ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Willingness to pay for improved solid waste management in Dunkwa-on-Offin

This study sought to examine willingness to pay for improved solid waste management in Dunkwa-on-Offin. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 100 households enjoying the communal container and house-to-house systems of solid waste collection. The selected households were drawn from residential areas which were divided into high, middle and low socio-economic strata. A double-bound choice contingent valuation was used to elicit households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for improved solid waste management. The study also examined the existing solid waste collection systems in operation and household’s level of satisfaction with them. Assessment was also done on household’s perception and attitudes towards the solid waste problem. The results showed that households perceived the current solid waste collection services to have some level of inconsistencies. On the current solid waste problem, 88 percent of the respondents rated it as not serious. The majority (94%) of the respondents were satisfied with the current solid waste collection services. The results of the study also revealed that willingness to pay for improved solid waste management is significantly related to level of education, gender, household size and age of the household head. It is recommended that the current collection operator should maintain service charges with the WTP levels while striving to improve services to maintain and attract new clients.

Source: UCC
Willingness to pay for sewage treatment services in the Ashaiman municipality

Waste is inevitable as far as productivity, growth and development is concerned. However, the continuous increase in waste generation becomes very challenging and poses treat on sanitation, health and wellbeing of people. Following the positivist research philosophy and quantitative approach to research, the study seeks to investigate willingness to pay for sewage treatment services in the Ashaiman Municipality. The Contingent Valuation Model explains the value that individuals place on public goods, services, or environmental changes that have no market price was adopted in the study. The study used the logistic regression model in estimating the drivers of households’ heads choice for the type toilet facility and willingness to pay for sewage treatment services (objectives 1 and 2). The study continued the contingent valuation model following the Newey, Lagrange and Cameron non-linear regression technique in estimating how much households’ heads will in are willing to pay for sewage treatment services (objective 3). The study found that age, tenancy status, education level, gender and household dwelling unit significantly affect the drivers of households’ heads choice for the type toilet facility. Whereas age, choice of toilet facility, household income, employment status and improve farming significantly affect willingness to pay for sewage treatment services. Lastly, the study concluded that majority of the people living in the Ashaiman Municipality were willing to pay an average amount of approximately Gh₵ 25 on annual basis for sewage treatment services.

Source: UCC
Willingness to Work in Assisted Living Facilities: The Ghanaian Nurses Perspectives

This study explored nurses willingness to work in assisted living institutions for the aged. Background Assisted living institutions are multifunctional facilities that provide clinical and ambulatory (day hospital) care for somatic and psychogeriatric elderly with multiple pathology, disability, and handicaps. Methods The study used a mixed-methods approach in which qualitative data was collected first before the quantitative data. Data was collected through focused group discussions (FGDs) and questionnaires from 248 respondents with age ranging from 20 to 58 years from October 2016 to January 2017 with 8 missing from the quantitative data. Four pertinent questions were sked both in the study. Sampling was convenient and purposive from 4 different health institutions in the metropolis. Data from the FGDs were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Quantitative data was entered in SPSS version 23 and cleaned. Both sets of data were coded and analysed. Result The nurses appreciate the increase in the number of the aged in their communities; they think community members prepare towards their ageing by using their children as security, and the idea of assisted living was enthusiastically supported, but with the proviso that it would need to be ran by a private entrepreneur. Almost all the 240 respondents said that government should establish an institution for the aged and they would be willing to work in such an institution, if only it will run by a private entrepreneur. Conclusion The nurses also think that families are now becoming more nuclear; that is why caring for the aged has become a problem, thus creating a need for assisted living facilities.

Source: UCC
Willingness to work in rural areas and the role of intrinsic versus extrinsic professional motivations - a survey of medical students in Ghana

Background: Retaining health workers in rural areas is challenging for a number of reasons, ranging from personal preferences to difficult work conditions and low remuneration. This paper assesses the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on willingness to accept postings to deprived areas among medical students in Ghana. Methods: A computer-based survey involving 302 fourth year medical students was conducted from May-August 2009. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between students’ willingness to accept rural postings and their professional motivations, rural exposure and family parental professional and educational status (PPES). Results: Over 85% of students were born in urban areas and 57% came from affluent backgrounds. Nearly two thirds of students reported strong intrinsic motivation to study medicine. After controlling for demographic characteristics and rural exposure, motivational factors did not influence willingness to practice in rural areas. High family PPES was consistently associated with lower willingness to work in rural areas. Conclusions: Although most Ghanaian medical students are motivated to study medicine by the desire to help others, this does not translate into willingness to work in rural areas. Efforts should be made to build on intrinsic motivation during medical training and in designing rural postings, as well as favour lower PPES students for admission.

