ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Rainfall variability over Ghana: model versus rain gauge observation

This paper used the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) Regional Climate Model, Version 3 (RegCM3) and rain gauge data selected from the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) from 1990 to 2008 to investigate the extent and nature of variability in the annual rainfall and pattern of the raining seasons in Ghana. In the study, six meteorological stations selected from three rainfall distribution zones according to the divisions of the GMet were used to study the pattern of rainfall and its departure from the normal trend. The study also assessed the performance of the RegCM3 simulation with reference to the observed gauge data. Results confirmed the unimodal nature of the rainfall annual cycle over the northern belt and bi-modal rainfall nature over the middle and southern belts of Ghana. Negative departures of rainfall implying consistentdownward trend were observed at all the stations. Our analysis showed that RegCM3 captured the average rainfall over Ghana but demonstrated an underestimation as compared to the observed gauge data. The model also had difficulty stimulating the departures accurately in direction and in magnitude in all the stations except for Accra where RegCM3 simulated the right direction of the departures

Source: UCC
Rainwater harvesting in urban Ghana: a case of Adentan municipality

A sufficient, clean drinking water supply is essential to life but millions of people throughout the world do not have access to this basic necessity. Even after the intensive efforts of engineers, planners, builders, governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to bring potable water to the poorer people of the world, the situation is still a challenge. The problem becomes exacerbated especially in developing countries with an increasing population growth trend. This study sought to assess the potential of rainwater harvesting as a means of augmenting conventional sources of water supply for both portable and non-potable use in the Adentan Municipality. The study involved both adopters and non-adopters of Rain Water Harvesting Technology and adopted the mix method research approach. The study found that more than half of households harvest rainwater on regular basis with rooftop rainwater harvesting as the main technology used. A storage capacity of about 96.2 m3 or 96200 litres is required to store rainwater. Generally rainwater was assessed to be of good quality, despite some few coliform detected in water samples. Rooftop rainwater harvesting has a great potential of supplementing conventional water supply. The use of a binary logistic regression model revealed that age, sex, marital status, income, and household ownership were statistically significant at 5 percent in explaining households’ adoption of RWHT in the Adentan Municipality. It is therefore recommended that all stakeholders in the water sector should ensure that RWHT is incorporated into the design of new and existing buildings, while ensuring that households adopt best management practices that will make rainwater clean and safe to use.

Source: UCC
A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Intermittent Preventive Treatment with Sulfadoxine- Pyrimethamine, Amodiaquine, or the Combination in Pregnant Women in Ghana

Background. The use of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) is threatened by the spread of resistance to SP. Therefore, we studied the efficacy, safety, and tolerance of amodiaquine (AQ) or the combination of AQ and SP (SPAQ) as possible alternative treatments. Methods. The study was performed in Ghana from June 2004 through February 2007. Women were individually randomized to receive IPTp with SP (n ⫽ 1328), AQ (n ⫽ 986), or SPAQ (n ⫽ 1328). Incidences of anemia, pe- ripheral anemia, and placental parasitemia at delivery were assessed for paucigravidae, as were the birth weights of their infants. Delivery outcomes and the incidence of adverse events were investigated for all women. Results. The prevalences of anemia (as defined by a hemoglobin concentration of ⬍11.0 g/dL) at delivery were comparable between the SP and AQ groups and between the SP and SPAQ groups. Similarly, there was no significant difference between the SP and AQ groups or between the SP and SPAQ groups with regard to the incidences of low birth weight (LBW). Women who received AQ or SPAQ were more likely to report adverse events than were those who received SP. Conclusion. The effects of IPTp with AQ or SPAQ on maternal anemia and LBW were comparable to the effects of IPTp with SP; however, IPTp regimens that contain AQ are unlikely to be useful as an alternative to IPTp with SP in Ghana, because of a high frequency of associated adverse events.

