ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Teenagers and new media technologies: Gratifications obtained as a factor for adoption

Many extensions have been made to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), one of the foremost theories which speak to why and how people adopt technologies, including new media technologies, by introducing various constructs. It is contended in this study that an important construct to consider when studying teenagers’ use of new media technologies is gratifications obtained (GO). With the aid of the stratified sampling technique, 300 students of two senior high schools in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, representing 10% of the total population, were recruited to take part in a study to explore whether there would be substantial empirical evidence to support the stance that gratifications obtained could potentially account for teenagers’ adoption of new media technologies. The minimum and maximum ages of participants were 13 and 19, respectively. The study matched gratifications teenagers sought from the use of new media technologies with gratifications they ultimately obtained and advanced that the ability to adequately satisfy needs sought from new media technologies contributes to teens’ use of the technologies. The statistical measures for GO and other constructs in the TAM, Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), were within similar range. It was concluded that although PU and PEOU are strong factors in the adoption of new media technologies, gratifications obtained (GO) is a factor that must also be given ample attention when it comes to teenagers’ use of new media technologies. The study recommends that future studies use other statistical tests to measure the association between gratifications obtained and the extent of usage of new media technologies among teenagers.

Source: UG
Téléchargement des chansons populaires urbaines à partir des réseaux sociaux et enseignement de la morphosyntaxe française dans les universités de Ghana (Legon) et de Yaoundé I

The present contribution aims at analyzing the pedagogical uses of social networks by students and teachers of Ghanaian and Cameroonian universities. From the sharing and downloading of urban music on Facebook and Whatsapp, in particular the music most popular with young people in the countries covered by the survey, a questionnaire is administered to identify the uses of social networks and an analysis of errors is carried out On the basis of Maalox and Crown corpus. It appears that despite the use of social networks for many non-pedagogical reasons, it seems useful to suggest the integration of the tutorials and social networks most used by the actors to remedy errors in morphosyntax.

Source: UG
Telecommunications development in Africa: Filling the gap

There is a huge gap in the development of IT and telecommunications infra-structures in Africa compared to the rest of the world. While most industrialisedcountries have achieved more or less universal service, most African countries suﬀerfrom a severe under-supply of telephone lines. In 2001 the penetration of phone linesin Africa was at meagre 2.6 lines per 100 inhabitants. This is, indeed, a substantialimprovement compared to the 1.7 lines per 100 inhabitants in 1994, but still muchlower than in any other region of the world. Almost 80% of the lines are concentratedin Africa north of Sahara and in South Africa, and the penetration in Sub-SaharanAfrica is as low as 0.75 lines per 100 inhabitants (up from 0.47 in 1994). In most of these countries, the overwhelming majority of the lines are located in the capital, andmost rural areas are still without any provision of telecom facilities at all.Part of the explanation is that low levels of income imply that the demand fortelephones is too low to make extensions of the grid beyond the major cities viable.But this is only part of the explanation. The low income countries of the whole worldhave as a group a penetration four times higher than that of Sub-Saharan Africa andout of the 18 countries with less than one phone line per 200 inhabitants, only two(Bangladesh and Cambodia) are located outside Africa

Source: UG
Telecommuting and cyberloafing in the Ghanaian context. The role of employees emotional exhaustion

Purpose – This study aims to examine the relationship between telecommuting and cyberloafing among Ghanaian workers. In addition, the study investigated the moderating role of emotional exhaustion on telecommuting and cyberloafing. Design/methodology/approach – The study collected quantitative data from 945 employees in banks, telecommunication and insurance sectors of the Ghanaian economy. Data was entered using SPSS v.23 and analysed with Process Macro v3.5. Findings – The results indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between telecommuting and cyberloafing. It also found out that emotional exhaustion has a significant negative relationship with cyberloafing. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion moderated the relationship between telecommuting and cyberloafing. Organisations are not necessarily required to be in a particular location to achieve their goals. Through practices such as telecommuting, organisations are able to unleash the creative and innovative abilities of employees and also improve their psychological well-being for greater gains. Practical implications – The practice of telecommuting psychologically empowers the individual giving some decision-making latitudes to one and making one responsible and accountable for their actions and inactions. Also, individuals who are giving the chance to telecommute will only engage in cyberloafing behaviours when they are emotionally exhausted. Thus, it is important to create conditions that establishes equilibrium and creates harmony between the individual and the work, hence eliminating any feeling of emotional exhaustion and reaping the full benefits of telecommuting. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the role of emotional exhaustion in the relationship between telecommuting workers and their engagement in cyberloafing

Source: UG
Telephone based weight loss intervention: Relevance for developing countries

Obesity is a major public health challenge not only for developed but developing countries as well. The World Health Organization recommends the immediate use of effective, efficient and widely accessible weight loss interventions. Telephone based weight loss intervention could provide a cheaper and wider reach of obese participants. Previous systematic reviews on telephone based weight loss interventions either excluded studies that had obese participants with co-morbidities or were silent on their inclusion. Obese/overweight individuals with co-morbidities constitute an important population in any weight loss intervention study due to the strong association of obesity with major chronic health conditions. This paper, reviews the efficacy of telephone based weight loss intervention solely in overweight/obese individuals with obesity related diseases and discusses its relevance for developing countries.

