ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Comparison of three diagnostic methods in detecting brucella infection among slaughterhouse workers at the Kumasi abattoir, Ghana

Brucellosis remains neglected in many countries despite its public health importance. The globally reported number of 500,000 cases per year is likely an underestimation of the actual figure. In Ghana, there remains paucity of Brucellosis data among high-risk populations such as slaughterhouse workers. In hospital setting, laboratory diagnostic methodologies targeting brucellosis is not performed across Ghana. As a consequence, there is no randomized method with good specificity and sensitivity to be adopted for routine Brucella diagnostic purposes. The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare diagnostic performance of Rose Bengal Plate test, ELISA and PCR used in diagnosing Brucella infection as well as its prevalence and risk factors associated with the infection among slaughterhouse workers. A cross-sectional study was carried out at the Kumasi Abattoir with 220 participants randomly selected. Participants were interviewed about their knowledge on Brucella using a structured questionnaire. Blood samples were collected and serum extracted. The samples were tested for the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies using the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT). Extracted DNAs were amplified using the BCSP31-PCR assay. From the 220 participants tested for antibodies against Brucella spp, 3 (1.4%) were positive in the Rose Bengal Plate test, 4 (1.8%) were positive in the anti-Brucella ELISA IgM, 21 (9.6%) were positive in the anti-Brucella ELISA IgG. PCR showed positive for 98 (44.5%) participants. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and Kappa value for Rose Bengal in comparison with PCR were 66.7%, 55.8%, 2.0%, 100% and 0.013 respectively while that for ELISA IgG in comparison with PCR were 85.7%, vii 71.3%, 18.4%, 98.5% and 0.212 respectively. Most of the anti-Brucella IgG seropositive (17/21) (OR 2.2; 95% CI 0.6-7.9; p=0.22) and PCR positive individuals (69/148) (OR 1.5; 95% CI 0.8-2.8; p=0.23) were working in the meat-processing unit. Multivariate analysis showed Odds Ratio but statistically not significant associations for occupation (OR 1.32; 95% CI 0.64-1.15; p=0.34), assisting in birth of livestock (OR 1.29; 95% C I 0.54-3.11; p=0.34) and use of protective clothing (OR 1.54; 95% CI 0.86-2.76; p=0.147). Education (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.79-2.19; p=0.284) showed a lower OR which was also statistically not significant. The estimated prevalence among those at risk population was 44.5%. PCR method yielded the highest sensitivity and specificity among the applied methods. This method is especially helpful epidemiologically in high-risk workers who tested negative for serologic testing. ELISA method(Mantur et al., 2006) can however be used in cases where PCR is not available.

Source: KNUST
Comparison of Some Numerical Methods for Stiff Systems of Ordinary Differential Equation

The phenomenon of stiffness arises whenever a system of differential equations has two or more solution components with rapidly varying time-scales of the independent variable Practical problems and applications in fields such as Mechanics, Control theory, Chemical and Nuclear kinetics , Electronics, and Polution models often lead to stiff systems of differential equations which must be solved. Significant difficulties, however, often arise when standard numerical methods are applied to approximate the desired solutions of these important class of problems. It is therefore desirable to investigate some of the practical and efficient numerical methods for solving such problems. Although a number of methods have been developed and many more basic formulas suggested for stiff differential equations, advice or guidance to assist a user or practitioner choose a suitable method or his/her problem has not been given the desired attention until recently. Thus a thorough investigation of some of the available routines to ascertain their relative efficiency and performance on different classes of stiff problems is also a step in the right direction. Some of the methods for stiff systems we considered in this 5tudy include the BDF—based methods, Generalized Implicit and Semi- implicit fl-methods, Second Derivative Formula--based methods (also called Exponential Fitting methods), and the Modified Semi- implicit Extrapolation methods. At the preliminary investigation stage, we found out that the classical explicit methods both of the Runge-Kutta and Linear Multistep type are extremely inefficient on stiff problems. Their application may, however, find a secure place in the solution of non-stiff problems. We also found out that generally the Implicit Linear Multistep methods of the Adams-Moulton type perform very poorly on stiff problems. We do not therefore recommend this class of method for stiff problem. Our intermediate investigation showed that the BDF-based method, the Second Derivative-based method, the Implicit RK- method of butcher, the Generalised Implicit and Semi – implicit RK-method, the Semi – implicit Extraplation method of Bader and Deuflhard, and the Rosenbrock method of Kape and Rentrop, all perform quite satisfactorily with varying degree of success on various classes of stiff problems. The method of Bader/Deuflhard and Kape/Rentrop proved to be efficient than the more conventional method. Our final investigation leads us to recommend the Bader-Deuflhard Extrapolation method for most stiff problems, because of its greater success in solving various classes of such problems. For less stringent accuracy requirement and mildly stiff problem, however, we do recommend the use of the Kaps-Rentrop because of its ease of implementation and because it compares favourably with the more exhortic conventional code available. For stiff chemical problems however, the BDF-based methods remain very efficient. We therefore recommend the package GEAR, REV3,and the second Derivative – based methods such as SDBASIC of Enright for such problems.