Source: UCC
Rapid and nondestructive determination of egg freshness category and marked date of lay using spectral fingerprint

The potential of nondestructive prediction of egg freshness based on near-infrared (NIR) spectra fingerprints would be beneficial to quality control officers and consumers alike. In this study, handheld NIR spectrometer in the range of 740 nm to 1070 nm and chemometrics were used to simultaneously determine egg freshness based on marked date of lay for eggs stored under cold and ambient conditions. 'e spectra acquired from the eggs were preprocessed using multiplicative scatter correction and principal component analysis (MSC-PCA). Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to build identification model to predict the category of freshness, while partial least square regression (PLS-R) was used to determine the marked date of lay. 'e performance of LDA model was above 95% identification rate in both calibration and prediction set for the eggs stored under ambient and cold storage. For eggs stored in ambient storage, LDA had 95.54% identification rate at 5 principal components, while at cold storage LDA has 100% identification rate at 5 principal components for determining the marked date of lay, and partial least square regression (PLS-R) gave R � 0.87 and RMSEI � 2.57 for ambient storage and R � 0.88 and RMSEI � 2.66 for cold storage in independent set, respectively. 'e results show that handheld spectrometer and multivariate analysis could be used for rapid and nondestructive measurement of egg freshness. 'is provides a novel solution for egg integrity prediction along the value chain

Source: UCC
Rapid assessment of anthropogenic impacts on exposed sandy beaches in Ghana using ghost crabs (Ocypode spp.) as Ecological Indicators

We applied a rapid assessment methodology to estimate the degree of human impact on exposed sandy beaches in Ghana using ghost crabs as ecological indicators. The use of ghost crab burrow density and size ranges of the burrows as ecological indicators to assess extent of anthropogenic impacts on beaches was explored in this study. For each site, three transects were laid perpendicular to the shoreline over a 100 meter distance at 50 m intervals, i.e., at reference points 0, 50 and 100 meter points. Sampling locations were randomly selected along the three transects using a 1 m x 1 m quadrat. Measurements were done twice weekly for a period of four weeks. The results showed that even though the moderately disturbed beach had higher burrow density than the disturbed beach on the average, the difference is not statistically significant (t-test; p > 0.01). However, the mean burrow diameter at the moderately disturbed site was significantly larger than for the disturbed site (t-test; p < 0.01). We conclude that ghost crab burrow sizes is a better estimator of human impacts on exposed sandy beaches and could be employed as a rapid tool for monitoring the quality of beaches

Source: UCC
A rapid HPLC method for determination of Sudan dyes and Para Red in red chilli pepper

A rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system consisting of an ultraviolet-visible (UV–VIS) detector was developed for the separation and determination of Sudan dyes (I, II, III, and IV) and Para Red in red chilli peppers. The chromatographic separation was achieved on a reverse phase C18 column with isocratic elution, using a mobile phase of acetonitrile/methanol (80:20, v/v); detector was set at 506 nm. All four Sudan dyes and Para Red were separated in less than 9 min. Among 80 red chilli peppers screened, only one of them contained 0.10, 0.04, and 0.05 mg/kg Sudans I, III, and IV, respectively. No Sudan II and Para Red were detected in any of the red chilli peppers analyzed. The method was ‘in-house’ validated using red chilli peppers based on following criteria: limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), recovery, repeatability, reproducibility, and linearity in red chilli peppers. Depending on the dye involved, LOD and LOQ were in the range of 1.2–5.4 and 4–18lg/kg in red chilli, respectively. The recovery, repeatability (expressed as coefcient of variation, CVr), and reproducibility (CVR) varied from 89 to 98%, from 0.82 to 4.09%, and from 1.33 to 4.65%, respectively. Linearity obtained for all dyes and Para Red were all r > 0.9999 (in the range of 0.01–5 mg/l). The applicability of the method to the determination of Sudan dyes and Para Red in red chilli peppers was demonstrated. This method has potential to be used for illegal Sudan dyes and Para Red in red chilli peppers and some foodstuffs due to its simple, reliable, rapid, and excellent precision

