THE` NEED FOR THE STUDY OF MUSIC THERAPY IN GHANAIAN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS.

Philosophers, priests, medical men, scientists, educationist, psychologists and musicians have observed and sometimes made use of the healing power of music. However, the practice of music therapy with trained personnel (the music therapist) who has acquired the necessary skill and knowledge is a modern phenomenon. Music therapy is used to improve social interaction and communication. It is also known to develop and improve the attention span and the ability to follow directions. It aids in the development of senses by improving sensory functions such as self-awareness, textures, spatial awareness, orientation, and body sensations. The object of this paper is to sensitize educators in Ghanaian tertiary institutions to consider the establishment of music therapy as a rational discipline which can add to music, a new dimension in the school environment, and open job avenues for the youth in Ghana. It is however refreshing to note that the Methodist University College Ghana, is preparing to commence a reflexology center which will combine the practice of music therapy and body massage. Considering the immense contribution of music therapy to physical, emotional, and mental health; it becomes imperative that tertiary institutions in Ghana consider it as one of their course structures. Furthermore, it can open more job avenues for the youth and add new dimensions to the study of music in Ghana

MUSIC SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT FOR GHANAIAN MUSIC EDUCATORS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS.

During the 20th Century, the field of education witnessed dramatic changes in pedagogical strategies engendered by information and communication technology (ICT). Computer-assisted instruction has, in some instances, replaced the student-instructor interaction in the teaching and learning environment.  Arts educators, who, for a long time, adopted the apprenticeship approach to teaching, where the master artistes teach the novices, have also embraced the computer-assisted interactive approach. Since the year 2000, Departments of Music in Ghanaian Universities have been exposed to innovative teaching in which ICT is employed. However, in the area of music instructional technology, little has been done by Ghanaian music educators, especially in the area of music software development.  The purpose of this paper therefore is to encourage music educators in tertiary institutions to acquire skills in the development of music software and utilize them for the enhancement of teaching and learning

Processing and Characterization of Activated Carbon from Coconut Shell and Palm Kernel Shell Waste by H3PO4 Activation

Palm kernel shell and coconut shell are used as a precursor for the production of activated carbon, a way of mitigating the tons of waste produced in Ghana. The raw Palm kernel shell and coconut shell were activated chemically using H3PO4. A maximum activated carbon yield of 26.3 g was obtained for Palm kernel shell and 22.9 g for coconut shell at 400oC, an impregnation ratio of 1.2 and 1-hour carbonization time. Scanning electron microscopy reveals well-developed cavities of the H3PO4 activated coconut shell and Palm kernel shell compared to the non-activated carbon. Iodine number of 743.02 mg/g and 682.11 mg/g, a porosity of 0.31 and 0.49 and the electrical conductivity of 2010 μS/cm and 778 μS /cm were obtained for the AC prepared from the coconut shell and Palm kernel shell respectively. The results of this work show that high-quality activated carbon can be manufactured locally from coconut shell and Palm kernel shell waste, and a scale-up of this production will go a long way to reduce the tons of coconut shell and Palm kernel shell waste generated in the country

A comparative review of the mineralogical and chemical composition of African major bauxite deposits

Bauxite, which is the main raw material that aluminium is extracted from was discovered in Africa in the early 1900s. Currently, the production and export capacities of the African Bauxite ore are about a third of the World's total capacity. However, the processes leading to the final finished product of; surface mining of the ore, refining ore into alumina and finally extracting the pure aluminium metal in high energy consuming smelters that employ the Hall-Héroult electrolysis process; seldom take place inside Africa. The main goal of this work is to analyse the mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of bauxite deposits from some prominent bauxite producing and exporting countries of Africa in order to fashion out if a trend exist for the type of source rocks. Judging from the data obtained, gibbsite is found to be the main aluminium oxide in all the bauxite deposits with slight occurrence of boehmite in 3 out of the 13 deposits, while goethite is the main oxyhydroxide iron mineral. The compiled results of the various investigations highlighted the fact that the deposits are of diverse qualities with respect to world standard of major element content of bauxite; with average percentage concentration in the ranges as: Al2O3 (43.73–61.25), Fe2O3 (1.55–34.25), SiO2 (0.42–10.84); except two of the deposits with alumina content less than 40%. With evaluated silica moduli less than 8 for only two (2) of the deposits (4.76 and 6.94), the rest have higher moduli that ranges between (14.49 and 75.45). The higher percentage of iron oxide content (>20) in six (6) out of the 13 ore deposits, allowed the deposits to be grouped into three (3) categories of grades; high alumina ore, ferruginous ore, siliceous ore and combination of each. Source rock of the deposits were determined through geochemical and petrographic considerations of laterisation products of the rocks through evaluation of the weathering indices of; Chemical Index of Alteration which was in the range (97.16–99.98) while the Ruxton ratio ranged between (0.0133–0.2100); signifying the parent rock underwent intensive weathering process. This is indicative of the source rocks of the Bauxite deposits being either (i) anorthositic, (ii) argillite and dolerite, (iii) granulite and feldspathic gneiss, and/or, (iv) mafic-basaltic andesite igneous. Awareness of new and yet-to-commence emerging bauxite producing African countries was created, by highlighting the economic impact those respective countries will experience when that mining sector is developed for the aluminum industry at home and world at large