The Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof. George K.T. Oduro, has advised nurses and midwives to serve their clients with care and empathy in the discharge of their professional duties.   He implored nurses to make an impact on humanity so as to ensure proper delivery of healthcare. “If people(nurses) know the importance of caring for those in pain; the importance of caring for the aged, they will be adding value to humanity,” he said.   According to him, when nurses show care and empathy towards their patients, they (patients) were able to recuperate fast from their medical conditions.   Prof. Oduro gave the advice at the opening of a three-day Pain Management and Palliative Care workshop organised by the Directorate of University Health Services on the theme “Pain Management and Palliative Care”.   Prof. Oduro recalled with sadness how the unprofessionalism of some nurses at a health facility in Swedru led to the demise of his father-in-law. According to him, despite his plea to the nurses to come to the aid of his father- in- law whose health was fast deteriorating, the nurses turned a deaf ear to his plea, resulting in the untimely death of the deceased. Accordingly, he reminded nurses and midwives about the mother of modern nursing Florence Nightingale’s professionalism which earned her the name “the lady of the lamp” as a result of her empathy, care, devotion, respect for human dignity, altruism, sympathy, commitment and dedication to attend to the sick and the injured even at wee hours when her colleagues were fast asleep.  Prof. Oduro entreated nurses to be committed to their work and urged them to strive to give the profession, which he described as calling, a good name. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor called on nurses and midwives to refrain from all forms of negative acts and strictly abide by the codes and ethics of the profession.   For his part, a Consultant Family Physician and Palliative Care Specialist, Dr. Mawuli Gyakobo, encouraged nurses to put the interest of patients above their own personal interests. He noted that healthcare professionals were all potential patients and, therefore, advised them to treat patients with care and love.   Other topics treated during the workshop were “Overview of Pain Management and Palliative Care”; Difficult Communication”; “Introduction to Pain”, “Mechanism of Pain”, and Practical/Demonstration: Pain Assessment”.  

The School of Graduate Studies (SGS) has held a seminar for Graduate students of the University on the theme “Enhancing Capacity for Post Graduate Research”. The seminar, which is held annually, was organised in collaboration with the College of Education Studies, College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences and the Graduate Students Association of Ghana. Presenting on the topic “Developing Instruments for Scientific Research, Implications for Analysis”, Prof. Festus Annor-Frimpong from the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, explained Scientific Research as the process of arriving at dependable solutions to a given problem through planned and systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data. Prof. Annor-Frimpong continued, “In Science, we are talking about objectivity, control of bias, verification, assuring validity and reliability.” He defined Research Instrument as means, tool, device designed to measure variable(s) or information of interest. He explained that Research Instrument included questionnaires (tests, scales, ratings), interview schedule, Check list for Focus Group Discussion, and Observations. Prof. Annor- Frimpong mentioned “the search for relevant questions that might have already been developed by the investigators and related to your objectives, adopt if suitable to your objectives or use as guide in construction of the new instrument” as some of the guidelines in developing instruments for Scientific Research. Touching on Implications for Analysis, he defined analysis as the processes of organizing data for interpretation. Analysis involves coding, categorization of open-ended questions, transcribing of qualitative data (interviews), editing and checking, preparation of tables for statistical analysis, testing and presentation, Prof. Annor- Frimpong emphasised.  He took participants through topics such as Scales and Implications for Analysis, Scale Measurement and Descriptive Statistics, Items on the Research Instruments, the Likert Scale or Response Format, amongst others. Resource persons for the one-day seminar, which was held at the School of Medical Sciences Auditorium, made presentations on topics such as “Ethical Issues in Research, Ethical Clearance and Application Process; Data Collection and Management Skills in Research; and Statistical Tools, their Underlying Assumptions and Presentation.” For his part, the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Prof. Ernest Laryea Okorley, who chaired the seminar, stressed the need for graduate researchers to take research seriously. He added that SGS would ensure that its students produce quality dissertation/thesis and, thus, advised students to come out from the seminar with different mindset towards research.    

The 2017 International Conference on Public Administration (ICPA) and International Symposium on West African Studies (ISWAS) has been held at the University of Cape Coast,UCC, with a call on African leaders to capitalize on their relationships with China to better the lots of their citizenry. Dr. Akwasi Osei of the Delaware State University, USA, said the relationship between Africa and China could lead to the progress of the continent. However, he noted that the continent was under-developed as a result of dissonance, selfishness and greed on the part of some African leaders and implored them to refrain from such negative tendencies. Dr. Osei made these remarks while delivering a paper on the topic “In Africa’s Hands: Engagement with China, Chance for Self-determination.” He added that for the continent to witness massive development, it was crucial for African leaders to use the resources they benefit from the Chinese relationship for their intended purposes, such as the construction of  good roads, job creation, infrastructure and industrialisation. Dr. Osei noted that for over half a century, Africa has traded mostly with the West. However, he said, in 2000, African leaders and China began a series of meeting dubbed, “The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC),” which was aimed at creating a platform for equal dialogue based on realistic and pragmatic principles between China and African countries. He observed that the continent had been a dependent economy "tied to the apron strings of external economies through the provision of  raw primary agricultural products, such as cocoa, palm oil, forest products and raw minerals like gold, bauxite, phosphate, diamond, among others". He said that in the 90s, Africa was the “least developed area of the world by any objective measure: low in  growth rate, low agricultural productivity, low investment and above all a crushing debt”. He, consequently, laid the blame on the doorstep of the "backward leadership class that preyed and imposed dictatorships on its people". Speaking on the “Role of Pastoralists Tradition Cultural Institutions in Climate Change Resilience in West Africa", a lecturer at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Syracuse University, USA, Prof John Mcpeak said there are four key shocks to dryland production systems, such as climate, health, market and conflict. He mentioned decentralization, participation, adapting to formal government logic and conflict management as the opportunities available for meaningful collaboration on land use. Prof. Mcpeak explained the increase access to global climate change funds, use of funds to implement public goods that respond to community needs and building capacity to select public goods in participatory manner as also opportunities for meaningful collaboration on local public goods and adaptation planning. For his part, the Chairman of the University Council of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Prof. Wang Zhiqiang, said ISWAS focused on hot developments in west African countries. He added that UESTC had made giant contributions to the Chinese economy and Information Technology (IT) development. Prof. Zhiqiang said UESTC had churned out a lot of graduates who were contributing remarkably to the growth of the Chinese economy. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ampiah Ghartey Ampiah, in his welcome address, urged participants in the symposium to exchange ideas and forge networks.

