ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Resilience of children from divorced homes a case study of Wesley Grammar School

The study was conducted to examine the resilience of children from divorced families in the Ablekuma-North Sub-Metro of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. Students of the Wesley Grammar School in the Ablekuma North-Sub-Metro constitutes the target population of this study and the accessible population was students from divorced homes from 1Arts 1, 1 Arts 2 and 1 Arts 3. The sample size was 15 students who were purposively sampled from 1 Arts 1, 1 Arts 2 and 1 Arts 3 who were from divorced homes. The instrument used for data collection was interview guide. The study also adopted the qualitative method approach. The study revealed that: divorce makes some children strong and resilient, divorce can reduce stress on children thereby improving upon academic standards and inadequate support in terms of education is a negative effect of divorce on children's academic performance. Based on the findings, certain recommendations were made. These include effective school counseling for students of divorced parents, divorced parents should endeavor to support their children even in divorce and school counselors should be alert and have an awareness of the warning signs that a student is struggling with home issues that are carried over into the classroom.

Source: UEW
Resiliency in mathematics investigating the life experiences of successful female mathematics professionals in selected public universities in Ghana

This study investigated the experiences of successful female mathematics professionals and the elements that facilitated their resilience in the mathematics field. A survey design and sequential exploratory mixed method approach were employed in collecting both quantitative and qualitative data for the study. The population for the study was female mathematics professionals in selected tertiary institutions in Ghana from which 70 females in Central and Greater Accra Region were sampled using purposive sampling technique and snowball sampling for data collection exercise. Close-ended questionnaire items and semi-structured interview protocol were used as data collection instruments. Frequency count, percentage, Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient were the statistical tests used in analyzing the quantitative data collected for the study while the qualitative data was presented in descriptive words. The result revealed unhealthy school environment (75.71%), sociocultural beliefs (74.29%) and managing multiple roles as challenging experiences of females in their educational journeys. Also, internal factors (e.g., mathematical self-efficacy 78.57%, determination and self-confidence in mathematics 70.00%) and external factors (e.g., active participation in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities 72.86%) were common factors that contributed to females’ success in the mathematics discipline. The study further found that support systems (e.g., family, school, peer, role models and scholarships) are essential factors which helped females to successfully manoeuvre their ways to gainfully attain a profession in the mathematics field. Finally, the Pearson correlations indicated a significantly positive correlation between various support systems and females’ resilience in mathematics. The researcher hereby concluded females’ challenges in their educational journey in mathematics are related to experiences in unhealthy school environment, sociocultural beliefs and managing multiple roles in the home. However, some internal and external factors as well as support factors contributed to their success in the discipline. Based on the conclusion, it is recommended that parents should put in much effort to develop the mathematical resilience of their female children.

Source: UEW
Resolving the landfill siting impasse: modelling technocratic and indigenous perspectives using GIS multicriteria approach

Increase in waste generation calls for an effective waste management as this has become a necessity for environmental sustainability. Several methods are adopted in managing waste, which include waste reduction, reuse, thermal treatment, recycling and landfilling. The landfill method is recognised as the most used of all the waste management methods in developing countries such as Ghana. However, the selection of a suitable landfill site is very difficult and tedious. This is because it involves a consideration of many factors such as environmental, topographic, economic, socio-cultural and civil engineering. This research sought to identify a suitable landfill site by applying GIS multicriteria and weighted overlay approach in the Bongo District of Northern Ghana. The analysis relied on criteria and weights provided by the technocrats and the indigenes in the district as a way of demonstrating how landfill siting impasse can be resolved by incorporating the various stakeholders. The results obtained provided clear areas for landfill sites in the study area from the technocratic and the indigenous perspectives. However, the technocratic perspective failed to include an important cultural criterion, sacred groves, as a factor. The indigenous perspective also compromised on the factor related to nearness to residential areas, and is equally not sufficient on its own. The optimal landfill sites, which meets the expectations of both the technocrats and indigenes, was identified. This perspective has produced technically favourable and socio-culturally acceptable landfill site. However, it is recommended an environmental impact assessment (EIA) be conducted to identify the full environmental and social cost of the site. It is concluded that in landfill site selection much attention be given to cultural factors in the same way as the technical factors. � 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Source: UEW
Respect for patients� rights in health facilities: experiences of patients during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana

