Ideological discursive formations in an emerging democracy: The case of the presidential inaugural of Ghana in the Fourth Republic

The inaugural address has received a fair bit of scholarly attention due to the strength in the argument that it occupies an important position amongst discourses that can be termed political; and of course, the recognition that it performs an important political function within the state. The primary interest in the inaugural address has mainly been from the field of rhetoric and composition. This study approaches the inaugural from a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) perspective that allows for an examination of the discourse of governance as it is ideologically expressed in the inaugural address. Four (4) inaugural addresses of four (4) presidents within Ghana’s Fourth Republican tradition were purposefully selected to create a mini corpus for the study. Using the dialectical relational approach and drawing specifically on the concepts of subject positioning, agency in discourse and intertextuality, the analysis examines the ideological discursive formations of governance expressed in the inaugurals as discourse types as well as looks at the issues of subject positioning and agency and their ideological implications in the inaugural addresses. The analysis reveals that though there is an extent to which the ideological discursive formation of collectivism has been naturalised in the addresses, there exist differences in terms of how the subject is characterised within this collectivism. It also reveals that there are differences in how the principals of the two political traditions express agency within the addresses. We argue that these differences do construct and are constrained by the different ideological discursive formations of the two political traditions that have dominated Ghana’s political space

USING PHONIC METHOD TO IMPROVE POOR READING ABILITY OF PUPILS AT TECHIMAN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL FORM ONE

The study was undertaken to unearth and implore the necessary strategies to blend five and six letters to form a meaningful word. The research instrument used was test items. All the pupils in the class took the same test thus, pre-test. It was used to gather data baseline information before the research was carried out on them. Biographic data of their responses were analyzed, discussed and the findings brought to the face. The study revealed the areas in which the pupils falter when reading and the appropriate techniques and strategies were used to control its occurrence. Based on the findings, the researcher gave some recommendations. Teachers should have mastery over the subject matter and also use the appropriate methods in the teaching of the topic. Again, they should make their lessons child centered to avoid scaring the pupils off. The study further opens the door for more research into pupil’s inability to blend five and six letters to form meaningful words.  Article visualizations

Critical Barriers to Social Sustainability: the Quantity Surveyors’ Perspective

Although the advocacy for Social Sustainability consideration in the construction industry has been on the rise, however, the practice of Social Sustainability (SS) is plagued with many barriers. The barriers that hinder practices of SS in the construction industry has to be carried out. Notwithstanding, not much research works has been undertaken regarding the barriers that hinder SS in the construction industry. The aim of the study is to explore the critical barriers to social sustainability from the perspective of the quantity surveyor. A comprehensive literature review was conducted and nineteen (19) variables (barriers) were identified. Structured questionnaires were designed and were answered by 110 out of the total sample size of 120 Quantity Surveying professionals recognised by the Ghana Institute of Surveyors (GhIS) representing approximately 92% response rate. The data collected were analyse using Factor Analysis. The study found out that Socio-cultural barriers, Political and Technical barriers, knowledge or awareness barriers and financial barriers are the underlying group barriers for the 19 identified barriers. The study further revealed that, among the four underlying groups, Political and Technical barriers was the most dominant. This draws special attentions to the government’s position in ensuring effective consideration in promoting social sustainability practices as well as the technical knowledge needed in the SS practices in Ghana. The study as well raises the awareness and the need to ensure adequate education, training and professional development. Again, this study adds to sustainability literature by analysing the critical barriers to achieving social sustainability from the perspective of the Quantity Surveyor. The findings and recommendations of this study will help practitioners and policy makers in taking appropriate measures to overcome the barriers and thereby promoting the integration of social sustainability into quantity surveying practices

LEXICAL CHOICES IN “THE ROAD NOT TAKEN”, A POEM WRITTEN BY ROBERT FROST (1874-1963)

This paper attempts to analyse the Lexical Choices in Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken poem from the perspectives of stylistics. Stylistics is the study of style of language in literature. It seeks to account for the interpretative effects of a text through close study of its linguistic detail, such as syntactic structuring, semantic deviation, deixis, modality, etc. A piece of work cannot be properly understood without a thorough knowledge of the language, which is its medium of expression. Each register has its own characteristics style with certain lexical and grammatical choices. Poets, particularly modern ones, have successfully freed themselves from constraints of what is so called “poetic language (Sharma, 2009: 31). In this write up, the value of the game considers the lexical choices in the poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost in the following categories: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, lexical categories such as synonymy, antagonymy, contradiction and their significance or effects in the poem.  Article visualizations

Enhancing Science Process Skills and Academic Performance in Biology: The Impact of Practical Work