Source: UCC
Wireless service at public university: A survey of users perception on security aspects

There is an important growth in the application to detect and protect network from the intrusion and unauthorized party as well as create access control among users around the world through this decade. Contextually, the majority of users expected an integrated platform to address the challenges posed by cyber security while also enabling secure access to campus network. Not surprisingly, the large majority of enterprises also have implemented some form of protection mechanism to provide end-to-end security such as firewall, authentication or antivirus, which at some extent it is difficult to design, configure, manage, maintain and monitor. Therefore, many security breaches are occurred because of the misconfiguration resulted the vulnerabilities to be exploited by hackers or caused by compatibility issues between products used in the campus network to reduce budget. Arguably, many security aspects can be strengthen through the improvement of human resource strategy to handle the campus network. This study want to investigate the user perception on security aspect of Wi-Fi performance in Universiti Utara Malaysia to provide some insights on the indicators to be considered by the network administrator

Source: UCC
Wisdom, masculinity, and health in the book of Proverbs

“Being a man” in today’s world is a challenging and confusing task. Culture and religion, the two main sources from which men construct their identities, now have an important addition: the popular media. How men perceive themselves, however, is important because it has repercussions for women with respect to how they relate with women. Indeed, emerging studies on masculinity show that perceptions of what it means “to be a man” equally affect men who may be at risk because of their disposition to life. Previous studies on masculinity in the Hebrew Bible largely isolate and explain the qualities or traits that embody the concept of maleness in ancient Israel. Apart from the social practice of sexual relations, most of the studies, however, are removed from social life practices of Israelite men. For instance, little is known about the relationship between masculinity and health within the Israelite society. Nevertheless, several profane studies indicate that among the factors that shape health related beliefs and behaviours is the sociocultural element of gender. This paper, therefore, departs from previous studies on masculinity in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), by exploring the relationship between wisdom genre (specifically Proverbs) and masculinity, and how they impinge on health

Source: UCC
Wives‟ satisfaction towards husbands‟ contribution to household production: A case of dual-career couples in Abuakwa north municipality

The increasing participation of women in the labour force has resulted in the rise of dual-career couples, but women continue to shoulder a larger share of household responsibilities (Fahlén, 2015). The study aimed at examining whether or not wives in dual-career marriages are satisfied with their husband‟s contribution to household production. This study is a qualitative study. Hence, the phenomenological research design was employed. The study was conducted in the ABUAKWA North Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The accessible population for the study comprised dual-career couples who have been married for one to ten years and are both working in the formal sector of the economy. The purposive sampling method was adopted for the study to select a section of the population; a sample size of ten (10) couple were used. The semi-structured interview guide was used in collecting data for this study. Data collected were analysed using Colaizzi‟s thematic data analysis process. The study emphasized the significance of shared responsibility, cooperation, effective communication, and gratitude in the management of household tasks. It questioned traditional gender roles and highlighted the impact of different factors on husbands' involvement in these tasks. Dual-career couples encountered challenges such as limited time and work-related pressures, but they used collaborative approaches and prioritization techniques to overcome them. To successfully handle household responsibilities, couples should prioritize a fair distribution of tasks, engage in open communication, and show appreciation for each other's contributions. This fosters satisfaction in the relationship and creates a harmonious atmosphere at home.

Source: UCC
Woman As The Other: Gender Ideology And Patriarchal Hegemony In Ga Proverbs

The study explored the issue of gender, but with focus on Ga proverbs and how they serve in creating a male hegemonic culture in which women are given the status of the Other as against men as the Self. Specifically, the study examined how men are represented in the proverbs as the Self, and women as the Other. This was done drawing on feminist literary criticism, with influence from the Marxist concepts of ideology and hegemony. The theoretical premise on which the study was based is that most cultures are fundamentally patriarchal, and they create an imbalance of power that marginalises women, and the social structure is reflected in all aspects of culture, including religion, philosophy, economics, education and literature. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources and analysed, paying attention to content. The analysis revealed that, as the Self, men are generally perceived as superior to women and they control affairs both in the domestic and public spheres. On the other hand, as the Other, women are confined to the domestic space, and they are required to subject themselves to the authority of men. The representation of men as the Self, and women as the Other, in the proverbs, creates an avenue for the suppression of women, as proverbs are considered to be expressions of general or absolute truth. It is recommended that attention is paid to the study of Ga proverbs, and the social construction of gender in Ga culture, both of which have not received much attention in terms of research.

