Latest Articles
ABSTRACT
Self-identity is difficult subject to discuss, but the author dares to investigate it by critically viewing it from a perspective of “personal identity informed by psychological and spiritual issues.” The understanding of identity is that identity is shaped by our dreams, visions and values which define our actions and doings. It embraces our very mind, influences our thinking, new information and how decisions are made, and what we consider the most for celebration. The identity denotes one’s personality traits, physical attribute, values, and belief systems. A personal identity is the unique ways that make one a unique individual (Patrick, 2019). Self-identity is the identity one has given to oneself. Personal identity is a subjective concept that changes constantly as one learns and grows (Locke, 2021), and consciousness is the key to personal identity. The author believes that personality is the psyche. The psyche embraces the thoughts, feelings, and behavior, both conscious and unconscious. According to Carl Jung, there are 3 levels of the psyche: the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The author understands the psyche functions as guide to regulate and adapt one in social, physical environment. The conscious awareness grows daily through application of the four mental functions Jung described in personality theory he called thinking, feeling, sensing and intuition. There are also two attitudes that determine the orientation of the conscious mind – extraversion and introversion. The extraverted attitude orients consciousness toward the outside world while the introverted individual orient himself towards the inner world. The author realized that before change and grow, and development could take place in him, he had to be conscious of what he (self-awareness by revisiting his unconscious (reservoir) so that he could modify his behavior defined as personal, social, cultural, spiritual, troublesome, undesirable, or unacceptable. The au
ABSTRACT
The author in this research article viewed that water supports everything, endures everything, welcomes and shelters everything. God behaves in the same way, and that is why water is a sacrament of God, revealing, reminding, pointing to, sending humans back to God through sacramental symbols such as water. The symbol of water in baptism as in creation, combines the two old meaning of water as both life-giving and death-giving. Waters as a symbol is that kind of reality which in being itself known, leads humans to know something beyond itself. As symbol, water differs from simple sign because of the richness of consciousness it effects. It does not only give an understanding, it touches our imaginations, emotions, desires, love, and it triggers our decisions and our activity. Water as symbol has this power to resonate with the deeper levels of consciousness. It is in this sense then that water is a symbol of sacrament for humans. The author discussed the historical development of sacrament. The celebration of the water-sacrament liberates humans both in spirit and body. Baptism in the Christian tradition mostly has always been celebrated with a washing in water. The author looked at water from perspective of sacrament connecting humans symbolically with the creator through art work. Each painting of Meinrad Craighead images something of divine mystery, water reveals the mystery of creation, and art work links humans in theologizing. The water-sacrament of John was a rite of preparation for the age to come, the baptism inaugurated by Jesus was a rite of entry into the new age. Many people received the spirit-sacrament after the resurrection at Pentecost. After the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples received baptism with the Lord’s command. After Jesus passed through life and death that the way to the Father was opened to the rest of human race.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
In 2020, an average of 6,700 newborn babies died every day globally within the first 28 days of life and majority of these deaths were preventable. Current evidence shows that a continuum of institutional and community health system initiatives will not only save the lives of neonates but also prevent disability. This study modelled the predictive effect of institutionalizing community health system on reducing neonatal deaths. The study used an embedded sequential mixed methods design (QUAN (qual)), utilizing a two-arm parallel groups cluster randomized controlled trial in Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe. The intervention group participated in modified women’s and men’s participatory learning and action groups and received community health initiatives focused on training village health workers in essential newborn care and strengthening community governance. The control group received standard Ministry of Health and Child Care initiatives. Data was collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS, Stata, and machine learning techniques, with a significance level of p < 0.05. Results indicated that the timing of neonatal death (χ² = 973, p < 0.0001), low birth weight less than 2,500g (χ² = 129.6, p < 0.0001), and women's literacy (χ² = 99.63, p < 0.0001) were significantly associated with neonatal deaths. Fully functional community governance structures were linked with a reduced likelihood of neonatal death (ARR = 0.327, 95% CI: 0.21-0.44) and Area Under the Curve (AUC) of 0.84. Predictive models achieved high accuracy rates, with random forest demonstrating exceptional results strengthening the argument that the community health system interventions influenced reducing neonatal deaths. In conclusion, prioritizing initiatives that enhance early antenatal care booking and strengthening community health systems can effectively reduce preventable neonatal deaths.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
