Road Use Behaviour of Urban Primary School Children in Ghana: Case Study of Ablekuma South Education Circuit of Metropolitan Accra

School children form majority of injured children on Ghanaian roads. The objective was to observe the road use behaviour of public primary school pupils in Ablekuma Education Circuit, Accra. This unobtrusive observational study targeted Primary one to six pupils. Five behaviours were studied: Walking while crossing road; Stopping at the kerb; Looking left-right-left before crossing; Keep looking left-right-left while crossing and Facing traffic while walking. 882 pu­pils on their way to or from school were observed from eight schools. A little over two in three children stopped at the kerb before crossing the road while almost three in four children looked for cars before stepping off the kerb. A little over three in four children walked while crossing and less than one in four children kept looking while crossing. Not looking for cars before crossing, not facing on-coming traffic and not keeping looking for cars while crossing, were more associated with boys than girls (p < 0.001; 95%CI in all cases). Girls behaved significant­ly more safely than boys. In stopping at the kerb, there was no difference in gender behaviour (p < 0.135; 95%CI). Child Road Safety Education in Schools and Communities is recommended

Investigation of Alkali Threshold Limits and Blended Aggregate in ASR Risk-Assessed Concretes

Concrete structures are designed for a specific design life to tolerate deterioration caused from various aggressive environmental loads such as carbon dioxide, chloride and aggressive soil conditions. The approach to prevent deterioration in concrete due to alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is by the avoidance of any such dissolution reaction taking place in concrete. ASR can in part be prevented by limiting the alkali content and restricting the use of potentially reactive aggregates. In this paper, the alkali threshold of several aggregates originating from New Zealand were determined using a modified version of RILEM AAR-3.2 and AAR-7.1. The AAR-2 accelerated mortar bar test (AMBT at 80°C) and AAR-3.2 concrete prism test (CPT at 38°C) were replaced with Australian Standard AS 1141.60.1 and 60.2 test methods, respectively, to evaluate expansion. Additional accelerated CPT in accordance with AAR-4.1 (ACPT at 60°C) was also conducted to examine the adequacy of shortening the test period. Petrographic examination taken before and after expansion testing was also carried out to qualify the presence of reactive silica and ASR gel contributing to expansion. The findings of this study suggest the potential for specifying the alkali threshold in concrete based on the reactivity classification of aggregates allowing a relaxation of the CCANZ Technical Report TR 3 alkali limit of 2.5 kg/m3 that is currently in place in New Zealand. This approach allows greater flexibility in the use of potentially reactive aggregates as sustainable concreting making materials

Mitigating Alkali Silica reactions in the absence of SCMs: A review of empirical studies

© 2019 by the fib. All rights reserved. The mechanism and severity of alkali-silica reaction (ASR) is subjective to the conditions of the availability of moisture and sufficient alkali content, and the presence of reactive aggregates. Since the 1940s, key focus has been placed on the reduction of alkali content by way of addition of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). However, the cost of SCMs and the realization that the availability of these materials could become limited in the untold future has influenced some researchers to investigate the development of protocols for the use of aggregates minimizing the likelihood of potential severe ASR. This paper presents a summary and review of the various strategies that have been adopted in recent years for the mitigation of ASR without utilising the addition of SCMs

Peer mentorship and transformational learning: PhD student experiences

The purpose of the paper is to describe our peer mentorship experiences and explain how these experiences fostered transformational learning during our PhD graduate program in educational administration. As a literature backdrop, we discuss characteristics of traditional forms of mentorship and depict how our experiences of peer mentorship was unique. Through narrative inquiry, we present personal data and apply concepts of transformational learning theory to analyze our experiences. Our key finding was that it was the ambiguous boundaries combined with the formal structure of our graduate program that created an environment where peer mentorship thrived. We conclude that peer mentorship has great capacity to foster human and social capital within graduate programs for both local and international students.  Le but de cet article est de décrire nos expériences de mentorat par les pairs et d’expliquer comment ces expériences ont favorisé l’apprentissage transformationnel au cours de notre programme d’études supérieures de doctorat. Avec la littérature comme toile de fond, nous discutons des caractéristiques des formes traditionnelles de mentorat et décrivons comment notre mentorat par les pairs est unique. Grâce à l’analyse narrative, nous présentons des données personnelles et appliquons les concepts de la théorie de l’apprentissage transformationnel pour analyser nos expériences. L’élément clé de l’étude démontre clairement que les frontières ambiguës, combinées à la structure formelle de notre programme d’études supérieures, créent un environnement favorable au mentorat par les pairs. À la lumière de notre étude, nous concluons que, tant pour les étudiants locaux qu’internationaux, le mentorat par les pairs rehausse le développement humain et social dans les programmes d’études supérieures. &nbsp

