Private Returns to Education in Ghana: Implications for Investments in Schooling and Migration

This study examines private returns to schooling in Ghana over a seven-year period, and the implications for school investments and migration. Using data from the 1992 and 1999 Ghana living standards surveys and ordinary least squares technique, we find that the private returns to schooling at higher levels of education have increased for both female and male workers. For female workers, the return to an additional year of secondary schooling increased from 7.3% in 1992 to 12.3% in 1999. In the case of tertiary education, the change is from 11.4% in 1992 to 18.4% in 1999. For male workers the return to an additional year of secondary education decreased from about 7% to 6%, while the return to tertiary education increased from about 13% to 19%. Generally, the rising rates of return at higher school levels have coincided with a similar trend in school attendance rates for female and male children. The spatial analysis implies a rural-urban gap in the returns to an additional year of tertiary education. Linking these results to migration, the data show a relatively low incidence of rural-to-urban migration, notwithstanding relatively higher earnings in urban areas. To sustain the gains realized in educational attainment, lingering issues of gender equity need to be addressed by policy makers so that females are not left behind in the intergenerational race for improvements in quality of life

Understanding socio-economic sustainability drivers of sustainable regeneration: an empirical study of regeneration practitioners in UK

The construction industry has been recognized as a major driver towards the delivery of UK sustainable regeneration objectives. Several construction organizations have played various roles in their quest to deliver sustainable regeneration projects in line with sustainable development objectives. Yet, to-date the delivery of such sustainable development objectives has continued to be an on-going challenge for these organizations involved in the delivery of regeneration projects. The study adopted an exploratory research approach, using a questionnaire survey to collect data from 193 construction organizations/practitioners involved in the delivery of sustainable regeneration projects in the UK. The findings revealed that the majority of construction organizations were promoting socio-economic sustainability principles to meet their own corporate business objectives. The findings further revealed that the majority of practitioners’ organizations were integrating socio-economic sustainability principles into their business practices because they believed doing so was the best way to gain advantage over their competitors and remain relevant in their market place

Testing emotion regulation as a functional transdiagnostic construct

The polythetic criteria of the DSM and ICD generate high amount of symptom heterogeneity as there are clusters of symptoms within various diagnostic category that are heuristically similar, resulting in multiple, often confusing, ways of describing sequelae of symptoms presentation. This is because the DSM and ICD classification systems were developed based on the neo-Kraepelinian framework for classifying physical illnesses, which assumes that the underlying architecture of psychopathology, which manifest in disorder symptoms, are distinct and specific. Based on this, the categorical approach to describing psychopathology has been described as purely conceptual artefact with no empirical basis in research or practice. Studies indicate that conceptualizing disorders based on their underlying etiology would yield more valuable information, by highlighting the functional liabilities that portend risks for disorder symptom presentation. As a result, various transdiagnostic models of psychopathology have been proposed to explain the underlying mechanism of disorder symptoms. However, existing transdiagnostic models of psychopathology are mostly atheoretical, as there is absence of a well-grounded conceptual formulation backing their fundamental assumptions. This has resulted in an explanatory vacuum regarding the structure of psychopathology etiology, frequent symptom heterogeneity within disorders, and non-specificity of disorder symptoms. Current study sought to explore these limitations by testing emotion regulation difficulties as a functional transdiagnostic construct that underlie symptoms of anxiety- and mood-related disorders, using factor-mixture modeling. The results of the study indicated that the best fitting model of the structure of emotion regulation difficulties is a hybrid model, consisting of two categories and six factors. The class status differentially predicted experiences of anxiety- and mood-related disorders, even after controlling for education, age, and adverse life events. The dimensions of emotion regulation difficulties suggested that variations in the severity of psychopathology symptoms within the classes occurred based on six distinct factors, resulting in heterogeneity of symptoms within classes and comorbidity among symptoms of different disorders. Overall, the study results provide support for emotion regulation difficulties as a functional transdiagnostic construct across symptoms of psychopathology

Elucidation of the Role of DNA-Damage Response Genes in the Tumor Microenvironment and Molecular Characterization of a “Tropical” Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cohort

