Assessing Basic School Teachers’ Competence in the Application of Information and Communications Technology in Teaching: Implications for the New Ghanaian Curriculum

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provides access to information through telecommunication technologies to interact in the digital world and continues to evolve to bring remarkable changes in the educational system. ICT integration in teaching is quite complicated and challenging because teachers need to be equipped with the right competencies for teaching practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess basic school teachers’ competence in the application of Information and Communications Technology in teaching. The study used descriptive survey design by which simple random sample was used to select 285 teachers from Tano South municipality of Ahafo Region, Ghana. Data collection was done using closed-ended questionnaire. Data analysis was done with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 25). The study results revealed that teachers are instruments of change in educational establishments. They play significant roles in the implementation of ICT in education. Teachers’ competence in integration of ICT in the classroom would bring new, stimulating and fulfilling learning experiences to policy makers, educators and learners.  Based on these findings, it was recommended that teachers should be provided with administrative support to enable them integrate ICT into classroom activities in order to promote student learning. Teachers should be given regular-based ICT training workshops to possess the requisite knowledge and skills so that they can effectively support their students’ ICT usage in classrooms. Also, provision of ICT infrastructure and resources in schools should be given maximum premium since access is a necessary condition to the integration of ICT in education

Assessing the Balance Score Card of the Internal Audit Performance-Value Addition or Destruction: An Empirical Study of Firms in Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana

The internal audit function is expected to serve as the “moral conscience” and “resource protector” of organisations. The question is are they? The profession have been facing a lot of criticisms especially in the mist of spectacular collapses of some major global brands due to fraudulent practices, financial irregularities and creative accounting practices. More also the rapid and drastic transformation of the business environment necessitates an investigation as to whether the performance of the internal audit function is coping with these changes and also adding value to organisations. This study aims to critically analyse and assess the value-added performance of the internal audit function through the use of the balance score card methodology in the mist of the turbulence and volatile business landscape confronting the internal audit profession. The study employed the survey method where a forty questions well-structured questionnaire was designed based on the balance score card approach. These questionnaires were sent to internal auditors and non-internal auditors in nine organisations in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis in Western Region, Ghana. The study revealed that most respondents do not perceive the internal audit function as providing value-addition services to their organisations based on IIA’s internal audit performance assessment criteria. Keywords: Internal Audit, Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Balanced Score Card, Value-Addition, Performance Assessment. Sekondi-Takoradi

An Independent Evaluation of the Quality Systems, Policies, Procedures and Activities of Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, Sekondi, Ghana

Health sector in Ghana has seen many major reforms and total quality care management is one of them. Its implementation has seen tremendous advantages in many health facilities but since change has always been revisited it has taken a considerable long time for the quality culture to be a norm and practice of health care staff but rather a bitter pill to swallow. Long waiting times, physical access, effectiveness, safety, equity and continuity of service are issues that need to be well managed by health care workers if better quality health care to our clients is to be achieved. The study conducted at Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital (ENRH) provides an insight into the quality systems, policies and activities present there and what quality improvement strategies that need to be put in place to make the hospital a world class center. It is realized that ENRH adheres to the Quality manual of the Ghana Health Service but had partial functional Quality Teams and it was evident that quality initiatives is seen as the preserve of management. This study adopted a combination of both descriptive and exploratory research designs which allowed detailed description and analysis of the variables under study. Ninety-five (95) clients and forty-two (42) staff members were served with different questionnaire for in-depth interviews to ascertain the existence, the extent to which quality indicators are applied to the day to day health care in ENRH and the challenges and actionable steps being taken to help the facility move in the right direction. The findings indicate that although patients accessing the services of ENRH were on the whole satisfied with the quality of service provided, there were challenges that needed to be addressed in order to have a more effective and efficient service. Some of the issues that needed to be addressed included reduction of patients waiting time which they attributed some to genuine delays like emergencies and ward rounds while some delays were needless such as late arrival of doctors from their homes. Bad attitude of staff towards clients of the hospital which in a few instances stemmed from client/patients impatient attitude to staff. Keywords: Health care, Total quality management, Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, Simple random sampling. Ghana health servic

Characterisation of OmcA From Shewanella oneidensis MR-1: Biophysical and Mineral Reduction Properties