Soluble fluoride levels in drinking water-a major risk factor of dental fluorosis among children in Bongo community of Ghana

Background: The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between fluoride ions in drinking water and the incidence of dental fluorosis in some endemic areas of Bongo District, Ghana.Method: Two hundred children were randomly selected from various homes and taken through a questionnaire. Their teeth were examined for thedetection of dental fluorosis using the Dean’s specific index. Samples of their permanent sources of water were taken for the determination of soluble fluoride levels by SPADNS spectrophotometric method.Results: The study revealed that the incidence of dental fluorosis among the children in the main Bongo township was 63.0%, whereas villages  outside the township recorded less than 10.0%. The respondents from the various communities had similar age group, educational background, sources of drinking water, oral hygiene habits and usage of oral health products, p-value > 0.05. However, there were statistically significant differences in the cases of dental fluorosis and fluoride ions among the communities, p-value <0.05. The fluoride ion concentration in the Bongotownship was above the WHO requirement of 1.50 ppm, whereas the nearby villages showed acceptable fluoride levels. Statistically, there was no significant relationship between the presence of dental fluorosisand the other characteristics, except the age group and fluoride ion concentration of the area.Conclusion: These findings strongly support the association between the dental fluorosis and the high fluoride levels in the underground water of Bongo community. Therefore, policy makers need to consider an alternative source of drinking water for the area.Keywords: Fluorosis, Fluoride, Drinking water, Risk factor, Childre

The Ghana Highway Code as a Teaching and Learning Material

The Ghana Highway Code is the official state-recognised traffic teaching and learning ma­terial widely used in traffic schools and by motorists in Ghana. Ghana changed its traffic from left-hand to right-hand drive in 1974; the Code was subsequently published to, besides other reasons, guide road users to be reconditioned to a fresh standard of behaviour. However, 46 years after its publication, the content of the Code has been outgrown by new developments in the road environment and traffic systems, rendering the Code ineffective. Content analysis was used to ascertain the validity and reliability of the Code. Out of 95 mo­torists interviewed, 91.5% indicated they use or had ever used the Code, while 3.2% had not used it before and 5.3% did not know about it at all. Hundred percent of driving schools used the Code as teaching and learning material. It was concluded that the Code was an obsolete teaching and learning material. The implication was that, the wide user population of the Code had an adverse impact on learners. It was recommended that the Code be revised and republished as new edition

Fasting blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin levels in randomly selected Ghanaian diabetic patients – the clinical implications

This work involved the measurement of fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels of diabetes mellitus patients as an index of glycaemic control. It was a prospective casefinding study using laboratory and general practice records. The subjects were confirmed diabetic patients, attending a Diabetic Clinic at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana. The fasting blood glucose levels were measured in millimolar concentration and corrected glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels expressed as percentages. The mean level of fasting blood glucose (± standard deviation) for the non-diabetics was 4.91 ± 1.08 mmol/L and the corresponding mean value for the HbA1c was 5.40 ± 0.84%. There was a linear correlation between the fasting blood glucose and HbA1c. Out of the 99 diabetics, 9 of them had near-normal levels of HbA1c while 64 had mean values between 12 and 16%. There was generally high levels of glycosylated haemoglobin in the majority of patients studied, reflecting their poor glycaemic control. This suggests a relatively large proportion of the diabetics could be predisposed to microvascular complications, while a small group with near-normal HbA1c levels could be prone to hypoglycaemic complications. Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 26(1) 2006: 8-1

Effectiveness And Safety Assessment Of Mist tonica, A Herbal Haematinic

Anaemia is a widespread public health problem, and in Ghana it is the fourth leading cause of hospital admissions and the second factor contributing to death. Mist Tonica, an herbal haematinic produced by the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine (CSRPM), Ghana, was assessed for its effectiveness and safety in humans after Ethics Committee approval. Clinically established anaemic-patients aged, 13 years and above, with haemoglobin levels less than 11.5 g/dl and 13.5g/dl for females and males respectively were treated with Mist tonica, 8.96 g/ 40 mls three times daily for two weeks . The mean haemoglobin rise per week caused by Mist Tonica was 1.92 (0.76) g/dl, range (1.66 - 2.55) g/dl/week and over 88 % of the patients on Mist Tonica had their appetite for food improved. Haematological profile, liver and kidney functions were not adversely affected by Mist tonica. Results of the study suggest that Mist Tonica is an effective and safe herbal haematinic. Keywords: Anaemia, haemoglobin, herbal, haematinic, safety, effectivenessAfr. Jnl of Trad Comp Alt medicine Vol. 5 (2) 2008: pp. 115-11