Are We Any Closer to Understanding what is meant by Customer Orientation? The Hospital Experience

This paper presents a review of the concept of customer orientation and seeks to clarify current thinking. It identifies some key definitions within the development of this area and evaluates their contribution. The theory of customer orientation identifies a number of alternative definitions and approaches which are sometimes contradictory but often complementary. The divergent views appear to fall between the areas of management’s vision and customer centeredness. An in-depth field interviews are thus conducted to ascertain the understanding of the concept among healthcare practitioners alongside a field work on patients of public hospitals. The findings suggest that patient satisfaction is related somehow to the age and level of education of the patient and that, customer orientation does not absolutely result to patient satisfaction unless there is a dedicated effort at establishing the right modalities to its implementation. The study recommends the need for the development of the right mental attitude by medical staff in order to be able to treat all patients (irrespective of age and level of education) with genuine empathy, concern, respect, civility and friendliness. Originality/value: The study successfully develops a working definition to the concept of customer orientation in the health sector and establishes for the first time in patient satisfaction studies, a trend that suggests that some patients are giving priority in general patient care. Patient satisfaction studies are often used by healthcare organisations for service improvements and thus the findings established from this research will enable healthcare institutions to improve on their service delivery. Keywords: Customer Orientation, Patient Satisfaction, Public hospitals, Ghan

An Econometric Investigation of the Determinants of Fossil Fuel Consumption: A Multivariate Approach for Ghana

The study examines the long run and short run determinants of fossil fuel consumption in Ghana for 1970-2011 period by using Autoregressive distributed lad model (ARDL). The bound test for cointegration produced no evidence of cointegration among the variables. There are no statistical significant long run and short run parameters for the fossil fuel consumption function for Ghana. The results suggest macro variables such as income, price, trade openness, investment, money supply, and government expenditure do not play observable role in fossil fuel consumption. As such, they could not be relied on as a policy tool to manage fossil fuel consumption. Future study should consider the issue of structural breaks and the direction of causality

An evaluation of the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education in colleges of education in Bophuthatswana

This study was aimed at evaluating the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education within the colleges of education in Bophuthatswana. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews with college lecturers and, to a lesser extent, on observations during a workshop with environmental educators from Bophuthatswana. Knowledge was gained about college related factors which influence the varying extent to which environmental education is being implemented within the colleges of education. Lecturers' understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education and related concepts was explored. Insights were also gained into problems of implementation which included lecturers' limited understanding of the concept of interdisciplinarity, structural ambiguities, limited training and experience, and a lack of clarity in both local and international literature on environmental education concepts and terms. Specifically the study sought to illuminate the dichotomy between theory and practice, the conflict between the dominant curriculum paradigm and the new emerging paradigm, and tensions between the interdisciplinary nature of environmental education and subject-based disciplines, which lead to problems of implementation. The study could make an important contribution to the current curriculum debate on environmental education in South Africa by illuminating the dichotomy between the theory and the practice of environmental education, and the problems involved in translating interdisciplinary approaches into workable classroom practices within discipline based curriculum structures

Pulled in or pushed out : understanding the complexities of motivation for alternative therapies use in Ghana

The impact of strong cultural beliefs on specific reasons for traditional medicine (TRM) use among individuals and populations has long been advanced in health care and spatio-medical literature. Yet, little has been done in Ghana and the Ashanti Region in particular to bring out the precise “pull” and “push” relative influences on TRM utilization. With a qualitative research approach involving rural and urban character, the study explored health beliefs and motivations for TRM use in Kumasi Metropolis and Sekyere South District, Ghana. The study draws on data from 36 in-depth interviews with adults, selected through theoretical sampling. We used the a posteriori inductive reduction model to derive broad themes and subthemes. The “pull factors”—perceived benefits in TRM use vis-à-vis the “push factors”—perceived poor services of the biomedical treatments contributed to the growing trends in TRM use. The result however indicates that the “pull factors,” viz.—personal health beliefs, desire to take control of one’s health, perceived efficacy, and safety of various modalities of TRM—were stronger in shaping TRM use. Poor access to conventional medicine accounted for the differences in TRM use between rural and urban areas. Understanding the treatment and health-seeking behaviour of a cultural-related group is critical for developing and sustaining traditional therapy in Ghana

