Finding the Woman’s Power in the Patriarchal Society through the Lens of Cultural Practices and Beliefs of the Kasena Nankana Municipality.

The study explores and assesses the impact of cultural practices and beliefs on the empowerment of women within the Kasena Nankana Municipality. The focus was to examine how these cultural practices and beliefs in the patriarchal society discriminate against women and female children. The study also investigates the perceptions of community members towards the empowerment of women.  Under empowerment of women, the study narrowed on the decision making rights of women, how women effect their own desired outcome and women’s accessibility and ownership of productive resources although the study acknowledge other forms of women empowerment.  The study also investigated the perceptions held by the community members towards women empowerment and empowered women. During the conduct of the study, the study made a discovery of an interesting revelation about the belongingness of a woman in the communities of the research area. The study adopted qualitative research strategy and the research tools were developed under cross sectional research design. Employing both convenient and simple random sampling techniques to select participants, data gathered from the fields were analysed thematically. The significance of the study cannot be over emphasized because it has been pointed out by UNDP (2003) that attempting to achieve the MDGs without promoting women empowerment and gender equality will both raise the costs and decrease the likelihood of achieving the other goals. Hence, the study sought to ascertain the cultural obstacles that impeded the realization of Women Empowerment under the MDG 3. In this case, policy makers can put measures in place to tackle these obstacles for community development. According to CARE (2010) improving women with health, knowledge and skills is not enough to empower them, women must also contend with social structures, cultural traditions and personal relationships that affect their success. The study’s main findings were that; women in the study have inadequate sense of empowerment and this is due to cultural ascription of gender roles and the woman has no strong connection to any culture structure. The study further highlighted that, gender socialization perpetuates society’s expectations of what a woman is supposed to do in the societies. Keywords: Gender Equality and Equity, Women’s Human Right, Gender Discrimination, Patriarchy, Cultur

The Effect of Regulations on the Bottom-Line of Traditional and Shadow Banks

Return on equity is often associated with prudent risk-taking and the attraction of new clients in advanced economies like the United States, where shadow banks are not regulated. Researchers have contended that freedom from regulation encourages risk-taking and earning of higher profits, but there is a lack of empirical evidence addressing this relationship. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate whether lack of regulations result in increased return on equity. The theoretical framework was regulatory arbitrage by Ricks M, Gennaioli N, Shleifer A, and Vishny R. The research question addressed the relationship between regulation, profit margin, leverage, asset turnover, economic condition, and strategy, and the bottom-line of banks (traditional and shadow) as measured by return on equity. A quasi-experimental design was used to examine data from 42 annual returns filed using Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 10-K from U.S. banks with Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code 6021 and 6211. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that regulation did not show any significant correlation with the bottom-line of banks as measured by return on equity. However, there was a significant correlation between the bottom-line banks and other independent variables including profit margin, leverage, and asset turnover. This study contributes to positive social change by assisting regulators and lawmakers in improving their roles in regulating traditional and shadow banks, thereby reducing the likelihood of crises in the U.S. banking system

Smartphone Addictions: A Review of Themes, Theories and Future Research Directions

This research work presents a literature review on Smartphone Addiction (SA). The papers used for this review were retrieved from AIS (All Repositories), Elsevier, Wiley Online, Tailor and Francis and JSTOR databases using the phrase Smartphone Addiction . In all, 13 AIS top conferences and 31 peer-reviewed journals searched from 2007 to July 2018 returned 1572 papers. This paper details the findings based on the literature assessment of 128 publications. In terms of context and geographical gaps, Asia leads the chart with 39 articles representing 30.5percent and Africa recorded only 1 paper used for this work. Online data collection with global focus had 37 articles representing 28.9percent and quantitative methodology was adopted by 91 articles representing 71.1percent. SA research was more at the micro and meso levels. This review has demonstrated that literature offers several perspectives on SA but failed to establish a causal theory or a model that fully accounted for urge and craving phenomena from an IS design principle perspective to mitigate SA. Also, smartphones are devices (artifacts) that enable users to access and become addicted to applications such as video games, SNSs, emails, etc. Future research should, therefore, focus more on addictive activities and applications on these devices

Determinants of Career Choice of Technical and Vocational Students: A Case of Ho Polytechnic

