ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Resources, Electronic-Commerce Capabilities and Electronic-Commerce Benefits: Conceptualizing the Links

Past research on electronic commerce (e-commerce) in developing economies (DEs) shows that there is an acute lack of theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to understand how DE firms orient resources to create e-commerce capabilities and achieve e-commerce benefits amidst their national constraints. This paper uses the resource-based theory and the capability life cycle to investigate how a used-car retail firm in Ghana oriented resources to create e-commerce capabilities and achieve e-commerce benefits. Findings from the longitudinal case study suggest that, first, in DEs, because the institutional foundations are weak and the obstacles are many, managerial capabilities and global information systems (IS) resources enable firms to withstand or circumvent the national constraints and create e-commerce capabilities and benefits. Second, the value of resources to a firm is relatively time and path dependent; changes in the environment can either initiate their renewal or decline in the firm. Having a focus on the strategic orientation of the firm is therefore of more value than focusing on IS resources. The paper proposes a cyclic resource-based model of e-commerce capability evolution which offers new insights into the way in which e-commerce capabilities evolve to create e-commerce benefits.

Source: UG
Resources, Electronic-Commerce Capabilities and Electronic-Commerce Benefits: Conceptualizing the Links

Past research on electronic commerce (e-commerce) in developing economies (DEs) shows that there is an acute lack of theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to understand how DE ﬁrms orient resources to create e-commerce capabilities and achieve e-commerce beneﬁts amidst their national constraints. This paper uses the resource-based theory and the capability life cycle to investigate how a used-car retail ﬁrm in Ghana oriented resources to create e-commerce capabilities and achieve e-commerce beneﬁts. Findings from the longitudinal case study suggest that, ﬁrst, in DEs, because the institutional foundations are weak and the obstacles are many, managerial capabilities and global information systems (IS) resources enable ﬁrms to withstand or circumvent the national constraints and create e-commerce capabilities and beneﬁts. Second, the value of resources to a ﬁrm is relatively time and path dependent; changes in the environment can either initiate their renewal or decline in the ﬁrm. Having a focus on the strategic orientation of the ﬁrm is therefore of more value than focusing on IS resources. The paper proposes a cyclic resource-based model of e-commerce capability evolution which offers new insights into the way in which e-commerce capabilities evolve to create e-commerce beneﬁts.

Source: UG
Respectful maternity care delivered within health facilities in Bangladesh, Ghana and Tanzania: a cross-sectional assessment preceding a quality improvement intervention

Objective To assess respectful maternity care (RMC) in health facilities. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Forty-three (43) facilities across 15 districts in Bangladesh, 16 in Ghana and 12 in Tanzania. Participants Facility managers; 325 providers (nurses/ midwives/doctors)—Bangladesh (158), Ghana (86) and Tanzania (81); and 849 recently delivered women— Bangladesh (295), Ghana (381) and Tanzania (173)— were interviewed. Observation of 641 client–provider interactions was conducted—Bangladesh (387), Ghana (134) and Tanzania (120). Assessment Trained social scientists and clinicians assessed infrastructure, policies, provision and women’s experiences of RMC (emotional support, respectful care and communication). Primary outcome RMC provided and/or experienced by women. Results Three (20%) facilities in Bangladesh, four (25%) in Ghana and three (25%) in Tanzania had no maternity clients’ toilets and one-half had no handwashing facilities. Policies for RMC such as identification of client abuses were available: 81% (Ghana), 73% (Bangladesh) and 50% (Tanzania), but response was poor. Ninety-four (60%) Bangladeshi, 26 (30%) Ghanaian and 20 (25%) Tanzanian providers were not RMC trained. They provided emotional support during labour care to 107 (80%) women in Ghana, 95 (79%) in Tanzania and 188 (48.5%) in Bangladesh, and were often courteous with them—236 (61%) in Bangladesh, 119 (89%) in Ghana and 108 (90%) in Tanzania. Due to structural challenges, 169 (44%) women in Bangladesh, 49 (36%) in Ghana and 77 (64%) in Tanzania had no privacy during labour. Care was refused to 13 (11%) Tanzanian and 2 Bangladeshi women who could not pay illegal charges. Twenty-five (7%) women in Ghana, nine (6%) in Bangladesh and eight (5%) in Tanzania were verbally abused during care. Providers in all countries highly rated their care provision (95%–100%), and 287 (97%) of Bangladeshi women, 368 (97%) Ghanaians and 152 (88%) Tanzanians reported ‘satisfaction’ with the care they received. However, based on their facility experiences, significant (p<0.001) percentages—20% (Ghana) to 57% (Bangladesh)—will not return to the same facilities for future childbirth. Conclusions Facilities in Bangladesh, Ghana and Tanzania have foundational systems that facilitate RMC. Structural inadequacies and policy gaps pose challenges. Many women were, however, unwilling to return to the same facilities for future deliveries although they (and providers) highly rated these facilities.

