ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The Pentecost event in Acts 2:1-13 and its implications for the Christian faith among the Dagaaba of the Upper west region in Ghana.

This thesis examined the extent to which the Christian mission and message can be transmitted and appropriated with regards to the Dagaaba encounter with the Christian faith in the light of the Pentecost Event in Acts 2:1-13. The study employed an exegetical method to examine the text Acts 2:1-13. Participant observation and field interviews were used to help critically examine the implications of the text for missions among the Dagaaba. The study discovered that authentic Christian encounter and missions is possible among the Dagaaba through the transmission of the Christian message from the African perspective. Therefore, indigenous Dagaaba Christian mission is attainable by the adoption of indigenous resources or categories in missions, transmission and appropriation of the Christian faith. Based on this, the study recommends that mission or evangelization work among the Dagaaba must be more indigenous in the Church to aid proper transmission and understanding of the Christian message. Bible translation into Dagaare and the training of prospective missionaries is key to enhancing mission and better transmission of the Christian faith among the Dagaaba.

Source: KNUST
The payment system of national health insurance scheme and healthcare delivery in the Upper West Region.

The study was conducted to assess the payment system of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and healthcare delivery in health facilities. Timely reimbursement of claims to healthcare providers is crucial and a determinant of quality health delivery. Among the objectives of the study was to understand the current situation in respect of reimbursement of services provided, to examine the factors that account for the delays in the payment of NHIS claims to Service providers and to examine and analyse the delays in reimbursement and the outcome of service delivery to clients. A descriptive research study was used to conduct the work. The study used convenience sampling technique to select a sample size of 120 respondents; and the stratified method was used to categorise respondents. Data collected were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) through descriptive analysis and frequency distribution tables. The main finding of the study indicated that payments of claims were not made within ninety (90) days of submitting claims as stipulated in Act 650 (2003), although claims were submitted within thirty (30) days by providers: such delays in payment affects quality health care delivery. This study revealed that the tardy payments of claims was as a result of poor government commitment to release appropriate funds to the NHIS; and concluded that timely and regular release of funds by the government to NHIS for reimbursement of healthcare providers will ensure quality health care delivery outcomes. It is therefore recommended that government honour its commitment to releasing funds to the Scheme for payment to healthcare providers as stipulated the Act 650 (2003); and that decentralisation of claims processing centres as well as streamlining and networking of these centres be given due attention as there are too many delays in the processing of claims at the Claim Processing Centre (CPC) in Tamale for the three northern regions.

Source: KNUST
The potential of incorporating local travel route information in addressing systems development to improve urban mobility in Kumasi, Ghana.

Despite the vital roles of Street Addressing Systems (SAS) and Local Travel Route Information (LTRI) in urban mobility requirements, the scholarly consensus on knowledge, attitudes and practices about SAS and the relationship with urban mobility remains unclear. Like many other sub-Saharan African cities, SAS in Kumasi barely consider the utility of LTRI in bridging the formal and informal addressing gap. The current study therefore, investigates the possibility of incorporating local travel route information in addressing systems development to improve urban mobility in Kumasi. The theoretical perspectives draw on the knowledge-attitude practice model. Using theoretical and multi-stage cluster cross-sectional survey data of informal transport operators and road users (N = 390), Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were employed in estimating the associations among study variables of interest. The study recorded low levels of knowledge about SAS and negative attitudes towards its use among the study cohort. The results of the study again revealed significant associations between respondents’ knowledge and attitude, knowledge and practice and attitude and practice. The study showed that knowledge, attitude and education were significant predictors of street addressing systems’ use for road navigation. However, no relationship was found between the availability of resources and access to services and use of SAS for meeting navigational needs. Using QGIS, a total of 120 stops (alighting points) were mapped along the selected trotro routes, converted to a shapefile, and overlaid on the study area map. The study concludes that, capitalising on GIS technology, LTRI could be successfully incorporated in SASs to increase accessibility and improve urban mobility in Kumasi. Recommendations are suggested to inform policy directions on addressing systems development, management and utilisation. The information derived from the outcome of the study is useful for future research and is currently being applied to create a digital travel aid (routing infrastructure) based on LRTI to guide local travel.