Entrepreneurship and private sector development are essential ingredients for achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty. Most tertiary institutions in Ghana spend a lot of time and resources equipping their students with the right skills to turn ambitions into successful ventures. However, some graduates still seek employment in already established firms and those who are unable to acquire their intended jobs remain unemployed despite all attempts made to make entrepreneurship attractive. It is in line with this that this research was undertaken to determine the factors that influence Higher National Diploma (HND) students’ preference for self-employment relative to wage and salary employment of Ho Polytechnic. The study also analysed the factors that are important to the entrepreneurial intention of students. The study employed the descriptive research design. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. The study revealed that respondents have higher tendency of going into public employment. Also the study revealed that the entrepreneurship education was appreciated by students and actually informed their decision for self-employment. It was recommended that attention be given to generating interests of students as they do not have interests in creating own businesses. To achieve this, lecturers must change their approach to teaching and have regular interaction with students by receiving feedback from them. Teaching should move away from the traditional methods where students are lectured to a more practical oriented teaching. Keywords: Entrepreneurship education, private sector development, employmen

Households’ Coping Dynamics to Climatic Shocks of Flood and Drought in Northern Ghana

The Guinea and Sudan Savannah zones of Ghana experiences much of the recent climate change effects than any other ecological zone in the country. This paper presents the coping strategies adopted by households in response to the climate change effects of floods and droughts in Northern Ghana. The study espoused a case study design. Key informants’ interviews, focus group discussions and household interviews were the methods applied in gathering primary data from 250 household heads randomly selected from six farming communities along the white Volta basin within three disaster prone districts. The descriptive statistic tool of SPSS was employed in analyzing, summarizing and describing the data obtained. Key subjective views of the participants were also presented using quotations. Destruction of food crops and livestock, decline in crop yield and food shortage as well as destruction of building were identified by the study as the most devastating effects of floods and droughts in the study areas. To cope with these effects, households adopted various coping dynamics which included decision not to farm or build in lowlands areas or waterways, migration, reliance on external support and early planning of activities. The study concludes that the effects of both floods and drought in Northern Ghana poses great challenges to livelihoods of households who have adapted by find coping strategies. The findings reveal new dimensions of the empirical accounts on households’ coping dynamics in response the climatic effects of flood and drought. Keywords: Floods; droughts; climate change; coping strategies; rural househol

Analisis Tingkat Kepuasan Pengguna Jasa Bus Kota Batik Solo Trans

Pengguna jasa bus kota Batik Solo Trans terdiri dari beberapa lapisan masyarakat. Hal tersebut menimbulkan persepsi dan tingkat kepuasan yang berbeda-beda pula mengenai atribut pelayanan tersebut. Oleh karena itu untuk menyatukan persepsi dan tingkat kepuasan dari semua lapisan masyarakat yang ada, maka perlu diadakan penelitian tentang atribut pelayanan seperti apa yang diinginkan pengguna, persepsi dan tingkat kepuasan pengguna terhadap atribut pelayanan yang ada. Berdasarkan pada kenyataan tersebut, maka penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui variabel-variabel dari atribut pelayanan yang telah diuji validitas dan reliabilitasnya, mengetahui persepsi dan tingkat kepuasan pengguna jasa angkutan umum bus kota Batik Solo Trans mengenai atribut pelayanan yang ada serta untuk mengetahui tingkat kepuasan pengguna berdasarkan jenis kelamin, mengetahui minat penggunaan ulang pengguna jasa Batik Solo Trans. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam pengumpulan data adalah dengan penyebaran kuisioner langsung dilapangan dengan jumlah sampel adalah 350 responden. Variabel pengamatan sebanyak 22 variabel yang berkaitan dengan atribut reliability, responsiveness, assurance, emphaty dan tangibles. Analisa dilakukan dengan metode pendekatan Analisis Faktor den metode Importance Performance Analysis (IPA). Dari 22 variabel atribut pelayanan dihasilkan 6 faktor yaitu Faktor I adalah Faktor Fasilitas dan Kenyamanan Halte, Faktor II adalah Faktor Pelayanan Petugas, Faktor III adalah Faktor Keamanan, Ketersediaan Informasi dan Keramahan Petugas, Faktor IV adalah Faktor Pelayanan Umum Operator, Faktor V adalah Faktor Pelayanan Armada Bus, dan Faktor VI adalah Faktor Kenyamanan. Dari analisis IPA didapatkan hasil yang digambarkan dalam grafik yang terbagi dari 4 kuadran yaitu, kuadran A menggambarkan variabel yang menjadi prioritas utama, kuadran B menggambarkan variabel yang harus dipertahankan kinerjanya, kuadran C menggambarkan variabel yang menjadi prioritas rendah, dan kuadran D menggambarkan variabel yang berlebihan kinerjanya

