Experiences of Persons Living Schizophrenia in Ghana

Living with a chronic condition such as schizophrenia comes with significant challenges. Yet, there is little data on the experiences of people living with schizophrenia in Ghana. This study explored the experiences of persons living with schizophrenia in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The study adopted a descriptive phenomenological approach using purposive sampling technique to select nine (9) persons living with schizophrenia for the study. Data was collected using face-to-face in-depth interviews. Interviews were taped, transcribed verbatim, and analysed following Colaizzi’s (1978) descriptive phenomenological data analysis approach. The study revealed that people with schizophrenia maintained their Activities of Daily Living such as washing, sweeping, maintenance of personal and environmental hygiene, so long as they were in their lucid interval. Study participants valued supportive relationship with family members, mental health practitioners, religious institutions and the social networks. Participants reported stigma and lack of job opportunities as some of the major challenges they faced. Non adherence to medication and stigmatization were perceived as common cause of relapse by participants.

ANALISIS PERAN PEMERINTAH DAN MASYARAKAT DALAM SEKTOR EKONOMI MELALUI FINALISASI KEBIJAKAN

One of the processes carried out by the government and the community to manage existing resources through collaboration between the government and the private sector is one of the meanings of economic development. This is done in the context of creating job opportunities as well as efforts to encourage economic growth in a region. Thus, it is important for the government and the community to play a role in solving macroeconomic problems. The final objective of this research is to analyze in depth the concept of the three-sector economy, the rationality of the role of government and society, the scope of the government's role, government policy instruments and an overview of al-hisbah. This study uses a literature study where information is obtained through a collection of books, a collection of scientific works, several theses, encyclopedias, a little information from the internet and even other sources. Research shows that in the economy three sectors are played by 3 roles including households, companies and the government. The rationality of the government's role is based on the consequences of collective obligations, and the failure of the market to realize falah. The analysis of the government's role includes: the role of allocation, distribution, stabilization, the role of the state in overcoming externalities and the role of the state related to the implementation of Islamic morality. There are also three policies that cover, among others: fiscal policy, monetary policy, and supply-side policy. Some basic thinking about the role of society consists of the consequences of fardhu kifayah, the existence of public property rights and the failure of the market and government. While hisbah is an institution controlled by the government through individual efforts specifically assigned to solve problems related to the moral, religious and economic fields.

An Exploration of Registered Dietitian Accreditation System Development in China

Background: To review the highlights of the registered dietitian accreditation system in China, including history, organization, regulatory policies, certification requirements, development, and performance on the certification examination, registration, and continuing education, the process for the accreditation system development was focused. The data from the certification examinations and registrations were collected and analyzed. The eligibility requirements, as well as practice pathways, were discussed. Lessons learned from the development of the registered dietitian accreditation system, opportunities, challenges, and future directions for the field were discussed. There remain needs for well-established degree programs and a professional organization’s maintenance with endeavouring in job opportunities, as well as legislative concerns.

“There hasn’t been a career structure to step into”: a qualitative study on perceptions of allied health clinician researcher careers

Background There are many demonstrated benefits for health service organizations engaging in research. As a result, growing numbers of clinicians are being encouraged to pursue research as part of their clinical roles, including in allied health (AH). However, while the benefits of having clinician researchers embedded in AH services have been well established, the career needs of those engaged in these dual roles are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to examine perspectives of the career pathway for AH clinicians engaged in “clinician researcher” roles within Australian health services. Methods A qualitative descriptive study was conducted, utilizing semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to ensure selection of varied locations, professions and role types. Results were analysed using thematic analysis. Trustworthiness was established using regular peer debriefing during theme development, and respondent validation of final themes. Results Fifty-seven AH clinician researchers, including those who did and did not have research as a formal component of their current role, participated in semi-structured interviews. Key themes were as follows: (1) clinician researchers prefer roles which are embedded in health services; (2) current opportunities for clinician researcher roles in health are insufficient; (3) there are deficiencies in the pathway for clinician researcher careers; (4) clinician researchers are not always valued or incentivized by health services; (5) the current career challenges impair the viability of clinician researcher careers; and (6) the clinician researcher career path has been improving, and there is hope it will continue to improve. Conclusion This study outlines a number of weaknesses in the current career structure and opportunities for AH clinician researchers in Australian health services. In particular, while there are strong intrinsic drivers to pursue this dual career, extrinsic drivers are poorly developed, including a lack of job opportunities, an unstable career pathway and a lack of valuing or incentivizing this career choice within health services. This often means that clinician researchers feel compelled to choose between a research or clinical career, leading to loss of this valuable combined skill set. The findings of this research may assist health services in developing and supporting improved clinician researcher career pathways.

Current Trends in Urban Heritage Conservation: Medieval Historic Arab City Centers

Traditional conservation efforts did not improve the conditions in most historic urban centers of Arab cities. The internationally adopted shift in historic urban conservation grants better urban vitality and sustainability for these areas. This study investigates the existing trends and forthcoming changes in urban conservation and their implication on historical centers. Urban Heritage Conservation UHC trends were reviewed, conservation parameters were defined, and quality aspects of successful historic urban conservation were identified, and an assessment framework was developed to evaluate the resulting conserved urban heritage. Two case studies of Arab cities, Jeddah and Aman, were analyzed. The findings highlight the most common urban issues such as reusing historic buildings, traffic congestion, and lack of funds. The impact of urban management on historic areas’ quality was revealed. Moreover, the paper ends with recommendations for conservation authorities. These include engaging residents in the conservation efforts, adopting more innovative traffic solutions to ease congestions, turning the historic area into a pedestrian-friendly space, attracting visitors through arranging cultural events, creating new job opportunities through heritage, and improving the image of the areas through urban regulations. The paper’s findings would contribute to the knowledge related to Urban Heritage Conservation (UHC), and its recommendations would help practitioners and decision-makers.