Purpose of the study: This study aims to determine whether the use of practical work can enhance General Science students’ science process skills acquisition and academic performance students in biology at Juaben Senior High School in Ghana. The study sought to answer two research questions and test one hypothesis at a 0.05 significance level.   Methodology: The study used action research, and the sample consisted of 45 students, selected through convenience sampling. The study used various instruments, including pre- and post-tests, weekly intervention exercises, and scoring rubrics, to collect data. The analysis of the gathered data employed descriptive statistics and a paired sample t-test to reveal and solidify the findings of the study. Main Findings: According to the study’s results, the use of practical work resulted in a steady increase in students’ acquisition of science process skills in each cycle, and all students were able to demonstrate some degree of required science process skills at the post-test level in contrast to the pre-test level. Furthermore, the pre- and post-test outcomes of a paired sample t-test analysis with a 95% confidence level showed a significant improvement in the academic performance of the students, attributed to practical work. Novelty/Originality of this study: This research update confirms the need for practical work in biology education and shows that incorporating it into biology lessons enhances students’ acquisition and development of science process skills, which in turn enhances their academic performance

CULTURE: A VESSEL FOR FEMALE SUBORDINATION IN THREE AFRICAN NOVELS

Since the dawn of time, women generally have had fewer legal rights and status in society than their male counterparts. The continuous subordination and suppression of women are further aggravated by traditions, cultural beliefs and religions of most societies which favor patriarchy. Using the radical feminist approach, the present paper attempts an exploration of patriarchy as an aspect of culture which helps to subordinate women as highlighted in Nawal El Saadawi’s A Woman at Point Zero (1983), Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood (1979), and Amma Darko’s  Beyond the Horizon (1995). It also examines the steps taken by the women to free themselves from the “chains” of male domination and oppression. The study revealed that cultural practices such as polygamy, female genital mutilation and sexual abuse facilitate the abuse, subjugation and oppression of women in the novels under study. The study has implications for the theory of feminism and literary criticisms.  Article visualizations

Osteopontin silencing attenuates bleomycin-induced murine pulmonary fibrosis by regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common and most deadly form of interstitial lung disease. Osteopontin (OPN), a matricellular protein with proinflammatory and profibrotic properties, plays a major role in several fibrotic diseases, including IPF; OPN is highly upregulated in patients' lung samples. In this study, we knocked down OPN in a bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF) mouse model using small interfering RNA (siRNA) to determine whether the use of OPN siRNA is an effective therapeutic strategy for IPF. We found that fibrosing areas were significantly smaller in specimens from OPN siRNA-treated mice. The number of alveolar macrophages, neutrophils, and lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was also reduced in OPN siRNA-treated mice. Regarding the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins, the administration of OPN-siRNA to BLM-treated mice upregulated E-cadherin expression and downregulated vimentin expression. Moreover, in vitro, we incubated the human alveolar adenocarcinoma cell line A549 with transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta 1 and subsequently transfected the cells with OPN siRNA. We found a significant upregulation of Col1A1, fibronectin, and vimentin after TGF-beta 1 stimulation in A549 cells. In contrast, a downregulation of Col1A1, fibronectin, and vimentin mRNA levels was observed in TGF-beta 1-stimulated OPN knockdown A549 cells. Therefore, the downregulation of OPN effectively reduced pulmonary fibrotic and EMT changes both in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, our results indicate that OPN siRNA exerts a protective effect on BLM-induced PF in mice. Our results provide a basis for the development of novel targeted therapeutic strategies for IPF

Potential of a Novel Chemical Compound Targeting Matrix Metalloprotease-13 for Early Osteoarthritis: An In Vitro Study

Osteoarthritis is a progressive disease characterized by cartilage destruction in the joints. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTSs) play key roles in osteoarthritis progression. In this study, we screened a chemical compound library to identify new drug candidates that target MMP and ADAMTS using a cytokine-stimulated OUMS-27 chondrosarcoma cells. By screening PCR-based mRNA expression, we selected 2-(8-methoxy-2-methyl-4-oxoquinolin-1(4H)-yl)-N-(3-methoxyphenyl) acetamide as a potential candidate. We found that 2-(8-methoxy-2-methyl-4-oxoquinolin-1(4H)-yl)-N-(3-methoxyphenyl) acetamide attenuated IL-1 beta-induced MMP13 mRNA expression in a dose-dependent manner, without causing serious cytotoxicity. Signaling pathway analysis revealed that 2-(8-methoxy-2-methyl-4-oxoquinolin-1(4H)-yl)-N-(3-methoxyphenyl) acetamide attenuated ERK- and p-38-phosphorylation as well as JNK phosphorylation. We then examined the additive effect of 2-(8-methoxy-2-methyl-4-oxoquinolin-1(4H)-yl)-N-(3-methoxyphenyl) acetamide in combination with low-dose betamethasone on IL-1 beta-stimulated cells. Combined treatment with 2-(8-methoxy-2-methyl-4-oxoquinolin-1(4H)-yl)-N-(3-methoxyphenyl) acetamide and betamethasone significantly attenuated MMP13 and ADAMTS9 mRNA expression. In conclusion, we identified a potential compound of interest that may help attenuate matrix-degrading enzymes in the early osteoarthritis-affected joints

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London