Source: KNUST
Comparison of Stability of selected Numerical Methods in Solving Stiff Semi-Linear Differential Equations

Many real-world applications involve situations where different physical phenomena acting on very different time scales occur simultaneously. The partial differential equations (PDEs) governing such situations are categorized as “stiff” PDEs. Stiffness is a challenging property of differential equations (DEs) that prevents conventional explicit numerical integrators from handling a problem efficiently. For such cases, stability (rather than accuracy) requirements dictate the choice of time step size to be very small. Considerable effort in coping with stiffness has gone into developing time-discretization methods to overcome many of the constraints of the conventional methods. Recently, there has been a renewed interest in exponential integrators that have emerged as a viable alternative for dealing effectively with stiffness of DEs. Our attention has been focused on the explicit Exponential Time Differencing (ETD) integrators that are designed to solve stiff semi-linear problems. Semi-linear PDEs can be split into a linear part, which contains the stiffest part of the dynamics of the problem, and a nonlinear part, which varies more slowly than the linear part. The ETD methods solve the linear part exactly, and then explicitly approximate the remaining part by polynomial approximations.The first part of this project involves a general study of the stiff semi-linear differential equations. The second part of this project involves an analytical examination of the asymptotic stability properties of the Exponential Time Differencing Schemes in order to present the advantage of these methods in overcoming the stability constraints.

Source: KNUST
Comparison of Two Assays for Molecular Determination of Rifampin Resistance in Clinical Samples from Patients with Buruli Ulcer Disease

Buruli ulcer disease (BUD), caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, involves the skin, subcutaneous fatty tissue, and bones and predominantly affects children 15 years of age. If left untreated, contractures may cause severe functional limitation. Standardized antimycobacterial treatment consists of rifampin (RMP) and streptomycin administered for 8 weeks. An oral regimen combiningRMPand clarithromycin is currently under clinical evaluation (1–3). Notwithstanding the efficiency of chemotherapy, treatment failures and various types of secondary lesions have been reported, suggesting the need for customized clinical management strategies (4–6).

Source: KNUST
The competences required by project managers for project success

Managing construction project involves the understanding of the critical success factors (CSFs) which collectively defines a set of best practices to attain project success. Construction projects like any other investments needs adequate funding. Clients and stakeholders invest huge sums of money; hence at the end, the project must be to their satisfaction with regards to quality and aesthetics. The aim of this research was to identify the critical success factors to consider in choosing an effective project manager on a construction project. To identify the critical success factors in construction project delivery and to identify the significant competencies of a project manager that contributes to the project success, were objectives considered. This study employs quantitative research approach. An extensive literature review on the subject matter and a survey using structured questionnaire through the purposive sampling approach was adopted. The data gathered was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and mean score. Fifty respondents were later asked to scale the factors discovered from the existing literature. The first five critical success factors discovered in order of ranking were; Effective quality assurance culture, adequate communication among all project participants, availability of resources as planned throughout the project, adequate funding and detailed project planning. The study again discovered some competencies of a project manager. The competencies were further put into groups of four namely; Administrative experience, human relation skills, leadership skills and finally technical skills. It is believed that the finding from this study will influence the selection of an effective project manager which will enable the project manager play his or her roles efficiently on any construction project

Source: KNUST
Competency-based evaluation of project managers’ performance in mass house building projects in Ghana – the fuzzy set theory approach

