Blended learning for project management

Students studying at postgraduate level should engage in learning on higher cognitive levels such as evaluation and creation. The notion of effective learning at this level is characterised by the student’s ability to use acquired knowledge and principles to solve complex problems. Learning theories advocate maximising student engagement with the learning resources in order to facilitate such effective learning. This can be achieved by addressing the following factors in curriculum design: accessibility, variety, formative assessment and the development of learning communities. This paper presents work done on a postgraduate level Project Management course to maximise the factors mentioned above, for example, with the introduction of automatically marked quizzes and the re-structuring of the course content. The content and delivery of the course was changed from weekly lectures and tutorial sessions (old system) to a web-based blended learning system (new system). Evaluation of the old and new systems was undertaken using questionnaires. The student evaluation suggests that the new system led to more effective learning. It is suggested that effective learning can be facilitated by a blended learning system

Mechanisms guiding the use of Individual Performance Related Pay (IPRP):a case study of three Ghanaian financial institutions

Growing levels of regulations by national governments, worldwide consolidation of firms and increasing customer expectations have made the global financial services industry very competitive (Tomasic 2011; Walter 2009). To motivate superior employee performance and drive aggressive deposit mobilisation in order to maximise profit, several financial services institutions are reported to be making extensive use of individual performance-related pay (IPRP) schemes as a reward strategy (Maycock, Auluck and Puplampu 2017). This research identifies and compares the mechanisms guiding the use of IPRP schemes within three Ghanaian financial services institutions, assessing whether culture and socio-economic context have an influence on its implementation. A multi-method qualitative research approach was adopted for this study. Data was drawn from publicly available data, corporate policy statements and multi-level, semi-structured interviews conducted with Human Resource Managers (N=6), Line Managers (N=28) and Lower-Level Employees (78) across three Ghanaian financial services institutions and key officials of the Ghanaian Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC). Thematic analysis of the findings revealed eight general characteristics that define the mechanisms guiding the use of IPRP within the organisations under study: 1) IPRP policy implementation and its use is far more advanced within the Ghanaian private sector than in the public sector; 2) the mechanisms guiding the practice of IPRP within the case examples under study are comparable to those of Western countries; 3) HR is the custodian of the IPRP system; 4) line managers are noted as the principal connections between IPRP policy development, use and implementation; 5) employees expressed a preference for avoiding uncertainty. They also acknowledged that the negative impact of IPRP on their well-being was due to shortfalls in their organisations’ IPRP policies and the high level of uncertainty within the Ghanaian socio-economic context; 6) there is no legal and regulatory framework for Ghanaian financial institutions regarding the use of IPRP; 7) customers and depositors are the focus of the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) business operation stipulations for Ghanaian financial services institutions. There are no stipulations regarding the employees of these institutions; 8) as a marketing strategy, more females are used in the sales and marketing team to convince potential customers (i.e. men) more easily. This qualitative study was limited to participants within the three Ghanaian financial services institutions selected for this study. The key focus was on the financial services sector because it is in this sector that IPRP has been embraced with fervour, due to the perceived need to engender more commercially aware behaviour among employees in an increasingly competitive industry – a need with which IPRP is assumed to be consistent (Bambrough 2016; Maycock 2009). Hence, while the results can be generalised to Ghana and financial services, they may not be generalisable to other sectors and countries characterised by different cultures and contexts. However, the approach adopted to find these results can be applied to a wide variety of situations, therefore allowing the examination of external validity. This research contributes significantly to the current literature on IPRP by providing a more in-depth understanding of how the unique Ghanaian cultural and socio-economic context shapes IPRP practice and the impact it has on employees within these organisations. To boost organisational productivity while fostering employee well-being and productivity, the study developed an IPRP framework. The framework stresses the importance of considering both the external and employee drivers of IPRP implementation for the Ghanaian ‘uncertainty avoidance’ culture and uncertain socioeconomic context, rather than adopting Western IPRP frameworks for implementation and use

Thermo-Mechanical Loading and Multi-Axial Response of Aluminum and Titanium Structural Alloys Using Neutrons and X-Rays

