Workplace violence against nurses: A cross-sectional descriptive study of Ghanaian nurses

The aim of this study was to document the incidence, sources, and effects of workplace physical violence against Ghanaian nurses. Self-report questionnaires were completed by 592 nurses employed in public general hospitals in Ghana. Participants were selected using a combination of purposive and random sampling techniques. Nine percent of the participants experienced physical violence in the 12 months preceding the study. The majority of perpetrators were relatives of patients. Chi-square tests suggested significant relationships between type of hospital and workplace physical violence, and between intention to quit the nursing profession and workplace physical violence. Workplace violence had several negative effects on nurses including having disturbing memories about the incident and being “super alert” and vigilant. Strategies to curb workplace violence could include awareness creation among health care workers and the general public. Policies and legislations must also be put in place to address this social problem

Using ICT in Developing a Resilient Supply Chain Strategy

AbstractSupply chains in today's globalization are very vulnerable to risks such as natural disasters, terrorism, cyber attacks and credit crunch etc that could easily disrupt the flow of raw materials, finished products and information. Furthermore, these disruptions could yield to a drastic loss in productivity, competitive advantage and profitability that would most probably lead to bankruptcy if not managed appropriately. In fact, supply chain vulnerability is now a major concern in many organizations as some research programs have started to illustrate that modern supply chains are at greater risks than their supply chain managers could even recognise. The aim of this article is to analyse these risks and discuss how they could be prevented and/or managed. In addition, by implementing ICT in collaboration with certain strategies, a resilient supply chain could be developed. Moreover, in case any of these risks occur, the possibility for an organization to be able to bounce back and start operations in the shortest possible time is also considered

Government Spending and Economic Groweth Nexus: An Econometric Analysis

Proponents of larger governments argue that government programmes provide essential public goods like education and infrastructure, which, in turn, stimulate the economy. On the other hand, individuals who advocate for more limited government assert that an increase in public spending will be detrimental to economic expansion due to the fact that many functions of government are inefficient and not in the public interest. In light of this, it is important to comprehend how different facets of government spending impact economic growth. The research utilised panel unit root tests, specifically the Pesaran and IPS tests, and panel cointegration techniques, including Pooled Mean Group and Dynamic Fixed Effect. Additionally, secondary data from World Bank indicator variables spanning from 1985 to 2021 were analysed in 32 countries located in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results of the study suggest that there exists a correlation between government expenditure and economic growth, in both the immediate and distant future. Additionally, the study emphasises the importance of institutional quality as a significant determinant of this relationship. Therefore, it is recommended that all accessible government funds be allocated towards the objective of establishing durable and self-sufficient infrastructure

Government Spending and Economic Groweth Nexus: An Econometric Analysis

Proponents of larger governments argue that government programmes provide essential public goods like education and infrastructure, which, in turn, stimulate the economy. On the other hand, individuals who advocate for more limited government assert that an increase in public spending will be detrimental to economic expansion due to the fact that many functions of government are inefficient and not in the public interest. In light of this, it is important to comprehend how different facets of government spending impact economic growth. The research utilised panel unit root tests, specifically the Pesaran and IPS tests, and panel cointegration techniques, including Pooled Mean Group and Dynamic Fixed Effect. Additionally, secondary data from World Bank indicator variables spanning from 1985 to 2021 were analysed in 32 countries located in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results of the study suggest that there exists a correlation between government expenditure and economic growth, in both the immediate and distant future. Additionally, the study emphasises the importance of institutional quality as a significant determinant of this relationship. Therefore, it is recommended that all accessible government funds be allocated towards the objective of establishing durable and self-sufficient infrastructure

Value Chain Analysis of the Broiler Industry in the Southern Sector of Ghana

The livestock subsector especially broiler production plays a significant role in the livelihood and food security in Ghana. Several researchers in developing nations have employed value chain methodologies to investigate the linkages and the interactions of the various actors in the poultry sector. However, none of these studies comprehensively captured each actor’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as the governance structure and profitability of the broiler industry. This paper fills this gap by analyzing the governance structure, value addition, determinants of profitability and prospect of the broiler industry using 290 respondents (180 broiler producers, 65 distributors and 45 retailers) from the Greater Accra, Ashanti and Bono Regions of Ghana. The study adopted the scoring analytical technique, net farm income (NFI), the modified Cobb-Douglas function and the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) matrix for the analyses. The results revealed producers as the key governors with the highest value addition and return on investment. Distributors and processors on the other hand form informal cartels to monopolize their activities to increase bargaining power. Whilst credit access, education, business training, age and feed type influenced profitability, the broiler industry is threatened by high importation of frozen chicken, high taxes, lack of capital access and high cost of operation. The study recommends that the government should pursue measures to minimize the cost of operations through input-tax exemptions and reduce the importation of chicken products. Stakeholders should invest in input supply, processing technologies and transportation facilities to boost local production for profit gains

Government Spending And Economic Growth Nexus In Sub-Saharan Africa: An Econometric Analysis

Proponents of larger governments argue that government programmes provide essential public goods like education and infrastructure, which, in turn, stimulate the economy. On the other hand, individuals who advocate for more limited government assert that an increase in public spending will be detrimental to economic expansion due to the fact that many functions of government are inefficient and not in the public interest. Secondary data from World development indicator variables spanning from 1985 to 2021 were analysed. The dependent variable for the study was GDP per capita and the independent variables were institutional quality, government expenditure, capital stock and trade openness. The model used for the study are Pearson correlation, Pesaran's , Friedman's and Frees' cross sectional dependency test, IPS and CIPS unit root test, Pooled Mean Group and Dynamic Fixed Effect regression to test for the long-run cointegration and short-run relationship in 32 African countries. The results of the study suggest that there exists a long-run and short-run relationship between government expenditure and economic growth. Additionally, the study emphasises the importance of institutional quality as a significant determinant of this relationship. Therefore, it is recommended that all accessible government funds be allocated towards the objective of establishing durable and self-sufficient infrastructure