Source: UG
Respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms associated with pesticide management practices among farmers in Ghana's most important vegetable hub.

The data presented here are from the Offinso North District Farm Health Study (ONFAHS), a population-based cross-sectional study among vegetable farmers in Ghana. The paper addresses knowledge, pesticide handling practices, and protective measures related to pesticide use by self-reported symptoms for 310 adult farmers who completed a comprehensive questionnaire on pesticide management practices and health. In addition, an inventory was prepared using information supplied by pesticide sellers/dealers in this district. We report that cough and wheezing (but not breathlessness) are positively associated with stirring pesticide preparations with bare hands/drinking water while mixing/applying pesticides, and stirring pesticide preparations with bare hands/drinking water/smoking cigarettes while mixing/applying pesticides. There is a significant exposure-response association between the number of precautionary measures practiced while handling pesticides and cough and wheezing but not with breathlessness. We also found unsafe practices to be associated with sexual dysfunction, nervousness, and lack of concentration. The results also suggest a negative association between practice of any precautionary measure when mixing/applying pesticides and sexual dysfunction, nervousness, and lack of concentration. We found that in spite of the fact that farmers have adequate knowledge about the environment and health effects of pesticides, several unhygienic practices are in widespread use, indicating that knowledge is not necessarily always translated in action. Further action is necessary to promote the safe use of pesticides and to replace existing poor management practices among these and other farmers in Ghana.

Source: UG
Respiratory Disorders Related to e-Waste Exposure among Workers in the Informal Sector in a Sub-Saharan African City: An Exposed Nonexposed Study

Exposure to electrical and electronic equipment waste (e-waste) has become a growing health concern. The objective of this study was to measure the effect of exposure to e-waste on respiratory symptoms and on lung function parameters in workers involved in informal recycling activities in Cotonou city, Benin. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study, in which exposed e-waste workers in Cotonou city were randomly selected. A matching nonexposed group based on age and sex was recruited from the general population. Respiratory symptoms were investigated using a questionnaire adapted from the British Medical Research Council’s standardized respiratory questionnaire. Participants underwent lung function test using a portable spirometer (MIR SPIROBANK). Data were analyzed with STATA version 15 software. Results. The overall prevalence of respiratory symptoms in e-waste workers was statistically higher in the exposed group (33.1% vs. 21.6%; p = 0:027). Chest tightness (11.8% vs. 2.1%; p = 0:003) and breathlessness (6.8% vs. 1.4%; p = 0:018) were the most reported symptoms by ewaste workers. Lung function testing showed a higher proportion of disorders among e-waste workers (25.0% vs. 14.9%, p = 0:029), with a higher proportion of probable restrictive (10.8% vs. 2.7, p = 0:005) and mixed (4.1% vs. 0%, p = 0:013) ventilatory disorders. Handling or working with e-waste was found associated with a significant reduction in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) by 0.4 L (95% CI: 0.3-0.6) and forced vital capacity (FVC) by 0.75 L (95% CI: 0.6-0.9) after adjustment for age, BMI, smoking habits, asthma history, and daily income. Conclusion. Work involving e-waste is associated with a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms and with an increased risk of FEV1 and FVC decline, as well as of lung function impairment, particularly of restrictive disorders. Further studies to better clarify this association are needed. Awareness on this major public health threat should be raised in other sub-Saharan and Asian urban areas.