Source: UG
Temephos-resistant larvae of Simulium sanctipauli associated with a distinctive new chromosome inversion in untreated rivers of South-Western Ghana

The Department of Parasitology conducts research into parasitic diseases of public health importance with the overall goal of reducing their transmission and the heavy disease burden that they impose on affected populations. The Department maintains focus on parasitic diseases in general. These include major diseases such as malaria, and others listed under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control initiative such as, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Source: UG
Temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity in chiral carbon nanotubes

The thermal conductivity of a chiral carbon nanotube (CCNT) is calculated using a tractable analytical approach. This is based on solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation with energy dispersion relation obtained in the tight binding approximation. The results obtained are numerically analysed. Unusually high electron thermal conductivity χ ez is observed along the tubular axis. The dependence of χ ez against temperature T was plotted for varying Δ z and a given Δ s (Δ z and Δ s are the overlapping integrals (exchange energy) for the jumps along the tubular axis and the base helix, respectively). It is noted that χ ez shows a peaking behaviour before falling off at higher temperature. As Δ z varies from 0.010 eV to 0.048 eV for a given Δ s=0.0150 eV, the peak values of χ ez shift from 40000 W/m K at 100 K to 55000 W/m K at about 300 K. Interestingly our results at 104 K which is 41000 W/m K and occurred at Δ z=0.023 eV compares very well with that reported for a 99.9% isotopically enriched 12C diamond crystal. Another interesting result obtained is the fact that the circumferential electron thermal conductivity χ ec appears to be very small. The ratio of χ ez to χ ec is of the order of 2. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
Tempering, polymorphism and fat crystallization during industrial chocolate manufacture: Regimes, behaviours and their effects on finished chocolate quality

Tempering, a technique of shearing chocolate mass at controlled temperatures is used to promote cocoa butter crystallization in a thermodynamically stable polymorphic form. During chocolate manufacture, the process is used to obtain the stable form V (or β2) of cocoa butter having a melting temperature of 32-34 °C, which gives the desired glossy appearance, good snap, contraction and enhanced shelf life characteristics. However, the tempering sequences, their behaviour during pre-crystallization, the consequential regimes attained and their effects on product quality characteristics are not very well understood. Variations in temper regimes attained during pre-crystallization of chocolates influence their crystallinity, polymorphic status and other physical quality characteristics. Over-tempering causes increases in product hardness, stickiness with reduced gloss and darkening of product surfaces. Under-tempering induces fat bloom in products with consequential quality defects in structure, texture, melting properties and appearance (colour and surface gloss). Thus, the different temper regimes attained during pre-crystallization result in wide variations in product quality attributes with varied influences on quality. In a modern competitive confectionery market, understanding the variables leading to chocolate pre-crystallization during tempering and effects of the regimes attained on the quality of the finished products are vital to assurances in quality and shelf characteristics. © 2011 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Source: UG
The temporal dynamics and infectiousness of subpatent Plasmodium falciparum infections in relation to parasite density

The Epidemiology Department contributes to the mission of the institute through basic and applied epidemiological research on, but not limited to, malaria and other diseases of public health importance. It is also home to the Social Science Unit of the Institute, including the Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS and other communicable and noncommunicable health problems.

Source: UG
Temporal evolution of sulfadoxine‑pyrimethamine resistance genotypes and genetic diversity in response to a decade of increased interventions against Plasmodium falciparum in northern Ghana

