Modeling Land-Cover using Bio-Climate Variables

MODELING LAND-COVER USING BIO-CLIMATE VARIABLES Vegetation (land-cover) is an inherent part of the climate system (M.-J. Gaillard et al. 2010). Natural, primarily climate-driven, vegetation and ecosystem processes interact with human land-use to determine vegetation patterns, stand structure and their development through time (e.g. Vitousek et al., 1997). The resulting land surface properties feedback on climate by modulating exchanges of energy, water vapour and greenhouse gases with the atmosphere. Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) was introduced by M.-J. et al., (2010) as a new method to discuss issues related to pollenbased reconstruction of the past land-cover. REVEALS requires raw pollen counts, site radius, pollen productivity estimates (PPEs), and fall speed of pollen (FS) to estimate vegetation cover in percentages, (M.-J. et al., (2010)). The REVEALS model-based landcover reconstruction has been demonstrated to provide better estimates of regional vegetation/land-cover changes than the traditional use of pollen percentages. The LPJ (Lund Potsdam Jena) – GUESS (General Ecosystem Simulator) model (LPJGUESS, Smith et al., 2001) is a dynamic, process-based vegetation model optimized for application across a regional grid that simulates vegetation dynamics based on climate data input. From both REVEALS and LPJ-GUESS datasets, we have Plant Functional Types (PFTs) and Bio-climate variables. The aim is to use multiple linear regressions to find the relationship between these PFTs and the Bio-climate variables using the REVEALS dataset. Further, we will predict PFT values using the regression models and the REVEALS dataset and compare them to those in the LPJ-GUESS dataset. The PFTs will then be grouped into three different land-cover types: Ever-green canopy, Summer-green canopy and Open-land. Then these land-covers will be modelled using the bio-climate variables to provide a new way of modeling landcover or vegetation of the past. Conclusions It has been seen that bio-climate variables are important to the growth of plants thereby helping plants to produce pollens. Naturally, one should expect plants to grow well when they have their favourable climatic conditions. These include, soil water content, temperature, precipitation among others. Given a reliable and well-measured data of bioclimate variables and plant functional types, it is possible to use regression analysis to obtain a linear relationship between these plant functional types and the bio-climate variables. Consequently, it is feasible to model land-cover when we have bio-climate variables and plant functional types using multiple linear regressions

An empirical Analysis of the Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Firm Performance of Auto Artisans in the Cape Coast Metropolis

The health of a country’s automobile industry is closely related to the robustness of its auto artisans and this is true about the Ghanaian economy. This paper examined the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on business performance of auto artisans in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The stratified sampling method was used to select respondents. Data was obtained through self-administered questionnaire. Regression analysis was employed to test the relationships between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. The findings revealed a significantly positive individual and composite influence of the entrepreneurial orientation dimensions on performance. It was recommended that auto artisans in the Cape Coast Metropolis should make the most out of the technical training centre project for artisanal engineering provided by the government by enrolling for refresher training courses. Furthermore, employees and/or apprentices must be allowed to explore creative alternatives in the performance of assigned tasks. Keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation, performance, auto artisan

Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty in the Post-Crisis Banking Sector of Ghana

The banking industry is immensely important to the socio-economic development of emerging economies by facilitating the exchange of money between depositors and borrowers. The banking industry in Ghana is facing corporate governance challenges, which has led to non-performance and subsequent withdrawal of operating licenses. The withdrawal of the licenses by the Bank of Ghana has impact on customer loyalty and satisfaction, which has not been significantly investigated in a post crisis banking sector of Ghana. This has resulted in many companies undertaking numerous product design and innovation to satisfy customers. This study therefore is aimed at investigating the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in the post crisis banking sector of Ghana. The study adopts the positivist traditional stance with a quantitative approach. Participants were drawn from among the customers of universal banks in Ghana. The purposive sampling technique was used to administer 250 questionnaires to customers of universal banks in Ghana in which 170 usable questionnaires were retrieved for analysis with a response rate of 68 per cent. The investigation revealed that customer satisfaction variables have significantly influenced the loyalty of customers of banks involved in this study. The results indicated that tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy, and dimensions of service quality have positive influence on customer satisfaction.The investigation largely focused on quantitative analysis of results, hence; a further study adopting the qualitative approach would contribute to the body of knowledge on customer loyalty and satisfaction in the banking sector. This study provides a strong evidence for banks that have been negatively impacted by the banking crisis in Ghana and want to recover from the associated impacts on their customers to enhance their customer satisfaction by improving the tangibility and reliability of services to clients. It is recommended that Banks in Ghana focus on achieving high customer satisfaction by focusing on high quality services delivery based on the service quality dimensions. Keywords: Banking, Industry, Customer, Satisfaction, Loyalty DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/76-04 Publication date: February 28th 202

An Assessment of the Methods of Development in the Essays of Business Students in Ghanaian Private Universities: A Case Study

Abstract The study is an attempt to assess the methods of development in the compositions of students who are reading various business-oriented courses in private universities in Ghana. This area has received little attention from researchers in Ghana. Two private universities-Christian Service and Ghana Baptist University College-were the two selected cases. Prior investigations exposed students' writing flaws in the form of wrong usage of the features of a particular method of development when writing essays. Therefore, the literature reviewed was mostly based on these gaps indicated. The primary data collected from the field were from texts (classroom-based and take-home-based texts). Basically, probability sampling techniques were employed to sample the population of the cases selected. All the data gathered were descriptively analysed. The findings showed that students have problems composing descriptive and comparison and contrast paragraphs or essays. But, the study brought to light that students handled narrative, argumentative, and cause and effect essays knowledgeably. It was recommended that enough attention should be given to the teaching and learning of descriptive and comparison and contrast essays. It is our expectation that the findings and recommendations of the work would influence the decisions of policy makers in the field of English language

Empirical Review of Youth-Employment Programs in Ghana

Ghana-s current youth unemployment rate is 19.7%, and the country faces a significant youth unemployment problem. While a range of youth-employment programs have been created over the years, no systematic documentation and evaluation of the impacts of these public initiatives has been undertaken. Clarifying which interventions work would guide policy makers in creating strategies and programs to address the youth-employment challenge. By complementing desk reviews with qualitative data gathered from focus-group discussions and key informant interviews, we observe that most youth-employment programs implemented in Ghana cover a broad spectrum that includes skills training, job placement matching, seed capital, and subsidies. Duplication of initiatives, lack of coordination, and few to non-existent impact evaluations of programs are the main challenges that plague these programs. For better coordination and effective policy making, a more centralized and coordinated system is needed for program design and implementation. Along the same lines, ensuring rigorous evaluation of existing youth-employment programs is necessary to provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness and efficiency of these programs

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London