Source: UG
Respiratory syncytial virus genotypes circulating in urban Ghana: February to November 2006

Most research activities involve the use of molecular methods such as regular PCR (PCR), quantitative PCR (Q-PCR), genomic sequence and analysis using different software, genetic engineering, probe hybridization techniques, biological and molecular cloning, evaluation of immune markers for laboratory diagnosis of infections, serological assays involving the use of rapid tests, ELISA-based evaluations and immunofluorescent assay techniques.

Source: UG
Respondents' Exposure to Community-based Services and Reported Fertility-Regulation Behavior: A Decade of Data from the Navrongo Community Health and Family Planning Project

This article examines a decade of demographic surveillance data from rural northern Ghana linked with prospective panel survey data recording respondents' reported fertility-regulation behavior. We assess the impact of access to community-based contraceptive services, reported fertility-regulation behavior, and their interaction on the risk of a conception that results in a birth. The effects of service exposure differ by marital status. Reported use of any method to delay or avoid pregnancy appears to be more effective in reducing the risk of conception among the unmarried in areas offering community-based contraceptive services, relative to those in areas where services are facility based. Among both married and unmarried survey respondents who state that they are not using contraception, the risk of conception is lower among women in areas with community-based services than among women in communities without these services. The lower risk of conception among women who are receiving community-based services and who report that they are regulating their fertility may be due to increased efficacy and duration of fertility regulation. Among women who report that they are not regulating their fertility, under-reporting of contraceptive use in experimental areas is likely to play a role in explaining these findings.

Source: UG
Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic: Applying the Dynamic Capability Framework in University Libraries

To continue to remain the backbone in research-intensive universities and centre for educational excellence, academic libraries must have the capacity to renew library competences to respond rapidly and promptly towards the new global health crisis, and effectively adapt, integrate, and reconfigure the internal and external organizational repertoire to match the needs of users. During COVID-19 pandemic, academic libraries need to be innovative and operate more virtual than traditional. The dynamic capability framework assists library managers and policymakers in recognizing aspects of enhancement capacity that require improvement. In conclusion, the dynamic capability framework is an optimal decision-making alternative for library management and academic libraries in the context of isolation, quarantine, and physical distance during the COVID-19 era.

Source: UG
Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic: Applying the Dynamic Capability Framework in University Libraries

To continue to remain the backbone in research-intensive universities and centre for educational excellence, academic libraries must have the capacity to renew library competences to respond rapidly and promptly towards the new global health crisis, and effectively adapt, integrate, and reconfigure the internal and external organizational repertoire to match the needs of users. During COVID-19 pandemic, academic libraries need to be innovative and operate more virtual than traditional. The dynamic capability framework assists library managers and policymakers in recognizing aspects of enhancement capacity that require improvement. In conclusion, the dynamic capability framework is an optimal decision-making alternative for library management and academic libraries in the context of isolation, quarantine, and physical distance during the COVID-19 era

Source: UG
Responding to the commodity boom with varieties of resource nationalism: a political economy explanation for the different routes taken by Africa's new oil producers

The institutional responses of Africa's new producers to the early 21st century commodity boom differed both between and within countries over time. Despite making similarly sized discoveries in the mid-2000s, Ghana and Uganda took different routes, with Ghana oscillating between a neoliberal modality and a soft version of re source nationalism (depending on which party was in power), whilst Uganda adopted a more consistent and robust resource nationalist position. Current explanations for varieties of resource governance tend to focus on either institutions or ideas. We argue for an alternative theoretical perspective that locates the entwined role of both institutions and ideas within a deeper analysis of a country's ‘political settlement’. This offers a more compelling explanation for the varied responses to the commodity boom in sub-Saharan Africa, and suggests that different types of political settlements have had significant implications for how oil governance has progressed in different contexts.