Source: UCC
Rapid laser direct writing of plasmonic components

A new device named technology-plasmonics has recently emerged and can be used to manipulate light at the nanoscale level. Here, we report the method of two-photon photopolymerization for rapid laser direct writing of plasmonic components. The characterization of these components is performed by a leakage radiation microscope, which has the same system construction as the two-photon photopolymerization micro-fabrication system except the laser pattern. The dielectric structures covered with gold proved to be very efficient for the excitation of surface plasmon polaritons in this system and can achieve different plasmon fields

Source: UCC
The rapid measurement and monitoring of selenite concentration by turbidimetry following its conversion to colloidal state by sulfte reduction and acidifcation The rapid measurement and monitoring of selenite concentration by turbidimetry following its conversion to colloidal state by sulfte reduction and acidifcation The rapid measurement and monitoring of selenite concentration by turbidimetry following its conversion to colloidal state by sulfte reduction and acidifcation The rapid measurement and monitoring of selenite concentration by turbidimetry following its conversion to colloidal state by sulfte reduction and acidifcation The rapid measurement and monitoring of selenite concentration by turbidimetry following its conversion to colloidal state by sulfte reduction and acidifcation The rapid measurement and monitoring of selenite concentration by turbidimetry following its conversion to colloidal state by sulfte reduction and acidifcation

In this study, the rapid reduction of selenious ions using sulfte species at negative pH is described and its use as analytical technique in combination with turbidimetry is proposed. It was found that Se(IV) can be reduced quantitatively at ambient temperature via a combination of sulfte reduction and ultra-acidifcation with sulfuric acid to a colloidal form that can be determined using turbidimetry. The developed analytical procedure can accurately and reproducibly measure Se(IV) concentrations down to 1 mg/L. For concentrations above 20 mg/L dilution is necessary. Common transition metal ions such as iron(II), copper(II), or zinc(II) up to 10 g/L concentration were found not to have noticeable infuence on the precision of the method. Finally the developed technique was shown to be equally effective with real Se(IV)-bearing industrial solutions generated in a zinc concentrate roasting operation, hence making the method particularly useful as a fast and simple process monitoring and control tool

Source: UCC
Rapporter le discours à l’oral : Analyse de quelques traits chez les apprenants de FLE à l’Université de Cape Coast

Cette étude analyse quelques traits du discours rapporté à l’oral ; il s’agit de verbes introducteurs et leurs temps, des connecteurs que, quand et si et de discours citant comme une interprétation et un résumé du discours cité. Le corpus analysé comprend les narrations (les discours cités) de vingt-cinq (25) apprenants de FLE en dernière année de Licence et les rapportages (les discours citant) de ces narrations émis par d’autres apprenants du meme niveau. Les résultats montrent que les verbes introducteurs utilisés sont dire, ajouter et déclarer et que dire est le plus fréquent. En plus, les verbes introducteurs sont au passé composé (le plus dominant), passé récent, présent et à l’imparfait. Parmi les connecteurs que, si et quand employés, que marque le plus les discours rapportés. Enfin, les discours citant constituent des interprétations et des résumés des discours cités chez les apprenants. L’étude confirme, ainsi, certaines caractéristiques de l’oral dans le discours rapporté

Source: UCC
Rapprochement between Piagetian and Vygotskian Theories: Application to Instruction

This concept paper was intended to establish rapprochement between Piaget and Vygotsky by comparing their developmental theories and also examining how their educational extensions can be applied in promoting students’ learning in Basic Education Programme in Ghana. Piaget’s proposition that cognitive development from infant to young adult occurs in four universal and consecutive stages are presented. Aspects of Piaget’s theory emphasized by educators are also presented and educational practices inspired by this theory are outlined. Vygotsky’s belief that socio – cultural environment is critical for cognitive development is presented, and his two concepts of cognitive learning zones - The Zone of Actual Development (ZAD) and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) are also noted. Finally, the two theories are compared and their applications in education delivery are examined. Even though Piaget and Vygotsky hold different views concerning developmental psychology, it is recommended that the use of both theories in classrooms is beneficial. Teachers should have a solid understanding of Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories, and students should be provided with more opportunities to play and learn with peers.