Background: Anti-malarial drug resistance remains a key concern for the global fight against malaria. In Ghana sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is used for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy and combined with amodiaquine for Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) during the high malaria season. Thus, surveillance of molecular markers of SP resistance is important to guide decision-making for these interventions in Ghana. Methods: A total of 4469 samples from uncomplicated malaria patients collected from 2009 to 2018 was submitted to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK for DNA sequencing using MiSeq. Genotypes were successfully translated into haplotypes in 2694 and 846 mono infections respectively for pfdhfr and pfdhps genes and the combined pfhdfr/ pfdhps genes across all years. Results: At the pfdhfr locus, a consistently high (> 60%) prevalence of parasites carrying triple mutants (IRNI) were detected from 2009 to 2018. Two double mutant haplotypes (NRNI and ICNI) were found, with haplotype NRNI having a much higher prevalence (average 13.8%) than ICNI (average 3.2%) across all years. Six pfdhps haplotypes were detected. Of these, prevalence of five fluctuated in a downward trend over time from 2009 to 2018, except a pfdhps double mutant (AGKAA), which increased consistently from 2.5% in 2009 to 78.2% in 2018. Across both genes, pfdhfr/ pfdhps combined triple (NRNI + AAKAA) mutants were only detected in 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2018, prevalence of which fluctuated between 3.5 and 5.5%. The combined quadruple (IRNI + AAKAA) genotype increased in prevalence from 19.3% in 2009 to 87.5% in 2011 before fluctuating downwards to 19.6% in 2018 with an average prevalence of 37.4% within the nine years. Prevalence of parasites carrying the quintuple (IRNI + AGKAA or SGEAA) mutant haplotypes, which are highly refractory to SP increased over time from 14.0% in 2009 to 89.0% in 2016 before decreasing to 78.9 and 76.6% in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Though quintuple mutants are rising in prevalence in both malaria seasons, together these combined genotypes vary significantly within season but not between seasons. Conclusions: Despite high prevalence of pfdhfr triple mutants and combined pfdhfr/pfdhps quadruple and quintuple mutants in this setting SP may still be efficacious. These findings are significant as they highlight the need to continuously monitor SP resistance, particularly using deep targeted sequencing to ascertain changing resistance patterns.

Source: UG
Temporal heterogeneity in the study of African land use: Interdisciplinary collaboration between anthropology, human geography and remote sensing

This paper introduces a set of four collaborative papers exploring temporal heterogeneity in the analysis of African land use over a decadal time period, from 10 to 50 years, in the second half of the twentieth century. The four cases were chosen amongst the seven teams of anthropologists, human geographers and remote sensing specialists who had carried out long-term research and who met to discuss their findings at a workshop in 2003. All seven teams' work and the collective discussion'on Casamance (Senegal), Brong Ahafo (Ghana), Southern Niger/ Northern Cote d'Ivoire, Oyo State (Nigeria), Maasai Mara (Kenya and Tanzania), Gwembe (Zambia), and Malawi - inform this introduction. We identify several temporal processes in all the cases, each operating on its own temporal frame: population growth and, above all, mobility; livelihood change through crop and occupational change; tenure ambiguity; powerful though "punctuated" interventions by state policy; and climate change. Conceptual and methodological implications are disussed. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007.

Source: UG
Temporal pathways of change in two randomized controlled trials for depression and harmful drinking in Goa, India

Prenatal intimate partner violence (P-IPV) can have significant adverse impacts on both mother and fetus. Existing P-IPV interventions focus on the safety of the mother and on reducing revictimization; yet expanding these to address the adverse impact on the fetus has considerable potential for preventing long-term negative developmental outcomes. In this review, we draw together evidence on major pathways linking exposure to P-IPV and child outcomes, arguing that these pathways represent potential targets to improve P-IPV intervention efforts. Using a narrative review of 112 articles, we discuss candidate pathways linking P-IPV to child outcomes, as well as their implications for intervention. Articles were identified via key word searches of social science and medical databases and by inspection of reference lists of the most relevant articles, including recent reviews and meta-analyses. Articles were included if they addressed issues relevant to understanding the effects of P-IPV on child outcomes via six core pathways: maternal stress and mental illness, maternal-fetal attachment, maternal substance use, maternal nutritional intake, maternal antenatal health-care utilization, and infection. We also included articles relevant for linking these pathways to P-IPV interventions. We conclude that developing comprehensive P-IPV interventions that target immediate risk to the mother as well as long-term child outcomes via the candidate mediating pathways identified have significant potential to help reduce the global burden of P-IPV.

