THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF THE U.S.-MEXICO FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: ANALYSIS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL FAST TRACK VOTE

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the strategic forces shaping U.S.-Mexico trade relationships and the possibilities of extending the trade agreement to the rest of the Americas. The paper concludes that constituency interests, party loyalty, the proportion of a state's population of Hispanic origin, and the influence of textile-related employment in the state were significant explanatory factors in the Congressional Fast Track vote that occurred in May of 1991.Free trade agreement, Fast track, Textiles, Congressional voting, International Relations/Trade, Political Economy,

Continuing the Tradition: Employing Tested and Emerging Economic Tools in Framing Sustainability Challenges for a Global Economy

Economists have been successful in bringing their definitional and analytical tools to many of the problems that have confronted society over the past century and more, from Smith’s explanation of how nations produce wealth to Arrow’s explanation of the impossibility of social choice and Keynes’ general theory of money and interest. With the issue of sustainability, we draw on economic agents’ attempts at rational choice under uncertainty to understand the opportunities and challenges. We argue that employing system dynamic modeling approach to the problem could offer careful assessment of the soundness of sustainability strategies.Sustainability, Adaptive Management, System Dynamic Modeling, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Data Accuracy and Completeness of Monthly Midwifery Returns Indicators of Ejisu Juaben Health Directorate of Ghana

The broad range of activities contained in the provision of Primary Health Care (PHC) places a burden on providers to make optimal use of limited resources to achieve maximal health benefit to the population served. All too often, ad hoc decisions and personal preferences guide PHC resource allocations, making accountability for results impossible. Problems constraining Routine Health Information System (RHIS) performance in low-income countries include: poor data quality; limited use of available information; weaknesses in how data are analyzed and poor RHIS management practices. This study sought to investigate these constraints. A non-experimental before and after study involving bassline assessment of data accuracy and completeness, application of innovative strategies such as mentoring and coaching of Health Information Officers in data quality improvement process. Coincidentally, the intervention improved both data accuracy and completeness performance significantly among the participating facilities. The outstanding performance may be attributed to management's new orientation and growing interest towards quality data. Engaging frontline staff in data quality improvement work and provision of regular feedback leads to improvement in data accuracy and completeness. This has implications for decision-making and resource allocation, especially in low-income countries, where the routine health information management system relies heavily on paper work

Evaluation of the Effects of Cadmium in Soil on the LC50 of Soil Bacteria and Fungi for Environmental Monitoring

Contamination of soil with heavy metals by is currently of global concern. Cadmium (Cd) is one of the metals of concern. In the current study, LC50 of Cd to soil bacteria and fungi was used to assess the impact of anthropogenicactivity in development of Cd tolerance in soil microorganisms. Levels of Bio-physicochemical parameters in soil were determined. Results show that the concentration of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) and Cd in soil ranged between 5.09±0.33 to 9261.94±287.67, and 0.023±0.015 to 0.057±0.012 ppm respectively. There was significant difference (p = 0.001) in LC50 for fungi between the study and control samples. Pearson correlation showed that there was significant relationship (r = 0.30) between LC50 for bacteria and TPH. There was significant difference (p = 0.017) in LC50 values among the study and control samples for fungi. Anthropogenic activities influenced the concentrations of TPH soil but did not influence levels of Cd

Assessment of Ni Toxicity to Fungi and Bacteria in Oil Tainted Soils in Greater Port Harcourt Area, Nigeria

Intensified urbanization and industrialization are rapidly triggering the release of pollutants to the environment. This study determined the extent of soil contamination with Nickel (Ni) in oil mining areas and its effect on the levels of Ni tolerance by fungi and bacteria. The total CFUs/g of soil were enumerated after a culture period of 7 days at 28°C and LC50 was determined using probit and regression analysis. The mean values of Ni were 1.38±0.23 in industrial area, 1.41±0.36 ppm in agricultural area and 1.02±0.64 in urban area. The mean values of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) were 4,405.46 ppm in industrial area, 55.65 ppm in agricultural area and 1,304.53 ppm in urban area. Nickel’s peak concentration indicating growth of both fungi and bacteria at 150 ppm. There was significant difference (p ≤ 0.000) in the mean levels of LC50 for fungi among the study sites. There was no significant correlation between the concentration of TPH in soil and LC50 of fungi (r = -0.169) and bacteria (r = 0.042). In conclusion, TPH influenced the levels of fungi and bacteria tolerance to Ni in soils. Moreover, it was observed that LC50 can be a reliable method for monitoring chemically resistant microorganisms directly in the environment to improve the use of microorganisms for the bioremediation of oil contaminated soils and in monitoring of antibiotic resistant microorganisms in natural ecosystems