Structural alloys find use in a wide variety of areas; depending on the area of application these alloys can be subjected to considerably harsh environments. In this study the mechanical behavior of structural alloys of interest and the effect of fire damage on material properties was investigated. Face centered cubic aluminum alloys AA6061 and AA5083, and hexagonal closed packed titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V find applications in marine environments and in the aerospace industry. These alloys perform in circumstance where fire outbreaks commonly occur. Understanding of residual mechanical properties of structural materials and characterization of changes induced by fire damage are needed to accurately estimate life of structural components. Mechanical properties of undamaged materials were characterized using non-invasive diffraction tools (neutrons and x-rays); additional techniques such as digital imaging correlation and microscopy were employed to complement diffraction data. Samples were subjected to fire damage and material strength reduction was quantified. Mechanical testing involved tensile, torsional and combined tension/torsion loading measurements. Due to the source aluminum material, samples had a rectangular cross section; this introduced non-uniform stress/strain distributions during torsion and combined loading tests. Results show significant strength reduction in aluminum alloys due to recrystallization, grain re-orientation and loss of strengthening mechanisms. Neutron diffraction was found to be a useful tool in understanding deformation and yielding mechanisms. For structures in the field such as naval structures, a non-reactor based neutron diffractometer for stress measurements could be critical to rapidly assess state of damaged components. One of the main steps towards achieving a compact, portable diffraction instrument for bulk stress measurements is the development and integration of an appropriate detector. The detector of choice was an ANGER logic, scintillator-based detector capable of pulse shape discrimination to reduce effects of high background environments. Development is similar to what is required for a conventional neutron diffraction instrument. Components such as shielding, and slits have to be designed and detector operation has to be calibrated to accurately quantify acquired data. Instrument design and operation was successful. Data analysis showed high two-dimensional resolution; future work will aim at recording and quantifying strain induced diffraction peak shifts

A Critical Look at Ghana’s Human Capital Development Agenda: Where Do We Go From Here?

This lecture explores the extent to which Ghana has paid sufficient strategic attention to the development of skills, competencies and capacities which would propel consistent socio-economic development. It argues that many initiatives and efforts have been made in the area of education. However these have been unfocused, disparate, not strategic and wasteful. Five policy and implementation gaps are identified and five recommendations are proffered for urgent consideration by policy makers

Unhealthy Communication: Health Care Communication Between Majority and Minority Cultural Groups

Effective communication is important in almost every aspect of life. Within the medical setting, effective communication is paramount because the consequences of miscommunication can be deadly. In health care contexts interpersonal communication is not only affected by the nature of the interaction but also the power differentials between the people participating. The purpose of this paper is to examine how health care communication is affected by power dynamics. Specifically, it will look at the communication between majority-culture doctors and minority patients in order to advance the following argument: the asymmetrical power relationship between doctors and patients is exacerbated when doctors are from majority cultural backgrounds and patients are from minority cultural backgrounds, this is problematic because communication within a medical context is important for patient satisfaction, recall of information, and outcomes. Following the introduction, the literature review explores some of the trends in medical communication literature; these trends include discussions in the literature about the variables and behaviours that affect doctor-patient communication and the critical approach of research done on intercultural medical communication. The section after the literature review establishes that power gaps exist between doctors and patients as well as majority and minority cultural groups. The following paragraphs discuss the negative effects these power differentials have on the intercultural communication between patients and doctors when it comes to patient satisfaction, information recall, and outcomes, before coming to the conclusion that without clear expressions of their communicative differences the communication between these two groups will be compromised. &nbsp

Knowledge, Power, and Social Policy: John M. MacEachran and Alberta’s 1928 Sexual Sterilization Act

This article examines how academic knowledge and power have shaped the discourse on human classification and how political authorities use academic knowledge producers to legitimize public policy. Specifically, the article draws on the role of John M. MacEachran, a former academic at the University of Alberta, in the implementation of the Alberta 1928 Sexual Sterilization Act. The article argues that political authorities use academics and their knowledge in social policy when there is consistency with the interests of broader sociopolitical forces. Drawing on critical pedagogy, the selective use of academic knowledge-producers and the implications are discussed with reference to the relationship between educators and learners and university-society relations in general.Cet article traite, d’une part, de l’influence des connaissances et du pouvoir académiques sur le discours relatif à la classification des êtres humains et, d’autre part, de l’emploi par les autorités politiques des producteurs de connaissances académiques pour légitimer les politiques publiques. Plus précisément, l’article porte sur le rôle qu’a joué de John M. MacEachran, un ancien professeur à la University of Alberta, dans la mise en oeuvre de la loi albertaine de 1928 sur la stérilisation sexuelle. L’auteur maintient que les autorités politiques ont recours aux connaissances des professeurs d’université relatives aux politiques sociales quand il y a cohérence avec les intérêts des forces sociopolitiques plus générales. Puisant dans la pédagogie critique, l’auteur discute de l’emploi sélectif des connaissances académiques et de ses conséquences dans le contexte du rapport entre les éducateurs et les apprenants, et celui entre l’université et la société en général

Product Diversification to Improve Investment Returns for High-Net-Worth-Individuals in Ghana

