Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions on Procedures to Identify and Assess Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: The Case of Tutors’ of Colleges of Education in Ghana

The study aimed at exploring the perceptions tutors in Colleges of Education have on how the Colleges of Education Curriculum adequately prepare pre-service teachers to enable them identify and assess children with special educational needs and disabilities for effective inclusive education in Ghana. A descriptive survey design was adopted and the purposive sampling technique used to select three of the ten regions of the country. Out of the three regions, 13 Colleges of Education were purposively selected and the convenience sampling technique used to select 235 tutors. Percentages and frequencies were used as statistical tools to analyse the research data generated from questionnaire instrument. The findings revealed that 119(53.36%) of the respondents agreed that the curriculum enables pre-service teachers to identify various categories of children. Respondents who agreed that the curriculum teaches pre-service teachers how to screen were 73(32.74%), while 86(38.57%) agreed that the curriculum teaches pre-service teachers how to seek for parental consent before referral. Only 13(5.83%) agreed that the curriculum exposes pre-service teachers to the various assessment centres in Ghana where children who are suspected to have disabilities can be referred to. There were 44(19.73%) who agreed with the statement that the curriculum enables pre-service teachers to develop Individualised Education Programme for children with special educational needs and disabilities. On the basis of the findings, some recommendations were made for tutors of the Colleges of Education to clarify identification and assessment procedures to pre-service teachers when teaching. This will prepare them for inclusive education in the country. Keywords: Identification and assessment, Pre-service teachers. Tutors, Inclusive education, Ghan

Corporate Social Responsibility Agreements Model for Community Development: The Case of Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea) Limited and its Mine Local Community

In Ghana, community development is regarded by mine local communities as the most important aspect of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), to the extent that often community development is perceived to be a statutory responsibility of mining companies. Consequently, mine local communities demand for more and more, sometimes prohibitively expensive, contributions towards community development. The inability of mining companies to meet all the demands often leads to unsavoury relation between mining companies and their host communities with concomitant adverse effect on mining operations. This constitutes a business risk that needs to be addressed properly by shifting from the earlier practices of making voluntary contributions towards community development to making sustainable community development an integral part of the mining business. This paper presents the evolutionary strategic models, with differing principles and action plans, used by Golden Star (Bogoso/Prestea) Limited (GSBPL) over the years to manage the development of its Bogoso/Prestea Mine Local Community (BPMLC), videlicet from a poor Philanthropic Community Assistance Model (PCAM) to an improved but ineffective Community Driven Assistance Model (CDAM) and eventually to the current effective, successful CSR Agreements Model (CSRAM).  The paper also highlights the lessons learnt from the negotiation process that led to formulation of the CSRAM as well as the benefits and successes resulting from its implementation and the challenges. It is concluded that mutual understanding, tolerance, transparency, trust, commitment and accountability are key to the successful management of CSR and community development. Keywords: Social Responsibility, Agreements Model, Mining Communitie

Can Capital Injection Make Challenged Gold Projects in Ghana Economically Viable? – A Case Study

Damang Gold Mine (DGM) in Ghana uses open pit mining technology to mine its gold deposit. It has an estimated mineable gold reserve of about 32 Mt exploitable for 8 years. As the gold price kept falling from 2013 and operating cost kept rising, the mine down sized its operations. But the operations became challenging due to poor performance of ageing mining equipment and processing plant, and the need for a new tailings dam. As the gold price stabilises, it could be gainful to invest capital to resolve the challenges and increase production. This study aims at investigating whether DGM would be economically viable if the intended investment is made assuming the gold price falls to US$32.15/g. The study estimates the required capital and annual operating cost to be US$89.49 M and US$100.84 M respectively.  A cash flow analysis is carried out assuming no price escalation, discount rate of 20$82 723 720.28 and Internal Rate of Return of 41.13%, indicating profitability. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the project will continue to be profitable until the revenue falls below 24%, assuming all other economic parameters remain constant. The project will also continue to be profitable until the operating cost increases beyond 30%, assuming all other economic parameters remain constant. Risk analysis on the project indicates the project has 70% chances of success. DGM could invest the capital to mine its gold reserves because the mine will make profit provided cost is controlled and production level maintained to generate needed revenue. Keywords: Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, Sensitivity Analysis, Risk Analysi