The role of corporate social responsibility in sustainable development in Ghana : a critical perspective on Anglogold Ashanti Ghana

The aim of this research was to identify and assess the extent to which AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) Mining Company has been able to apply its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies in its operations, in a participatory manner, in contributing to sustainable development in its area of operation. The mixed method approach was used. Cluster sampling under the random sampling and purposive sampling methods were used to select both the respondentsand communities affected by mining. Six communities were surveyed from the Obuasi Municipality in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Participatory interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions and participant observation techniques were used to gather data. The study identified that the CSR initiatives of AGA are evaluated on five main principles, namely commitment to core values, compliance with legal provisions, managerial discretion in taking actions, economic contributions and participatory mechanisms. The study found that, to some extent, the local people have been engaged in the implementation of AGA’s CSR activities. 25.2% were involved in project planning and design, and more than 80% were informed before the start of projects. Also, the results reveal that AGA’s mining activities have had both positive and negative impacts on the economic well-being of residents within the selected communities. The impact of AGA’s mining activities on the environment, especially on water quality, soil quality, sanitation and noise levels, was found to be negative, resulting in major health problems for residents in mining communities. As a contribution to knowledge, the study shows how community members (respondents) perceive AGA’s CSR activities as fulfilling just one aspect of CSR (philanthropic dimension) and not necessarily rectifying the effect of their mining activities on the environment (ethical dimension). The study therefore recommends that comprehensive CSR measures principled through the lens of nonphilanthropic considerations be developed to reverse the general negative outcomes of mining on communities economically, socially and environmentally, especially regarding the growing unemployment and displacement of communities.Inhloso yalolu cwaningo kwakuwukuhlonza nokuhlola ukuthi iNkampani yeMayini iAngloGold Ashanti (AGA) ikwaze kanjani ukusebenzisa izinqubomgomo zayo zegunya lokubambisana kwezenhlalo (GLK) ekusebenzeni kwayo, ngendlela yokubamba iqhaza, ekunikelweni entuthukweni esimeme emkhakheni esebenza kuyo. Kusetshenziswe indlela ehlanganisiwe. Iqoqo lamasampula ngaphansi kwesampula engahleliwe nezindlela zokwenza amasampula ahlosiwe asetshenziselwe ukukhetha bobabili abaphendulayo kanye nemiphakathi ethintekayo ezimayini. Kuhlolwe imiphakathi eyisithupha ivela kuMasipala wase-Obuasi esifundeni i-Ashanti eGhana. Izingxoxo zokubamba iqhaza, iqoqo lemibuzo, izingxoxo zamaqembu okugxilwe kuwo kanye namasu wokubuka ababambiqhaza asetshenziselwe ukuqoqa idatha. Ucwaningo lukhombe ukuthi izinhlelo ze(GLK) le-AGA zihlolwa ngemigomo engqala emihlanu, okungukuthi ukuzibophezela kumanani ayisisekelo, ukuhambisana nezinhlinzeko zomthetho, ukuqonda ekuthatheni izinyathelo ezithile, iminikelo yezomnotho nezindlela zokubamba iqhaza. Ucwaningo luthole ukuthi, ukuya ezingeni elithile, abantu bendawo babambe iqhaza ekwenzeni imisebenzi ye-AGA's ne GLK. Ama-25.2% abambe iqhaza ekuhleleni nasekuklanyweni kwamaphrojekthi, kwathi abangaphezu kuma80% aziswa ngaphambi kokuqala