Source: KNUST
The phylogeography and incidence of multi-drug resistant typhoid fever in sub-Saharan Africa

There is paucity of data regarding the geographical distribution, incidence, and phylogenetics of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Salmonella Typhi in sub-Saharan Africa. Here we present a phylogenetic reconstruction of whole genome sequenced 249 contemporaneous S. Typhi isolated between 2008-2015 in 11 sub-Saharan African countries, in context of the 2,057 global S. Typhi genomic framework. Despite the broad genetic diversity, the majority of organisms (225/249; 90%) belong to only three genotypes, 4.3.1 (H58) (99/249; 40%), 3.1.1 (97/249; 39%), and 2.3.2 (29/249; 12%). Genotypes 4.3.1 and 3.1.1 are confined within East and West Africa, respectively. MDR phenotype is found in over 50% of organisms restricted within these dominant genotypes. High incidences of MDR S. Typhi are calculated in locations with a high burden of typhoid, specifically in children aged <15 years. Antimicrobial stewardship, MDR surveillance, and the introduction of typhoid conjugate vaccines will be critical for the control of MDR typhoid in Africa.

Source: KNUST
The phenomenon of street begging in the Kumasi metropolis: strategies, challenges and sources of resilience.

People are more likely to beg under the circumstance of poverty, hence, street beggars are described among the poor and vulnerable in society. Begging as a result of being poor prevents the beggar from enjoying the basic human right stipulated by the United nation, in which Ghana is a signatory. Despite these stipulated rights, beggars face a lot of challenges on the streets of Kumasi. A qualitative approach was employed for the study. The study adopted purposive and snowballing as its sampling technique. Observation and semi-structured interview were used as data collection tools to gather data from 30 street beggars in the Kumasi metropolis. The study revealed that street beggars used their biological under aged twins as a strategy to gain competitive advantage over other beggars. In addition, it emerged that, to gain competitive advantage, other street beggars used their biological defect, such as deformed leg or eye, which affected their ability to find job, as strategy to solicit alms. Street beggars faced the challenge of health-related issues such as backaches, malaria, cough etc. Further, psychological challenges such as shame and stress were experienced by these beggars. Verbal abuse and risk of road accidents were unravelled by the study as other challenges faced by these street beggars. Some of the coping strategies adopted by these street beggars were resorting to self-medication, ignoring their abusers, and taking rest when stressed out. The study further revealed that, personal resources such as motivation, self-efficacy, hardiness and knowledge were the sources of resilience of these street beggars within the Kumasi metropolis. Although street beggars may employ the use of personal resources at their disposal to cope with the challenges they encounter on the street, these challenges will persist if permanent social support are not offered to these beggars. In light of this, the study recommends social support, which comprises of formal and informal institutions to help these street beggars to move out of the street.

Source: KNUST
The Prospect of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) As a Conflict Management Strategy in the Banking Industry. A Case Study of the Bank of Ghana

Over the years, concerns have been raised by business operators about the delays thattheir cases have to spend in the court before they are resolved.In Ghana, the growing number of banks in the economy suggests that there is obviously large potential for conflicts. Some of the stakeholders, specifically customers tend to default in settling their debts. Most of the banks usually resort to litigation to seek redress. Regardless of the factors ensuing in conflict and the level of its formation, it has been noted that conflict in any social setting produces substantial effects on people and organisations involved. In many cases, conflict effects on people and organisations turn to be negative and make the people or organisations unproductive. This study explores the subject, investigating the prospects of ADR in Ghanaian banks, using the Bank of Ghana- Kumasi as a case study. The study employed both Qualitative and Quantitative methods. The Bank of Ghana acts as regulator in the banking industry whilst at same time operating banking services. The Kumasi branch of the BoG has 38 management members (population) out of which 30 (sample size) was chosen. The sampling technique employed was purposive sampling. This was to ensure the study covered only decision making unit in the bank. The sources of data include both primary and secondary sources. The survey showed that, BoG has been involved in disputes or conflict in one way or the otherthat needed third party intervention to resolve. The researcher further discovered that the majority of the commercial disputes at BoG had multiparty involvement. The study also identified four important factors in the choice of ADR; these are cost, time, relationship and comparative wealth of opposing actors. On the basis of above findings, the study recommends that the BoG reviews its policies to adopt ADR as the first step to resolving conflicts involving the bank and other parties. There is also the need for education and awareness creation to make ADR more attractive to parties involved in conflicts.