The fundamental concept on which project management is based is that a single individual-the project manager- is accountable for the success of the project. This involves project managers (PM) possessing a variety of skills relating to the standard objectives of project completion within a set specification, under time, cost and quality constraints. Admittedly, projects may fail due to external factors that are beyond the control of the project manager, however the competence of the project manager, "constitute a critical parameter among the many variables that directly affect the outcome of the project". Furthermore, PM competencies have been identified to be project specific and the relative importance of success criteria differs significantly over the various phases of the project lifecycle. Subsequently, seven (7) key competency profiles have been developed for the management of mass house building projects in a previous study. However, there is no empirical understanding of how these competencies are being used in practice towards entrenching the reliability and validity of the seven (7) core competencies, especially where human decisions are involved. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to establish a method for evaluating the performance of a PM in mass house building projects based on the seven (7) core competencies as defined by senior managers. Subsequently, a structured interview was conducted to elicit the views of senior managers regarding the antecedents or measure indicators (MIs) to the seven (7) key competency factors (KCFs) required in mass house building projects (MHBPs). Due to ill-defined and ambiguous nature of the competencies required in MHBPs, appropriate qualitative and linguistic terms were developed for senior managers to rate the performance of their PM handling a current project. The data was taken through fuzzy arithmetic and results showed that the level of performance of the PM in the eyes of senior managers was average. The study confirmed an earlier finding that the performance of PMs in Ghana is average. Industrial contributions of the study involve developing a model that provides insight in to and sub-themes to the seven (7) key competencies that engender superior performance in MHBPs. The fuzzy technique used in this research has proven to be a useful tool for evaluation of competencies, which are quite difficult to measure and quantify in our present situation and with the existing tools in the construction industry if any.

Source: KNUST
Competing for Human Resources; Strategies for the Recruitment, Selection and Retention of Administrative Staff for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Administrators play very crucial role in the achievement of corporate vision. They are often the frontline persons and usually play middle management role in many organizations. In view of the special role they play, organizations need to put in place effective strategies to ensure that the right people are recruited and retained. This study was undertaken to find out the effectiveness of KNUST's strategies for the attraction, selection and retention of a high performing administrative staff. The study covered information on job vacancies, mode of recruitment, selection process, and factors that make people choose to work at the university. The study was limited to only Administrative Assistants. Questionnaires were used to collect information from 50 Administrative Assistants out of a total of 150. Two Semi-structured interviews were conducted with two of the staff of the Human Resource Department of the university. There were other unstructured interviews with some of the Administrative Assistants. The study has revealed that some of the factors that make people choose to work and continue to stay at the university are job security, education for children and the prestige of working in a university. Problems with the selection process have been addressed in the recommendations. The need for the university to adopt competitive strategies to its human resource activities has been emphasized. It is believed that the recommendations made on the findings would go a long way to help, not only the KNUST, but also other public institutions in pursuit of their strategic visions.

Source: KNUST
Competition in the Banking Industry of Ghana

Competition in the banking sector in Ghana seeks to look at the increased number of banks over the past six years, the paradigm that has occurred in bringing banking to a new level which should benefit the population and the economy. The study examined banking sector competition in Ghana as an objective. The increase in the number of banks in the Ghanaian banking industry and the liberalisation of the financial market has significant implications for the level of competition as well as the welfare of the customers in the banking sector. This is due to the fact that after the liberalization of the financial market for which banking forms part, only a few of the population can be said to be actively conducting business with the banks and the majority still unbanked. It is essential to tackle a problem like this by first looking at the level of competition and the gap it has created. The Herfindahl –Hirschman Index, along with the accompanying structural theories, were used to analyse changes in the level of concentration of the various banks and competition in the industry over the period of five years [2003 – 2008] which are having impact on the businesses and the economy as a whole as well as . It was found that the structural model of competition indicate a significant positive impact of financial liberalization on bank competition. Hence, there is a high level of competition in the banking sector of the Ghanaian economy which is skewed to benefit a minority of the population. It was generally recommended that Banks should come out innovative with products to attract a larger population of the unbanked into the market.

Source: KNUST
The complaince level among the trader population in Ghana: a case study of the Vat Service in the Greater Accra Region

The Value Added Tax Service is one of the three agencies of the government that is tasked with the mobilization of revenue for the government. At the beginning of each year, the Service is given a target by the government to collect. The Service has consistently been exceeding its target creating the impression that government revenue expectations have been met. However given the, fact that government relies on about fifty (50%) percent of donor inflows to meet its budget expenditure, the picture is clear then that internal revenue generation is insufficient and must be stepped up. There is the need for the Revenue Agencies including the VAT Service to improve their revenue mobilization. However, the Service has been cautious when it comes to the issue of target setting. The main reason responsible for the modest target setting by the Service is the non compliant nature of the trader population (i.e. tax payers registered by the VAT Service to collect the Value Added Tax (VAT) on its behalf). The Service is faced with the problem of how to get the taxpayers to increase their compliance level. The reason being that if the compliance level is high, revenue targets will be increased and government revenue will be increased and over reliance on donor inflows will be minimized. The object of this paper therefore was to determine the reason for low compliance and come up with appropriate measures to solve it. Employing data collected from the staff of the VAT Service and the trader population, the study revealed: that the tax rate is quite high, traders’ knowledge of tax and related issues are limited due to inadequate education on the part of the VAT Service and the registered traders who collect the tax on behalf of government feel cheated by the fact that others do not do the same. On the part of the staff, they also thought that education of the taxpayers was problematic whilst their main issue was the fact the staff were not motivated enough to carry out the objectives of the Service. Based on the findings that came out of the study, a number of recommendations were made to improve compliance among the taxpayers. These include stepping up education of the taxpayers, registration of the unregistered traders, bringing the Service closer to the trader population as well as marketing the Service to the taxpayer in a manner that will help them improve their compliance. The study also recommended improved motivational measures for the staff as well.