Several!Shewanella(spp!are!versatile!in!the!respiratory!substrates!they!use.! A! novel! set! of! respiratory! substrates! implicated! are! insoluble! Fe(III)! and! Mn(III,IV)! oxides.! OmcA! from! Shewanella( oneidensis( MR?1! plays! a! role! in! the! terminal!electron!transfer!during!respiratory!mineral!reduction,!but!has!minimal! or! contrasting! properties! in! the! literature.! A! suite! of! biophysical! techniques! confirmed!the!bis?histidine!axial!ligation!of!all!OmcA’s!haem!content!in!the!crystal! structure! and! in! solution.!The!paramagnetic! resonance! feature! designated! “LS3”! was!identified!to!be!unique!to!OmcA.!However!this!resonance!signal!is!modelled!to! be! produced! spin?coupling! and! not! unique! haem! ligation.! OmcA’s! electroactive! coverage!is!comparable!to!UndA!and!the!other!major!outer!membrane!multihaem! cytochrome!(OMMC)!clades!MtrC!and!MtrF!(i.e.!+0.08!V!to!?0.47!V!vs!S.H.E.).!The! crystal! structure! of! OmcA! shows! domain! fold,! domain! organisation! and! haem! orientation!conservation!with!MtrF!and!UndA.!Comprehensive!solution?structure! studies!of!OmcA!provided!contrasting!experimental!data!on!the!oligomeric!state!of! OmcA,!such!that!it!is!unresolved!whether!OmcA!forms!an!ion?sensitive!dimer.!The! crystal!structure!shows!a!predicted!mineral!interaction!peptide!(i.e.!T725P726S727)! is!solvent!exposed!and!would!putatively!bind!substrate!within!electron!tunneling! distance! of! a! terminal! haem.! Site?directed! mutagenesis! indicates! Thr725! is! significant! to! maintenance! of! the!molecular! environment! of! haem! 10.! Although! T725G!mutation!produces!a!≈80%!decrease!in!whole!cell!reduction!of!synthesised! hematite! over! 120! hours;! secondary! effects! of! change! in! haem! reduction! potentials! or!widespread! conformational! effects!were! ruled! out.!OmcA! has! thus! been!shown!to!share!a!common!OMMC?fold!and!exist!in!S.(oneidensis(MR?1!outer! membranes! as! a! functioning! mineral! reductase! cytochrome! with! unique! paramagnetic!resonance!properties!in!this!set!of!studies.

Critical Conversations: A Social Justice-Driven Professional Learning Community

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the phenomenon of a social justice-driven professional learning community. This study included 17 P-12 educators across several school districts and educational entities in a large southeastern city. The majority of the educators worked at schools with a predominant composition of students of color and students who were eligible for free or reduced lunch. Through both oral and written discussions, teachers responded to questions, prompts, and protocols as they examined teaching for social justice and equity. Data collection methods included: audio recordings of professional learning sessions, participant written reflections, documents, interviews, and the researcher’s journal and audio reflections. The significance of this study was to offer insight on how educators can be supported in developing instructional practices that engender a more just and democratic society. Departing from traditional teaching methods and approaches where the teacher is considered the expert and holder of knowledge and has all “the answers” is crucial to the work of the social justice educator. This study was grounded in critical pedagogy as educators expanded their critical consciousness and examined power structures, privilege and oppression. The following research questions guided this study: How can a social justice-driven professional learning community (PLC) influence P-12 educators? What understandings do educators develop about social justice and equity? What perceptions do educators cultivate about teaching for social justice and equity? What knowledge do educators construct about using multicultural children’s literature (MCL) to teach for social justice and equity? Findings from this study revealed that teaching for social justice and equity requires intentionality, multiple perspectives, and teaching strategies and resources

