ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Teaching strategies to improve catering students’ performance in food chemistry

This Action Research Project focused on the teaching and learning of food chemistry at Takoradi Polytechnic. Strategies to stimulate students’ interest and improve performance in food chemistry were carried out in the classroom, laboratory and interaction among students outside the formal teaching-learning environment. Group work for assignments involving the application of food materials available and some of the items which catering students are familiar with were given prominence. The impact of the teaching approach on students’ performance was tested by the pretest-posttest research design where t-test of correlated means of students’ scores was employed to investigate any significant change in the students’ learning ability in the course The findings of the study indicate that if remedial classes in basic chemistry were organized for the HND Catering students, it would stir up their enthusiasm towards the food chemistry course. Analyses of worksheets pointed out the weaknesses and strengths associated with the teaching performance of the lecturer. On the basis of the comments made by the students, deliberate attempts were made to address any pertinent issue that evolved during the teaching-learning process.

Source: KNUST
Team integration on construction projects – the role of the client

A successful construction project is one which is able to meet or deviate as minimal as possible from the estimated budget, the stipulated time and the expected standard of quality and performance with overall satisfaction from project stakeholders. Team integration as an emerging technique seeks to eliminate the fragmentation within the construction industry and its related inefficiencies. The qualitative approach was adopted in gathering and analysing data. Interviews were conducted with clients who have been involved in team integration to solicit expert opinions and these were analysed qualitatively to reach conclusions and recommendations. It can be concluded that team integration is necessary in construction projects. However, it was determined to be more useful in the project initiation and design stages, procurement and construction stages. It was concluded that factors affecting team integration include diversity of the project team, cooperation between team members, level of communication between team members, client attributes and relationship with the team members. Problems of team integration identified included the protection of professional integrity or pride and comfort in dealing within sub-groups at the expense of the project teams. It is recommended that the role of the client is key particularly in the mobilising and timely release of funds, acquiring all the relevant licenses and permits, giving clear briefing and clear objectives, supervision and interest in the project. The client should show interest in the project, integrate himself properly into the team and show leadership. Client should agreement with the project team on the specifications and conditions in the early stages of the project. It is recommended for further research on the role of the client in forming a seamless or ideal integrated team for construction projects. Key Words: Team Integration, Client

Source: KNUST
Technical and Economic Analysis of a 1mw Grid-Connected Solar Photovoltaic Power System at KNUST-Kumasi

Grid-connected solar PV systems, though the fastest growing renewable energy technology in the world, have not been fully exploited in Africa; one of the reasons being the very high initial investment. Prices of solar PV systems have however been on a decline for the past few years due to technological innovations which have led to improvements in cell efficiencies and the economies of scale resulting from increase in production. The main purpose of this thesis is to present a technical and economic analysis of a 1MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic power system for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi using rooftops of buildings on the campus. A solar resource assessment done to know the amount of solar radiation available at KNUST showed that KNUST receives about 4.30kWh/m2/day. A roof assessment which considered parameters such as the surface orientation and pitch of roofs, roof area and the possibility of shading of the roof, also revealed there is about 43,697m2 of roof space available for grid-connected solar PV installations. In technical analysis of the 1MWp solar PV system, the three (3) commonest solar PV module technologies were selected and their performance simulated using PVsyst software. Amorphous silicon modules were found to perform better than monocrystalline and polycrystalline modules over the one (1) year simulation period. The financial analysis carried out using RETScreen revealed that at a solar PV market price of US$4.45/Wp and a tariff of US$0.11/kWh (tariff paid for Asogli Power Plant which happens to be the most expensive generation source in the country), the project is not viable unless feed-in tariffs greater than US$0.43/kWh are paid.

Source: KNUST
The technical and cost assessment of some BWA technologies - a case study of KNUST

The mobile wireless environment is evolving for new grounds with the emergence of 4G technologies; WiMAX and LTE are competing for supremacy or co-existence. The technologies are emerging from existing technologies with add-ons that give them comparable advantages over their parent technologies 3G and Wi-Fi – thus offer better; speed, data rates , range, security etc. A study of the theoretical strength and weaknesses of the physical and MAC layers of the various technologies under study and a general overview of BWA, its history, benefits and challenges and the current topology on Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus is considered in this work. The work continues with a theoretical comparison of the technologies that offer excellent data rates based on modulation techniques, Bit Error rate (BER) and signal constellations and backed with MATLAB simulations. There is an in-depth assessment of the parameters that determine the cost of deploying various technologies - equipment and services and factors like, Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and Operational (OPEX). These cost parameters were gathered from KNUST network planners, some telecommunication companies, RF planners, and some telecommunication equipment vendors, this was then compared with simulated figures from WIROI 20/20 and LTE calculator. Wi-Fi is cheap and better suited for Educational Institutions with relatively small land area (1 sq. Km). KNUST has a land area of over 10sq Km and is much suited for a cellular technology. The fact that WiMAX deployment has begun and offer low OPEX cost makes it an ideal technology for most Educational Institutions and also it continues their legacy network (Wi-Fi). On the other hand most telecommunication companies are opting for LTE; since it offers low CAPEX cost and continue their legacy network.