Purpose: This paper aims to identify human rights violations of patients during the early periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana by investigating the experiences of people on how health-care professionals discharged their responsibilities during the time in question. Design/methodology/approach: Explanatory design of the mixed methods approach was adopted, with the intention of collecting both quantitative and qualitative data sequentially, and then integrating the results at the interpretation stage. The approach enriched the quality of data collected as it offered the advantage of shedding light on the primary motivations and reasons for attitudes and behaviours and helped to provide an in-depth understanding of how individuals interpret the happenings around them and their experiences. Thus, although some amount of quantitative method was used in the data collection, the core of this paper is based on the qualitative interpretations. Findings: The study reveals that health-care professionals, especially those in the Tema Metropolis, undermined certain fundamental human rights of patients during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes failure to provide information to patients about treatment options and potential risks of medications; failure to seek the informed consent of patients before performing medical procedures; denial of access to medical files of patients for transfer; and inability or failure to provide medical ambulances services to patients on time. Originality/value: Although many publications on human rights dimensions and health protective issues on COVID-19 pandemic are available on a global scale, still little information pertaining to experiences of individuals with health-care professionals during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in Ghana through the lens of patient�s rights exists. This paper, therefore, fills an important gap in health-care management information, critical for policy decision-making processes regarding patient�s rights in times of pandemic control. � 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Source: UEW
Response of cockerels to diets containing different levels of sheanut cake

A-four week on-farm-feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the response of 120 ‘Ross 308’ cockerel chicks to diets containing sheanut cake (SNC). Three isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets represented as SNC 0%, SNC 5%, and SNC 10% were fed in a completely randomized design (CRD). Measured parameters were body weight, weight gains, and feed intake. Also, feed conversion efficiency and feed cost per kilogram diet were calculated. Hematological parameters were also obtained after the 28-day trial. A reduction in performance was observed with inclusion of SNC into the diets. Weight gain, feed conversion efficiency (FCE) and final body weight reduced significantly (P>0.05) with addition of SNC. However, feed cost per kilogram weight reduced with inclusion of SNC. The highest feed consumption was recorded among birds offered diets containing 10% SNC. The health of the birds was not affected by dietary treatments. It was therefore concluded that though performance of birds was significantly hampered in this experiment, SNC could still serve as a potential replacement for cotton seed cake in cockerels’ diet during periods of scarcity. Keywords: Cockerel, performance, blood parameters and sheanut cake.

Source: UEW
Response of Omankwa maize variety to NPK and biochar soil amendment

The study investigated the effect of NPK and biochar soil amendments on some growth and yield parameters of Omankwa maize variety. The experiment was laid in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The four treatments used included: 250 kg/ ha NPK, 6 tons ha-1 biochar; a combination of 125 kg/ ha NPK and 3 tons ha-1 biochar and a control. Data were collected on phenological, growth and yield parameters. The findings from the growth parameters shown that the maize plants treated with a combination of 125 kg/ ha NPK and 3 tons ha-1 performed better in terms of stem girth, number of leaves per plant, leaf width, leaf length and plant height than all the other treatments. Yield findings also indicated that maize plants that received NPK and biochar treatment recorded a significant increase in cob length, cob diameter and 100 seed weight. Furthermore, results from the phenological parameters which included germination percentage, days to 50% tasseling, days to 50% silking and days to 50% maturity revealed that maize plants treated with the combination of NPK and biochar did well than all the other treatments. It was concluded that the combination of NPK fertilizer and biochar improved the fertility of the soil and promoted growth and yields in maize.

Source: UEW
Rethinking social costs of wastes associated with the mining operations in Ghana from an environmental perspective.

According to the Ghana Environmental Action Plan (1994), Ghana is endowed with abundant natural resources, which have played a very important role in the agricultural and industrial efforts of the country. In the process of exploiting these resources to meet the legitimate socio-economic needs and aspirations of her people, however, adequate care has often not been taken to guard against the destruction of the environment. In the light of these problems caused by improper waste management there is much cause for concern, particularly, in the mining concentrated areas in Ghana. The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to examine and explain the impact of poor management of wastes from mining on the environment. In view of this, it has been suggested that the government of Ghana and all the agencies concerned with environmental safety be actively involved in enforcing and ensuring that the mining companies in the country manage their wastes in an environmentally friendly manner. In addition, if the mining operators fail to effectively manage their wastes in an environmentally friendly manner and therefore affect the environment, they must also be made to pay part of the waste management cost. Perhaps, this can serve as a yardstick and a basis for effective monitoring of the activities of the mining firms to ensure sufficient air, soil and water quality in the country. Key words: assimilative capacity, replenishable resource, pollution, prevention costs, intergenerational externality.

