African Indigenous Epistemologies, Traditions, and Practices Before the Arrival of Europeans

Africa is the second-largest continent in the world (after Asia), making up around one-fifth of the planet’s land area. There are many different cultural and linguistic groupings, because of how long humans have lived there. Due to this, Africans have a network of knowledge, beliefs, and traditions that they use to preserve, explain, and contextualize their ties with their culture and environment before the arrival of Europeans. Formal and informal transfers of indigenous knowledge took place between families, tribes, and communities through social contacts, oral traditions, ceremonial acts, and other activities. I will indicate, with all these indigenous systems and ways of life, the Europeans and other foreign settlers to the areas of Africa labeled the cherished traditional ways of teaching and learning of the native people as primitive and referred to the indigenous as uneducated, savage, and uncultured. It is therefore important to tell the story so that those who mismanage our affairs would not silence our criticism by pretending they have facts not available to the rest of us because, as Cinua Achebe stated, “Until the lions have their historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.

Formal Education in Gold Coast-Ghana: An Overview of Colonial Policies and Curriculum from 1919 to 1927

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 15th century, education existed in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) with the goal of introducing young people into the society by teaching children the traditions and values of the community, as well as the meaning of life. However, Great Britain, during colonization, implemented their own form of education within the Gold Coast. Great Britain thought it was their responsibility to bring the Gold Coast into the modern world by using education to lift the natives to a higher level of civilization. The Christian missionaries’ eagerness to propagate their faith through education and the British colonial governments’ educational policies, character-training curriculum, and desire to civilize natives, instead became a tool to achieve social control over the people of Gold Coast-Ghana which resulted in cultural annihilation, religious, and linguistic hegemony

Investigating the Impact of Prophages on Bacterial Fitness of Streptococcus agalactiae

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus or GBS) is a common bacterium found in pregnant women that can cause severe infections in neonates. Although detecting maternal colonization and administering antibiotics during labor can prevent early-onset GBS disease in neonates, antibiotics negatively affect newborns\u27 microbiota, leading to complications like gastrointestinal disorders and immune system dysregulation. Therefore, alternative therapeutic measures are necessary to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. Understanding GBS disease pathology and developing effective preventive measures and treatments is essential. GBS evolves from a commensal bacterium to an invasive disease-causing pathogen using various mechanisms, such as adapting to the host immune response, utilizing virulence factors like surface proteins, and regulating gene expression. The GBS genome contains mobile genetic components, including prophages, plasmids, insertion sequences, and transposons, that facilitate mutations and lateral gene transfer. This adaptability allows GBS to develop new virulence factors and antibiotic resistance, enhancing its ability to cause disease and evade host defenses. Prophages, viral genomes that are integrated into bacterial genomes, may play a critical role in GBS evolution, and understanding their contribution to its virulence could lead to innovative treatments. Bioinformatic analysis of 49 clinical isolates of GBS identified 42 prophages present in their genomes, which can be classified into 5 clusters based on their genomic content, indicating differences in the genetic makeup of the prophages. Further investigation of a hypervirulent GBS strain, found that the only prophage present provides a competitive advantage to the bacterium, possibly by enabling it to better compete for nutrients or resist other bacterial species. The absence of the prophage leads to a metabolic shift, indicating its significant impact on bacterial metabolism and possibly on the pathogen\u27s virulence. Overall, the findings from this dissertation highlight the importance of prophages in GBS pathogenesis and emphasize the need for further research to develop novel therapeutic approaches for the prevention and treatment of GBS infections

Primates crop raiding situation on farmlands adjacent to South-West of Mole National Park, Ghana

Human activities have led to the overlapping of resource requirements among themselves and animal species and this often results in conflict. This research was conducted to determine the type of animal species involved in crop raiding, crops raided, the reasons for crop raiding events with its associated effects on the livelihoods of surrounding communities and the mitigation measures against it. 10 victims from eight communities were interviewed through a semi-structured guide. Though many animals were involved, the most troublesome and destructive were the following monkey species: Olive baboons (Papio anubis); Patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas); and Green monkeys (Cercocerbus sabaeus). These monkeys raiding events were found to be based on the palatability of crops and the most adopted methods used in deterring them were shouting and trapping. Monkeys were found to raid crops at the various farms in the communities for diverse reasons and recommendations for peaceful coexistence of humans have been made