In most human cancers such as diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), major genes of the DNA damage response (DDR) complex such as TP53, suffers inactivating mutations and dysregulation that impairs DNA repair processes and apoptotic machinery relevant for treatment. Despite the successes with Chemoimmunotherapy (CIT), many B-cells malignancies remain a major clinical challenge as therapy resistance account for 90% of cancer related fatalities. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is particularly culpable. Protumorigenic TME promotes complex crosstalk of tumor and stroma cells to facilitate tumor survival, proliferation, immune escape and metastasis. This study elucidated the role of DDR in TME interactions and characterized molecular signature of Ghanaian CLL cohort. Using shRNA to downregulate DDR genes in an ABC-subtype of DLBCL cell line we demonstrate that, functional TP53 and ATX (SMG-1) genes are critical for ADCP of DLBCL cells and that loss of TP53 and ATX in DLBCL induce resistance towards CIT by inhibition of macrophage effector functions through changes in formation/secretion of cellular secretome. Additionally, phagocytosis is significantly enhanced in ABC-DLBCL expressing high levels of PD-L1 and CD47 antigens when treated in vitro with CIT/anti-CD47, anti-PD-L1 or anti-PD1 combination. Particularly, CD47/Sirp-α blockade circumvent impaired ADCP due to TP53, ATX, KD providing a rational for incorporation of checkpoint inhibitors into current R-CHOP regimen for the management of TP53, ATX mutated, resistant/refractory ABC-DLBCL. Characterization of tropical African CLL showed females predominant incidence (51.1% vs 48.9%), lower median age of incidence (59yrs with 42.2% < 55yrs) compared to Western CLL which shows predominant males incidence (2:1) with a higher median age (71yrs, with 5-11% < 55yrs). Measurement of informative molecular markers showed 80% good prognosis by ZAP-70 and CD38 but 88.4% presentation at late clinical stage of disease, higher monotypic sIgM than dual IgM+/IgD+ (54.5% vs 34.1%) compared to predominant dual IgM+/IgD+ expression among European patients. These differences in CLL biology and clinical outcome may reflect interplay of genetic and environmental factors among racial groups in different geographical settings

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF REGISTERED NURSES’ EXPERIENCES IN PATIENT INFORMATION PRIVACY AND SECURITY WITHIN THE PROVINCES OF ALBERTA(AB) AND SASKATCHEWAN(SK)

The purpose of this qualitative research was to gain a better understanding of the experiences of registered nurses in patient information privacy and security in Alberta (AB) and Saskatchewan (SK) health regions. Studies of this nature are rarely if ever conducted as topics like ethics, breaches, and self-reflection of our own professional practices are sensitive in nature to all health care professionals. Exploring patient information security/privacy falls into this delicate and complex category. As an outsider to the nursing profession/discipline,I had the privilege of conducting this study.Surprisingly, twenty nurses from the medical/surgical/critical care specialties did agree to participate in this study. Interpretive Description (ID) was the methodology chosen for this study. Face to face interviews were conducted with twelve nurses from large and small cities in each of two neighboring Prairie provinces in Canada. Nine nurses from AB and eleven nurses from SK shared their experiences of compliance to their regulatory health information Acts in each province: The Alberta Health Information Act (HIA), and the Saskatchewan Health Information Protection Act (HIPA). Unexpectedly, new definitions of what constitutes patient information privacy and security, and what comprises a breach of patient information occurring was interpreted from the data.These new key definitions were interpreted from the described experiences of the nurses themselves, as the trusted protector of patient information. Comparisons were made between the two provinces on the perceptions/experiences of nurses with regard to the security and privacy of electronic records compared to paper records.A trusted relationship builds between the nurse and the patient with regard to patient or health information. Family relationships were to be among the most challenging. Breaches were found to occur intentionally or unintentionally.Findings and recommendations from this study will add to the knowledge-base of nursing and health care professional practice, ethics and informatics. The findings could also positively influence the personal attitudes of nurses towards patient information privac

The Hamartia of Aristotle

The term hamartia, as it appears in Aristotle s Poetics, has baffled critics. Two schools of thought have dichotomized the meaning of the word. While the first attempts to explain it in terms of moral evil and proposes tragic suffering as the retributive consequence of a "tragic flaw" in the individual's character, the second rejects this moral interpretation but is unable to find a suitable interpretation or explanation for the word. The moral schools interpretation of hamartia is based on a perceived direct link between tragic character and tragic purpose, with tragic action being assigned a subordinate status. However, a careful scrutiny of the Poetics reveals that tragic flaw or moral weakness is not one of the requirements of tragedy and that a hero's misfortune is due, not to his nature, but to the wrong he has committed, either through ignorance or out of duty. Moreover, to Aristotle the requisite for consideration is positive, not negative character traits as in a tragic flaw, and tragic acts are committed not in character but out of character. A tragic hero, by his hamartia, brings a dislocation in the natural order. When he is punished, the disruption is removed and harmony is restored to the universe

