Table of Contents
- Research Article
Knowledge and Skills Gap Analyses of Technical Universities in Ghana PDF Gabriel Dwomoh, Austin W. Luguterah The human capital of every organization which comprises of its portfolio of skills and knowledge, makes the organization distinct and also gives it competitive advantage since they are intangible assets that cannot be counterfeited by rivals. Polytechnics in Ghana were converted to Technical Universities in 2016 with a unique mandate to churn out graduates that meet the expectations of the industry. The study analyses the skills and knowledge gaps of technical universities and how these can affect their quest to deliver on their new mandate. All the Technical Universities in Ghana were considered for the study, and a non-probability sampling technique which is convenience sampling was used to select participants for the study who were mainly teaching staff, accountants or senior accountants where appropriate. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. Results of the study revealed that, there are huge skills and knowledge gaps which are enshrined in the technical universities governing instruments particularly the Technical Universities Act since greater part of the teaching staff see industrial skills, knowledge in competency mode of curriculum development and delivery as well as research and proposal writing skills to be very important, yet a significant number of them do not possess these skills and knowledge. The study made some theoretical and empirical contributions that will help technical universities and their stakeholders. Limitations and recommendations that will guide future researchers who may be interested in researching on a similar topic was also outlined. - Research Article
Optimization of the Role of Village Facilitators in Improving the Professionality of Village Apparatus in Managing Village Funds in Indonesia PDF Bambang Suheryadi, Abd. Shomad, Tatiek Sri Djatmiati The administration of village government entered a new era after the enactment of Law No. 6 of 2014 was legally enforced. Previously, under the regional government, the village was only an object of development, but now it becomes the subject that have its authority to manage the village independently. As a consequence, the village government must have its ability to prepare its own planning and budget documents based on the aspirations of the village community through the Village Community Development Forum. The performance of the financial management of the village will determine the success or failure of the village government in running the administration and development. The financial problems often occur because of the inability of the village apparatus in the management or utilization of the village funds even though they have an important role in it. The presence and assistance of such facilitators are seriously needed to improve the village fund management so that it can be professionally, legally and publicly accountable. Improving the professionality of the village apparatus in the financilal management of the village fund is mainly related to increasing the knowledge and skills in the field of law and financial administration. - Research Article
Empowering Rural Women in India during Covid-19: A Brief Study Considering Future Sustainability PDF Moumita Banerjee Empowerment is a multidimensional process that fosters power in people to access available opportunities without limitations and restrictions. Rural Indian women like its urban counterparts are equally proactive in fighting the pandemic with proper planning, flawless execution and backbreaking work. This paper is subdivided into Part I and Part II. Part I mainly attempts to capture how the collective strength of women's SHGs has come to the fore in combating the disease. Women in remote areas have showed their sewing skills by supplementing Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) for health professionals and administrative staffs in the field. Women Self Help Groups in different states have provided free meals to the weaker sections during the crisis period of lockdown. Part II of the paper focuses on the significant role of rural Indian women towards sustainability after Covid crisis.
- Research Article
Rising Insecurity in Nigeria: Causes and Solution PDF Nasiru Zubairu Nigeria is currently inflated in security crisis which has turn into an unending challenge, not only by defying security procedures but making scorn of the efforts of the law enforcement agents and the millions of naira annually budgeted by the government as security votes. This study, therefore, examines the rising insecurity in Nigeria with causes and solutions to it. The finding revealed that the causes of insecurity are the menace of unemployment and poverty, elite exploitation of ethnicity and religious differences, corruption, weak security apparatus, porous border, marginalization and inequality in the country, and bad governance and poor leadership. The solution range from opposing the aforementioned causes of insecurity in this paper.
- Research Article
Municipal Solid Waste Management Performance PDF Patrick Aaniamenga Bowan, Sam M. Kayaga, Andrew P. Cotton, Julie Fisher Sustainable municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is a major challenge in urban areas throughout the world, with the situation getting worse in most developing countries. This paper evaluates MSWM performance in Ghana, using the Wa Municipality as a case study. The policy and legal, institutional, and financial frameworks, as well as the technical capacity for waste management, were examined. The methodology and research design for the study was an exploratory and interpretive case study that was analysed through both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The study findings indicate that Ghana has a good institutional framework, sufficient and robust legislation, existing bylaws, policies and programmes regarding MSWM. However, the challenge is the non-enforcement of and non-compliance with the laws and regulations governing MSWM. Also, the emphasis on stakeholders’ involvement in MSWM in the country is focused mainly on waste collection, and no attention paid to waste reduction, treatment and final disposal. Additionally, waste management financing and the technical capacity for waste management are woefully inadequate. Thus, improving the enabling environment for sustainable MSWM with a focus on the examined indicators could scale up MSWM performance in Ghana for the attainment waste management goals. - Research Article
Households’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards Municipal Solid Waste Disposal PDF Patrick Aaniamenga Bowan, Shamsu-Deen Ziblim Household waste contributes significantly to municipal solid waste (MSW) generation rates globally. This study evaluates households’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards MSW disposal in the Wa Municipality, Ghana. The study applied both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Questionnaires and interviews were used to obtain information on households’ MSW handling practices and attitudes towards MSW disposal. 211 households responded to the questionnaires. The study showed that majority of the households’ respondents in the Wa Municipality (40.8%) store their mixed unsorted waste in closed containers. Also, the study indicated that the most widely used method of solid waste (SW) disposal in the Wa Municipality was by burning, with 32.2% households resorting to this option. Furthermore, the study indicated that there was low knowledge of households towards waste reduction and source separation; 83.9% of the household respondents did not sort their waste for collection and did not practice waste reduction. By conducting investigations under some demographic characteristics, the study found a very weak correlation between demographic variables and KAP, however, age was associated with waste disposal (p-value = 0.003 < 0.05). The study, therefore, recommends that the municipal authorities should intensify education and the enforcement of waste disposal regulations for the attainment of sustainable household waste management in the Wa Municipality and Ghana in general.