Source: UEW
Retirement planning among senior high school teachers in the Afadzato South District

There is unpopular belief among Ghanaians that proceeding on retirement especially in the Ghana Education Service connotes signing one‟s death warrant because of lack of preparation and poor condition of service. The main objective of the study was to assess the state of preparedness toward retirement planning among teachers in the Afadzato South District second cycle institutions and how it will guarantee their wellbeing after exiting from active employment.Homogenous sampling strategy was used to select seventeen (17) teachers in all the six second cycle schools in the district who had less than ten years to retire. An Interview Guide with semi-structured questions was used. The study showed that although there were some kinds of preparedness, it was concentrated solely on securing housing and accommodation and business ventures at retirement. The study discovered that the participants had the desire to stay in their own houses at retirement so, drastic measures were put in place to find tune to their building projects. Even though, some were in their own houses at the time of this study, majority were at various stages of completion. Self-containedhousesare the preferred dream houses to be built by the teachers. There was no much preparation toward children‟s education at retirement as the teachers had no clear plans. This was due to low salaries of the teachers coupled with so many responsibilities from extended families. It also came to light that, majority had no plan toward their health needs at retirement. It was only the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) that they subscribed unto and no extra preparation in that regard.The teachers were however hopeful that, God would give them good health at retirement. Doing business at retirement was critical to all participants so, much advance preparations were made.Majoritywasalready into some sort of business and they indicated their desire to continue it at retirement.Therefore, for holistic preparedness at retirement, measures such as periodic seminars on retirement planning for teachers and improvement packages for teachers must be considered.

Source: UEW
Revenue mobilisation and its management at a newly created assembly a case of Kwadaso Municipal Assembly

Decentralization is assumed to bring about better efficiency in the distribution of public goods and services at the local level. Interestingly, this acclaimed position of decentralization depends largely on the belief that local governments will in practice exercise much fiscal discretion when it comes to the allocation of resources than the central government. However, to the shock of many, local assembly’s fiscal discretion appears to be very controlled in the sense that most local authorities tend to have limited power even over their own budgets or external sources of funds. Accordingly, this study sought to assess how revenue are mobilized and managed by one of the newly created municipal Assembly in Ghana that is, the Kwadaso Muncipal Assembly.The target population for the study came from all workers within the Kwadaso Muncipal Assembly particularly those working within the revenue collection department of the Assembly. Accordingly, a projected number of 100 employees of the Assembly was targeted as the study population. However, with the sample size, the study used the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sampling table to determine the sample size for 100 targeted population.Accordingly, the sample size for the study stood at 80 based on 5% error of margin and 95% confidence interval. The study distributed a total of 80 questionnaires to the selected officers working within the Kwadaso Municipal Assembly. From the questionnaires distributed, a total of 75 completed questionnaires were returned to the researcher. Nonetheless, out of these received questionnaires, 68 were usable for analysis, giving an effective response rate of 90.66%.The study data was subsequently analyzed using descriptive statistics such as Mean and Standard deviation. Also, inferential statistics such as multiple regression analysis was used to to ascertain the sources of revenue that had a significant impact on the Assembly’s annual revenue. Findings from the study showed that out of the seven revenue sources, only three of them that is, grants, rates and license had the most significant impact on the Assembly’s aggregate annual revenue. Meaning other revenue streams such as, land royalties, fees and fines contribution to the Assembly annual aggregate revenue was minimal. Accordingly, it is recommended to the Assembly to improve its collection approach towards the other revenue streams since improving upon its approach towards these other revenue sources may improve the revenue fortunes of the Assembly.

Source: UEW
Revenue mobilization and public expenditure management in Techiman Municipal Assembly.

