection were literature reviews, informal interviews, observations and recordings. During the study, informal discussions with traditional healers and their trainees revealed that participation in malopo rituals enables community members to inherit their music tradition. The impression created during interviews and observations was that Pedi traditional healers perform malopo songs to communicate with the ancestors. The results suggest that malopo rituals are aimed at enriching the personal and social life of the Pedi community

Kesan Persekitaran Kerja ke atas Komitmen Pekerja di Organisasi

The objectives of this research are to identify the differences in commitment which are affective, continuance and normative based on the demographic factors such as age, gender, tenure and location; to identify the association between a work environment (physical working condition, co-worker, job satisfaction and supervision) with affective, continuance and normative commitment; and to determine the relative influence of work environment of organizational commitment. A total of 105 staff of the Terengganu State Education Department were respondents of this research using the OCQ questionnaire by Meyer (1990). The results of the hypotheses testing using t-test, One way ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple regression show that there is a positive association between physical working condition and leader’s supervision on organizational commitment. The finding of this study reveal a differences of affective commitment amongst respondents of different age groups and tenure. However, physical working condition has significant influence on the overall commitment

The Portuguese Language on the Gold Coast, 1471-1807: Addenda

No Abstract

Programme Planning Practices in Continuing Professional Education in Selected Professional Associations in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to examine the process of programme planning in the selected continuing professional education providers in Malaysia. It specifically examines how programme planners design and plan CPE activities and what contextual influence these practices. The study also examines how planners negotiate these influences and how this affected their planning practice. The following research questions guides the study: 1. How do programme planners in the selected professional associations design and develop continuing professional education? 2. What are the contextual factors influencing the continuing professional educational programme planning practices in the selected providers? 3. Is programme planning a social activity in which interests are negotiated by planners in the context of the organization structured by power relations? The study employed the qualitative multiple case study approach and data were collected through in-depth interviews and examination of relevant documents. Three professional associations, from the accounting, medical, and the architectural professions were purposefully selected for this study. Six programme planners, two from each provider were interviewed on the programme planning practices that they carried out in their respective associations. Their interviews were taped recorded and transcribed. A constant comparative method was used in the within-case and cross-case data analysis. A framework of programme planning practices in continuing professional education in the selected professional associations in Malaysia was developed based on the eight themes that emerged from the data analysis. The eight themes are: (1) Initiation of Ideas, (2) Selection of Topics, (3) Identification of Speakers, (4) Development of Content, (5) Arrangment of Facilities, (6) Marketing, (7) Conducting the Programme, and (8) Evaluation of Programme. The study also revealed three contextual factors that influence programme planning practices in the selected providers and they are: policy on continuing professional education regulation, organizational power structure, and commercial support. The study also confirmed that programme planning is a social activity that requires planners to negotiate personal and institutional interests when developing programmes, and negotiations occur within the context of the organization structured by asymmetrical power relationships. Three conclusions were drawn from the study. (1) The framework developed from description of the programme planning practices in the three selected professional education providers resembles that of the classical model but is very simplistic and not systematic in nature. (2) The three contextual factors that emerged from the data were interconnected in influencing the programme-planning practices in the selected providers. (3) The findings of the study confirmed that programme planning is a social activity that requires planners to negotiate personal and institutional interests when developing programmes and negotiations occur within the context of the organization structured by asymmetrical power relationships

Key transformation approach for Rijndael security.

The aim of the study is to improve the security of Rijndael key scheduling by increasing the bit contusion and diffusion of the Rijndael subkey, Rijndael is a block cipher designed by Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen. It is a combination of security, performance, efficiency, implementability and flexibility that makes it the best selection for Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). However, the 128 bit Rijndael key schedule does not satisfy the frequency (bit confusion) test for majority of subkeys and does not satisfy the avalanche (bit diffusion) test for any subkeys. These contribute to some attacks in the key schedule. Thus, a new transformation method which is called Shiftrow is proposed into the 128-bit Rijndael Key Schedule based upon information principles (bit confusion and diffusion properties). The new method has shown positive results in terms of the bit confusion and diffusion of subkey and it has increased bit confusion and diffusion compared to the subkey of the original Rijndael key schedule

Encapsulated nutritional and pharmaceutical compositions

Provided herein are encapsulated compositions comprising one or more long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) and at least one hydrocolloid, wherein the composition has a surface free fat content of less than about 5%. Also provided are methods for stabilising emulsions comprising one or more LCPUFAs and for increasing the efficiency of encapsulation of compositions comprising one or more LCPUFAs, the methods comprising incorporating at least one hydrocolloid into the emulsions or compositions

The use of zakat revenue in Islamic financing: jurisprudential debate and practical feasibility

Recent juristic debate rages around the possibility of using zakah revenue in Islamic law of public finance to better realize its intended poverty eradication goal. At the theoretical level, both the proponents and opponents employ extensive juristic argumentations to support their points of contention. The thrust of the proponents argument is that zakah without productive implementation would not serve its designated goal of poverty alleviation while the opponents countered this case by saying that zakah collection is primarily designed to be immediately disbursed to the consumption needs of the recipients and not vice versa. In practice, however, it seems that the arguments by the proponents is favored as some counties like Kuwait and Malaysia, aside from providing handouts, also finance health care and education for the poor and needy. Accordingly, in our considered opinion, these issues need to be revisited with the primary aim of identifying a balanced legal stand and a feasible institutional framework which takes into full account both the consumption needs and future self-sufficiency of the deserving recipients. To this end, this paper begins by briefly outlining some theoretical aspects of zakah. Then, it proceeds to critically examine the juristic debate surrounding the permissibility of zakah utilization for financing Islamic socio-economic infrastructure. And lastly, it reviews the proposed framework for such utilization with the idea of advancing some jurisprudentially consistent proposals for further academic explorations

Women involvement in development from Maqasid Syariah perspectives: a case study of Malaysian women

This research is an attempt to discuss the issue of development and gender within the perspective of the predominant western as well as Islamic perspective. Moving from the Islamic perspective on development generally and women participation specifically, this work aims at providing some suggestions in the light of Islamic principles for the concept of human development in Islam, and identifying the guiding ideology behind's women involvement in development. In this relation, principles of Maqasid al Shari'ah will be thoroughly discussed with an objective of setting comprehensive principles and guidelines concerning the involvement of women in development. A case study on the experience of contemporary Muslim women in the fields of development in Malaysia will also be addressed. This study will contribute to the advancement of women and progress in all fields and acknowledge women's contribution at all levels