ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Efficient value chain management and firm survival: the case study of Ayensu starch company limited (ASCo).

The competitiveness of manufacturing activities in the modern business world enjoins the actors of all value adding activities to operate efficiently in order to maximize the output of their operating activities. The success of these value adding activities is influenced by the interaction and strength of relationships that exist between suppliers downstream, the firm as well as customers upstream. The study was on the efficient value chain management and firm survival using Ayensu Starch Company Value Chain as a case study. The total population of farmers, customers and management used for the survey was 570 out of which a sample of 260 was selected, broken down into 250 farmers, 2 management members and 8 customers. The researcher adopted stratified and judgmental sampling technique in selecting the respondents and also used structured questionnaires and interview guides as data collection tools. Data collected from the field was analysed in forms of descriptive statistics, regression analysis and methods of efficiency measurement. The results showed that ASCo has suffered severe production shortfalls in the past five (5) years due to inadequate supply of raw materials, inefficient plant, machinery and equipment to undertake processing of raw cassava. Also, the efficiency in production was low for the period 2010-2013 cropping season whilst that of 2014 was high. Furthermore, factors such as main objective for cassava cultivation, cropping system, major point of sale, pest/disease control and main source of funds influence survival of ASCo from the farmers’ perspective. Again, the operating experience resulting from years of operation, state-of-the-art technology, relationship with suppliers, relationship with customers as well as research and development impact on survival of the firm. Finally, production, technological and marketing constraints affect efficiency of the players in ASCo’s value chain therefore the researcher recommends that ASCo should pay competitive prices for cassava in order to guarantee regular and promote supply and also ASCo should engage in a private-public partnership so as to help inject substantial funds into its operations.

Source: KNUST
Electricity supply quality and firm productivity in Ghana.

The main objective of the study is to examine the impact of Electricity Supply Quality on the Productivity of Firms in Ghana. To address this objective, the study specifically examined the impact of power outages on productivity of firms in Ghana and the impact of Electricity cost on the productivity of firms in Ghana. The study adopted quantitative method where the various measures of central tendency; mean, mode and median, measure of dispersion; variance and standard deviation where used to explore 48 observations on the following variables: NationalSale, ElectricityCost, TotalSale, GeneratorUse and PowerOutages. Correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between the dependent variable NationalSale and the independent variables ElectricityCost, TotalSale, GeneratorUse and PowerOutage. Hausman Specification Test was used to determine the most appropriate model for the study and finally the random effect model was estimated. Data was obtained from the Enterprise Survey 2013. The study revealed that power outage is a principal index which influence electricity supply quality and consequently affecting firm productivity negatively in Ghana since the variable PowerOutage has a coefficient of -11.49 and a significance level of 0.030. This implies that for an increase in the number of power supply cuts or power outages to firms, holding other determinants of productivity of firms constant, the firm’s productivity will decrease by 11.49 percent. This relationship is highly significant at 5% significance level. Also, the study further revealed that the cost of electricity consumed by firms influences the quality of electricity supply and thereby impacting negatively on firm productivity and profitability holding all factors of firm productivity constant in Ghana since the variable ElectricityCost has a coefficient of -8.47 and a P-value of 0.003. This implies that, for every one GH¢ increase in the cost of electricity in Ghana, the productivity of firms decreases by 8.47 percent holding other determinants of firm’s productivity constant. This relationship is significant since the P-value is less than the 5% significance level. The study, based on the findings, recommends that Government (in conjunction with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission-PURC) should devise and initiate policies in the form of subsidiesthat would help reduce the cost of electricity in Ghana. Policies such as Time-of-Use Tariffing may be adopted to ensure efficient consumption of electricity with its attendant reduction in electricity consumption cost. It further recommends for manufacturing and non manufacturing firms in Ghana to resort to the use of generators or other alternative electricity supply during periods of frequent number of electric power outages which would result in the reduction of firms’ productivity.

Source: KNUST
Electrification planner for Ghana using open-source WebGIS

Energy system planning provides information, such as electrification rate and access, essential to match demand and supply of energy. As countries strive to rapidly grow their economies and increase the living standards of its citizens, energy planning system is essential to keep track of assets, accessibility, adequacy, availability, and distribution of energy resources across locations targeted for development. In Ghana, the Ghana Energy Development and Access Project (GEDAP) was mandated to provide up to 100% electrification rate to the citizens by 2020. While this time has elapsed, public information system showing the spatial distribution and statistical analysis of electrification rate and access in communities and local administrative areas remain scanty. Such decision support system, which can inform energy investment decisions and policy formulation by local and international investors is not readily available, impeding on the Government of Ghana’s (GOG) electrification expansion efforts. It also hinders the nation in attaining the United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop a decision support system on electrification rate in Ghana. The study used energy access data and open-sourced Geographical Information System (GIS) to map the spatial distribution and provide statistical analysis of electrification rate in the country. The resulting information was connected to a WebGIS that can provide access to query, manipulate, and visualize electrification rate in the counting. The developed system estimated that, presently, Ghana has an electrification rate of 85.16% as of November 2020. This information, and the system in general, will aid decision makers to make swift decision and provide geospatial evidence-based report in achieving 100% electrification rate in the country