Source: KNUST
Complementary Feeding Practices And Nutrition Status Of Young Children 06-23 months of Age in the Kassena-Nankana District, Upper East Region, Ghana

Malnutrition is responsible globally for 60.0% of deaths among children under 5 years and is often attributed to suboptimal feeding practices. The objective was to assess complementary feeding practices among young children 06-23 months of age and their nutritional status. Hypothesis of the study was to identify if there is an association between early introduction of complementary foods (before 6 months of age) and the nutritional status of children 06-23 months of age in the Kassena-Nankana District, Ghana. A cross sectional household study was conducted in the Kassena-Nankana District, 379 children and mothers/caregivers were selected using a multistage sampling method. Complementary feeding practices of young children and nutritional status of both mother/caregiver and child was assessed. The study also assessed mothers’ knowledge on complementary feeding. From the study, 61.2% of the children were timely introduced to complementary foods (6 months of age) and 96.3% of the children were still breastfeeding. The prevalence of child undernutrition among the children was as follows: stunting (HAZ <-2 z scores) was 15.6%, underweight (WAZ <-2 z scores) 15.3% and wasting (WHZ <-2 z scores) 8.7%. Prevalence of maternal malnutrition was 10.3% (BMI<18.5kg/m2), overweight was 12.4% (BMI>18.5-≤30.0-kg/m2) and obese was 2.4% (BMI>30.0kg/m2). This is a measure of the double burden of malnutrition in the district. There was no association between early introduction of complementary foods before six months and child undernutrition based on univariate analysis (unadjusted). There was no statistically significance when the children were compared using complementary foods introduction time and child undernutrition: stunting was (<6 months of age: OR=0.70, 95%CI=0.31-1.59, P=0.400), underweight (<6 months of age: OR=1.04, 95%CI=0.48-2.23, P=0.920), and wasting (<6 months of age: OR=0.65, 95%CI=0.21-1.96, P=0.442) of infants and young children. A significant association (adjusted odds ratio) was found between stunting and age (6-8 months, 9-11 months and 18-23 months), primary level of maternal education, female sex, whilst underweight was associated with age (6-8 months, 9-11 months and 18-23 months), divorced/separated marital status, Nankam/Frafra tribe, primary level of maternal education, and female sex. Wasting was associated with only female sex. There was high frequency (38.8%) of inappropriate complementary feeding practices in the district. Though there was no association of child malnutrition and early introduction of complementary foods this relation does exist and could be found in a similar survey.

Source: KNUST
Competitive strategies and firm performance: a comparative assessment of mtn ghana and vodafone ghana.

A firm’s strategy incorporates the arrangements and techniques devised by board to yield a hit to a company overall performance. An approach is thus a management recreation plan for the business. The study is on competitive strategies and firm performance: a comparative iii assessment of mtn Ghana and Vodafone Ghana. The main objective is to identify the competitive strategies used by mtn and Vodafone Ghana, to assess the impact of competitive strategies on the business performance of mtn - and Vodafone Ghana limited and to establish the challenges to competitive strategy implementation. Data was collected from hundred and ninety-one (191) workers from managers, marketing managers and marketing executives of both Vodafone and mtn, using convenient sampling. The data collection tool employed was questionnaire. The data was analyzed using (spss version 24). Findings from the analysis showed that both mtn and Vodafone prioritize on cost leadership strategy, offensive marketing strategy, customer relationship management, and defensive marketing strategy as their tool to achieve organizational goals. It could be established from the analyses that, the strategies used by both mtn and Vodafone impacts on their operational performance. But that of mtn impacts performance more greatly than Vodafone. Thus, the correlation analysis showed the strategies adopted by mtn will positively impact performance by 0.725 units. On the other hand, Vodafone's competitive strategy will only impact performance by 0.346 units. The major challenges each telecommunication company (mtn and Vodafone) faces with reference to strategy implementation. Capital requirement, lack of detail planning, and strategy and culture misalignment were as the identified obstacles to their strategy implementations. Vodafone on the other hand ranked poor communication, poor prioritization and government policies and lack of detail planning as the first three obstacles to their strategy implementation.

Source: KNUST