kwamaphrojekthi. Futhi, imiphumela iveza ukuthi imisebenzi yezimayini ye-AGA ibe nemithelela emihle nemibi enhlalweni yezomnotho yabahlali emiphakathini ekhethiwe. Umthelela wemisebenzi yezimayini ye-AGA emvelweni, ikakhulukazi kwizinga lamanzi, ikhwalithi yenhlabathi, ukuthuthwa kwendle namazinga omsindo, kutholakale kukubi, okuholele ezinkingeni ezinkulu zezempilo kubahlali emiphakathini yezimayini. Njengokunikela olwazini, ucwaningo lukhombisa ukuthi amalungu omphakathi (abaphendulayo) bayibona kanjani imisebenzi ye-AGA's CSR njengokufeza isici esisodwa seGLK (ubukhulu bokusiza) hhayi ukuthi kulungiswe umthelela wemisebenzi yabo yezimayini emvelweni (ubukhulu bokuziphatha).Ngakho-ke ucwaningo luncoma ukuthi izinyathelo eziphelele ze-GLK eziqondiswa ngokusebenzisa ukuqondwa kwezinto ezingenkulu ezingezona zokusiza zithuthukiswe ukuguqula imiphumela emibi ejwayelekile yezimayini emiphakathini ngokwezomnotho, kwezenhlalo nangokwezemvelo, ikakhulukazi maqondana nokwanda kwemiphakathi engasebenzi kanye nokufundiswa kwayo.Maikemišetšo a dinyakišišo tše ke go tseba le go sekaseka bogolo bjo ka bjona Khamphani ya Moepo ya AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) e kgonnego go phethagatša melawana ya ona ya maikarabelo a khamphani setšhabeng (CSR) ka mešomong ya yona, ka mokgwa wa go kgatha tema ga badudi, ka nepo ya go tsenya letsogo go tlhabollo ya go ya go ile ka lefelong leo e šomelago go lona. Mokgwa wo o hlakantšego mekgwa o šomišitšwe ka mo dinyakišišong tše. Go dira sampole sehlopha ka fase ga mekgwa ya go dira sampole ka sewelo le go dira sampole ka maikemišetšo go šomišitšwe go kgetha bobedi baarabi le ditšhaba tšeo di amilwego ke meepo. Go ile gwa dirwa dinyakišišo go metse ye tshela ka Masepaleng wa Obuasi ka seleteng sa Ashanti sa Ghana. Dipoledišano tšeo baarabi ba kgathago tema ka go tšona, lenaneo la dipotšišo tša dinyakišišo, dipoledišano tša dihlopha tšeo di nepišitšwego le mekgwa ya go lekola bakgathatema e šomišitšwe go kgoboketša tshedimošo. Dinyakišišo di utollotše gore maitekelo a CSR a AGA a sekasekwa go melawana ye mehlano ye megolo, e lego boikgafo go maitshwaro a bohlokwa, go obamela ditlhagišo tša melao, sephetho sa ba taolo sa go tšea dikgato, seabe sa ekonomi le mekgwa ya go kgatha tema. Dinyakišišo di utollotše gore, go fihla mo go itšego, go rerišanwe le batho ba tikologo ka go phethagatšeng ga ditiro tša CSR tša AGA. 25.2% ya bona e kgathile tema ka peakanyong le tlhamo ya protšeke, gomme palo ya go feta 80% e tsebišitšwe pele ga ge diprotšeke di ka thoma. Gape, dipoelo di utolla gore mešomo ya meepo ya AGA e bile le bobedi diabe tše botse le tše mpe go seemo sa ekonomi sa badudi ka metseng ye e kgethilwego. Seabe sa mešomo ya meepo ya AGA go tikologo, kudukudu go boleng bja meetse, go boleng bja mobu, go kelelatšhila le go maemo a lešata, go hweditšwe gore e bile ao a sego a loka, gomme se ile sa feletša ka mathata a magolo a tša maphelo go badudi ba ka metseng yeo meepo e lego gona. Bjalo ka seabe go tsebo, dinyakišišo di bontšha ka fao maloko a setšhaba (baarabi) ba bonago mešomo ya CSR ya AGA e lego yeo e phethagatšago fela selo se tee sa CSR (e lego ditiro tša go abela setšhaba) e sego go phošolla seabe sa mešomo ya bona ya meepo go tikologo (e lego ditiro tša maitshwaro). Dinyakišišo ka fao di šišinya gore magato ka kakaretšo a CSR ao a beilwego go se gwa lebelelwa go abela setšhaba a phethagatšwe ka nepo ya go phošolla dipoelo tša kakaretšo tšeo di sego tša loka tša mešomo ya meepo go ditšhaba mabapi le tša ekonomi, tša leago le tikologo, kudukudu mabapi le go tlhokego ya mešomo ye e golago le go tloša ditšhaba mafelong a tšona.Development StudiesD. Phil. (Developmental Studies

