Government project failure in Ghana: a multidimensional approach

Purpose – This study assesses the extent of failure within Ghanaian government projects using multiple failure criteria. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a sequential data collection approach by employing an in-depth semi-structured interview and questionnaire respectively. Based on insight from the literature review, interviews were held with participants to solicit their perceptions about the failure of Ghanaian government projects. A questionnaire was developed based on the results from the interviews in order to determine the relative importance of the various failure criteria used as the evaluation tool. Findings – Six main criteria were identified and used as the assessment framework for Ghanaian government project failure. The findings indicated that Ghanaian government projects fail on all the six failure criteria; however, the extent of failure differs from criterion to criterion. The worst failure criterion is meeting the projected timescale. This is followed by cost, requirement, stakeholder satisfaction, national development and contribution to the sector where projects are implemented respectively. Practical implications – From this study, government project practitioners and policy makers will be able identify the failure areas (criteria) on which to focus during government project implementation. Originality/value – Though extant literature has been devoted to the success/failure criteria, attention has not been paid to comparison of the extent of failure within these criteria in government projects. Therefore, this study extends the literature in this regard as well as government project failure literature in general

We Know their House, Family and Workplace:Trust in Entrepreneurs' Trade Credit Relationships in Weak Institutions

This study explores the processes of trade credit relationship development and enforcement by SME entrepreneurs and the role of trust in a developing economy context. Drawing on institutional, trade credit and trust theories data was collected and analysed from 16 SMEs owner/managers trading across cultures using qualitative interview approach and thematic analysis. The results show that SMEs develop and enforce trade credit relationships through their embeddedness in institutional contexts. Secondly, they use personal trust and specific social-cultural norms in the enforcement of trade credit agreements in absence of formal institutional trust. Conclusion, implications, limitations and further studies are delineated

Factors influencing school building construction projects abandonment

Over the years, significant amount of money has been invested in public-sector school building construction projects by Ghanaian government, however, several of these buildings’ projects have suffered several set-backs such as total abandonment but rarely do researchers focus on these abandonments. This study, therefore, explored the factors that account for abandonment within the Ghanaian public education sector by focusing on Community Day Senior High School Buildings. Using questionnaire survey to solicit the information from contractors, project management practitioners and clients of the selected projects, we identified forty-two factors of abandonment. Employing factor analysis and structural equation modelling, the factors were categorised into five – political leadership, culture, external forces resources/funding and administrative/institutional. All these sets of factors were statistically significant in causing Ghanaian public-sector education building construction infrastructure projects abandonment. However, the most significant sets of factors are political leadership, followed by poor administrative/institutional practices, poor resource/funding, cultural factors and external forces

Benign mesenteric lymphangioma presenting as acute pancreatitis: a case report

Benign mesenteric lymphangiomas are rare intra-abdominal cysts which may be asymptomatic or present with a variety of abdominal symptoms including an acute abdomen. We are however not aware of any reports in the literature linking mesenteric lymphangioma to acute pancreatitis. We present the case of a 62-year-old man who was admitted with signs and symptoms of acute pancreatitis and a palpable abdominal mass. Computerised tomography (CT) of his abdomen confirmed the presence of a mesenteric cystic mass. He underwent a laparotomy at which a large thin walled mass filled with a chylous fluid was resected. Histological analysis of this cyst showed it to be a benign mesenteric lymphangioma

Track E Implementation Science, Health Systems and Economics

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138412/1/jia218443.pd

Spirituality effects on consumption behaviour in the fashion market industry and its importance for the development of successful marketing strategies: A comparative study of female consumers in the UK and Iran

This study aims to investigate the effects of spiritual beliefs of consumers on their consumption behaviour in the fashion industry. The lack of research in this field, as well as the growing interest of consumers around the world on spirituality has led to increased interest amongst scholars in a topic and makes this study very significant and timely for the fashion market industry. This investigation aims to compare spiritual consumers from the UK and Iran in order to identify the impact that religious, and socio-cultural beliefs may have on the spiritual consumer's buying patterns. The study will therefore identify appropriate marketing strategies, to enable the development of marketing value prepositions appropriate for this segmen

On the regulation of the intersection between religion and the provision of financial services: Conversations with market actors within the global Islamic financial services sector

The growth of Islamic finance in not only traditionally Islamic markets but also into more mainstream financial systems has raised several concerns about the development and robustness of its regulatory framework. Whilst there is a small but growing academic base of knowledge on Islamic financial regulation, our study differs from the extant literature by capturing market participant perspectives on these stylised debates on regulation in Islamic finance. In this regard, we bridge the gap within the academic literature through an exploration of how the specific types, processes and dimensions of Shariah financial regulation are developed and understood. The novelty of our findings lies in the divergence of market participants’ views and that of the theoretical literature enabling us to extend the conceptual framework on Islamic financial regulation thus enhancing our understanding of the core focuses in the development of sustainable regulation in Islamic finance in both developing and developed economies