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Mobile phone technology and related platforms play an important role in developing economies, helping to bridge the gap between rural areas and cities. They are also used to support business activities, manage family relationships, and provide instructions and educational material for high school children. The technology is particularly important in rural Africa because many of these areas lack telecommunication landlines and infrastructure facilities, and therefore rely on the mobile technology to connect with the outside world. For developing economies like Ghana, which depend significantly on agricultural businesses in the rural areas, the freedom offered by mobile technology allows these businesses to connect with customers and suppliers in the cities and across the country. Farming small business entrepreneurships (FSBEs), upon which the study focuses, which are hard-to-reach for research purposes – are making increasing use of mobile phone technology. However, little extant literature addresses how these farmers adopt the mobile phone technology, how it influences their farming businesses and behaviour, the skills and knowledge they acquire in learning to use the technology, and how they integrate these into the farming businesses. This study aims to fill the knowledge gap by understanding why the farmers adopt the technology, how they learn to use it, and how the technology influence farming business activities. At the theoretical level, the study draws on the Resource-Based View, Kolb’s Experiential Learning (ExL) cycle, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Boundary Object theory. At the empirical level, it draws on two farming groups in the Kwahu district – a remote area of rural Ghana. For the study, 24 farmers were interviewed, 12 each from Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) farmers groups and ESOKO farmers groups – the two main farming groups in the district. The interviews were backed up by participant observations of two farmers, during w

Literary texts and kinds of research have reframed postcolonial experiences to capture several issues in society. On that note, Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians has chalked many successes in gaining the attention of literary scholars to subject the text to interpretation using varied literary approaches, except postcolonial feminism. The postcolonial aspect of the feminist issues in the text is fundamental. The thrust of this paper is to analyse Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians using the postcolonial feminist theory. Guided by three objectives, the study uses the qualitative content analysis method to interpret the text. From the analysis, the study reported that, while objectification and ‘othering’ are characteristic of the representation of females in the text, violence against them is constructed through fear and torture and resisted mainly through silence. Also, the mode of narration influences the presentation of the narrative to readers. Finally, the study offers implications for further research using other literary theories or approaches.

Non-PR, IFPRI1; TiSeed; CRP2; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; CRP3.7; Capacity Strengthening, DSGD; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Fish, Over the past decade, Ghana’s tilapia farming has experienced tremendous growth in production; however, much of the growth has been driven by large-scale cage farmers around Lake Volta. It remains unclear how this growth is and can be made more inclusive of poor and young women and men. This study was conducted to analyze different inclusive business models along the fish seed value chain that can potentially be implemented in Ghana. Based on literature review, field interviews, analysis of survey data, and stakeholder workshops, this study develops four business model prototypes for seed multiplication and distribution to increase farmers’ access to and use of quality tilapia seed: (1) Nursery , which buy fish fry from a reliable hatchery, transport them to locations near other farmers, and grow it to a larger size; (2) Local feed mill, with pelleting machine and technical knowledge to advise on feed formulation; (3) Agents, technical experts who supply fingerlings, handle transport and marketing, and provide technical advice; and (4) Local hatchery, which obtains brood stock from a reliable source, produces local fingerlings to sell to nearby farmers, and provides technical support. Initial ex ante financial and profitability analyses were undertaken and will be refined according to the actual context in the particular district where the sensitization and pilot-testing will take place. These business models have the potential not only to increase farmers’ access to and use of quality tilapia seed but also to provide livelihood and income generation along the fish seed value chain.

Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of mobile technology and related service platforms in supporting informal micro-entrepreneurships in rural Ghana. It aims to extend our knowledge through the development of a conceptual model. Design/methodology/approach. A qualitative research design used in-depth semi-structured interviews with five micro-entrepreneurship owners in the Kwahu South District in the Eastern region of Ghana. Identification of potential case firms was facilitated by a local official. Interview data were analysed thematically. Findings. Mobile technology engendered pride and emotional connectedness and, being easy to use, helped to increase business confidence. Adoption advantages included improved communications with customers and business partners, and effective stock control, providing competitive advantage. Further understanding of mobile technology’s role in improving business processes is needed. Research limitations/implications. This exploratory research is based on five micro-entrepreneurships in one Ghanaian rural area. Further research is needed using larger samples, additional locations and sectors and larger businesses, to identify other factors influencing mobile technology adoption and associated benefits and problems. Practical implications. Government policy supporting growth of informal micro-entrepreneurships using mobile phone technology could increase economic advantage. Micro-business owners need education and training in understanding business processes. Telecommunications companies can highlight technological, business and socio-cultural benefits of mobile phone adoption in rural Ghana. Originality/value. The paper draws upon the experiences of a range of rural-based Ghanaian micro-entrepreneurships to propose a model setting out and linking the technical, business and socio-cultural benefits of mobile phone adoption in supporting business processes.