Behavioural Dimension of the Growth of Informal Settlements in Kumasi city, Ghana

Informal settlements are among the major problems that confronts many cities in the world. Despite numerousefforts both at the international and local levels to address this problem, its existence keeps on rising. This paperused a theoretical approach to assess the growth of informal settlements in Kumasi, Ghana. It adapted the theoryof Planned Behaviour with informal settlement dwellers been the target population. A total of 238 informalsettlement dwellers were covered with questionnaires serving as the research instruments. It was found out thatinformal settlement dwellers have bad behaviour towards such settlements and this was underpinned by their badintentions about informal settlements. Low awareness of building regulations and poor perception of land useplanning were the issues that influenced their behaviour through their intensions. The major contribution of thispaper is that the growth of informal settlements is to a greater extent orchestrated by bad behaviour towards suchsettlements and that policy makers and international bodies should have a second thought on these settlementsand pay keen attention to human behaviours towards informal settlements.Keywords: urban; housing; informal settlements; behaviour; Kumasi, Ghan

An African Christian Perspective on the Veneration of the Saints or the Ancestors

Almost all religions believe in life after death. Christians believe that their deceased relatives and Church members who were baptised before they died would rise to new life in Christ after death. However, some Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians find it difficult to accept the fact that our deceased brothers and sisters (who are called by different names, saints or ancestors) are alive and deserve honour or recognition from the living. Africans venerate their deceased brothers and sisters who lived impeccable and irreproachable lives while they lived on this earth. In the same way some Christians, especially Catholics, Anglicans and others in public ceremonies canonize their deceased brothers and sisters who lived lives worthy of emulation and call them saints. They set aside some days in the year when they are publicly venerated in their liturgies and celebrate their entrance into eternity with God. In this article the writer argues that both Catholics and Africans are doing nothing wrong when they venerate their brothers and sisters as heroes in this way. They are only giving them honour like we do to our national heroes and ask for their intercession in prayer. Although Christians and Africans call their deceased members who lived exemplary lives by different names (Saints and Ancestors respectively), they venerate them in similar ways and the Saints or Ancestors play similar roles in the lives of their living members, notwithstanding some dissimilarities. Keywords: Veneration, Worship, Saints, Ancestors. DOI: 10.7176/JPCR/45-02 Publication date:October 31st 201

Aspects of the Biology, Ecology and Management of the Green Mirid, Creontiades dilutus (Stal), in Australian Cotton

The green mirid, Creontiades dilutus (Stal) (GM) is one of the important early season sucking pests in cotton in Australia. They prefer to feed on the growing parts of the cotton plant, particularly terminals and squares, causing shedding of squares and partial to complete wilting of terminals depending on the severity of feeding. GM feeding early in the season causes delay in maturity. Currently they are controlled mainly by the broad spectrum insecticides applied to control Helicoverpa spp., but this disrupts biological control of other major cotton pests. To increase our understanding of the pest, research on biology, behaviour, damage etiology and ecology of the GM was undertaken during the period 1994-97 in cotton growing areas of northern New South Wales. C. dilutus was studied extensively on cotton plants under glasshouse and field conditions and its life cycle and biology was documented. Effects of temperature on female fecundity and egg and nyrnphal development were also studied. Both fecundity and development rate were found to be maximum at around 30°C. Threshold temperatures for development of eggs, individual stages of nymphs and the total nymphal period were calculated. The oviposition pattern of GM on the cotton plants and the distribution of GM eggs in relation to the position of the main stern nodes were studied. GM preferred to deposit their eggs dorsally on the petiole end of 4 to 8 main stern node. Two factors, hardness and hairiness influence GM to discriminate preferred oviposition sites. Damage etiology of GM on cotton was studied in detail under glasshouse and field conditions. Both nymphs and adults caused similar damage to the cotton plant. The damage caused by GM was cumulative and very apparent as nymphs entered the 4th instar. GM confined their attack to young growing parts of cotton plants, especially squares and terminals, causing squares to shed and terminals to wilt. The shedding of squares depended on feeding site, frequency of feeding and the size or age of the square. The amount of damage increased with the increase of insect number. Their feeding extended to the vascular bundle region and during feeding the insect released pectinase that destroyed surrounding cells of the feeding point. GM feeding in the field did not cause any significant yield loss in irrigated cotton. However, their feeding at early stages of plant growth caused significant delay in maturity. The economic injury level for GM for the first time was calculated using maturity delay from field experiments by manipulating field population. An economic threshold (1 GM/m of row) was proposed which is higher than the currently recommended economic threshold and therefore will assist in the successful implementation of IPM programmes. Extensive studies were made on GM ecology during 1994-97 in two locations. GM was more abundant in early to maximum squaring stage in all seasons in both locations. Analysis of GM population suggested that populations were regulated by contest competition during early cotton season (October - December) and scramble competition during middle and late cotton season (January - March). Egg populations may have been regulated by delayed density dependent factors, possibly predators. Insecticides targeted for Helicoverpa, temperature extremities, heavy rainfall along with strong wind, predators, alternative hosts, intraspecific competition and emigration may also have influenced GM populations in the field. Other than these factors, overwintering hosts allowed the build up of populations toward the end of spring, contributing to GM invasion of cotton. Study on the overwintering hosts also suggested that in northern NSW cotton growing regions, GM populations continued throughout the winter, though population growth was reduced