Source: UG
Responding to Uncertainty: Bats and the Construction of Disease Risk in Ghana

Zoonotic disease has gained international attention since the identification of avian and swine influenza, with academic focus on the modelling of disease emergence, and policy centring on disciplinary approaches of analysis. Recent scholarship has recognised that the conditions which encourage zoonotic diseases are both ecological and socio-political. The challenge lies in the deeply complex causality and high uncertainty in identifying causal links between human, wildlife and livestock diseases. There is a disjuncture between existing academic knowledge on zoonoses and the role that uncertainty plays in anticipating and preventing future outbreaks of as yet unidentified diseases, and the way that policymakers tend to frame such evidence. This paper examines Ghana policymakers’ diverse perspectives on uncertainty related to newly emerging zoonotic diseases through the specific example of fruit bats, showing why it is so difficult to develop appropriate policy for emerging zoonotic disease. These animals have significant potential for zoonotic transmission, as evidenced in the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. This research predated this outbreak and provides a prescient account of framings of risk, uncertainty and zoonotic disease potential prior to this regional crisis

Source: UG
Response of field grown celosia (Celosia cristata var.carmine) to disbudding

A three-year field study was undertaken at the Department of Crop Science, University of Ghana, Legon, to ascertain the effects of disbudding on the growth and yield of Celosia cristata var. carmine. The results, in general, showed that disbudding reduced the number and weight (size) of undesirable side (or auxiliary) shoots on the flower stem and thus resulted in increased plant height, flower stem length and flower head weight (size). Disbudding also induced early harvesting and a more concentrated harvest period. A closer spacing of 15×9 cm proved better for the production of cut flowers of marketable stem length and head size than the conventional spacing of 15×12 cm. For good quality cut flowers, celosia plants should be disbudded at least once.

Source: UG
Response of Late Valencia Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensi (L.) Osbeck) to fertilization in the semi-deciduous forest agro-ecological zone of Ghana

We conducted a study to determine the response of Late Valencia sweet orange to organic and inorganic fertilizer application for two seasons in the semi-deciduous forest agro-ecological zone of Ghana. The experiment which was conducted in a randomized complete block design with four replications consisted of six treatments: 9 t/ha oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB); 4t/ha Poultry manure (PM); NPKZn (90kg/ha N, 60kg/ha P, 80kg/ha K and 4.8kg/ha Zn); 4.5 t/ha EFB+NPKZn (45kg/ha N, 30kg/ha P, 40kg/ha K and 2.40kg/ha Zn); 2t/ha PM + NPKZn) (45kg/ha N, 30kg/ha P, 40kg/ha K and 2.40kg/ha Zn) and Control. In the 2019 harvest season, the treatment PM+NPKZn recorded the highest yield of 14.71t/ha while the control recorded the least yield (6.37t/ha). In the 2020 harvest season, fruit yield ranged from 17.3 t/ha with the NPKZn treated plots 28.8t/ha with the EFB treated plots to. Economic analysis shows that for the five fertilizer application treatments, the highest benefit/cost ratio was attained with the EFB treatment for the two harvesting seasons combined. Fertilization did not significantly affect leaf nutrient content 253 days after application. However, leaf N and K contents were generally higher 253 days after fertilizer application than the initial levels while P level did not change. Soil analysis 253 days after nutrient application showed an increase in total N, OC and available P while pH level decreased. The study suggests the need for farmers to adopt the use of crop residues for maintaining soil fertility of citrus orchards for improved fruit production.