Source: KNUST
Team Integration on Construction Projects – The Role of the Client

A successful construction project is one which is able to meet or deviate as minimal as possible from the estimated budget, the stipulated time and the expected standard of quality and performance with overall satisfaction from project stakeholders. Team integration as an emerging technique seeks to eliminate the fragmentation within the construction industry and its related inefficiencies. The qualitative approach was adopted in gathering and analysing data. Interviews were conducted with clients who have been involved in team integration to solicit expert opinions and these were analysed qualitatively to reach conclusions and recommendations. It can be concluded that team integration is necessary in construction projects. However, it was determined to be more useful in the project initiation and design stages, procurement and construction stages. It was concluded that factors affecting team integration include diversity of the project team, cooperation between team members, level of communication between team members, client attributes and relationship with the team members. Problems of team integration identified included the protection of professional integrity or pride and comfort in dealing within sub-groups at the expense of the project teams. It is recommended that the role of the client is key particularly in the mobilising and timely release of funds, acquiring all the relevant licenses and permits, giving clear briefing and clear objectives, supervision and interest in the project. The client should show interest in the project, integrate himself properly into the team and show leadership. Client should agreement with the project team on the specifications and conditions in the early stages of the project. It is recommended for further research on the role of the client in forming a seamless or ideal integrated team for construction projects.

Source: KNUST
Technical -Vocational Institute for the physically disabled: An examination of conflicting design requirements for people with mobility impairments.

With the increasing world population paralleled by an increasing number of disabled people, more focus has been on the accessibility needs of people with disabilities in the society to ensure that their specific requirements are not ignored. Widely supported concepts such as universal design brought about by the fight for social inclusion of the disabled has had its own merits and problems. Experience gained by some designers in efforts to design for a wider-user group has revealed some design challenges. This research therefore takes a look at some accessibility conflicts resulting from the use of accessibility features and products by two or more groups within the disability circle which has the likelihood of affecting the mobility impaired person. A preamble to this research takes a look at some of the problem-solving approaches to issues on disability. The literature review takes a look at some of the possible accessibility conflicts discovered by some designers over the years and makes a comparative study from the historical point of view. Data sources to verify the existence of some of these conflicts were gained through case studies of some selected institutions and interviews. Discussions on some manageable solutions to architectural inconveniences which are unconsciously created in attempts to design for wider user-groups of disabled people reveals the significance of a biological, psychological and social approach to designing for the disabled. Lesson drawn from the studies helped in developing the concept and philosophy towards the design of a technical-vocational institute for the mobility impaired. The design which is described in details is intended to serve as a positive architectural model that reinforces the need of accessible environments which can serve the need of a wider group of persons in any mobility impairment domain.

Source: KNUST
Technical and Financial Assessment of a 50 Mw Wind Power Plant in Ghana

Wind is one of the promising renewable energy sources in Ghana. Despite the wind power potential, Ghana is yet to develop a wind power plant to supplement her energy needs. This thesis looks at the technical and financial assessment of a grid connected 50 MW wind power plant in Ghana. Wind speed data from the Ghana Energy Commission was analyzed with WAsP and Mankoadze and Anloga were chosen based on annual average wind speeds of 6.1 m/s and 5.4 m/s respectively. Average wind shear exponents determined for Mankoadze and Anloga were 0.214 and 0.236 respectively and these were used for extrapolation to 80 m a.g.l. Nordex N80/2500 wind turbine was used for technical and financial analyses. It was estimated that the annual energy production at Mankoadze and Anloga (80m a.g.l.) were 121.7 GWh and 98.0 GWh respectively and at capacity factors 27.8% and 22.4% respectively. The annual GHG savings at Mankoadze was 108,065 t CO2 whiles that at Anloga was 87,049 t CO2. The total initial cost of the 50 MW wind power project with a typical wind turbine cost of $1,500/kW was estimated to be over 100 million dollars. It was also estimated that for the wind power project to be financially viable (i.e. NPV greater than zero at a discount factor of 10%), the tariffs at Mankoadze and Anloga should be a minimum of $ 0.15/kWh and $ 0.19/kWh, respectively.