The Confucius Institute at the University of Cape-Coast (CI-UCC), in conjunction with the Centre for African and International Studies (CAIS), has held the 2017 China-African Urban Development Forum at the University of Cape Coast (UCC). The forum, aimed at providing a platform for researchers and practitioners to discuss issues related to urban development, is on the theme “Sustainable Urban Development in Contemporary Times”.  It is also open to practitioners – planners - who work within the urban areas to exchange ideas in order to extend the frontiers of urban research and also promote sustainable urban development. Delivering the keynote address on the theme “Policy Interventions and Programmes towards the Upgrading of Slums in Ghana: the Role of the Ministry of Inner-City and Zongo Development”, the Minister of Inner City and Zongo Development, Hon.  Boniface Abubakar Saddique, pointed out that Inner-City and Zongo Communities (ICZCs) were vital part of the rich fabric that defined the urban tapestry and, therefore, could not be sidelined in  Ghana’s quest to develop. He said the urban landscape of Ghana was undergoing radical transformation and modernization following the proliferation of superstructures such as shopping malls, upscale residential estate housing, international standard hotels and other high rise commercial buildings. According to the Minister, such developments have resulted in a “burgeoning urban divide with affluent communities”. Citing Accra as an  example, he said there were more affluent communities like Airport Residential area, Dzorwulu and Cantonments, whilst there were also slums in Nima, Maamobi, Sabon Zongo and Sodom and Gomorrah (Old Fadama). However, Hon. Saddique said these Inner-City Zongo slums areas had played critical role in Ghana’s socio-economic development through the provision of affordable housing for the poor and the marginalized. He said slum dwellers were confronted with a number of socio-economic challenges due to the unplanned nature of such communities. The Minister further revealed that slums lacked basic services, including water and sanitation. He opined that successive governments neglected Inner-City Zongo communities  in their implementation of the country’s development programmes, which have affected the quality of life of their (ICZCs') dwellers. It is against this backdrop, Hon. Saddique said  the New Patriotic Party (NPP) under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had created the Ministry of Inner-City and Zongo Development. The Minister said the creation of the Ministry would help Ghana to make giant strides towards the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goal 10, which focuses on reducing inequalities within and among countries. He gave the assurance that Inner-City Zongo communities in the country would benefit from the Zongo Development Fund, which is aimed at uplifting the condition of the Zongo communities across the country. Hon. Saddique noted that  government had envisaged potential challenges that the Fund would face, such as undue politicization and conflicts due to competing interests. He, therefore, called on community level stakeholders, academia, political parties and development partners to support the government to achieve its visions. For his part, the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Prof. D.D Kuupole, speaking on the theme “ Urban Development in Contemporary Times”, said urbanization stemmed from increasing population in urban areas, mainly as a result of rural-urban migration which culminates into cities and towns. Therefore, he said urbanization was one of the driving forces which necessitated the need to develop urban areas. He said multi-linguicism creates the opportunity for effective and efficient socio-cultural dialogue require for the development of a unique urban culture which transcends some cultural boundaries. The former Vice-Chancellor noted that multi-linguicism, at times, made it difficult for policy makers to decide which language should be used  in schools as a medium of interaction. He said the rising population in the urban areas could also lead to tension between the indigenous language of the urban area and the assimilated language. Prof. Kuupole said the myriad of challenges associated with urbanization and multi-linguicism could be addressed through  integrated linguistic framework and the day- to -day interaction amongst divergent city dwellers. He was of the firm conviction that multi-linguicism  was instrinsically linked  to urban development. To this end, he said, "For the various individuals in this context (urban development) to survive, they must relate to one another and in doing so they must communicate through languages that translates their share values and aspirations".  Prof. Kuupole further called for tolerance, accomodation of varied opinions, consensus building and mutual respect among members within urban communities for rapid urban development. On his part, the Chineese Ambassador to Ghana, Her Excellency Sun Baohong, in a speech read on her behalf by the China Director of the Confucius Institute at UCC, Prof. Hu Liangai, said China was committed to promoting Sustainable Urban Development. She said China and Ghana enjoyed a longstanding bond of traditional friendship and rapid development in co-operation in economics, trade, education and other fields. Ambassador Sun Baohong thanked the University of Cape Coast and added that  the Chinese Embassy would spare no efforts to support the development of the institute at the University.  The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, lauded the collaboration between UCC and  Hunan City University,China, for moving beyond cultural exchange and language barrier to organise the Forum. He described  the timing of the forum as apt , saying “ we have a new government with a focus of rural and urban development with special emphasis on the Zongos, which are found in both rural and urban communities in Ghana.” Some students who had excelled academically in the Chinese Language were giving certificates.