The theology of the book of Job and its use by some modern thinkers

The thesis is written in contrast to the conventional idea that the righteous is always rewarded and the wicked is always punished. It begins with an introduction about the development of the religious life of the Israelites in relation to the justice of God. God's justice appeared to be challenged when it was realized that the wicked triumphed in undeserved prosperity. The Psalmists lamented over the undeserved prosperity of the wicked. Isaiah 55, the vicarious sufferer and the book of Wisdom Chapter 5 are introduced to throw more light on the whole problem of suffering. The authorship of the book of Job, and the theology of sin and suffering follow. The prologue is introduced to provide a discussion about the prosperity of the righteous. Satan enters into a wager with Yahweh whether Job earns his prosperity by means of his righteousness. Job is stripped of his prosperity and of his honour to see what consequence this might bring. Job at first accepts the challenge calmly without argument, but his three friends who come to console him, turn against him and accuse him of committing sin that is why he is suffering. Job replies that he has not sinned. He even brings charges against God as a Judge. Job establishes his firm faith in God; since God is a righteous Judge, He will in the end pronounce the right judgement. At the last God vindicates Job of his innocence and justifies him by his faith. The wisdom poem shows that wisdom belongs to God. The Elihu speeches show among other truths that suffering is educative, for it humbles pride and draws man nearer God. The Yahweh speeches show that there are mighty things in creation compared with, which man is infinitesimal in God's providential care, and that though there are mysteries in the world, including suffering. it is enough for man in his suffering to have God. The epilogue describes the restoration of the prosperity of Job and shows that God rewards man by grace and not by righteousness. Barth discusses Job as a faithful witness and emphasizes that God was not under obligation to Job and Job acted as a free agent; he did not know the argument between God and Satan. Jung describes the book of Job as a myth or an image and presents God as capricious in breaking his covenant for not protecting Job. Fortes introduces West African Religion with emphasis on fortune as not of one's making, but as one's destiny and this is equated with the doctrine of grace. The conclusion deals with suffering as a test of faith and as vicarious, with reference to life after death in Wisdom Chapter 5. It indicates how Jesus gives a better understanding of suffering on earth and in life hereafter

Factors influencing condom use among women in Ghana: an HIV/AIDS perspective

Although in Ghana information on HIV infection and prevention, both in terms of quality and quantity, has increased considerably within the past few years, available literature indicates that behaviour change is yet to correspond with the amount of information and education provided. The objective of this study is to examine factors that influence condom use among women in Ghana in the context of HIV/AIDS prevalence. Data for this study are from the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys (GDHS) and the study population (N=5 691) was analysed using logistic regression with the Health Belief Model (HBM) as an explanatory tool. The outcome variable for this study is condom use during last sexual intercourse. The HBM identifies perception of HIV/AIDS risks, awareness of its seriousness, knowledge about prevention, and confidence in condom use as predictors of safe sexual activity. Results show that the proportion of women reporting use of condoms remains tremendously low, in both the rural and urban areas. In the urban areas, only 15% of women reported having sex with condom during their last intercourse, whereas in the rural areas the proportion is even lower (10%). However, multivariate analyses based on the HBM components show that speaking with a partner about how to avoid AIDS (Odds Ratio = 1.63) and perceived benefits of using condoms (Odds Ratio = 1.54) are notable factors that predict condom use. Overall, the study points out that with the exception of perceived severity, the HBM can be applied to understand condom use among the study population. It will be important to emphasise all components of the HBM and empower women with condom negotiation skills.Keywords: Health Belief Model (HBM), HIV/AIDS, condom use, Ghana.Au Ghana, bien que l´information sur la prévention et l´infection VIH est considérablement augmentée au cours des dernières années, aussi bien en qualité qu’en quantité, les publications récentes indiquent que les changements de comportement ne sont pas encore liés à la quantité d’information et à l’éducation dispensée. L’objectif de cette étude est d’examiner les facteurs qui influencent l’utilisation du préservatif chez les femmes au Ghana, dans le cadre de la prévalence du VIH/SIDA. Les données de cette étude provenant de l’enquête sur la démographie et la santé de 2003 et du recensement de la population (N=5 691) ont été analysées en utilisant la méthode de régression logistiques avec le ‘Health Belief’ Modèle (HBM) comme outil d’explication. La finalité de cette étude est de connaître le niveau d’utilisation du préservatif durant les derniers rapports sexuels. La méthode HBM détermine le niveau de perception du risque VIH/SIDA et la conscience de sa gravité, connaissance des mesures de prévention et confiance envers le préservatif comme outil de protection de l’activité sexuelle. Les résultats montrent que la proportion de femmes qui dit utiliser le préservatif demeure extrêmement faible, aussi bien au niveau rural qu’urbain. Dans les zones urbaines, seulement 15% des femmes disent avoir utilisé le préservatif durant le dernier rapport. Aussi, en milieu rural cette proportion est encore plus faible (10%). Quoi qu’il en soit, les multiples analyses basées sur la méthode HBM montrent que parler avec son partenaire sur comment éviter le SIDA (Odds Ratio = 1.63) et des avantages perçus de l’utilisation du préservatif (Odds Ratio = 1.54) sont les facteurs clés qui poussent à l’utilisation du préservatif. En général, l’étude révèle qu’en dehors de sa perception de sévérité, le HBM peut être utilisé pour comprendre l’utilisation du préservatif au sein d’une population. Il est important de souligner tous les aspects de la méthode HBM et en particulier le pouvoir des femmes dans la négociation pour l’utilisation du préservatif