Multi-couple group and self-directed PREP formats enhance relationship satisfaction and improve anger management skills in Air Force couples

This study examined the effectiveness of delivering the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP) to volunteer couples in the U.S. Air Force in either a six-week instructional multi-couple group condition or a self-directed book condition. A standardized pre/post protocol was employed and outcomes included relationship satisfaction and anger management skills, two known risk factors for partner maltreatment. Significant improvement was found for the group condition in both relationship satisfaction and anger management skills, but only for anger management skills in the self-directed book condition. Finally, the group condition reported greater program satisfaction. Implications are discussed

Analysis of seed yam varieties, sources and quantity demanded by farmers in major yam producing districts in Ghana

The study analysed the varieties, sources and quantities of seed yam demanded by farmers for cultivation in order to inform policies aimed at ensuring adequate supply of quality seed yam of desirable varieties at an affordable price to boost yam productivity for improved income and livelihoods. A structured questionnaire was administered to 380 randomly selected yam farmers in three major yam producing districts in Ghana in 2015. The data analysis was done using STATA statistical software. The study identified Pona/Punjo, Lariboko, Asana, Afebetuye, Dente, Olondo and Kparinjo as the yam varieties mainly cultivated by farmers in a reducing order with high market demands by consumers. Own production remains the major source of seed yam for farmers. The estimated monetary value of quantity of seed yam used by farmers for cultivation in 2014 farming season was GH¢ 198, 552,841.0 (USD 51,706,469.0) in the study locations. About GH¢ 5,679,979.0 (USD 1,479,161.2) worth of quantities of seed yam was obtained from the market and other sources. The results demonstrate the existence of market potential for commercial seed yam production and supply in Ghana. Commercial seed yam certification system and yam breeding activities should target the identified yam varieties

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV patients in Ghana: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Maintaining a high level of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is critical to limiting rapid viral replication, drug resistance, and viral transmission. However, ART adherence remains a major challenge in HIV/AIDS treatment success. This systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed to synthesize available evidence on adherence to ART among HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana.This review followed the preferred reporting item for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) criteria. A comprehensive literature search was done using five online databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline, Africa Index Medicus, and Willey Online Library) from 25th- 30th April 2023 to identify potential studies. In addition, references of related articles were manually searched to further identify relevant studies. Search records were managed in Endnote library where duplicates were removed prior to screening. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were conducted in Ghana, designed as an observational or experimental study, and explicitly measured adherence to ART, either as a primary or secondary outcome. Studies were excluded if the proportion or prevalence of adherence to ART was not reported.A total number of 126 potential studies were identified from the literature search. Of these, 14 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the Meta-analysis. The studies involved a total number of 4,436 participants. The pooled estimate of adherence to ART was 70% (CI: 58–81%). In subgroup analysis, adolescents and young adults had a lower adherence rate (66%, CI: 46–84%) compared with adults (70%; CI: 58–81%). Publication bias was not observed among studies. The pooled estimate of optimal adherence to ART among HIV patients in Ghana was lower than is recommended (≥95%) to achieve viral suppression. Adherence was lower among young persons living with HIV/AIDS. To achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable development goals and the UNAIDS “95-95-95” targets, there is a need to focus on improving adherence interventions among persons living with HIV/AIDS, especially among the younger cohort

A Latent Class Modelling Approach to Evaluating Farmer’s Preferences for Pona Seed Yam Certification System and Their Willingness to Pay in Ghana

The study employed choice experiment and latent class model to assess farmers’ preferences for seed yam certification system and their willingness to pay for certified seed yam in selected yam producing Districts in Ghana. A total of 9120 choice experiments were conducted to elicit data from 380 yam farmers. The study identified three classes/ market segments of farmers regarding preferences for Pona seed yam. The results show that farmers have more utility towards fully certified seed yam and are willing to pay GH¢719.60 (US$189.4) for a bunch (100 tubers weighing about 45kg) of fully certified seed yam. However, farmers were found to have high utility towards medium-sized Pona seed yam and are willing to pay a premium of GHC¢12.5 (US$3.3) for this attribute. The study has demonstrated high potential for the commercialization of seed yam production in Ghana through a formal seed yam certification system

Impact evaluation of a quality improvement intervention on maternal and child health outcomes in Northern Ghana: early assessment of a national scale-up project

To evaluate the influence of the early phase of Project Fives Alive!, a national child survival improvement project, on key maternal and child health outcomes