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This paper examines prison services and how they can be managed to uphold COVID-19 prevention etiquettes, in light of the contemporary rise in COVID-19 cases across the sub-Saharan Africa continent and the world at large.

An extensive review of existing literature on COVID-19 was conducted to ascertain the nature of the pandemic in prisons in sub-Saharan Africa.

In line with empirical observations, the paper recommends regular disinfection of prisons and correctional facilities on the sub-continent. Again, there is the need for countries to resort to alternative punitive measures other than imprisonment, to curb the issue of overcrowding in prisons. Furthermore, there is the need for national governments to build ultramodern prison facilities, which would make room for emergency situations, as well as make provision for any future rise in the number of inmates while, at the same time, meeting fundamental needs as peculiar to prisoners. Finally, medical units in prisons need to be well-equipped against contemporary rise in COVID-19 cases.

The authors hereby declare that this submission is their handmade which has not been submitted to any other journal outlet.

The study aimed to use geographic information system (GIS) based multi-criteria decision making analysis (GIS-MCDA) to select areas suitable for siting landfills in Ashanti region. It also sought to ascertain variables most sensitive to the siting of landfill in the region.

This study utilized GIS-based Multi-criteria decision making analysis –AHP to model and select areas most suitable to siting landfills within the region. Overall, 16 variables including wind speed and hydraulic conductivity (which were previously neglected in landfill siting in Ghana) were identified through comprehensive literature review. These variables were weighted using AHP method and integrated using the weighted linear combination (WLC) in GIS environment to develop five sub-models: the physical environmental, sociocultural, economic/technical, climatic and hydrogeological sub-models. These sub-models were further weighted and then integrated to derive the final suitability model.

Results show that 13% (3,067 km²) of the region was identified as most suitable to siting engineered landfills. The study also identified 11 sites which are considered most suitable for situating landfills. On a sensitivity angle, hydrogeological (R² = 0.5923; p = 0.003) and physical environmental sub-model (R² = 0.254; p = 0.034) significantly predicted the final suitability model developed.

Ghana's Landfill Guidelines seeks to optimize site selection and ancillary services that culminate into achieving sanitary landfills by 2020. Evidence still abounds on the unsuitability of existing and in some cases, new landfill sites presenting environmental and social negative impacts. The comprehensive evaluation of most crucial variables – social and environmental factors that determine an optimal landfill location – will be of immense help to policy planners like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) towards upgraded landfills. The authors hope that, concerned agencies will adopt the model in the study and integrate into their existing landfill suitability modeling techniques to provide a more grounded framework that optimizes landfill site selection within the study area.

This study is the first attempt to consider a regional-level waste collection site selection in Ghana using comprehensive sets of social and environmental factors and will therefore contribute immensely to EPA's goal of achieving upgraded landfills by 2022.

Current evidence indicates that humans and animals are at increased risk of multiple health challenges due to microplastic (MP) profusion. However, mitigation is constrained by inadequate scientific data, further aggravated by the lack of evidence in many African countries. This review therefore synthesized evidence on the current extent of MP pollution in Africa and the analytical techniques for reporting.

A literature search was undertaken in research databases. Medical subject headings (MeSH) terms and keywords were used in the literature search. The authors found 38 studies from 10 countries that met the inclusion criteria.

Marine organisms had MPs prevalence ranging from 19% to 100%, whereas sediments and water samples had between 77 and 100%. The most common and dominant polymers included polypropylene and polyethylene.

This review shows that most studies still use methods that are prone to human errors. Therefore, the concentration of MPs is likely underestimated, even though the authors’ prevalence evaluations show MPs are still largely pervasive across multiple environmental matrices. Also, the study reveals significant spatial disparity in MP research across the African continent, showing the need for further research in other African countries.

Even though some reviews have assessed MPs pollution in Africa, they have not evaluated sample prevalence, which is necessary to understand not only concentration but pervasiveness across the continent. Secondly, this study delves deeper into various methods of sampling, extraction and analysis of MPs, as well as limitations and relevant recommendations.

The construction industry is an industry which has gained notoriety when it comes to both physical and mental health problems. Compared to other industries, the construction sector has a higher prevalence of many stressors and mental health concerns. This calls for mechanisms to cope with these concerns. One coping mechanism propounded to help cope and adapt in the face of pressures and challenges is “Mental Toughness (MT)”. While mental toughness has been widely studied in various fields, there is a paucity of comprehensive research examining its significance among construction professionals. Thus, the motivation of this study is to establish the mental toughness characteristics among construction professionals in Ghana.

The construction industry is an industry which has gained notoriety when it comes to both physical and mental health problems. Compared to other industries, the construction sector has a higher prevalence of mental health concerns. One coping mechanism propounded to help cope and adapt in the face of pressures and challenges is “Mental Toughness (MT)”. While mental toughness has been widely studied in various fields, there is a paucity of comprehensive research examining its significance among construction professionals. Thus, the motivation of this study is to establish the mental toughness characteristics among construction professionals.

the study's findings revealed 13-factor model characteristics of mental toughness with 43 variables for mentally tough performers in the construction environment. These 13-factor models include Pressure Management (PM), Motivation (M), Emotional Intelligence (EI), Interpersonal self-belief (SB), Tough Attitude (TA), Job-related self-belief (SBB), Ethical Values (EV), Commitment (C), Focus (F), Optimism (OP), Expertise and Competence (EC), Imagery Control (IC) and Resilient (R).

The outcome of this study has significant practical implications for various stakeholders. For construction professionals the identified factors provide valuable insights into the psychological attributes and behaviours that contribute to mental toughness among construction professionals. Understanding these characteristics can empower professionals to develop strategies for coping with stress, maintaining focus, and fostering resilience in challenging construction environments to achieve optimum performance levels consistently.

The originality of this study's findings stems from the fact that it is among the first to provide greater insight into mental toughness characteristics considered by professionals (quantity surveyors, construction managers, engineers, project managers, architects, estate managers) in the construction industry.