Source: KNUST
The policy implications of urban open space commercial vegetable farmers’ willingness and ability to pay for reclaimed water for irrigation in Kumasi, Ghana

The acute waste management problems, coupled with the proliferation of small scale industries in many developing countries, make low quality water treatment before use inevitable in the long run. These industries have the potential to discharge effluent containing chemicals and heavy metals into the environment. The indiscriminative use of pharmaceutical products by households in many of these countries is another source of health concern. Low quality water treatment in these countries has however been hampered by the high cost of infrastructure provision and maintenance. Cost-sharing among stakeholders appears to be a promising strategy to finance and maintain the wastewater treatment infrastructure. In this study therefore, the willingness and ability of urban open space commercial vegetable farmers to pay for reclaimed water for irrigation purposes has been assessed. One hundred open space commercial vegetable farmers and four vegetable farmers’ associations were selected and interviewed in Kumasi in Ghana using semi-structured interview schedules and interview guides respectively. The results of the study show that approximately three out of every five vegetable farmers were willing to pay for reclaimed water for irrigation. The results further show that the probability of being willing to pay by farmers who agreed that the current water they used for irrigation was harmful is approximately 5.3 times greater than that of those who did not. The analysis of the farmers’ ability to pay revealed that all the farmers would be capable of paying for reclaimed water at a price of US$0.11/m3. This has implications for land tenure security and vegetable consumers' willingness to pay higher prices for the produce.

Source: KNUST
The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Among Dwellers in A Peri-Urban District of Ghana: A Cross Sectional Study

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant health issue affecting about 296 million people worldwide. The disease is of great public health concern in Ghana as the country is within the endemic region of HBV infection. This study sought to determine the prevalence of HBV infection and associated risk factors among dwellers in a peri-urban district of Ghana. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Sunyani West District of the Bono Region of Ghana. Respondents aged ≥18 years were purposively recruited from the four major towns in the District with health centres. A questionnaire was used to collect data from participants, and a rapid diagnostic test for the sero-presence or otherwise of hepatitis B infection was conducted. A total of 992 respondents took part in the study, with the prevalence of HBV infection using HBsAg as a marker among all the study participants being 2.9% (male 4.0% (12/298), female 2.5% (17/694)). Females aged between 20-29 years had a comparatively higher prevalence of hepatitis B infection than their corresponding males. The intake of alcohol (RR=4.23; 95% CI:2.05-8.74, p <0.000), previously diagnosed of having a sexually transmitted disease (RR= 2.43; 95% CI: 1.03-5.71, p = .04) and having multiple sexual partners (RR= 2.27; 95% CI: 1.11-4.65, p = .02) were the significant risk factors for HBV infection among the study participants. The study showed a low prevalence of HBV infection in the Sunyani West District of Ghana using HBsAg as a serum marker to diagnose the infection.

Source: KNUST
The prospect of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a conflict management strategy in the banking industry. A case study of the bank of Ghana.

Over the years, concerns have been raised by business operators about the delays thattheir cases have to spend in the court before they are resolved.In Ghana, the growing number of banks in the economy suggests that there is obviously large potential for conflicts. Some of the stakeholders, specifically customers tend to default in settling their debts. Most of the banks usually resort to litigation to seek redress. Regardless of the factors ensuing in conflict and the level of its formation, it has been noted that conflict in any social setting produces substantial effects on people and organisations involved. In many cases, conflict effects on people and organisations turn to be negative and make the people or organisations unproductive. This study explores the subject, investigating the prospects of ADR in Ghanaian banks, using the Bank of Ghana Kumasi as a case study. The study employed both Qualitative and Quantitative methods. The Bank of Ghana acts as regulator in the banking industry whilst at same time operating banking services. The Kumasi branch of the BoG has 38 management members (population)out of which 30 (sample size) was chosen. The sampling technique employed was purposive sampling. This was to ensure the study covered only decision making unit in the bank. The sources of data include both primary and secondary sources. The survey showed that, BoG has been involved in disputes or conflict in one way or the otherthat needed third party intervention to resolve. The researcher further discovered that the majority of the commercial disputes at BoG had multiparty involvement. The study also identified four important factors in the choice of ADR; these are cost, time, relationship and comparative wealth of opposing actors. On the basis of above findings, the study recommends that the BoG reviews its policies to adopt ADR as the first step to resolving conflicts involving the bank and other parties. There is also the need for education and awareness creation to make ADR more attractive to parties involved in conflicts.

Source: KNUST
The prospects and challenges of outsourcing human resource in the banking industry the case of Fidelity Bank.