Strengthening Organizational Performance through Integration of Systems Leadership, Participatory Communication, and Dynamic Capabilities

This dissertation seeks to include systems leadership and participatory communication as facilitators of the elements that enhance dynamic organizational capabilities to improve performance. The study employs the normative theory-building process to show how systems leadership and participatory communication can facilitate and enhance dynamic capabilities. Specifically, this dissertation offers an integrative model that combines systems leadership, participatory communication, and dynamic capabilities. The proposed integrative model is accompanied by a series of propositions that extend the dynamic capabilities theory through the integration of systems leadership and participatory communication. The potential relevance and application of the proposed model are demonstrated through multiple case examples. The study may also guide nonprofit and for-profit organizations on improving performance through leadership skills, effective communication, and enhanced dynamic capabilities. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center

An Approach to Seventh-day Adventist Radio Evangelism in Ghana

Since Ghana gained independence from colonial rule, religious broadcasting has undergone self- and governmental censorship. Post-independence governments have either clamped down on the activities of church organizations by disagreeing with them or have intimidated them in numerous ways to tone down some aspects of their activities that the government considers unacceptable. In recent times, both individual Ghanaians and government functionaries, especially, have looked at the Christian church with suspicion and skepticism. Many of them consider the Christian message, at least in the way it is presented, out of touch with, and irrelevant to the everyday needs and realities of the Ghanaian society. This criticism is justified in part in the Adventist attempt at radio evangelism in Ghana. For example, in the 1960s, the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) church began airing the American Voice of Prophecy radio broadcast in Ghana. This broadcast was used verbatim, just as it was first broadcast on American radio. Many of the examples and the illustrations used in the broadcast were alien to the Ghanaian public. The messages were good, but the illustrations were so irrelevant and foreign that they obviously colored the understanding of the message. This project develops an approach to a Seventh-day Adventist radio evangelism in Ghana. It does this first, by developing a theological perspective as explained in Paul\u27s philosophy of Christian service: by all means to save some (1 Cor 9:22). Secondly, by using the great gospel commission of Jesus Christ in Matt 29:16-20, which forms the basis for all Christian communication and witness. Relating the biblical concept and the contemporary situation points to a religious radio ministry that is both cross-cultural and cross-religious. The message will be shaped to reach directly to the hearts of all human beings irrespective of their religious affiliation. In addition, the study suggests that evangelism must be done by means of innovative holistic ways of presenting the gospel message, in a participatory and practical format. These practical approaches respond to the revolutionary, ideological situation in Ghanaian society, and reflect felt needs and problems that will assist the government in its economic and moral revolution. Reviewing current methodologies in radio programming, the project develops program scripts for pilot programs under four selected formats: the teaching-preaching, talk show/commentary, radio spot, and the religious news and commentary. These program scripts are aimed at presenting the gospel through teaching, and discussion, to show the government and people of Ghana that the Christian church is committed to addressing social issues to bring about change

Reading Ayi Kwei Armah’s Why are We so Blest?

This paper is a revised version of a 1974 essay I wrote on the novel when it was first published in the early 1970s. The changes I have made for the present publication are not substantial and in the main the original impression remains undisturbed, the primary objective of the current exercises, now as then, being to guide the reader in a generic reading of the novel. An amazing novel steeped in a complex maze of philosophies, ideologies and ideas, Why are we so blest? presents a perplexing mix of literature, history, and myth, and part of my undertaking in this article is to attempt a mining of the novel’s treasures for the benefit of the ardent reader. The focus of this paper is thematic but the approach is mainly semic; hence most of my investigation revolves round character study and the relevance of character in the semantic vision of Armah.Keywords: Utopia, love, race, violence, African liberatio

Female labour force participation in Ghana: the effects of education

To participate in the labour market or not to participate appears to be an issue of survival for women in the Ghanaian economy. Parallel to the rising trend in female participation rates, there has been a tendency towards a decline in fertility. At the core of these patterns has been the schooling factor. This study uses data from the Ghana living standards surveys with demographically enriched information to estimate female labour force participation and fertility models. We find that female schooling matters in both urban and rural localities; both primary and post-primary schooling levels exert significant positive impact on women's labour market participation, and have an opposite effect on fertility. We conclude that although the gender gap in education has become narrower over the years, it is important for government policy to ensure the sustainability of the female educational gains obtained. Arguably, this is the key mechanism for enhancing female human capital and productive employment with favourable impacts on perceptions of ideal family size and fertility preferences