Source: UCC
Women and inheritance: a reading of Numbers 27:1-11; 36 & Joshua 17:1-6 from the perspective of gender advocacy

The narratives on the daughters of Zelophehad (Numbers 27:1-11; 36:1-13 & Joshua 17:1-6) have been widely read by literary and feminist critics. Feminists have hailed the daughters for their courage [Sakenfeld, 1995; Claassens, 2013] whilst Post –Colonial critics have criticised them for partaking in the imperialist role of taking the land of the Canaanites [Mbuwayesango, 2003]. Through these varied meanings on the same text, we can conclude that the hermeneutical approach to a text has an influence on the meanings that can be drawn from the text. Yet scholars seem to overlook the role that the steps/strategy the daughters adopted had on the results they achieved. Thus, I set out to read the narratives on the daughters from the perspective of gender advocacy. In doing so, I used reader-response criticism which proposes that meaning is inherent within the reader and the text. The study established that the daughters of Zelophehad used a strategy that enabled them break the boundaries of patriarchy to attain their land (economic freedom). They, therefore, did not merely achieve success but also established a blue print which can be adopted and used by individuals and groups experiencing some form of religious, cultural and economic discrimination. Consequently, the study suggests that when the strategy that the daughters used was adopted to the Ghanaian context, some reforms can be attained to change cultural practices that negatively affect women.

Source: UCC
Women and Islam in Africa: towards an inclusivist theology of leadership

Islam is one of the dominant faiths in Africa. Africa has a population of one billion and fifty-one million (1,051,000,000) (www.prb.org/publications/datasheets/2011). Muslims in Africa number five hundred and sixty-four million, four hundred and thirteen thousand (564,413,000). (www.pewforum.org/religion). Thus Muslims constitute fifty-four percent (54%) of the population in Africa. Thus harnessing all the potentials of leadership within Muslim communities in Africa will constitute a great contribution to filling the vacuum of leadership in Africa. Unfortunately, a great percentage of the Muslim population, (its women) have been left out of the leadership sphere within Muslim communities in Africa. The Qur’an states that good Muslims should aspire to leadership within the community of the righteous (Q: 25:74). Unfortunately the guardians of Islamic lore have determined that women can neither aspire to leadership, nor can they lead. In other words, leadership in Muslim communities is the exclusive preserve of men. They derive their authority from an alleged saying of the Prophet Muhammad, that people who are ruled by a woman will never be successful. This paper argues that it is not against the grain of Islam for women to play leadership roles. It argues for a re-thinking of the Islamic theories of leadership and a reformulation of a theology of leadership in African Islam that will include women. Key words: women, leadership, Islam, Africa.

Source: UCC
Women empowerment and infant and young child feeding practices in Ghana

The first two years of a child’s life are particularly important, as optimal nutrition during this period lowers morbidity and mortality. Many factors account for the inability of children to receive adequate nutrition from caregivers. It is known that mothers play key roles in children’s nutrition. In Ghana, studies relating empowerment to feeding practices have emphasized decision-making and maternal dietary diversity. Earlier studies focused largely on nutritional knowledge, stunting and child dietary diversity. This study focused on women’s empowerment as a pathway to optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) measured by minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet. The study used the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS, 2014); a cross-sectional nationwide secondary data. Stata software (v.13) was used to analyse the data. Multiple linear regression analysis was applied to examine the association between women empowerment and IYCF practices. The results showed that children of mothers in formal employment (officers, professionals, clerks and sales workers) had positive association with achieving minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet. Ownership of land by mothers also had positive association with minimum dietary diversity and minimum meal frequency. A mother’s decision on family visits increased the chances of children to attain minimum dietary diversity and minimum meal frequency. The study recommends that equality and women’s right campaigns be sustained because it improves the chances of achieving IYCF practices.