Descriptive analysis of changes in Ghana's food availability and food safety information between 2010 and 2020

Access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food is essential to ensure food and nutrition security and healthy lives for all. Secure access to nutritious food ensures healthy eating habits, economic growth, and stability in an economy. However, food insecurity and malnutrition persist globally. In Ghana, more than half of food-insecure people reside in the Northern ecological zones of the country. Moreover, Ghana lacks a systematic food security monitoring system to track food insecurity among vulnerable populations. This study reviewed existing evidence on the current situation and changes related to food production, trade, safety, and consumption in Ghana, as part of the process to develop food-based dietary guidelines for the country. The literature review included peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 – 2020 in Ghana to document household-level food production, consumption, and safety issues. In addition, food disappearance data (from 2010 to 2018) from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was analysed. Means and compound annual growth rates were calculated for each food item included. The results showed that per capita food production was higher than per capita consumption in all the food categories studied, except for vegetables, and fish and fishery products. Food consumption was centred on a few priority staple crops such as cassava, maize, rice, and yams, with less consideration given to underutilised foods such as akokono (palm weevil larvae). Food imports exceeded food exports in all food categories except 1) cocoa beans and products, 2) root crops and tubers, 3) oil-bearing crops and nuts, and 4) fruits and products. Fruit and vegetable consumption in Ghana has been declining since 2013. There was also a rise in the import and consumption of processed foods, especially tomato paste, sugars, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Food safety issues included microbial contamination, aflatoxin contamination, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked fish, mercury in fish, pesticide and heavy metal residues in vegetables and fruits, and food adulteration. The evidence synthesized from this study will be useful to inform the development of food-based dietary guidelines for Ghana

Descriptive analysis of changes in Ghana's food availability and food safety information between 2010 and 2020

Access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food is essential to ensure food and nutrition security and healthy lives for all. Secure access to nutritious food ensures healthy eating habits, economic growth, and stability in an economy. However, food insecurity and malnutrition persist globally. In Ghana, more than half of food-insecure people reside in the Northern ecological zones of the country. Moreover, Ghana lacks a systematic food security monitoring system to track food insecurity among vulnerable populations. This study reviewed existing evidence on the current situation and changes related to food production, trade, safety, and consumption in Ghana, as part of the process to develop food-based dietary guidelines for the country. The literature review included peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 – 2020 in Ghana to document household-level food production, consumption, and safety issues. In addition, food disappearance data (from 2010 to 2018) from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was analysed. Means and compound annual growth rates were calculated for each food item included. The results showed that per capita food production was higher than per capita consumption in all the food categories studied, except for vegetables, and fish and fishery products. Food consumption was centred on a few priority staple crops such as cassava, maize, rice, and yams, with less consideration given to underutilised foods such as akokono (palm weevil larvae). Food imports exceeded food exports in all food categories except 1) cocoa beans and products, 2) root crops and tubers, 3) oil-bearing crops and nuts, and 4) fruits and products. Fruit and vegetable consumption in Ghana has been declining since 2013. There was also a rise in the import and consumption of processed foods, especially tomato paste, sugars, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Food safety issues included microbial contamination, aflatoxin contamination, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in smoked fish, mercury in fish, pesticide and heavy metal residues in vegetables and fruits, and food adulteration. The evidence synthesized from this study will be useful to inform the development of food-based dietary guidelines for Ghana