Source: KNUST
Technical challenges of the transition from analog to digital television transmission in Ghana (2015): case study: Digital and Terrestrial Analogue Television Transmission in Accra and Tema Environs

Countries across the world are moving their analogue television broadcasting system to digital platform. Ghana has set 2015 as the deadline for it analogue television shutdown in agreement with the Geneva 2006 agreement. The project reviews the analogue and digital transmission in Ghana which is currently carried out in this period of dual illumination, “time period whereby analogue and digital transmission will be carried out simultaneously”, outlining the technical, infrastructural and regulatory challenges during the period, using the current analogue and digital transmission in Accra and Tema as a case study. Technically, it has been established that, poor sitting of existing DVB-T transmitting stations has affected quality reception of the DTT transmissions at certain locations in Accra and Tema, especially areas between the two transmitters. Evaluation of STBs distributed by present service operators (SOs) was carried out, it has been established that DVB-T STBs currently available do meet the specifications for the variant of DTT network (DVB-T2) recommended in the Bidding document for DTT network in Ghana, one of the STB do not indicate signal levels beyond 45dBµV/m and also does not output converted DTT signals in its RF-Out. Possible regulatory issues concerning band usage, channel assignments, service licensing was also reviewed and the findings published in the main body of the thesis. Based on the findings, it is recommended that DTT transmitters should be co-sited, and aside the main transmitters used by each multiplex operator, gap-fillers would be needed to ensure total coverage of transmitted signals in the Accra-Tema environs. All imported receivers should have a common conditional access system to ensure reception of encrypted services from the various multiplex. One of the minimum requirements of the STBs should be it ability to output converted DTT signals to its RF-Out, so more than one analogue TV set would use a single STB to minimize the cost of the transition to the public.

Source: KNUST
Technical efficiency of maize producers in three agro ecological zones of Ghana

This study analyses the technical efficiency of maize producers in three agro ecological zones of Ghana. To carry out this analysis, a translog stochastic production frontier function, in which technical inefficiency effects are specified to be a function of socioeconomic, institutional and environmental variables, is estimated using the maximum likelihood method. Cross sectional data was collected for 2009 crop year from a sample of 453 maize farmers from the Bekwai Municipality, Nkoranza South District and Gushiegu District of the Forest Zone, Transitional Zone and Savannah Zone respectively. Then, the constraints ranked by farmers were analysed using the Kendall’s coefficient of concordance to test for degree of agreement in ranking. The results show increasing returns to scale in maize production. The mean technical efficiency of the sampled maize producers across the three agro ecological zone is 64.1%. The mean technical efficiency of maize producers in the forest, transitional and savannah zone are 79.9 %, 60.5% and 52.3% respectively. The results reveal that extension, mono cropping, gender, age, land ownership and access to credit positively influence technical efficiency. High input price, inadequate capital and irregularity of rainfall are the most pressing problems facing maize producers in the forest, transitional and savannah zones respectively. The study therefore recommends that policies that would improve extension service delivery, access to credit and the development of hybrid seeds should be pursued.

Source: KNUST
Technical Efficiency of Cocoa Production in Ghana: A Case Study of Upper Denkyira East Municipality

Cocoa is an essential crop and plays a critical role for Ghana and the world at large. However, low productivity has been a challenge and as a result efforts by Government and stakeholders have been designed to improve production. However, Ghana still has the lowest average per yield compared with international levels. This study therefore attempts to measure the technical efficiency levels of cocoa farmers and examine the factors that influence the variations in technical efficiency. A multi-stage sampling technique is used to obtain a cross sectional data on 220 respondents. The stochastic frontier model is adopted for the study. The results reveal that the mean technical efficiency of cocoa farmers in the study area is 72%. Analysis of the determinants of technical efficiency indicate that, gender, labour type 1(family), labour type 2(hired) are positively related to technical inefficiency of cocoa farmers. Age of farm, education, credit, extension contact, association, farm size, marital status, fertilizer use and experience of farmer are negatively related to the technical inefficiency of farmers. However, labour type 1(family), association, farm size, fertilizer use and experience of farmers are statistically significant at 10%, 5%, 10%, 5% and 5% respectively. In conclusion, the study recommends policy makers as well as stakeholders to adopt measures to increase production and technical efficiency by focusing on proper management skills on their farms to reduce loss of resources. Secondly, farmers are encouraged to form help groups (associations) to assistant themselves. Also, credit accessibility should be improved and encouraged to support farmers in need. Finally, extension services must be adequately facilitated to assist farmers be more efficient and productive.