Experiences of Students with Visual Impairment in Higher Education in Ghana: Bodily Perspective on Inclusive Education

The study examined experiences of students with visual impairment in Ghana’s public universities. The study employed the cross‐sectional descriptive survey design using semi-structured questionnaire for data collection to provide answers to the research questions. The study population included all students with visual impairment across the three Public Universities namely; University of Ghana, University of Cape, and University of Education, Winneba. In all, 87 students with visual impairment were purposively selected to participate in the study. The study revealed that students with visual impairment in these three public universities experience several attitudinal challenges both from teachers, resource persons and fellow students which affect their academic achievement. Also, students with visual impairments in Ghana’s public universities are constantly challenged by classroom instructional strategies, and that it is difficult for them to access course outlines, textbooks, among other relevant facilities in advance. It is recommended that the Special Education Division of the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Resource Persons in the various universities should organize periodic in-service training programmes for university teachers who teach in the inclusive public universities to adequately equip them in handling the visually impaired. Keywords: visual impairment, inclusive education, resource person, disabilities and Ghana DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-18-17 Publication date:June 30th 201

Physical and Fuel Properties of Bambusa vulgaris of Different Age Groups and Their Effect on Producing Biofuel

Bamboo can be used to produce solid, gaseous, and liquid fuels, as well as to generate heat and biofuels for transport and electricity. The main objective of this study was to investigate the physical and fuel properties of Bambusa vulgaris in three ecological zones for their utilization potential for the production of biofuels. Thirty-six samples of Bambusa vulgaris culms from 3 ecological zones in Ghana were milled to powder to assess the physical and fuel properties. The physical properties; moisture content, high heating values, bulk density, density, and ash content were investigated. The fuel properties were based on ultimate analysis, carbon, hydrogen nitrogen, and oxygen. The mean moisture content (MC) for the green bamboo ranged from 68.8% (dead culm) to 148% (mature culm) and 168% (juvenile culm). The MC for dried samples ranged from 9.09 to 13.06%. The results showed that the % MC of the samples increased with decreasing values of high heating and ash content. The mean density of the matured bamboo culms varied from 616.84 to 641.68 kg·m–3 and dead bamboo culms from 609.01 to 632.72 kg·m–3. Marginal reduction in density was observed in dead bamboo culms across the three ecological zones as compared to the mature bamboo culms. This implies that when B. vulgaris overgrows, its density decreases. High heating values ranged from 16.12 to 18.14 MJ·kg–1. Bulk density determines the transportation and storage of biomass; it ranged from 0.12 to 0.52 g·m–3. The ash contents were within the threshold (≥3%) of European standard. The mean values for the ultimate analysis of carbon (48.46 to 53.31%), hydrogen (5.60 to 6.56%), nitrogen (0.58 to 0.61%), and oxygen (39.73 to 41.35) were higher. Fuel properties of Bambusa vulgaris are comparable to some wood types, lower to denser wood types, but higher than most of the herbaceous energy crops and agricultural residues. This means that Bambusa vulgaris may be a good feedstock for the production of bioenergy in terms of heat, charcoal, biogas, bio-power, and transportation fuel

Response characteristics of a negative temperature coefficient thermistor

This article focuses on the thermistor as a device that is widely used for temperature measurement and control in most electrical and electronic devices and appliances. The research is based on the type of thermistor used in photocopiers with particular reference to Minolta Bizhub (model-210) photocopier. The resistance and temperature were recorded by the application of conventional heat to deduce the response curves of resistance versus temperature and resistance/time. Results obtained from the characteristics show that the thermistor employed in the photocopier is a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) device. Also, there was a time variation in the response of the thermistor resistance to temperature changes, which indicates that the thermistor under test functions as a temperature control device. The shape of resistance versus temperature curve appeared to be similar to that of a typical NTC thermistor characteristics