SERVICE CONVENIENCE AND MARKETING PERFORMANCE IN FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS IN RIVERS STATE

The study investigated the relationship between service convenience and marketing performance of fast food restaurants in Port Harcourt. There specific objectives were to determine the relationship between decision convenience and customer satisfaction and ascertain the relationship between access convenience and customer satisfaction in fast food restaurants in Port Harcourt. Descriptive research design was employed. The service convenience dimensions were tested to determine and measure the relationship with marketing performance using Pearson Correlation Coefficient with the help of SPSS (version 21) in order to interpret the customers’ response towards the convenience factors. The questionnaires were filled by the respondents selected conveniently from 52 fast food restaurants that made up the population. The findings revealed positive and significant relationship between service convenience and marketing performance measures. The study concluded that, a relationship exists between service convenience and marketing performance. It was therefore recommended that marketing communicating programmes should be very clear to aid consumers to make quick and dependable purchase decisions, and fast food organisations should design a customer centric service system that is capable of minimizing the efforts of customers to gain access to service points

How the participation in STME clinic encourage female students to continue the study of Science, Technology and Mathematics in higher institutions.

The study assessed how the participation in Science Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) clinic encourage female students to continue the study of science, technology and mathematics in higher institution. The research design used was the descriptive survey. Convenient sampling method was used in selecting the participants for the study. A total of 157 female students from Senior Secondary Schools in (12) twelve districts in the Central Region participated in the study. The study revealed that there was no statistically significant improvement in the performance of females in mathematics as well as in science. However, the study indicated a remarkable change in the females’ attitude towards the study of the subjects. In addition, the study shown that participation in the STME clinic goes a long way to motivate the participants to continue the study of science technology and mathematics in higher institutions and edges them to take a science oriented careers. It is recommended, among others, that the clinic coordinators should give much attention to activities that will help improve test results in science and mathematics. It is also recommended that Junior Secondary School girls who participate in Form one should be made to attend each year till they get to the third year of the senior secondary school. Keywords: Technology, clinic, participation, career guidance

Evaluasi Kinerja Jembatan Penyeberangan

Fasilitas pendukung seperti jembatan penyeberangan akan sangat membantu pergerakan pejalan kaki, karena letak fasilitas-fasilitas umum yang menyebar ke seluruh kawasan. Akan tetapi pada jembatan penyeberangan di Jl. Slamet Riyadi tepatnya di depan solo square ini masih belum dimanfaatkan secara optimal. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kesesuaian penempatan jembatan penyeberangan baik secara teknis maupun secara desain standart khusus serta respon masyarakat yang menggunakan dan potensial pengguna fasilitas jembatan penyeberangan. Penelitian dilakukan satu kali secara serempak pada 4 zona yang berbeda pada lokasi survai, mulai dari persimpangan faroka sampai persimpangan kerten. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui perhitungan jumlah kendaraan dan julah pejalan kaki, pengukuran dimensi jembatan serta penyebaran kuisioner kepada 30 responden pada setiap zona yang berbeda. Hasil analisa data jumlah kendaraan dan pejalan kaki dianalisa dengan rumus PV2,sedangkan untuk dimensi jembatan dibandingkan dengan syarat desain standart khusus. Perbandingan berbagai faktor yang mempengaruhi pemanfaatan jembatan penyeberangan dianalisa dengan metode statistik untuk menetukan modus pada setiap jawaban kuisioner. Hasil analisa menunjukkan bahwa fasilitas yang sesuai pada zona 1, 2 dan 4 sudah sesuai dengan kenyataan dilapangan, akan tetapi pada zona 4 direkomendasikan lampu pengatur saja. Untuk desain konstruksi jembatan penyeberangan sudah sesuai dan layak untuk menunjang kenyamanan dan keamanan pengguna jembatan penyeberangan. Sedangkan mayoritas responden menjawab setuju pada setiap variabel pertanyaan yang diajukan pada kuisioner. Oleh sebab itu, perlu adanya kajian dan pertimbangan yang matang apabila akan membangun sebuah fasilitas baru pada suatu lokasi, supaya fungsi dari fasilitas tersebut bisa dioptimalkan dengan baik