Source: KNUST
Technical evaluation and standardization of Biogas Plants in Ghana

Biogas plants are noted for improving sanitation, generating energy, and supplying organic fertilizer. Despite the numerous benefits derived from biogas technology, Ghana is yet to develop a major programme that will promote the dissemination of biogas plants on a large scale. This research work conducts a technical review of biogas installations in Ghana and looks into challenges facing the design, construction, and operation of biogas plants. It further proposes standardized biodigester models for use in future large-scale dissemination programmes. The study was done by surveying fifty (50) biogas plants, and conducting interviews with both plant users and service providers. Majority of the digesters were fixed- dome (82 %); water-jacket floating-drums (8 %) ranked second. From the survey, sanitation was the main motivational reason for people using biogas plants. Most sanitary plants treating blackwater from flushing toilets discharge their effluent into public drains. Of the 50 plants surveyed, 22 (44 %) were functioning satisfactorily, 10 (20 %) were functioning partially, 14 (28 %) were not functioning, 2 (4 %) were abandoned and the remaining 2 (4 %) were under construction. Reasons for non-functioning include non-availability of dung, breakdown of balloon gasholders, absence of maintenance services, lack of operational knowledge, gas leakages, and bad odour in toilet chambers of biolatrines. Design problems observed involved the wrong orientation of inlet pipes of biolatrine digesters and the faulty interconnection between tandem (series) digesters. This thesis recommends the development of a national programme focussing on three major areas - sanitation, energy, and agricultural fertilizer production. A minimum retention time of 60 days for nightsoil and slaughterhouse waste, and 30 days for livestock waste under mesophilic conditions is recommended for the design of biogas plants. Standardized household, dung-digesting plant volumes of 4, 6, 8, and 10 m3, and nightsoil-digesting volumes of 10, 30, 50, and 60 m3 are proposed for dissemination. The correct design layout of tandem systems is also proposed.

Source: KNUST
Technical feasibility study for the improvement of Jalingo water supply scheme in Taraba State of Nigeria

A technical feasibility study for improving water supply to Jalingo, a fast growing town was necessitated by the acute water shortage occasioned by the creation of Taraba State in 1991, which made Jalingo the administrative capital. The rapid growth and development since then has put the existing public infrastructure including water supply under pressure. There is an existing water supply system and a distribution network using groundwater source, with an initially installed capacity of 6,500m3 per day, which has reduced to about 2,735 m3 per day. The present water supply obviously can no longer cope with the present water demand of about 22,466m3 per day. In considering means of improving the quantity and quality, the first step was to ascertain the number of inhabitants of the new metropolis and projecting future population, which was in turn used for the estimation of the present and future water demand. Relevant hydrological and hydrogeological data on three sources of water within the project area were collected and analyzed, namely, the River Benue at Lau, the groundwater in Jalingo and the River Lamurde. The data on the sources were subjected to analysis to ascertain their individual potentials to provide water in the right quantity and quality. Two of the sources were found to have the potential as sources of water supply in terms of quantity. The River Benue at Lau, with a minimum recorded discharge of 788.4million m3 per year in a critical dry year; and the groundwater in Jalingo with a typical minimum yield of 648,240 m3 per year from the boreholes located within the flood plain of river Lamurde (the source of recharge for groundwater in the area). Water samples from the sources were subjected to laboratory analysis, which revealed that some form of treatment is required for both sources, after comparing the parameters obtained with WHO guidelines. Laboratory analysis of water samples from the existing boreholes revealed that some parameters require improvement. This provided the inputs for designing suitable treatment processes comprising, Aeration, Filtration, Disinfection and storage for improving the water quality of the existing scheme. In view of the foregoing, it can be concluded that there is a shortage of potable water supply to the metropolis, which needs to be addressed. About 8.2million m3 of water is required per year to meet the present water demand, which is expected to increase to about I 9.3million m3 per year at the end of the design period to cater for a population of 225,393. The river Benue at Lau and groundwater in Jalingo can be exploited to boost water supply to the inhabitants. Recommendations were made on the ways of improving the overall water supply service to the metropolis.

Source: KNUST