Source: KNUST
Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Transition Metal-Doped MoS2 Monolayer: First-Principles Calculations

Density functional theory in the framework of generalized gradient approximation (GGA) of Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof to investigate the effects of some selected transition metal (TM) and rare-earth metal (RE) dopants on the electronic and magnetic properties of a 2D molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) monolayer is reported. The results demonstrate that it is energetically stable to incorporate Ni and Cu in MoS2 structure under Mo-rich conditions. The pristine MoS2 monolayer has a calculated direct bandgap of 1.70 eV and experiences significant reduction in the gap due to the defects. There is observed induced magnetic behavior due to the tight binding effect originating from the localized dopants and the nearest-neighbor Mo atoms, with magnetic moments ranging between 0.82 and 3.00 μB. Some of the dopants result in 100% spin polarization which is useful for engineering spin filter devices on magnetic MoS2 nanostructures.

Source: KNUST
Electrolyte degumming of crude vegetable oil

Electrolyte degumming is an emerging procedure which employs the use of electrolytes in the removal of phospholipids present in crude vegetable oil. In this research, Crude soya bean oil (CSBO) was degummed using six factors; electrolyte concentration (0.5-3.0 % w/v), electrolyte-oil ratio (1-5 % v/v), temperature of medium (50 -80 oC), reaction time (30-60 min), agitation speed (150-300 rpm) and the electrolyte combination (KCl-CaCl2; NaCl-MgCl2). Response surface methodology was used to randomize the factors involved in the process, analyze the responses obtained,predict the best-fit regression model and optimize the degumming experiment. A reduced quartic model was obtained as the best model with p<0.05 and lack of fit of 0.88. Statistical analysis revealed linear, quadratic, cubic and quartic interactional effects respectively. Based on the model, the optimum condition was evaluated using sodium and magnesium chloride mixture at a concentration of 2.4 % w/v and electrolyte-oil ratio of 4 % v/v. The condition which was maintained at 67 oC, agitated at 235 rpm for 37 min produced a degummed soya oil of 4 ppm.

Source: KNUST
Electronic Banking Adoption in Ghana: A Case Study of Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited

Electronic banking (e-banking) has brought about a revolution in the functioning of banks as it offers major opportunities to banks and their customers. This has made the transition to electronic banking a necessity for banks in order to be viable. Despite its benefits, developing countries still lag behind in the adoption of electronic banking. This study therefore seeks to examine the adoption of e-banking in the Ghanaian banking industry with Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana Limited (GTBank) as the case study to identify the benefits, challenges and critical success factors for the adoption of e-banking in the Ghanaian banking industry. The research made use of questionnaires and interviews to collect data from staff and customers of GTBank. The results of the study indicated that e-banking adoption was a business strategy taken by the bank in response to customer needs and the changing marketing trends in the banking industry. The benefits, challenges and critical success factors of e-banking are also identified and discussed. From the study it is obvious that tremendous benefitssuch as revenue generation, improvement in productivity and efficiency in service delivery and cost savings were derived from e-banking. The lack of a solid technology infrastructure was identified as a major challenge of e-banking adoption in the country. The study however revealed that there is a promising future for e-banking in Ghana.Some recommendations to enhance the adoption of e banking in country are made based on this study.

Source: KNUST
Electronic Banking in Ghana: The case of the Kumasi branches of The Trust Bank

Banking has changed. An increasingly innovative and aggressive financial services environment, as well as deregulation, has created more competition and a seemingly endless variety of products. These forces of change have banks moving towards electronic-based channels. Electronic banking services the ultimate factor which differentiates banks and determines whether or not they survive. This research intends to show how customers and banks perception of electronic banking influences their adoption of electronic banking channels in Ghana. It focuses on customers of a bank that was first in Ghana to offer one of the forms of electronic banking channels (the ATM) and has plans of offering more e-banking channels in the near future. Based on this culture of innovation, The Trust Bank was selected for this research. Questionnaires were administered to customers personally, personal interviews with some experts in the industry were conducted and banking journals and books were researched. The interesting result is that Convenience was found to be the main driving force that is prompting both banks and customers to go in for e-banking services and while customers perceive security, ease of use, usefulness and information on e-banking as the factors that affect the adoption or non adoption of e-banking, the banks expressed lack of adequate research on e-banking by their customers as the factors affecting provision, adoption and implementation of e-banking services. The adoption of e-banking services will help the banks improve the efficiency of their operations. The effect of providing e-banking services is to make banks less competitive, attract new customers, advance in technology; satisfy their existing customers and to make banks more profitable. Electronic banking also helps banks to adapt themselves to a changing environment and provide quality services.