The population of high-net-worth-individuals (HNWIs) in Ghana is projected to increase from 2,400 in 2015 to 4,900 by 2024. HNWIs in Ghana desire to have access to alternative investment instruments to enhance diversification and improve investment returns on their portfolios. Guided by the product-market-grid-model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore diversification strategies some fund managers use to improve returns for HNWIs. Twelve participants from 3 investment firms in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, including CEOs and fund managers with more than 5 years of professional and industry experience, participated in semistructured interviews. Observations and company documents served as secondary sources of data collection. Five themes emerged from the analysis of interview and document data: investment objectives and risk appetite level, product availability, asset allocation, limited knowledge and lack of sophistication, and, performance benchmarking. Findings may be used by fund managers to combine knowledge and innovation in identifying alternative investment options for HNWIs and improving investment returns. HNWIs may use their disposable income from returns to engage in entrepreneurial activities that may create employment opportunities and improve the economic environment in Ghana

Infrastructure and Capacity Development as a Catalyst for Regionalism and Economic Integration in Africa

The development prospects of any country or region requires a complex interaction of internal and external factors, as well as the availability and optimum combination of necessary and sufficient conditions, specifically human and physical resources. One particular variable and the source of intense interest has been the state of infrastructure, its quality within and beyond the national context. This interest has assumed a particularly significant place in the face of the growing relevance of regionalism in the development prospects of Africa. Indeed, infrastructure is of immense significance to regionalism, especially in the environment of contemporary globalization

COVID-19 pandemic: ten research questions Africa must answer for itself

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading through Africa and governments are making frantic efforts to control spread, hospitalizations and deaths. While control measures are being taken, research into the biomedical and socio-cultural aspects of the pandemic, relevant to the African population, should not be ignored. It should not be assumed that research performed in Asian, American and European populations will always be applicable to Africa. Rather, research should be done in Africa to answer questions peculiar to the epidemic on the continent and help inform international guidelines. National guidelines for treatment and prevention, patient recoveries and discharge, and public health control measures should be based on research performed in the appropriate context for them to be effective and robust. Urgent research is needed in viral immunology and shedding, treatment and prevention trials, protection of healthcare personnel, and antimicrobial use among others. In this article, we propose ten research questions that when answered in a timely manner by scientists in Africa, will enhance Africa’s response to the pandemic

Editorial

Two decades into the current millennium, there are still questions about the status and situatedness of Africa in the global community. One central question about Africa is the historical footprint and arrangements of the colonial occupiers. From this standpoint, additional questions center on the lived experiences of Africans, especially in terms of the colonial impact on settlement arrangements and planning models. Several policy initiatives aim to empower and improve the African condition from the global to the continental levels. From the global context, the United Nations-inspired Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000 to 2015) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2015 to 2030) are instructive. While the former goals focused on the Global South, which included the African subregion, the latter set of goals focused on both the Global North and Global South (Hanson, Puplampu and Shaw, 2018). The SDGs, especially SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), SDG 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), and SDG (partnership for the goals) are essential in addressing the nexus of the environment, human settlements, and global partnership. At the continental level is the African Union Agenda 2063 and its inspiring undertones of creating an Africa that Africans want based on sustainability (Africa Union et al., 2016). The important point is that both the global and continental policy initiatives have significant implications for any discussions on coloniality, autonomy, identity, and spatial justice, the issues at the heart of this special issue of the Journal of Inclusive Cities and Built Environment. It is thus an opportune time through this special issue to unpack how well contemporary policy and research on the continent have come to grips with the interplay between (de)coloniality, autonomy, identity, and spatial justice. The special issue aims to contribute in durable ways to the possibilities of reimagining space and place in the built environment from a decolonial lens. The reflections in this issue arise from engagement with questions of spatial difference, autonomy, identity, and change in Africa, aspects of which have become more apparent through the current debates on decolonization. These experiences form the basis of reflection stimulated in this issue to reflect on what confronts and motivates built environment knowledge holders in deepening the critique of past colonial injustices. The question of what the built environment (i.e., planning, urban planning, architecture, housing, social geography, and spatial planning) can do to contribute to the decolonial debate. Colonialism connotes a power relationship between the colonizer and the colonized, often expressed in a superior-inferior binary in state-to-state relations (Young, 2018; Whyte, 2018; Hechter, 2020). The legacies of colonialism are visible in a post-colonial society (MaldonadoTorres, 2017; Bonilla, 2020; Enns and Bersaglio, 2020, Patrick et al., 2022) and the pattern of power relations in such society (Ricaurte, 2019). While many may trace Africa’s colonial realities back to the conquest and subjugation of Africa in the slave trade era (Wabah and N-ue, 2020; Masaka, 2021), one can argue invariably that the official colonialization of Africa was formalized in the Berlin conference of 1884/85, chaired by Otto van Bismark (Idejiora-Kalu, 2019; Babatunde, 2020). The implications of this event for any conceptualization of African identity in the historical contemporary contexts cannot be overemphasized. Identity, it needs to be stressed, is about a sense of self and how others recognize and response to that sense of self. Indeed, is there an African identity currently in an era of neoliberal globalization