ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The role of the state in Sino-Ghanaian relations: The case of Bui hydroelectric dam

This article critically examines the dominant role of the state at the level of institutions and policies with China to leverage and shape the developmental out comes of the current relationship. The new win–win relationship has sparked intense debates, which have attracted the reflections of academics and policy makers and Sino-Africa relations in recent decades. Firstly, that China’s African intervention serves as a catalyst for the continent’s transformation and hence provides the continent opportunity for self-determination. Secondly, that China’s increasing presence in Africa is self-centred due to excessive focus on resource extraction and market expansion, reminiscent of neo-colonial strategies and less developmental. The paper argues that these simplistic narratives produce a discourse that overly amplify China’s actions and rarely analyse how African states can harness the opportunities the relationship entails. It focuses on how to rescue the relationship from being supposed to be one way street and provides a framework for evaluating the outcomes of the relationship based on African state interventions. The article deploys Ghana’s Bui hydroelectric dam heuristically as a soft power instrument in an attempt to explicate poor Ghanaian state institutional capacity and the weaknesses of its actors in their interactions with Chinese players thus far in building the developmental capacity to sustain economic progress.

Source: UG
The Role of the UN Security Council in the Fight Against Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

The UN Security Council continues to play a critical role in ensuring the maintenance of international peace and security. Towards this end, the Council has over the years delineated maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea as a threat to international peace and security. Through Resolutions 2018 and 2039, the Council has since 2011 adopted what is largely a militarised approach to dealing with the menace of piracy in the region, similar to its approach in the Gulf of Aden. Even though threat levels are beginning to decline, the Gulf of Guinea is still considered a maritime hotspot. It is within this context that the Council has been moved to reconsider its militarised approaches to include non-kinetic measures. Recognising the critical interface between militarised and non-kinetic measures, the Council has adopted Resolution 2634 in what is considered to be a significant departure from its previous approach. This paper interrogates the rationale for this departure and assesses the extent to which this new approach would support the fight against piracy in the region.

Source: UG
The Role of the United Nations Security Council in Combating Terrorism Financing Since 2001: Prospects and Challenges

The study sought to examine how terrorism is financed in the world and the efforts being made by the UNSC to prevent terrorism financing. The study relied on both scholarly literature and key UN documents, especially UNSC resolutions adopted by the UN from the year 2001 to 2015 to analyze and discuss how terrorist activities are financed, the efforts by the UNSC in combating terrorist financing and the prospects and challenges in the efforts by the UNSC in combating terrorist financing. The study determined that terrorist activities are financed through legal and illegal activities. The legal activities are through donations, charities, fund raising, honey production and State sponsored activities. The illegal means are through criminal proceeds, kidnapping and ransom seeking, invading oil fields to trade, illegal charcoal trade, drug trafficking and money laundering. The study further found that the UN has undertaken significant measures to combat terrorism financing; among these are the adoption by the UN of international conventions for the suppression of terrorism financing, curtailing of money laundering, preventing direct donations to terrorist groups to support their activities, and limiting fundraising by terrorist groups. Finally, the study noted that, the efforts by the UN to combat terrorism financing are often hindered by peculiar challenges, among which are innovation and technological challenges, lack of international cooperation among relevant state actors, lack of intelligence sharing and the sidelining of the private sector and civil society organizations. In order to promote UN efforts in this regard, it is recommended, among others, that international cooperation among relevant global players is improved as well as enhancing the capacity of state actors to implement the needed mechanisms to curtail this menace.

Source: UG
The role of theories in social marketing in predicting physical activity behavior among the youth

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to integrate the theory of planned behavior (TBP) and the technology acceptance model (TAM) in social marketing to predict and explain technology adoption (gym equipment use) in physical activity (PA) behavior among Ghanaian youth. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative approach was adopted for this study. The empirical data for this paper were drawn from 314 youth who are gym equipment users. The hypothesized relationships were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – This study found that the salient beliefs, namely, attitude, subjective norm and behavioral control toward gym equipment use, do not sufficiently explain PA adoption. However, a better result emerges when these salient beliefs are combined with perceived usefulness (PU) and ease of use (TAM). Practical implications – This paper provides evidence for issues of potential research, policy and managerial interest. The study findings showed that PA adoption, not PEOU, was directly impacted by PU. Thus, policymakers and implementers of social marketing intervention programs should promote the positive attitude toward gym equipment technology use and the perceptions of usefulness (improve cardiorespiratory fitness, feeling healthy and building muscle strength) of using gym equipment technology instead of ease of use to increase PA technology adoption behavior. Originality/value – Considering the uniqueness of this current study in the Ghanaian context, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to integrate two influential theories, namely, the TPB and TAM, to examine the effects of the TPB and TAM variables on the adoption of technology (gym equipment use) in PA among the youth.