Source: KNUST
Electronic banking in Ghana; An assessment of its impact in promoting a cashless economy.

This thesis is based on three banks in Ghana. The study sought to assess the impact of electronic banking in promoting a cashless economy in the country. The study idea was conceived on the premise that the use of electronic banking could serve as a major tool in curbing the use of so much cash in the country. This therefore brings to light the transformational role banks play in achieving a cashless economy. The researcher also wanted to understand how e-banking as a new way of doing business can be effectively utilized in the Ghanaian economy especially with the understanding that e-banking involves the fundamental reengineering of banking models into an internet based networked enterprise. Primary and secondary data collection technique was used to collect data for the study and both quantitative and qualitative technique was used to analyze the data. The results of the study indicated that the benefits of e-banking in promoting a cashless economy are well known to the banks and its respective customers and this represents a formidable force to promote a cashless economy in Ghana. This means that most banks have recognized the need to change their business process to conform to changing business trends in order to keep up with the cashless system. Despite the perceived and experienced benefits of ebanking in promoting a cashless economy, the researcher also identified several barriers and challenges. The results also revealed that the banks consider the technology as the most important challenge to the effective promotion of a cashless economy in Ghana. The study provides some recommendations towards improving e-banking in Ghanaian banks.

Source: KNUST
Electronic Fuel Cards: Challenges and Benefits A Study of Total Petroleum Ghana Limited Fuel Card (Tomcard)

This study investigates the challenges and benefits of Tomcard, an electronic fuel card of Total Petroleum Ghana Limited and examine why people prefer physical cash transactions to the Tomcard. Though electronic payments have several benefits for users, patronage in developing economy including Africa has always been below average. Though Total Petroleum Ghana Limited introduced electronic payment in 2003, the proportion of sale through the fuel card has not increased much. Therefore, this study gathered data in a field survey of two hundred (200) users of Tomcard from ten (10) companies. The random sampling technique was employed at the various companies because it gives each member of the population an equal chance of being selected for the study. The tools used for the collection of the primary data were questionnaires and interview. The study found that the Tomcard is a better alternative to cash transactions, safe and offered better security. Furthermore, it is more convenient to use as compared to cash, reduces misuse of cash and risk of theft. The use of fuel cards also enables users to budget for specific products and services. However, the challenges of using the Tomcard include the difficulty of accessing top up at the station, unclear and faded receipts, restrictive payments and top ups and unavailability of detailed reports via SMS or Web. Furthermore, users bear greater liability for fraudulent transaction. These challenges may explain why patronage of the Tomcard may not have improved much. The study therefore recommends that in order to encourage more people to use the Tomcard, TPGL should make access to top ups easier, load cards on time and fix frequent breakdown of electronic payment terminals promptly. Besides, TPGL should arrange for users of the Tomcard to check top up via text or short code as well as access their detailed reports by SMS and the Web.

Source: KNUST
Elephant grass (pennisetumi purpureum) as a potential raw material for pulp and paper manufacture in Ghana