Source: UCC
Rate of mobile phone usage by automobile drivers in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria

Drivers do engage in the use of mobile phone while driving despite the legislation frowning at such act. This cross sectional mixed method study sought to find out the rate of usage of phones in the three residential density areas in Ibadan. Multi-stage sampling techniques were used for the questionnaire administration and purposive sampling technique for observation. The results of the analysis revealed more males used mobile phones while driving in the three residential density areas; total volume of traffic per day is highest in the medium density area; highest percentage of violation was recorded between 3pm-4pm; highest percentage of drivers were spotted using mobile phone on the wheel on Monday and recommendations were offered to reduce the rate of mobile phone usage by drivers

Source: UCC
Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in Improving Retirees’ Attitude towards Political Participation

This study investigated the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in improving retirees’ attitude towards political participation. Twenty four retirees (mean age = 55.50 years) within Ilorin, Nigeria participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to one treatment and one control groups. A validated instrument termed “Retirees’ Attitude towards Political Participation Questionnaire”) was administered to the two groups before and after the experimental programme. ANCOVA was employed for the analysis of data. Results showed that the treatment package (Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy) was effective in improving retirees’ attitude towards political participation, their religious affiliations notwithstanding. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the counselling curriculum in Nigeria be expanded to accommodate this new problem area and that retirees should always seek counseling.

Source: UCC
Rationalization of Self-Reported Aggression among Male and Female University Soccer Players

The purpose of this study was to find out the type of aggression used by university male and female soccer players and the rationalizations they give for the use of each type of aggression. Sixty-four university soccer players, 26 males and 38 females, participated in this study. Participants responded to the Bredemeier Athletic Aggression Inventory short form and the Mintah-Huddleston Aggression Justification Inventory. Overall, participants disagreed with the use of both hostile and instrumental aggression. But, female soccer players disagreed more with the use of hostile and instrumental aggression than their male counterparts. Female soccer players agreed more with the use of instrumental rationalization than males. Thus, it could be concluded that university soccer players disagree with the use of hostile and instrumental aggression in sport.

Source: UCC
Re-conceptualising the paradox in policy implementation: a post-modernist conceptual approach

A review of education policy and practice indicates a paradox in policy implementation. Policy outcomes most often differ significantly from intended purposes and provisions enacted. This paper re-conceptualises this policy phenomenon, drawing on the post-modernist conception of policy as both ‘text’ and ‘discourse’ as an approach for understanding and unmasking the messiness and contested nature of education policy processes. The choice of approach is based on three factors. First, the choice is grounded in its efficacy in explicating and legitimatising the issues of power within the policy arena. Second, the choice is based on the potential of the approach in integrating social and political theories of discourse with more linguistically oriented approaches to the study of policy. Third, the preference of approach follows from its potential to draw on language as a resource for reading into and/or analysing complex social issues.

Source: UCC
Re-Echoing the Place of History in the School Curriculum

History as a school subject faces the threat of losing its once privileged position in the curriculum of the Ghanaian school system. It is increasingly becoming unpopular among students as the number of those who enroll in the subject at various levels continues to decrease. This paper examines the place of history in the school curriculum against the background of students’ waning interest in the subject. Specifically, the paper highlights the importance of history as a school subject. It further outlines some of the job prospects available to students who study the subject. The paper concludeswith an examination of some of the curricular and pedagogical hindrances in the teaching and learning of history, and makes a call for curriculum and pedagogical renewal in the subject.