Source: UG
Temporal relations vs. Logical reduction: A phenomenal theory of causality

Kant, in various parts of his treatment of causality, refers to determinism or the principle of sufficient reason as an inescapable principle. In fact, in the Second Analogy we find the elements to reconstruct a purely phenomenal determinism as a logical and tautological truth. I endeavour in this article to gather these elements into an organic theory of phenomenal causality and then show, in the third section, with a specific argument which I call the "paradox of phenomenal observation", that this phenomenal determinism is the only rational approach to causality because any logico-reductivistic approach, such as the Humean one, would destroy the temporal order and so the very possibility to talk of a causal relation. I also believe that, all things said, Kant did not achieve a much greater comprehension of the problem than Hume did, in his theory of causality, for he did not free a phenomenal approach from the impasse of reductivism as his reflections on "simultaneous causation" and "vanishing quantities" indeed show, and this I will argue in Sect. 4 of this article. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Source: UG
Temporality, informality, &amp; translocality in Africa’s urban archipelagos

The MIASA Working Paper series serves to disseminate the research results of work in progress prior to publication in order to encourage the exchange of ideas and academic debate. The series aims to publish research findings from the work of the MIASA Interdisciplinary Fellow Groups (IFGs) and other MIASA fellows in an open-access manner. Inclusion of a paper in the MIASA Working Paper Series does not constitute publication and should not limit publication in any other venue. Copyright remains with the authors

Source: UG
Ten simple rules for organizing a webinar series

The Department of Immunology conducts research in the field of immunology of infectious and non-infectious diseases. The Department has the overall goal of contributing knowledge to better diagnosis, management, control and prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases in Ghana and worldwide. This is consistent with the overall strategy of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and in line with the strategy of the College of Health Sciences of the University of Ghana.

Source: UG
Ten Years of Preoperative Autologous Blood Donation in Accra

Background - Preoperative autologous blood donation (PABD) is utilized to circumvent the use of allogenic blood for various reasons. Objective - To describe the distribution in terms of demographic characteristic, trends in participation and result of screening test of the PABD programme of the Accra Area Blood Center from 1993-2003. Design and Setting Retrospective descriptive study of PABD in patients scheduled for a variety of elective surgical procedures. Setting- Different levels of institutional health care in Accra, Ghana. Methods Data from existing records of patients who had participated in PABD were collated and analyzed Results Five hundred and forty six (546) females and 89 males participated, with ages ranging between 14-74 years. Majority of the patients (76.7%) underwent gynaecological surgery. A total of 330 (52%) donated one unit only, and 299 (47.1%) donated two units. Majority of the patients (56.4%) had the surgery at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). Of the donations, 21 (3.3%), 1 (0.2%), 1 (0.3%) and nil were positive for HBV, HIV I & II, HCV and VDRL respectively. A total of 848 (89.4%) autologous crossmatched units were issued out. There was a steady progressive increase in participation. Conclusion Mainly adult females scheduled for gynaecological surgeries in KBTH participated, while almost equal proportions donated one or two units of blood which meets the blood needs of most elective surgeries. Therefore healthy patients going for elective surgeries in regions with limited blood supply must be encouraged to enter a PABD Programme. Further studies in this field should evaluate motivational factors for participation

Source: UG
Ten Years' Wanderings among the Ethiopians

Without any fear or trembling, I come before the public with my third contribution to literature on the subject of Africa. If I be accused of sketching in this volume a less favourable portraiture of the African character than I have done in either of my former works, I shall only advance the plea of never having set forth anything in my description of these people but the naked and unadorned truth as it stood before me. That I have met native Africans conscious of their own inferiority, and anxious for knowledge to develop the industrial riches of their country, I have already confessed,-that "the slave population is destined to be the future working power in drawing forth Africa resources for their own and their country's good," I still hold as an abiding faith-that I have witnessed a can• nibalistic sacrifice during the past year in one of the most import:1nt commercial ports of the Bight of Biafra, these pages will attest to the reader. More than three hundred years have passed since Shakspeare made the Prince of Morocco thus address Portia, the rich heiress in the play of the" Merchant of Venice

Source: UG
The Tension between Communities, Development, and Archaeological Heritage Preservation. The Case Study of Tengzug Cultural Landscape, Ghana

The relationship between traditional beliefs, worldview, heritage conservation, and archaeological investigation is a complex one. This is considered with reference to perceptions of the landscape and the conflict which can occur between government policy and indigenous beliefs in relation to architecture amongst the Tallensi communities of Tengzug in Northern Ghana. It is evident that both tangible and intangible elements constitute heritage in Tengzug and this needs to be recognized by researchers, heritage professionals and government bodies charged with implementing development policies.

Source: UG
Tenure insecurity, climate variability and renting out decisions among female small-holder farmers in Ethiopia

Land tenure arrangements in Africa are generally skewed in favour of males. Compared to males, female plot owners face complex sets of constraints and systemic high tenure insecurity which culminate in low yields. In order to obtain better returns, some females rent their plots to males, but risk losing the plots to their tenants. A model has been constructed to explain renting-out decisions of female small landholders, an issue largely ignored in the agricultural economics literature. The results, based on a survey of female landholders in Ethiopia, highlight the factors that explain renting-out decisions.

Source: UG