THE CELEBRITY BURDEN: CELEBRITY CAMPAIGNS IN THE PURSUIT OF HUMANITARIANISM

Celebrity participation in humanitarianism and politics has received a lot of attention in recent times. Though many researchers have sought to explain the reasons underlying this phenomenon, there appears to be little information as to the efficacy of these celebrity efforts. The present research thus undertakes an analysis of the celebrity\u27s participation through a study on the effectiveness of the celebrity-led campaign. To achieve this, I conduct a discourse and visual analysis of media publications surrounding two celebrity-led campaigns. The research leans heavy on theories underlining the celebrity mechanism and Street et al\u27s framework on celebrity participation in politics. The study confirms Street et al\u27s argument that performance, legitimacy and organization are central to the success of the celebrity-led campaign. For campaigns aimed at initiating policy change, I propose an additional category of stakeholders\u27 response which provides a means of evaluating efficacy. My findings show that organization, legitimization, stakeholders\u27 response and performance are highly dependent on the actions of the lead celebrity, making these celebrities active agents in the production of discourse on the third world . As celebrities engage in humanitarian work, they take up positions as representatives of the aid recipient. The result is the dispossession and silencing of the aid recipient. Out of my discussion of these practices evolves the concept of the celebrity burden

Webinar: The Impact of Transportation-Related Barriers on Self-Perceived Physical Health among Adults in the US

Drawing from the framework of social determinants of health, the objective of this study is to investigate the cross-sectional association between transportation-related factors and self-perceived physical health among adults in the U.S. Data for this study were derived from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey. An analytic sample of 71,235 respondents aged 18 and 64 years was analyzed using binary logistic regression. Of the 71,235 respondents examined, 8.9% perceived their physical health to be poor. About 36% of the respondents had fewer vehicles per individuals in the household. Controlling for the effects of other factors, respondents who had fewer vehicles per individuals in the household were 1.27 times more likely to report poor self-perceived physical health when compared to their counterparts with more vehicles per individuals in the household (AOR=1.27, 95% CI=1.17-1.39). Having higher education, higher income, and homeownership were inversely associated with poor self-perceived physical health. The findings of this study suggest that as the gap between the number of household members and the number of vehicles present increases, respondents\u27 self-perceived physical health deteriorates due to the uncertainty in having access to transportation when the need arises. Social workers, engineers, and policymakers should begin working on viable solutions to reduce or eliminate transportation barriers and address disparities created by lack of access to reliable transportation.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/trec_webinar/1064/thumbnail.jp

An Assessment of the Perceived Effectiveness of Credit Risk Management Strategies Adopted by Microfinance Institutions in the Sekondi -Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana

The purpose of the study was to assess the perceived effectiveness of credit risk management strategies (CRMS) adopted by microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis (STM), Ghana. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population was 261. The sample size for the study was 158 key staff of the various MFIs selected purposively. These key staff were credit officers, finance staff, and managers of the various MFIs. Questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.87 was the instrument used to collect the data. Descriptive statistical tools such as means and standard deviations were used to analyse the data. The findings show that there are meaningful and appropriate credit policies and procedures used by MFIs in STM. However, the effectiveness of CRMS adopted by MFIs in STM is not quite good. Also, credit control processes adopted by the MFIs are not quite adequate as expected. It was recommended that administrators of MFIs in the metropolis should enhance their respective institution’s credit policies and procedures, especially the appraisal of client process. This will create room for the institutions to have credit policies and procedures that allow the institution to identify and analyse all loss exposures, and measure such loss exposures appropriately. Keywords: Credit control process, Credit policies, Credit procedures, Credit risk management DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-6-15 Publication date:March 31st 202