Source: UCC
Re-evaluating the efficacy of the aqueous leaf extract of Bridelia ferrugenia and its potential combination with metformin in the management of diabetes mellitus

Herbal medicinal products play a significant role in the management of diabetes and other chronic diseases either as a monotherapy or in combination with allopathic treatments. The hypoglycemic activity of a Ghanaian herbal antidiabetic product (Bridelia Tea) prepared from the dried leaves of Bridelia ferrugenia [BRD] was reevaluated in this study with the view of improving, its activity and explore the possible benefit of using the product in combination with metformin (MET). Male and female Sprague-Dawley rats (210-220 g) were rendered hyperglycemic by a single intraperitoneal administration of streptozocin (70 mg/kg) after an overnight fast. The hyperglycemic rats then received one of the following treatments ([BRD 30 mg/kg or 300 mg/kg], [MET 250 mg/kg or 1000 mg/kg], [MET 250 mg/kg and BRD 30 mg/kg], [MET 1000 mg/kg and BRD 300 mg/kg]). The hypoglycemic effect of BRD, MET, and the combination of the two products were not significantly different during an initial 6 h of monitoring (P > 0.05). In the long-term study over 28 days, BRD 300 mg/kg had hypoglycemic effects comparable to MET 1000 mg/kg p.o. and better than BDF 30 mg/kg p.o. (P < 0.05). However, the combination of the two products BRD and MET at the two doses reduced their therapeutic effect compared to animals receiving either one of the two treatments alone

Source: UCC
RE-READING GENDER ROLES AND IDENTITIES: TOWARDS A NEW THEORIZATION OF A NEW AFRICAN FEMINISM

ABSTRACT The main objective of this study is to formulate a practical and realistic theoretical framework on how contemporary African women are redefining gender roles and identities within the family and society. It also discusses how qualitative methodology and formalistic approach are adopted for the study. Data was collected from three novels: Evelyne Accad‘s Wounding Words (1996), Nawal El Sadaawi‘s Woman at Point Zero (1992) and Flora Nwapa‘s Women are Different (1975). The findings of the study revealed that Accad, Saadawi and Nwapa employed characterization in their novels to underscore negative stereotypical norms against women including domestic and social violence. While such attitude is not new, unlike some women, several female characters rose above intimidation and worked tirelessly at redefining their gender roles and identities via Western education and other practical ways. They redefined their gender roles to become breadwinners, family heads, and occupied several leadership roles, which society often stereotypically attributes to masculine gender and identity. Though the three novels underpinned radical feminism and reformative feminism, the study formulated Proactive Feminism as a bulwark against domestic and social violence as well as gender inequality in post-colonial Africa (Sikweyiya et al., 2020). It is recommended that women should be sensitized towards reporting abuse or cases of gender inequality. Female child education should be prioritized because educating a woman is much the same as educating a nation.

Source: UCC
Reaction of sweet potato (Impomoea batatas L.) to Gamma irradiation

Sweet potato is one of the most important food crops in the world. Vine cuttings of 50 to I C)C) cm with auxiliary buds were obtained. The cut portion included the middle to top portion of the vines from three varieties; Jukwa Orange, 199062 CRI and Ejunita CRI/E/Africa with code; 293, 322 and 296, respectively. The varieties were exposed to 1 5, 25, 35 and 45 Gy doses of cobalt 60 gamma inacliation. The direct effect of closes on the material was assessed on the basis of days to first sprouting of the vines and number of to sprouting; shoot length, number of leaves per vine from the first week of leave emergence to the eight weeks. At maturity data on effect of gamma irradiation on yield such as length of tuber and width of tuber were taken and analysed using Gemstat. Results showed that the response of sweet potato plant was affected by the variety and dose of exposure which revealed significant reduction in the average of most studied characteristics as the dose of gamma irradiation increased. Average plants height of varieb,r 293 was significantly higher than the other varieties (62.0 cm) at 8th week. Reduction in the tuber formation at dose 45 Gy for all varieties was observed.

Source: UCC