- Research Article
Employment- Centered Skill Development and Social Policy in Urban India: Policy and Institutional Change PDF Saurav Suman, Sapna Kumari To the fulfilment of needs of growing Indian population, so many skill development policies and programmes has been established by the Government of India for the purpose of development of employments and providing livelihood opportunities for the urban poor people in which includes, National Urban Livelihood Mission, National Skill Development Mission, Skill India, National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Pradhan Mantri Kasushal Vikas Yojana, Swaena Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana etc. It is very true that most of the India lives in the villages but at the beginning of 21st Century most of the urban population contributes more in popular sectors, it indicates that India also lives in cities. Till the beginning of 20th century the target of five year plans was limited to rural India but in the last few years, due to the increasing crowds in cities, the generation of new employment opportunities in urban sector has become the main concern in front of policy makers. The main objective of this paper is to determine the effect of skill development on employment generation. Employment centered skill training process of India has been Centre oriented and it is built on the basis of top-down model. - Research Article
Human Organ Transplantation: Psychosocial Considerations of Recipients PDF Mukesh Kumar Transplantation of solid organs saves lives of the many organ failure patients who are left with no other option of treatment, but transplantation, to get over their illness. The method of harvesting the organ from a living or dead person and transplanting it to a different living individual is so complex that the donor, the recipient and their families bear experiences that not only require intensive medical management but also psychosocial care. The article presents review of psychosocial problems with patients in need of organ transplantation. - Research Article
The Dream of $5 Trillion Economy in India: Utopianism or Realism PDF Keshab Chandra Mandal While the world is passing through a very hard time, the researcher is singing a praising song for the motherland. How the challenges posed by COVID-19 can be turned into an opportunity has been portrayed here. The article is the result of a recent study conducted by this author in India. It is regarding achieving the dream of our visionary Prime Minister Mr. Narendre Modi to make India sustainable and self-reliant in the days to come. Though, the recent spurt of coronavirus epidemic has brought the development agenda of the world in general, and particularly of India to the backseat, and all the plans and strategies of the countries have shifted to only one agendum i.e. to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that India cannot for long slip off its target of achieving $5 trillion economy. But how? This article tells about the roadmap for attaining Indian dream of $5 trillion economy. - Research Article
Strī-ācār – An Analytical Study on the Non-Priestly Marriage Rituals of Bengal PDF Sudarsana Choudhury Marriage rituals of Bengal are quite different from the rest of India. The marriage rituals of Bengali people are divided into two parts: priestly rituals and non-priestly rituals. In this paper the non-priestly rituals of Bengali marriage called Strī-ācār are discussed. Strī-ācār are performed by married women. This study tries to identify the role of women in Bengali society on the basis of the various wedding rituals practiced by them. An attempt has also been made to identify the environmental, geographical factors behind these rituals that characterizes the distinctiveness of Bengali culture irrespective of ethnicity, caste and religion. - Research Article
Foreigners' Right to Acquire Land under International Human Rights Instruments PDF Xiaojing Qin This article offers an assessment of treaty law on foreign land ownership in the context of international human rights agreements, which still remains relatively unexplored. While international human rights law is very cautious as to whether foreigners’ right to acquire land within a host state should be recognized as a human right, this article suggests that the recognition of such a right is the logical development of accepting free trade and free investment as human rights. The specific protection of indigenous people, on the other hand, could be taken as an exception to foreigners’ right to acquire land. So far foreigners’ right to acquire real property is only incorporated into a small number of human rights treaties. Its linkage with human rights law, in most circumstances, is achieved through some of the existing human rights norms. The first norm is the right to property, the protection of which is of significance to the right to acquire real property. The second norm is grounded on the concept of the right to housing, the attainment of which, in many cases, relies on access to land property and the right to acquire land.