Investigating the Village-based Tourism Economic Impact

Many studies have been documented that tourism economic impact is a determinant of community support toward tourism development. However, there is a lack of study investigating tourism economic impact on village-based tourism. This study investigates the relative important index of the item offered by previous literature. Besides, this study also examines different means from different respondents: gender, education, and age. Forty-seven respondents have participated in this study. The validity and reliability test is run before the items are ranked using the relative important index (RII). Mann-Whitney U test has applied any difference of means value between woman and man. Moreover, the Kruskal-Wallis test is employed to determine any difference of means value among different levels of respondent education. The result shows that all items are valid and reliable. This study concludes that the first rank is variable 1 (village-based tourism increased job opportunities for village communities) with a relative important index of 0.898. Besides, six items have no mean value difference between man and woman, except for variable 5 (village-based tourism given economic benefit to village people). Its asym significance of Mann-Whitney U asym significance is lesser than 0.05. Further, respondent education and age category also have no difference in mean value using the Kruskal Wallis test. This study implies that the tourism economics impact for village-based tourism can be used for further studies.

Motivations to enrol in EMI programmes in China: an exploratory study

A recent interest in English Medium Instruction (EMI) has led to the flourishing of studies that examine motivation in EMI classrooms. Some of these studies tend to compare language learning motivation of students who are and are not enrolled in EMI programmes (see e.g. Doiz, Aintzane, David Lasagabaster & Juan Manuel Sierra. 2014. CLIL and motivation: The effect of individual and contextual variables. The Language Learning Journal 42(2). 209–224; Sylvén, Liss Kerstin & Amy S. Thompson. 2015. Language learning motivation and CLIL: Is there a connection? Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education 3(1). 28–50), showing that EMI learners are typically more motivated than their peers in non-EMI contexts. This has led to the common perception that learners enrol in EMI primarily to improve their English. Yet, there is a dearth of comprehensive studies exploring learners’ reasons behind their enrolment in EMI programmes and how these change throughout their studies. To address this gap, 247 university students from a range of universities across China filled in the questionnaire, which included scales pertaining to reasons for choosing an EMI programme. The data were analysed in SPSS. The results show that enhanced future job opportunities, opportunities for contact with an international community as well as potential gains in learning content and language specific vocabulary are the most strongly endorsed drivers that motivate EMI students to undertake their studies in English. They also tend to pursue their ideal visions of themselves as bilingual professionals and derive pleasure from EMI classes. To a lesser extent, students are motivated by what is expected of them and the actual pedagogy in the language classroom. Their motivation tends to stay stable over their years of study. However, the survey also revealed that not all students are equally motivated and resolved to continue with EMI studies. The findings highlight that, whereas students tend to be strongly motivated, there is a potential to improve the delivery of EMI courses.

The Financial – Economic Factors in the Strategic Planning of European Borderlands: Envisioning the So-Desired Sustainable Development

In Europe, there are a considerable number of borderlands involving various Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) projects, plans, and strategies. It is a well-known fact that these border synergies are perceived as very intricate processes. Consequently, researches that focus on different variables, factors, and perspectives that could affect the success or failure of the common border projects are essential to achieve consistent regional sustainability. In fact, we believe there is a gap on the perception and implementation of some of the critical factors for territorial success in borderlands by the regional main actors. Thereby, this study through the use of exploratory tools as top-to-bottom questionnaires examines the border cooperation of eleven CBC projects (twenty-one European cities) focusing on the financial-economic theme. Besides, the research permits us to recognize and isolate the two main decisive factors to consider from a financial-economic: (i) Strong territorial strategy; (ii) Access to European funds. Moreover, this study shows that the CBC could be used as a catalyst for creating job opportunities in these regions.

Understanding How International Students from the Caribbean Arrive at the Decision to Remain within the United States Post-Graduation and the Connection to Brain Drain

Using a phenomenological research design and a sample of six international students, who remained within the United States post-completion of their highest earned degree, the authors examined the underlying considerations participants made during their decision-making process. The interview questions posed to participants included the following: (i) what experiences have led you to remain within the United States after your highest level of education, (ii) tell me about the process you undertook towards arriving at that decision, and (iii) tell me about people at your institution who were instrumental in helping you make that decision. The results revealed that all six participants relied on the following considerations: economical, political, and social, which contributed to their decision. For all the participants, lack of job opportunities and receiving low salaries or wages back home played a key role in their decision to remain within the United States.

The Contribution of Female Creativity to the Development of Gastronomic Tourism in Greece

Gastronomy as an important part of the culture, morals, customs, and traditions of the countries meets the needs of visitors and at the same time contributes to tourism development through the rich gastronomic heritage. Gastronomic tourism offers the possibility of increasing the income criteria of a population, increasing jobs, and developing the national economy. The purpose of this study is to highlight the role of female creativity in the development of a gastronomic destination with a case study of Naxos in the South Aegean in Greece. At the same time, it aims to highlight the great challenges and opportunities brought about by gastronomic tourism with the contribution of women's entrepreneurship. Women's creativity and entrepreneurship create new job opportunities. The dynamic presence and activity of the women of Naxos highlights the tourism destination of Naxos as a destination of high gastronomy. Secondary sources present gender discrimination in entrepreneurship, women's entrepreneurship in tourism, and the connection of tourism with gastronomic heritage.