Source: UCC
Women Empowerment and United Nations Peacebuilding: Evidence from the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service

As the mandates of United Nations peace missions have become increasingly complex in scope and dynamics it has given the recognition for the need of gendered approach to all United Nations peace missions especially peace building in conflict prone zones. This development will adequately respond to the needs of women and children who mostly are vulnerable and become victims of armed conflicts. The integration of gender issues into peace building has taken two approaches (i.e., empowering women in participating in peace building missions and gender mainstreaming into the UN mandates and policies. The aim of the study is to analyse the effects of women empowerment on UN peace building with evidence from GAF and GPS. Primary data on women involvement in UNPB were collected from 353 personnel from the GAF and GPS using questionnaire and interview guide. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The framework of analysis used were Descriptive, correlation, comparison and synthesis and descriptive statistics and regression were used as techniques of analysis. The study discovered that the determinants of women empowerment on UNPB include access to education, decision-making, leadership roles, Economic freedom, and the right to control their lives. The effects of women empowerment on the United Nations Peace Building include advanced conflict resolution, evidence of enforcement of women’s rights, increased women in leadership positions, enhanced information collection, decreased children and women exposures in armed conflict and DDR. The study discovered that the following were the challenges of women empowerment: weak institutional capacity to handle women empowerment, there is little or no comprehensive local database on women empowerment, lack of clear national policies for women empowerment and mostly inexperienced staff left to handle women empowerment pieces of training. The study accepted the alternate hypothesis. The study concluded by developing an integrated system of all actors in the chain of women empowerment model to enhance United Nations Peace Building in the selected security sector in Ghana. The implications of the study finding for policy formulation include providing equal opportunities to male and female soldiers that commensurate their number in the Ghana Armed Forces. The study recommended that ensuring peace-building missions and state military organisations of its TCCs are appropriately funded, and should support operations that increase women’s engagement.

Source: UCC
Women empowerment, nutritional status of children and household food security in Ghana

This thesis investigates whether women’s empowerment, measured by education attainment relative to her partner, decision-making and acceptance of domestic violence, is related to nutritional status of children and household food security in Ghana. Using data from 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, Ghana Living Standard Survey, 2017 and Feed the Future 2012 and 2015, the study examines the effect of women empowerment on child’s nutritional status at different points in its conditional distributions using Quantile Regression estimation technique. Generalized Ordered Logit and margins are used to estimate the probability of a household being food secure as women empowerment increases, whereas Random Effect, Generalized Estimating Equations and Multivariate decomposition are used to examine the probability of female-headed households being food secure as women empowerment increases. The study observes that women’s empowerment is associated with improvement in the nutritional status of children with Z-scores less than -4 and -3 standard deviations, for acutely and severely malnourished childre, respectively. Variation in food insecurity between the gendered household types is as a result of differences in explained and unexplained characteristics. However, improvement in women empowerment, proxied by decision-making and relative education reduces food insecurity in female-headed households by 45 and 9 percent respectively. The study recommends that the Ministry for Gender and Social Protection should educate male partners on the need for women's participation in decision-making at the household level as well as increase availability of formal education to women.

Source: UCC
Women In Academic Leadership Positions in the University of Cape Coast

The subject of women in educational leadership positions has recently gained significant attention, prompting this research to focus on identifying the challenges confronted by women in academic leadership roles specifically at the University of Cape Coast. Being a qualitative study, a case study design and an interview guide was employed to gather data from eleven academic females occupying leadership positions in the university. A census survey technique was used to obtain participants from the five colleges of the university. Data were analysed using thematic analysis techniques. The study revealed five prominent themes that contributed to the study‟s overall aim. The study found that women occupying academic leadership positions at the University of Cape Coast have multifaceted roles, encompassing communication, supervision, and evaluation. It was also revealed that the challenges encountered by women in academic leadership positions have negative influence on their work performance. Finally, the study found that networking, professional development, provision of support system and mentoring are some of the appropriate measures that could be adopted to curb or mitigate the occurrence of the challenges associated with women in academic leadership positions. In light of these findings, the study recommended that organisations involved in combating prejudice against women, such as churches and governmental agencies, organise seminars, workshops, and public awareness campaigns to help eliminate discrimination. Equally important is the provision of specialised support structures to empower women in academic leadership positions, particularly within universities, thereby enhancing their effectiveness.

Source: UCC