Source: UG
Response of Late Valencia Sweet Orange (Citrus Sinensis (L.) Osbeck) to Fertilization on Acrisols of the Semi-Deciduous Forest Agro-Ecological Zone of Ghana

We conducted a study to determine the response of Late Valencia sweet orange to organic and inorganic fertilizer application for two seasons in the semi-deciduous forest agro-ecological zone of Ghana. The experiment which was conducted in a randomized complete block design with four replications consisted of six treatments: (1) 9 t/ha oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB); (2) 4 t/ha poultry manure (PM); (3) NPKZn (90 kg/ha N, 60 kg/ha P, 80 kg/ha K and 4.8 kg/ha Zn); (4) 0.5 EFB (4.5 t/ha) + 0.5 NPKZn (45 kg/ha N, 30 kg/ha P, 40 kg/ha K and 2.40 kg/ha Zn); (5) 0.5 PM (2 t/ha) + 0.5 NPKZn (45 kg/ha N, 30 kg/ha P, 40 kg/ha K and 2.40 kg/ha Zn) and (6) Control. In the 2019 harvest season, the treatment PM+NPKZn recorded the highest yield of 14.7 t/ha while the control recorded the least yield (6.4 t/ha). In the 2020 harvest season, fruit yield ranged from 17.3 t/ha with the NPKZn treated plots to 28.8 t/ha with the EFB treated plots. Economic analysis showed that for the five fertilizer application treatments, the highest benefit/cost ratio was attained with the EFB treatment for the two harvesting seasons combined. Fertilization did not significantly affect leaf nutrient content 253 days after application. However, leaf nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) contents were generally higher 253 days after fertilizer application than the initial levels while phosphorus (P) level did not change. The study suggests the need for farmers to adopt the use of organic wastes as a soil fertility management practice for citrus while at the same time ensuring timely control of diseases to reduce fruit drop and improve fruit yield.

Source: UG
Response of lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) to water saving management in the coastal savannah agroecology of Ghana

Water productivity of rice is relatively low especially in irrigated ecosystem due to poor water management which leads to high water loss through seepage, evaporation and percolation. However, the amount of fresh water available for irrigation in the world is decreasing due to climate change, population growth and development of urban and rural areas. This study was therefore conducted at the screen house of Soil and Irrigation Research Centre of the University of Ghana, Kpong, during the cropping season of 2016/2017 to investigate the effect of different water saving management methods on growth, grain yield and water productivity of lowland rice. The study was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with seven (7) replications. Five treatments were involved; continuous flooding (T1, control), flooding from transplanting to ten days after complete heading (T2), flooding from transplanting to twenty days after complete heading (T3), alternate wet and dry (AWD) from transplanting to booting, then flooding from booting to ten days after complete heading (T4), and AWD from transplanting to booting, then flooded from booting to twenty days after complete heading (T5). Results from the experiments revealed that, withholding water after complete heading has no significant effect on rice growth. Plants from T5 saved 24.3% and 25.2% of water used in 2016 and 2017, respectively while producing similar grain yield as the control.

Source: UG
The Response of Maize to N Fertilization in a Sub-humid Region of Ghana; Understanding the Processes Using a Crop Simulation Model

Crop simulation models afford the opportunity to study and understand underlying processes that impact on crop yield, hence, helps in designing appropriate strategies to improve crop production. The response of maize to N fertilization in a sub-humid environment was evaluated using DSSAT (crop simulation model). Two field experiments were conducted in the major and minor seasons in 2007. One was conducted under limited water and nutrient stress conditions and data collected used to calibrate model. The second independent experiments were conducted with different levels (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg N ha–1) of N fertilizer. Grain and biomass yields were predicted with an index of agreement of between 0.64 and 0.95 in both major and minor seasons. Biomass N content and crop phenology were also adequately simulated. Model simulations were better with higher rates of N fertilization and lesser water stress conditions. Water stress during the reproductive stage significantly affected grain yield. Sensitivity of selected soil parameters to grain yield indicated more sensitivity when no N fertilizer was applied. The DSSAT model has been satisfactorily calibrated and evaluated for the study area and hence, can be used to aid decision making in respect of farm management options.

Source: UG