The Reliability, Practicality and Acceptability of Using Ultrasonography to Monitor the Progress of Labour and Delivery

Introduction: It had been suggested by a number of recent studies that ultrasonography could become an alternative to digital vaginal examination (VE) for assessing the progress of pregnant women in labour. However, no systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of ultrasonography was available. Systematic Review: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the success rate of ultrasonography in comparison with digital VE and the level of agreement between the two methods, in terms of estimating fetal head position, head station and cervical dilatation. Systematic Review Findings: This review found that ultrasonography has a higher success rate than digital VE in estimating fetal head position. Ultrasonography was also in high agreement with digital VE in estimating cervical dilatation, with insignificant difference in the success rate of the two methods in terms of detecting cervical dilatation. There was also a significant correlation between the two methods in estimating head station. However, it was also found by the review that, existing primary studies were mainly conducted in tertiary settings of developed countries. Further research was therefore needed from the perspective of non-tertiary settings and also from developing country settings. In addition, further research was also needed to assess the diagnostic performance of ultrasound in detecting active labour, since it is associated with cervical dilatation. The diagnostic performance of ultrasound in detecting engaged fetal head had also not been investigated, which is necessary because it is associated with head station. Primary Research Aim: As a consequence of these systematic review findings, a primary study was conducted in another clinical setting in a developing country. The aim was to investigate the reproducibility, practicality and acceptability of using ultrasonography to monitor the progress of pregnant women in labour. Research Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a teaching hospital in Ghana. The agreement between ultrasound and digital VE was statistically analysed for the estimation of fetal head position, head station and cervical dilatation. Further statistical analysis was conducted on the diagnostic performance of ultrasound in detecting engaged fetal head, and the diagnostic performance of ultrasound in detecting active labour. A quantitative survey of mothers’ acceptance of intrapartum ultrasound was also conducted. Lastly, caregivers’ views on the practicality of using ultrasound in this developing country setting was also investigated in a qualitative survey. Results of Primary Research: The results regarding reproducibility were as follows: (i) a high between-method agreement was found in the estimation of cervical dilatation, with high ultrasound sensitivity and specificity in detecting active labour; (ii) a statistically significant between-method agreement was found in the estimation of head station, with high ultrasound sensitivity and specificity in detecting engaged fetal head; (iii) a weak between-method agreement was found in the estimation of fetal head position, with ultrasound having a higher success rate than digital VE. The results regarding acceptability showed that most mothers accepted the use of intrapartum ultrasound, and were willing to have the procedure for their future care during labour and childbirth. They also preferred ultrasound to digital VE. With regards to practicality, the responses of caregivers indicate that the introduction of intrapartum ultrasound in this setting could serve as a good complement to digital VE in a number of ways. However, putting it into practice would require wider availability of physical and technical resources. Conclusion: The findings of the reproducibility study were consistent with existing studies in other clinical settings which were investigated in the systematic review. This suggests that ultrasound is a reliable method for assessing the progress of pregnant women in labour. In addition, the unique contribution to existing knowledge obtained from this study was a high ultrasound sensitivity and specificity in detecting active labour and engaged fetal head which were reported for the first time. The findings on mothers’ acceptability were also consistent with existing studies in other settings, which is an indication that there is high acceptance of intrapartum ultrasound by mothers from different settings and cultures. Lastly, caregivers’ views on the practicality of the use of ultrasound during labour indicate that the regular use of intrapartum ultrasound for assessing the progress of labour in pregnant women may require additional resources to make it practicable in this and other similar settings