Some adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are not detected before marketing approval is given because clinical trials are not suited for their detection, for various reasons [5, 23]. Drug regulatory bodies therefore weigh the potential benefits of a drug against the harms and allow drugs to be marketed if felt that the potential benefits far outweigh the harms [26,48]. Associated adverse events are subsequently monitored through various means including reports submitted by health professionals and the general public in what is commonly referred to as spontaneous reporting system (SRS) [19, 23, 69]. The resulting database contains thousands of adverse event reports which must be assessed by expert panels to see if they are bona fide adverse drug reactions, but which are not easy to manage by virtue of the volume [6]. This thesis documents work aimed at developing a statistical model for assisting in the identification of bona fide drug side-effects using data from the United States of America’s Food and Drugs Administration’s (FDA) Spontaneous Reporting System (otherwise known as the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS)) [28]. Four hierarchical models based on the Conway-Maxwell-Poisson (CMP) distribution [43,78] were explored and one of them was identified as the most suitable for modeling the data. It compares favourably with the Gamma Poisson Shrinker (GPS) of DuMouchel [19] but takes a dimmer view of drug and adverse event pairs with very small observed and expected count than the GPS. Two results are presented in this thesis; the first one, from a preliminary analysis, presented in Chapter 2, shows that problems such as missing values for age and sex that militate against the optimal use of SRS data, enumerated in the literature, remain. The second results, presented in Chapter 5, concern the main focus of the research mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Some adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are not detected before marketing approval is given because clinical trials are not suited for their detection, for various reasons [5, 23]. Drug regulatory bodies therefore weigh the potential benefits of a drug against the harms and allow drugs to be marketed if felt that the potential benefits far outweigh the harms [26,48]. Associated adverse events are subsequently monitored through various means including reports submitted by health professionals and the general public in what is commonly referred to as spontaneous reporting system (SRS) [19, 23, 69]. The resulting database contains thousands of adverse event reports which must be assessed by expert panels to see if they are bona fide adverse drug reactions, but which are not easy to manage by virtue of the volume [6]. This thesis documents work aimed at developing a statistical model for assisting in the identification of bona fide drug side-effects using data from the United States of America’s Food and Drugs Administration’s (FDA) Spontaneous Reporting System (otherwise known as the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS)) [28]. Four hierarchical models based on the Conway-Maxwell-Poisson (CMP) distribution [43,78] were explored and one of them was identified as the most suitable for modeling the data. It compares favourably with the Gamma Poisson Shrinker (GPS) of DuMouchel [19] but takes a dimmer view of drug and adverse event pairs with very small observed and expected count than the GPS. Two results are presented in this thesis; the first one, from a preliminary analysis, presented in Chapter 2, shows that problems such as missing values for age and sex that militate against the optimal use of SRS data, enumerated in the literature, remain. The second results, presented in Chapter 5, concern the main focus of the research mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Some adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are not detected before marketing approval is given because clinical trials are not suited for their detection, for various reasons [5, 23]. Drug regulatory bodies therefore weigh the potential benefits of a drug against the harms and allow drugs to be marketed if felt that the potential benefits far outweigh the harms [26,48]. Associated adverse events are subsequently monitored through various means including reports submitted by health professionals and the general public in what is commonly referred to as spontaneous reporting system (SRS) [19, 23, 69]. The resulting database contains thousands of adverse event reports which must be assessed by expert panels to see if they are bona fide adverse drug reactions, but which are not easy to manage by virtue of the volume [6]. This thesis documents work aimed at developing a statistical model for assisting in the identification of bona fide drug side-effects using data from the United States of America’s Food and Drugs Administration’s (FDA) Spontaneous Reporting System (otherwise known as the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS)) [28]. Four hierarchical models based on the Conway-Maxwell-Poisson (CMP) distribution [43,78] were explored and one of them was identified as the most suitable for modeling the data. It compares favourably with the Gamma Poisson Shrinker (GPS) of DuMouchel [19] but takes a dimmer view of drug and adverse event pairs with very small observed and expected count than the GPS. Two results are presented in this thesis; the first one, from a preliminary analysis, presented in Chapter 2, shows that problems such as missing values for age and sex that militate against the optimal use of SRS data, enumerated in the literature, remain. The second results, presented in Chapter 5, concern the main focus of the research mentioned in the previous paragraph.