This paper examines the socio-cultural determinants influencing alcohol consumption among older people in Kounahiri. Based on accidental sampling, the study collected data via a questionnaire, analysed using Sphinx Lexica 4.5 and IBM SPSS Statistics 25 software. The results show a correlation between level of education and the types of alcohol consumed: people with low levels of education prefer strong local alcohols (koutoukou, palm wine), while those with higher levels of education prefer wine and beer, revealing economic and cultural disparities. Alcohol consumption is essentially part of a social and ritual framework, structuring collective interactions during initiation ceremonies, funerals and festivities. This phenomenon illustrates a dynamic of cultural transmission in which alcohol, beyond its individual use, remains an essential vector of social cohesion and community identity.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of leadership accountability on perceived levels of corruption in the procurement department in the judiciary of Kenya. The study utilized the concurrent triangulation design and targeted a population of 278 heads of procurement committees in 278 court stations of the Kenyan judiciary and key informants from six oversight organizations. From this population, a sample of 164 heads of procurement committees was selected using the stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Quantitative data was collected from the heads of procurement committees using questionnaires while qualitative data was collected by interviewing 12 key informants that were purposively selected from the six oversight organizations. The study found that leadership accountability has a statistically significant and negative effect on levels of corruption in the procurement departments in the Kenyan judiciary. Based on the findings, the study concludes that leadership accountability reduces levels of corruption in government procurement. The study recommends formulation of laws, policies and strategies aimed at improving the accountability of leaders in government procurement departments.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
The study on the influence of family size on business studies students’ academic achievement in junior secondary school in Aba Education zone of Abia has 2 research questions and 2 hypotheses. The study used mix description. The population of the study was 9,487 while the sample was 382. Instrument for data collection was structured questionnaire and students’ academic achievement record. Test re- test method was used to establish the reliability of the study. Peason product moment correlation was used for data analysis and was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The finding of the study reveals that family size has a significant influence on students’ academic achievement in business studies. Based on the findings of the study recommended that parents plan the number of children for proper monitoring for effective learning and for better academic achievement especially in business studies.
Original Research Article
ABSTRACT
Coffee Production plays a significant role in Ethiopian economy, even though the productivity at farm level is among the lowest as compared to other coffee producing country. Soil degradation is one of the most challenging problems in coffee growing areas of Ethiopia. Declining of soil fertility is a fundamental problem to agricultural growth and a major reason for slow growth of food production. Therefore, this activity was designed to determine optimum application time of integrated organic and inorganic fertilizers under coffee growing areas and to assess the effects of temporal application effects of integrated organic and inorganic fertilizers on coffee yield and yield stability performance of coffee cultivar. The experiment was conducted with RCBD design with four replication and ten treatments settled from integrated organic and inorganic inputs at Awada Agricultural research sub-center starting from 2013-2023 for the last 10 consecutive years. The result demonstrated that, application of 200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P and 12.5tonha-1 integrated nutrient application at each cropping season resulted statically significant higher yield result as compared to the other nutrient applications. The plot treated with the recommended NP + recommended decomposed coffee husk application per year (200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P and 12.5ton ha-1) indicated over all yield advantage over the other plots by 22.07% or 345kg/ha of clean coffee yield over the recommended (200kgha-1N, 77kgha-1P) applied alone per year and 33.39% or 522kg/ha of clean coffee yield over the plots treated with recommended decomposed coffee husk (12.5ton ha-1) alone application per each cropping season.