Modeling building semantics: providing feedback and sustainability

Even minor changes in user activity can bring about significant energy savings within built space. Many building performance assessment methods have been developed, however these often disregard the impact of user behavior (i.e. the social, cultural and organizational aspects of the building). Building users currently have limited means of determining how sustainable they are, in context of the specific building structure and/or when compared to other users performing similar activities, it is therefore easy for users to dismiss their energy use. To support sustainability, buildings must be able to monitor energy use, identify areas of potential change in the context of user activity and provide contextually relevant information to facilitate persuasion management. If the building is able to provide users with detailed information about how specific user activity that is wasteful, this should provide considerable motivation to implement positive change. This paper proposes using a dynamic and temporal semantic model, to populate information within a model of persuasion, to manage user change. By semantically mapping a building, and linking this to persuasion management we suggest that: i) building energy use can be monitored and analyzed over time; ii) persuasive management can be facilitated to move user activity towards sustainability

Effect of land use dynamics on habitat of two sympatric primates in Boabeng- Fiema monkey sanctuary, Ghana

AbstractCompetition between growing human population and burgeoning number of primates were investigated at the Boabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary (BFMS) in Ghana, to determine the effect of habitat change on primates. Remote sensing data, primarily Landsat imagery, were used to analyse the land use cover changes that have occurred over a period of 21 years (1986-2006). The data were supported by field investigations that included the administration of a questionnaire. The analysis of the satellite imagery revealed that the sanctuary was 31.3 per cent forest, 47.8 per cent savanna and agricultural fields, and 20.9 per cent build-up or degraded surfaces. By 2007, forest cover had reduced to 22.4 per cent, whislt savanna and agricultural fields, and build-up/degraded surfaces had expanded to 54.5 per cent and 23.1 per cent, respectively. Most of the respondents (93 per cent) agreed that their activities had degraded the forest, whilst seven per cent stated otherwise. The results also indicated that both the human and primate populations had increased over the years although no definite figure was obtained for the primate population, which was estimated to be approximately 4,500. The increase in the primate population was enabled by adaptation to human food coupled with traditional beliefs forbidding humans from harming primates. Cultural belief is, therefore, recognised as an integral part of environmental sustainability in the community.

Self-Proficiency of Essential Technology Skills of Undergraduate Students at a Coastal University in Ghana

One of the numerous challenges facing education today is that of preparing students and staff for globalization and the information and communication revolution. Policymakers, educationists, non-governmental organizations, academics, and ordinary citizens are increasingly concerned with the necessity to make their societies competitive in the evolving information economy. Globalization and advancements in technology have led to an increased utilization of ICTs in all sectors, and education is no exception. Uses of ICTs in education are widespread and are repeatedly growing worldwide. Thus, this study investigated undergraduate students’ self-proficiency of essential technology skills in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana on the use of technology for various educational purposes. The study adopted the descriptive survey design using 318 randomly selected respondents from three different programmes in the university. The quantitative data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study found that students possessed technical abilities needed to perform some specific tasks such as changing the default settings of tech tools to meet specific needs and also make configurations to connect computers to a network. However, respondents were unable to perform advanced formatting functions such as customized tabs, insert page breaks, query databases and sort the results, and using styles as well as unable to create and manage classroom webpages

The Influence of Ultrasound Equipment Knobology in Abdominal Sonography

Ultrasonography is a highly operator dependent imaging modality with a number of knobology variables that are under the control of the operator. Knobology is a terminology that describes the manipulation of ultrasound knobs and system controls in order to obtain the best image possible from diagnostic ultrasound. The inadequate use of knobology variables may impair image quality and can result in misdiagnosis. In abdominal sonography, selecting the appropriate application preset for abdominal examination is first step towards achieving an optimum image. The next step is to select an appropriate transducer frequency which must take the size of the patient into account. Transducer frequency is typically in the range of 3–5 MHz, but a lower frequency may achieve better depth penetration in larger patients. While the output power may improve image quality by increasing the intensity of transmitted sound energy, the impact is usually insignificant. The practice of using high output power should therefore be limited because of the risk of biologic effect. Other essential knobs for better image optimization include controlling the overall gain, time gain compensation, focal zone, dynamic range and tissue harmonic imaging. In the assessment of blood flow in abdominal vessels the regulation of the pulse repetition frequency, Doppler gain, imaging angle, and wall filter improves the sensitivity of color and spectral Doppler