Considering the growing demand for paper making raw materials, coupled with uncertainties in the prediction of the global supply and demand for plant fibre resources as well as the diminishing resources and rising wood prices, the growing interest in alternative raw material resources such as annual plants and grasses for the pulp and paper industry is becoming important in recent times. Indigenous samples of Ghana-grown elephant grass (Fennisetum purpureum) of ages 2, 4, 6 and 12 months were micropulped using 14, 15 and 16% soda and 1% anthraquinone on oven dry mass at total pulping times of 50, 100, 120, 140 and 160 minutes to obtain an optimum pulping schedule. An optimum pulping schedule of 15% soda, 1% anthraquinone and total pulping times of 120 minutes for the 2, 4 and 6 months old individual grasses and their composite mixtures (2/4, 2/6,4/6 etc.) as well as 140 minutes for the 12 months old grass and its composite mixtures (12/6, 12/4, 12/2 etc.) were obtained and used for the macro or laboratory scale pulping. The unscreened pulp yield, alkali consumption and percentage solid contents of the black liqour of the micropulped samples were 35 - 48%; 1.00 - 91.27%; 7.34— 9.00% and those of the macropulped were in the range of 51 - 57; 98.60 - 99.60% and 7.7 - 10.10% respectively. The reject formation of the macropulping was between 0.30 and 5%. Unbleachable pulp grade samples of Kappa number 8.5 to 23.3 which gave an Elrepho brightness level range of 30.7 to 35.9%. The Ghana-grown Elephant grass showed potential physical strengths properties of 5.70 - 8.85mNm2/g (for tear index), 1.0 - 4.0KPam2/g (burst index); 4.6 - 13. 9km (breaking length), 25 - 202.2J/m2 (tensile energy absorption) and 3.1- 7.5 geometric means [(breaking length x burst index)1/2 x tear index ]1/2= geometric means] respectively. The chemical composition of the whole stem was 39 - 47%, 19 - 27% and 4 - 6% for cellulose, lignin and alcohol-benzene extract content respectively. The outer part of the elephant grass which comprised well over 85% of the mass and volume of the grass, had a fibre length, fibre diameter, cell wall thickness and lumen diameter of 1.66 - 1.76mm, 14.5 - 18.9.tm, 2.5 - 2.7iim and 9.5 - 13.5im respectively. The Runkel, Flexibility and Slenderness ratios as well as the Fibre Density of the outer part of the elephant grass were 0.4 - 0.53, 0.65 - 0.71, 92 - 120.6 and 0.29 - 0.35 respectively. Generally the 2- months old Elephant grass exhibited the greatest potential with respect to pulp yield and quality hence the optimum cutting cycles for the Ghana - grown Elephant grass is recommended to be 2 months

Source: KNUST
The emergence of gated communities in Ghana and their implication for urban planning and management

In the last two decades, Ghana has become more urbanized and currently the rate of urbanization is estimated to be 53%. Accra, the capital city is experiencing an urban housing form known as gated communities. The emergence of gated communities in Ghana has contributed greatly to the housing supply of Ghana. It has also led to the construction of quality housing estates for people living in Ghana. The concept of gated communities is a multi facetted one where households indirectly pay for certain services and infrastructure to be provided to them when it is the duty of central government to provide those services. Gated communities are getting more common in Ghana that, they may soon pose a challenge to Ghana’s planning and urban strategies which aims at making Ghana’s cities sustainable and socially diverse. However, with gated communities, there is privatization of spaces which were otherwise considered public. The various planning institutions are faced with certain challenges in the planning and management of these urban forms as real estate developers provide the needed services and facilities in lieu of the state. The study used purposive sampling to select the relevant institutions for the study. The real estate developers and gated communities were sampled using the snowball method and respondents were selected using accidental sampling. Data was collected from respondents using a well structured questionnaire and observations. The study revealed that GREDA and the various planning institutions do not have appropriate data on the gated communities in Ghana. The planning institutions were not actively monitoring the activities of real estate developers and sometimes planners were even prevented from entering gated communities to monitor their activities. It was realized from the study that there is the need for a legal, regulatory, environmental and urban housing policy in Ghana.

Source: KNUST
Elevated adaptive immune responses are associated with latent infections of wuchereria bancrofti

In order to guarantee the fulfillment of their complex lifecycle, adult filarial nematodes release millions of microfilariae (MF), which are taken up by mosquito vectors. The current strategy to eliminate lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem focuses upon interrupting this transmission through annual mass drug administration (MDA). It remains unclear however, how many rounds of MDA are required to achieve low enough levels of MF to cease transmission. Interestingly, with the development of further diagnostic tools a relatively neglected cohort of asymptomatic (non-lymphedema) amicrofilaremic (latent) individuals has become apparent. Indeed, epidemiological studies have suggested that there are equal numbers of patent (MF+) and latent individuals. Since the latter represent a roadblock for transmission, we studied differences in immune responses of infected asymptomatic male individuals (n = 159) presenting either patent (n = 92 MF+) or latent (n = 67 MF2) manifestations of Wuchereria bancrofti. These individuals were selected on the basis of MF, circulating filarial antigen in plasma and detectable worm nests. Immunological profiles of either Th1/Th17, Th2, regulatory or innate responses were determined after stimulation of freshly isolated PBMCs with either filarial-specific extract or bystander stimuli. In addition, levels of total and filarial-specific antibodies, both IgG subclasses and IgE, were ascertained from plasma. Results from these individuals were compared with those from 22 healthy volunteers from the same endemic area. Interestingly, we observed that in contrast to MF+ patients, latent infected individuals had lower numbers of worm nests and increased adaptive immune responses including antigen-specific IL-5. These data highlight the immunosuppressive status of MF+ individuals, regardless of age or clinical hydrocele and reveal immunological profiles associated with latency and immune-mediated suppression of parasite transmission.

Source: KNUST