Religion and the Problem of Rationality: Insights from Akan Religious Thought

Arguments against the practice of religion and, in general, against belief in metaphysical entities, have been made in different cultures and at different times in human history. This article, however, does not offer a historical outline of such arguments. Rather, it reflects on some contemporary remarks made, especially in Western thought, against religion. It illustrates how a correct understanding of Traditional Akan Religion renders untrue claims that seek to dismiss religion on the grounds of irrationality. Utilising philosophical reflection, it shows how rational belief in a Traditional African Religion such as the Akan one is.Key WordsRationality, revelation, logical positivism, predestination, free will, Akan religion, African religio

The Problem of Destiny in Akan and Yoruba Traditional Thoughts: A Comparative Analysis of the Works of Wiredu, Gyekye and Gbadegesin

Many African scholars have expressed varied thoughts about the concept of a person, specifically about that which constitutes a person in African philosophy. These philosophers include Kwasi Wiredu, Kwame Gyekye and Segun Gbadegesin. What they have in common, though, is that their ideas on the concept of a person issue largely from the traditional philosophies of some West African peoples. Wiredu and Gyekye reflect on Akan conceptions while Gbadegesin carries out his discussions from the Yoruba cultural perspective. This paper examines the thoughts of these prominent philosophers, with a particular focus on the constitution of the person and the nature of his or her destiny

Reincarnation, Predestination and Moral Responsibility: Critical Issues in Akan Philosophy

African scholars such as Bolaji Idowu and John Mbiti have argued that belief in reincarnation is alien to African thought. However, this article argues that an adequate understanding of the Ghanaian Akan culture points to the presence of reincarnation in Akan, and for that matter African, philosophy. Nevertheless, unlike in Indian philosophy, for instance, where reincarnation depends on the quality of an individual’s moral life and is a means of ensuring moral responsibility, in Akan philosophy reincarnation is not dependent on moral considerations. Yet there is the idea of moral responsibility in Akan philosophy. The article interrogates how moral responsibility, an idea which is ordinarily regarded as reasonable in the presence of free will, is in the case of the Akan held alongside predestination. The article also reveals some serious philosophical difficulties which this Akan conception of moral responsibility generates in respect of the ‘reincarnated’ person. KeywordsReincarnation, predestination, moral responsibility, Akan philosophy, immortality, dualism, life and deat

Access to primary care and the route of emergency admission to hospital: retrospective analysis of national hospital administrative data

BACKGROUND: The UK government is pursuing policies to improve primary care access, as many patients visit accident and emergency (A and E) departments after being unable to get suitable general practice appointments. Direct admission to hospital via a general practitioner (GP) averts A and E use, and may reduce total hospital costs. It could also enhance the continuity of information between GPs and hospital doctors, possibly improving healthcare outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether primary care access is associated with the route of emergency admission-via a GP versus via an A and E department. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of national administrative data from English hospitals for 2011-2012. Adults admitted in an emergency (unscheduled) for ≥1 night via a GP or an A and E department formed the study population. The measure of primary care access-the percentage of patients able to get a general practice appointment on their last attempt-was derived from a large, nationally representative patient survey. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate associations, adjusting for patient and admission characteristics. RESULTS: The analysis included 2 322 112 emergency admissions (81.9% via an A and E department). With a 5 unit increase in the percentage of patients able to get a general practice appointment on their last attempt, the adjusted odds of GP admission (vs A and E admission) was estimated to increase by 15% (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.17). The probability of GP admission if ≥95% of appointment attempts were successful in each general practice was estimated to be 19.6%. This probability reduced to 13.6% when <80% of appointment attempts were successful. This equates to 139 673 fewer GP admissions (456 232 vs 316 559) assuming no change in the total number of admissions. Associations were consistent in direction across geographical regions of England. CONCLUSIONS: Among hospital inpatients admitted as an emergency, patients registered to more accessible general practices were more likely to have been admitted via a GP (vs an A and E department). This furthers evidence suggesting that access to general practice is related to use of emergency hospital services in England. The relative merits of the two admission routes remain unclear

On Contra SS-Continuous Functions

In this paper, we apply the notion of -open set in topological spaces to introduce and investigate the concept of contra -continuous which is a subclass of the class of contra semi continuous functions. Keywords: -closed, contra -continuous, contra SS –closed and strongly contra SS –closed

Data Acquisition and Processing of Hartha Formation in the east Baghdad oil field, Central of Iraq