Most local government institutions in Ghana are unable to mobilize adequate internal revenue and effectively utilize these revenues to promote local development. Consequently, this study sought to investigate the effectiveness of revenue mobilization arrangements and expenditure management systems in Techiman Municipal Assembly (TMA). The study was underpinned by the resource mobilization and spending-revenue behaviour theories. The study adopted the case study research design within the qualitative approach, and purposively selected officials of TMA, drivers, traders, hawkers, landlords and property owners in the municipality for face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. This study used a sample size of 32 and analyzed data following the thematic analysis procedures. The study demonstrates that revenue mobilization arrangements in TMA are both electronic and non-electronic, but most of these strategies have been ineffective in practice. Additionally, this study shows that effectiveness of revenue mobilization strategies can be facilitated by the use of City Guards alongside revenue collectors during revenue collection. However, this study found inadequate supervision on revenue collection, and enforcement of City Guards during revenue mobilization. Furthermore, the study revealed that revenue mobilization capacity of TMA is low but its expenditure performance has been efficient because there are few deficits in its budgeted versus actual expenditures. Nevertheless, this study uncovered that expenditure management strategies in TMA have been practically ineffective, contributing to weak stakeholder engagement, accountability and reporting. As such, this study recommended that TMA should digitalize its revenue collection systems, intensify supervision of revenue mobilization, and increase collaboration, accountability and reporting on expenditure management with the public

Source: UEW
A review of algorithms and techniques for image-based recognition and inference in mobile robotic systems

Autonomous vehicles include driverless, self-driving and robotic cars, and other platforms capable of sensing and interacting with its environment and navigating without human help. On the other hand, semiautonomous vehicles achieve partial realization of autonomy with human intervention, for example, in driver-assisted vehicles. Autonomous vehicles first interact with their surrounding using mounted sensors. Typically, visual sensors are used to acquire images, and computer vision techniques, signal processing, machine learning, and other techniques are applied to acquire, process, and extract information. The control subsystem interprets sensory information to identify appropriate navigation path to its destination and action plan to carry out tasks. Feedbacks are also elicited from the environment to improve upon its behavior. To increase sensing accuracy, autonomous vehicles are equipped with many sensors [light detection and ranging (LiDARs), infrared, sonar, inertial measurement units, etc.], as well as communication subsystem. Autonomous vehicles face several challenges such as unknown environments, blind spots (unseen views), non-line-of-sight scenarios, poor performance of sensors due to weather conditions, sensor errors, false alarms, limited energy, limited computational resources, algorithmic complexity, human�machine communications, size, and weight constraints. To tackle these problems, several algorithmic approaches have been implemented covering design of sensors, processing, control, and navigation. The review seeks to provide up-to-date information on the requirements, algorithms, and main challenges in the use of machine vision�based techniques for navigation and control in autonomous vehicles. An application using land-based vehicle as an Internet of Thing-enabled platform for pedestrian detection and tracking is also presented. � The Author(s) 2020.

Source: UEW
A Review of Big Data Research in Accounting

The impending fourth industrial revolution has enhanced the role of big data analytics in today�s business practice. Consequently, many now consider big data as the most strategic resource in business to the extent that organizations that fail to utilize it may become competitively disadvantaged. Following these developments, questions have been raised about the future of the accounting discipline, especially in terms of how it can continue to add value to organizations. While some scholars have attempted to address this question, it remains an abstract concept requiring further investigation. Therefore, this study conducts a systematic literature review to determine the status of accounting research on big data analytics and provides avenues for further studies. By conducting co-occurrence network analysis on 52 peer-reviewed articles published from 2010 to 2020, three broad themes emerged, entailing big data implications for accounting practice, education, and research design. A further examination of the themes revealed few empirical studies on the phenomenon, as conceptual research dominates the field. Although external audit implications of big data are widely discussed, other accounting domains (e.g., managerial accounting and taxation) are underexplored. Therefore, future studies may focus on the implications of big data on variables such as performance measurement, information governance, tax behavior, curriculum design, and pedagogy. � 2022 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Source: UEW
A review on food safety and food hygiene studies in Ghana

Food safety and hygiene in Ghana was studied using desk top literature review. Food research was highly concentrated in the capital city of the country and most research focus were on commercial food operations specifically street foods and microbiological safety with limited information from institutional catering and other forms of food hazards. The media currently serves as the main source for reporting of food borne diseases. Food establishments and other sources contributing to food borne diseases included restaurants, food joints, food vendors, schools and individual homes. Limited use of prerequisites measures and food safety management systems was identified. Recommendations on regulating the General Hygiene Principles, implementation of HACCP to strengthen the food sector, regular food safety and hygiene workshops and training for food handlers that commensurate with their roles were made. Government support for SMEs and food handler's health screening were made. � 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Source: UEW