This study assessed the prospects and challenges of outsourcing human resource in the banking industry using the case of Fidelity Bank. The population for the study was staff of Fidelity Bank. The head office in Accra was selected for the study. A simple random sampling technique was used to select staff from the bank. A purposive sampling technique was used in selecting some mangers of the bank for the interview. The study used both primary and secondary data. The study revealed that the bank had outsourced some of its HR functions including its banking tellers, cleaning and security services and this has been given to contracts on a long-term partnership basis. The main challenges that the bank faced in outsourcing its HR included loss of managerial control over outsourced operations, effect on the quality of operations of the bank, security and confidentially and relocation of existing employees, hidden costs, loss of in-house knowledge and skills and loss of organizational innovation and knowledge. It was realised from the responses gathered that the respondents did not agree that HR outsourcing have had an impact on employee performance, have contributed to the performance of the bank and have also had an advantageous impact on both the organization and individual employees. It was recommended that management must be committed to employee satisfaction by understanding and satisfying the needs of their employees. The bank and the outsourced company should at all times know how each party is developing and the challenges that each party faces with regards to their relationship. The bank must also endeavour to understand how its decisions impact upon employees since the performance of the bank is affected by staff commitment, loyalty and satisfaction. The bank must also consider carefully the impact of its outsourcing on security and the confidentiality of its operations.

Source: KNUST
The puzzle of how employees ‘motivation impact the performance of department of urban roads in the Ashanti Region.

Public perception of and experience with the quality and mode of delivery of outputs/services sourced from public service organizations in Ghana have not often been very positive and satisfactory. Whether one was processing papers to acquire title ship to a piece of land, clearing goods from the ports, registering a business or obtaining crucial information from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the efforts have most invariably been fraught with extreme frustration and cost. The research will be based on a problem-solving perspective by studying critically the real problem with civil service and how appropriate motivation when put in place could heal this perceived chronic sickness of static performance in civil service. The research was a survey design using Department of Urban Roads as the case study. 50 civil servants were selected using a systematic and random sampling to answer questions on motivation and productivity.

Source: KNUST
The Prospects of Introducing Design Theory to Master Craftsmen in Dressmaking Within the New Juaben Municipality in Ghana

The study was conducted to introduce design theory to master craftsmen in dressmaking within the New Juaben Municipality. Consequently, the study focused on identifying the teaching and learning processes in the production of ladies’ apparel, analysing the impact of design theory on the performance of master craftsmen in dressmaking, determining the readiness and preparedness of master craftsmen for the introduction of design theory into dressmaking industry within the New Juaben Municipality. Concurrently, the study reviewed literature related to the Concept of Design and Designing, elements and principles of design, design theory, concepts of clothing, theories of cloth wearing, concept of figure types, sewing equipment’s and tools, teaching and learning techniques in dressmaking, concepts of craftsmanship and master craftsmen and concept of apprenticeship and apprentice. A mixed research method was employed in the study where structured questionnaire and semi structured interview were used to solicit information from the respondents. The questionnaire was designed and self- administered to 83 master craftsmen and zonal leaders and 12 were administered to apprentices totaling 95 respondents. Purposive sampling technique was employed in the selection of respondents for the study. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 and the analysis were presented using simple descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The study yielded some interesting results and provided deeper insight into the design theory. The study revealed that master craftsmen use no formal curriculum in training their apprentices and training is solely practical based while at the same time, teaching techniques are left to the discretion of the master craftsmen. The study again revealed that both master craftsmen and apprentices agree to a large extent inculcating the design theory in their activities will increase their dressmaking opportunities and also increase their effectiveness and efficiency. Finally, the study concludes that Design Theory would significantly improve the skills of master craftsmen in training apprentices. The study thus recommends that, a workshop should be organized by Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association (GNTDA) for all master craftsmen within the municipality on the application of the design theory to keep them abreast with modern techniques in dressmaking.

Source: KNUST
The relationship between clustering and networked Turing patterns

Networked Turing patterns often manifest as groups of nodes distributed on either side of the homogeneous equilibrium, exhibiting high and low density. These pattern formations are significantly influenced by network topological characteristics, such as the average degree. However, the impact of clustering on them remains inadequately understood. Here, we investigate the relationship between clustering and networked Turing patterns using classical prey–predator models. Our findings reveal that when nodes of high and low density are completely distributed on both sides of the homogeneous equilibrium, there is a linear decay in Turing patterns as global clustering coefficients increase, given a fixed node size and average degree; otherwise, this linear decay may not always hold due to the presence of high-density nodes considered as low-density nodes. This discovery provides a qualitative assessment of how clustering coefficients impact the formation of Turing patterns and may contribute to understanding why using refuges in ecosystems could enhance the stability of prey–predator systems. The results link network topological structures with the stability of prey–predator systems, offering new insights into predicting and controlling pattern formations in real-world systems from a network perspective.

Source: KNUST