This article explores Research Data Management (RDM) at the University of Ghana (UG). It emphasises on institutional awareness and attitudes, and whether the University Library is officially supporting this emerging strategic interest in research focused Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Purposive sampling was used to select information-rich respondents from across the University (i.e. Librarians, Research Administrators, ICT Managers and Senior Researchers) who were interviewed on a range of issues about RDM. Institutional documents were also reviewed to corroborate the primary data and get a deeper understanding of the research problem. The study shows that while RDM is recognised at the institutional level as good research practice and integrity issue, the concept is tenuously understood in the local community. Unsurprisingly, however, there was a general appreciation and awareness of the need for RDM and the implications for such critical concerns as security, integrity, continuity and institutional reputation. The library is yet to take a strategic approach to RDM issues and there is clearly a dearth in RDM expertise within the library system. The study recommends that the library must be proactive in advocating and promoting RDM issues at UG, but first, the Librarians must take advantage of numerous existing opportunities to build their capacity.

Background: The clinical practice component in nursing and midwifery education is a neglected area of research. There is far ranging evidence that clinical exposure and skills acquisition is not equitable in Ghana. Researchers have focused mostly on clinical supervision with students’ needs still not prioritized. Therefore, this research sought to explore students’ views and stories about their clinical practicum experiences and to help gain a deeper understanding into their knowledge, competency acquisition, clinical learning, and transition to practice. Methods: We utilized focused ethnography design with Roper & Shapira’s methods on 12 students during their intra-practicum period in a tertiary hospital situated in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti-Region of Ghana. Within the period of 4 weeks intra practicum, participants were conveniently and purposively sampled and with an interview guide with a grand tour question participants’ were involved in conversation to elicit information through focus group discussions (FGD) in their natural setting. The FGDs were conducted on weekly basis during debrief sessions for 3 weeks until participants repeated what they have already said in the previous weeks indicating data saturation. Results: Nursing and midwifery students’ face diverse realities in the clinical sites, and are least supported in their skills and competency acquisitions, leading to theory practice confusion and inconsistencies, as students face challenges with the clinical component of their training. It was found that there were lack of preceptors and limited ward nurses’ preparedness to support students during clinical sessions hence students were subjected to excessive unproductive errands during the periods of practicum. It was also found that there is lack of collaboration between tutors and practicing nurses in the students training further exacerbating the theory-practice confusion. Conclusion and Recommendations: The identified gap is calling for a collaboration between clinicians and tutors to strengthen the clinical practice component of student nurse training. This will address the challenge of “theory-practice confusion and inconsistencies” among others.

Travel and tourism have been hard-hit by COVID-19, and people have been forced to cancel travel plans due to governments being forced to implement travel bans to curb infection dissemination. Therefore, this study investigates the influence of situational awareness for adopting healthprotective behaviours such as postponed travel plans. We used the theory of situational awareness (SAT) coupled with the health belief model (HBM) to analyze health-related behaviors. Data from a cross-sectional survey of 705 Pakistani and international adults were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling, during the peak of the COVID-19. The results confirmed that perceived understanding of COVID-19 cause influences perceived severity, understanding of contracting COVID-19 influences perceived susceptibility, and perceived understanding of COVID-19 prevention influences both perceived barriers and perceived benefits. The results further showed that perceived understanding of COVID-19 prevention is a strong predictor of self-efficacy, which ultimately influences health-protective behaviour. In addition, the sentiment analysis revealed that as COVID-19 continues to rise, people are becoming more sentimental and avoiding travel, even during festivals. The outcome of this study demonstrates that situational awareness has an effect on the postulates of healthprotective measures and plays a key role in the implementation of protective measures such as canceling travel plans to ensure protection.

The study surveyed librarians’ and students’ attitudes, perceptions and concerns on privacy in Ghanaian universities with the aim of seeking a better alignment of their perspectives in the online library context. This study adapted and applied the instrument developed by Zimmer which assessed attitudes and practices of librarians in the USA on privacy rights and protecting patron’s privacy in the library. The study found that between librarians and students in Ghanaian universities, there was a need for greater control over their personal data; and a need for ethical responsibility on the part of data collecting online library agents; both groups expressed dislike for state censorship and corporate monopoly over their personal data. However, despite their positive attitude about the strong role of librarians in guaranteeing their personal data, a significant number of them demonstrate little faith in librarians to actualize the protection of their personal data. Lastly, privacy attitudes and concerns of academic librarians were noted to align with that of university students in Ghana. Among others, it was recommended that Ghanaian academic librarians integrate privacy education and awareness creation in their universities, emphasizing the need to make informed online decisions and exposing potential repercussions of their decisions while using online library and digital resources.

This research contributes to knowledge on privacy practices in academic libraries, by comparing survey data of librarians and their student-patrons in three top Ghanaian public universities. Our research revealed that Ghanaian academic libraries have not been proactive in promoting privacy issues. There is a general lack of awareness among librarians and their student-patrons about library practices, policies and procedures relating to privacy in their institutions. Besides, very little has been done in terms of providing privacy education and communicating the library’s and vendors’ privacy policies to staff and student-patrons. Among others, recommendations were made for library leaders and the library professional association in Ghana to develop toolkits that will facilitate privacy education and privacy advocacy.