Carbon Footprint of the Large Scale Gold Mining Industry of Ghana

Mining has been an important economic activity accounting for a substantial part of foreign exchange and government revenue. The gold mining sector has undergone considerable expansion due to liberalization with more foreign mining companies investing in the sector in particular large-scale open pit gold mining. Resultant expansion in mining has led to heightened environmental concerns and significant challenges due to key activities used in the mining operations hence contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Investigations were conducted to assess the sources and key activities in large scale gold open pit mining operations in Ghana giving rise to greenhouse gas generation. The study adopted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guideline for estimating greenhouse gas inventory. The operational boundary as against the organizational boundary was considered for the study. The operational boundary was drawn around the physical mining site. Within this boundary, the emissions were quantified and reported under direct emission due to company activities (Scope 1) and indirect emissions from secondary use or activity (Scope 2). The study found that activities due to land use, blasting, fuel use to power mobile equipment and stationary combustion sources, electricity use and waste management were the contributing greenhouse gas emission sources in a large scale gold mining operation with electricity use and fuel used in transportation accounting for 92.46% of the total emissions. Average contribution of the large scale gold mining industry in Ghana to the total national greenhouse gas emission inventory for the country was established to be 11.08%

Mean Vector Analyses of the Voting Patterns of Ghanaians for Three Consecutive Periods: A Case Study of the Greater Accra Region

Abstract: The aim of this paper was to find out whether the outcome of future elections in the Greater Accra region could be predicted based on empirical data. The voting patterns of the presidential elections in Ghana deserve notice, not because of their political significance but because of the theoretical weight they carry. The shifts in electoral fortunes between the two main political parties in the country, especially in the greater Accra region provide a unique leverage for assessing theories of voting behavior. The paper uses statistical tools to examine the electoral performance of the four major political parties in Accra and the Hotelling's T 2 Statistic to test whether a prediction could be made to predict future outcomes of elections. Our results revealed that there was not enough statistical evidence to predict future outcomes of elections in the greater Accra district

Correlates of Complete Childhood Vaccination in East African Countries.

Despite the benefits of childhood vaccinations, vaccination rates in low-income countries (LICs) vary widely. Increasing coverage of vaccines to 90% in the poorest countries over the next 10 years has been estimated to prevent 426 million cases of illness and avert nearly 6.4 million childhood deaths worldwide. Consequently, we sought to provide a comprehensive examination of contemporary vaccination patterns in East Africa and to identify common and country-specific barriers to complete childhood vaccination. Using data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, we looked at the prevalence of complete vaccination for polio, measles, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and DTwPHibHep (DTP) as recommended by the WHO among children ages 12 to 23 months. We conducted multivariable logistic regression within each country to estimate associations between complete vaccination status and health care access and sociodemographic variables using backwards stepwise regression. Vaccination varied significantly by country. In all countries, the majority of children received at least one dose of a WHO recommended vaccine; however, in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda less than 50% of children received a complete schedule of recommended vaccines. Being delivered in a public or private institution compared with being delivered at home was associated with increased odds of complete vaccination status. Sociodemographic covariates were not consistently associated with complete vaccination status across countries. Although no consistent set of predictors accounted for complete vaccination status, we observed differences based on region and the location of delivery. These differences point to the need to examine the historical, political, and economic context of each country in order to maximize vaccination coverage. Vaccination against these childhood diseases is a critical step towards reaching the Millennium Development Goal of reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015 and thus should be a global priority

Constraints on the Onset of Color Transparency from Quasielastic ¹²C(e, e′p) up to Q² = (14.2 GeV /c)²

Quasielastic scattering on 12C(e,e′p) was measured in Hall C at Jefferson Lab for spacelike four-momentum transfer squared Q2 in the range of 8–14.2(GeV/c)2 with proton momenta up to 8.3GeV/c. The experiment was carried out in the upgraded Hall C at Jefferson Lab. It used the existing high-momentum spectrometer and the new super-high-momentum spectrometer to detect the scattered electrons and protons in coincidence. The nuclear transparency was extracted as the ratio of the measured yield to the yield calculated in the plane wave impulse approximation. Additionally, the transparency of the 1s1/2 and 1p3/2 shell protons in 12C was extracted, and the asymmetry of the missing momentum distribution was examined for hints of the quantum chromodynamics prediction of color transparency. All of these results were found to be consistent with traditional nuclear physics and inconsistent with the onset of color transparency