A three-dimensional survey was carried out to Eastern Baghdad oil field, which consist three parts, the area of (EB South- 2 ) approximately 179,875 km2 and ( EB South-1) is about (602.03) km2, while the space segment (EB South-3) is approximately to (419.095) km2. In this research, was focused on Hartha Formation only. Based on many tests to designation of pre-planning of the survey to get good signal to noise ratio for receivers in addition to the best suit for vibrators distribution and also getting the best signal source where spread of a 60-line impact and the distance between the point of receive and the other are (2 meters), also using (5) vibrators Type (NOMAD 65) with a maximum capacity of (62000 LB) for each shock. Where all processes work such as enhancing signal at the expense of noise, correction CDP gather for Normal Move Out (NMO) and stack them, correction for influence of near-surface time delays (static correction), filtering processes, providing velocity information, increasing resolution and collapsing diffractions and placing dipping events in their correct subsurface locations (migration) This processes are achieved using computers, they include many mathematical processes depend on physical fundamentals. The main processes in seismic data processing include : stacking, deconvolution, and migration. By using the information of EB-1 Well, and making the relationship time-depth curve of EB-1 then following up on getting synthetic to be linked later with seismic data and sections to obtain a real subsurface image

Transtheoretical model stages of change for dietary and physical exercise modification in weight loss management for overweight and obese adults.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a global public health threat. The transtheoretical stages of change (TTM SOC) model has long been considered a useful interventional approach in lifestyle modification programmes, but its effectiveness in producing sustainable weight loss in overweight and obese individuals has been found to vary considerably.  OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of dietary intervention or physical activity interventions, or both, and other interventions based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) stages of change (SOC) to produce sustainable (one year and longer) weight loss in overweight and obese adults. SEARCH METHODS: Studies were obtained from searches of multiple electronic bibliographic databases. We searched The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO. The date of the last search, for all databases, was 17 December 2013. SELECTION CRITERIA: Trials were included if they fulfilled the criteria of randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) using the TTM SOC as a model, that is a theoretical framework or guideline in designing lifestyle modification strategies, mainly dietary and physical activity interventions, versus a comparison intervention of usual care; one of the outcome measures of the study was weight loss, measured as change in weight or body mass index (BMI); participants were overweight or obese adults only; and the intervention was delivered by healthcare professionals or trained lay people at the hospital and community level, including at home. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently extracted the data, assessed studies for risk of bias and evaluated overall study quality according to GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation). We resolved disagreements by discussion or consultation with a third party. A narrative, descriptive analysis was conducted for the systematic review. MAIN RESULTS: A total of three studies met the inclusion criteria, allocating 2971 participants to the intervention and control groups. The total number of participants randomised to the intervention groups was 1467, whilst 1504 were randomised to the control groups. The length of intervention was 9, 12 and 24 months in the different trials. The use of TTM SOC in combination with diet or physical activity, or both, and other interventions in the included studies produced inconclusive evidence that TTM SOC interventions led to sustained weight loss (the mean difference between intervention and control groups varied from 2.1 kg to 0.2 kg at 24 months; 2971 participants; 3 trials; low quality evidence). Following application of TTM SOC there were improvements in physical activity and dietary habits, such as increased exercise duration and frequency, reduced dietary fat intake and increased fruit and vegetable consumption (very low quality evidence). Weight gain was reported as an adverse event in one of the included trials. None of the trials reported health-related quality of life, morbidity, or economic costs as outcomes. The small number of studies and their variable methodological quality limit the applicability of the findings to clinical practice. The main limitations include inadequate reporting of outcomes and the methods for allocation, randomisation and blinding; extensive use of self-reported measures to estimate the effects of interventions on a number of outcomes, including weight loss, dietary consumption and physical activity levels; and insufficient assessment of sustainability due to lack of post-intervention assessments. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The evidence to support the use of TTM SOC in weight loss interventions is limited by risk of bias and imprecision, not allowing firm conclusions to be drawn. When combined with diet or physical activity, or both, and other interventions we found very low quality evidence that it might lead to better dietary and physical activity habits. This systematic review highlights the need for well-designed RCTs that apply the principles of the TTM SOC appropriately to produce conclusive evidence about the effect of TTM SOC lifestyle interventions on weight loss and other health outcomes

Improvement of Unconfined Compressive Strength of Natural Organic Soil

The aim of this paper is to investigate the possible improvement of unconfined compressive strength of natural organic soil by using cement dust and fly ash. Natural organic soil with different percentage of organic content (0, 5, 10.15 and 20 %) is used. Three different percentages of cement dust and fly ash (3, 6 and 9 %) are used to improve the strength characteristics of the organic soil. The effect of curing time is investigates. The result show that unconfined compressive strength of organic soil decreased with increasing the organic content. The addition of cement dust increased the unconfined compressive strength for all percentage of organic content, while the addition of fly ash improved the strength characteristics of organic soil for samples with organic content greater than 10 %. Keywords: organic content, unconfined compressive strength, cement dust, fly ash