Source: UG
The role of trust in diaspora-homeland development relations

Research into the role of diaspora communities in origin countries’ development is a growing phenomenon. However, there is little understanding of the role of trust in mediating transnational relationships between migrants and recipients of remittances (non-migrants, members of migrant households and community leaders). Using a case study methodology, mixed methods and a comparative approach – in-depth interviews with 40 key informants (20 in the UK and 20 in Ghana), 120 questionnaires administered in the UK and 346 questionnaires administered in Ghana – this paper examines differing conceptualisations of trust among ‘development partners’ in the process of negotiating as well as implementing migrant-funded development projects. It also examines the nature of investments of migrants in the origin country. Migrant respondents are from the Kwahuman Traditional Area and the Upper East Region of Ghana. Ghana is used as a case study to examine this phenomenon both from the perspective of the migrant and that of the origin country partners. Narratives by migrants are examined in order to unearth factors that inform their decision-making and the approaches they adopt to ensure accountability. Survey results are also used to highlight associations between key variables. The findings indicate that the bulk of the expenditure on productive activities by migrants takes place outside of household circles. Consequently, productive uses of migrant remittances are grossly under-reported due to a lack of trust between migrants and beneficiaries in the origin country.

Source: UG
The role of tryptophan derivatives as anti-kinetoplastid agents

Kinetoplastids are the causative agents for a spectrum of vector-borne diseases including Leish maniasis, Chagas disease and Trypanosomiasis that affect millions of people worldwide. In the absence of safe and effective vaccines, chemotherapy, in conjunction with vector control, remain the most significant control approach for kinetoplastid diseases. However, commercially available treatment for these neglected tropical diseases frequently ends up with toxic side effects and increasing resistance. To meet the rising need for innovative medications, alternative chemo therapeutic agents are required. Moreover, insights into target-based mode of action of chemo therapeutic agents are required if novel drugs that may outwit resistance to commercially available drugs are to be developed. Tryptophan has been implicated in a variety of diseases and disorders due to its fundamental role as a precursor to several bioactive metabolites, as well as its importance in the improvement of health and nutrition, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The regulation of tryptophan metabolism plays a fundamental role in the growth of kinetoplastids. Moreover, the levels of tryptophan may serve as a biomarker to distinguish between the stages of kinetoplastids making it an important amino acid to explore for drug targets. The main aim of this review is thus to provide a comprehensive literature synthesis of tryptophan derivatives to explore as potential anti-kinetoplastids. Here we highlight the role of tryptophan derivatives as chemotherapeutic agents against kinetoplastids. The reviewed compounds provide insights into potential new drug interventions that may combat the increasing problem of anti-kinetoplastid resistance.

Source: UG
The Role of UNFPA in Youth Participation and Leadership in Ghana: A Case Study of the Young Leaders (YOLE) Fellowship Program

Youth participation and leadership development is a growing area of research and practice in recent years. This study examined the role of UNFPA in youth participation and leadership in Ghana by case studying the young leaders (YoLe) fellowship program. The study examined the linkage between UNFPA’s YoLe Fellowship Program and young people’s ability to be leaders (youth leadership), participate in decision making (youth participation in decision making) and explored other benefits of UNFPA’s YoLe Fellowship Program to youth. The cross-sectional survey employed both the quantitative and qualitative research methodological approach. Results from the analysis showed that more females participated in the YoLe Fellowship Program compared to males. The minimum educational requirement for the program is the first degree. The results from the study further show that the respondents, on the whole, gained insight into leadership skills and have assumed various leadership positions during and after the program. Also, as a result of this Fellowship program, the majority of the beneficiaries participated in development-related or political discussions, initiated community interventions to cause societal change, partook in voluntary community projects and held various leadership positions. Other benefits associated with the Fellowship Program to youth include a balanced networking skill across the various age groups, profession and expertise, CV writing skills, developed good program facilitation skills and the use and handling of the camera. The study concludes that the UNFPA’s YoLe Fellowship Program has enhanced and ensured the participation of young people in various leadership positions at different levels, forms and places. Likewise, there has been an increase in the participation of young people in institutions at the community level. The study affirms that the UNFPA’s YoLe Fellowship program has been able to implement its core mandate by adequately providing resources (information, materials, education and training) to enable its participants to fully participate and learn. The study recommends that the governing body (UNFPA) expand its capacity to be able to admit more youth to the program. In such regard, fellowship training programs or training centers should be established in all the other regions of the country to train more youth. Also, the program should design a module for youth in junior and senior high schools since they equally will immensely benefit from the program at a younger age.

Source: UG
The role of usability, aesthetics, usefulness and primary task support in predicting the perceived credibility of academic social networking sites

With technology being ubiquitous in our daily lives, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence their perceived credibility. In the current research, we focus on the design of Academic Social Networking Sites (ASNSs). In order to facilitate continuous adoption and use of ASNSs, it is important to understand the factors that determine their Perceived Credibility. Using the Persuasive System Design (PSD) framework as a foundation, the study investigated which of these four key constructs (i.e. Perceived Aesthetics, Perceived Usability, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Primary Task Support) are the most relevant determinants of the Perceived Credibility of ASNSs. In an online survey, the current research assessed this research model. The results of Partial Least Square analyses confirmed that Perceived Aesthetics, Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Primary Task Support are determinants of Perceived Credibility but provided no evidence for Perceived Usability as a determinant. Moreover, the results showed that Perceived Primary Task Support was the most relevant determinant of Perceived Credibility. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Source: UG
Role of Volcano‐Sedimentary Basins in the Formation of Greenstone‐Granitoid Belts in the West African Craton: A Numerical Model

Greenstone belts in the West African Craton (WAC) are separated by several generations of granitoids intruded at ca. 2.18–1.98 Ga. Simultaneous folding and exhumation play an important role in the formation of greenstone-granitoid belts. However, the overall tectonic regime and origin of granitoids remain controversial. In this study, we present the estimates of the mantle potential temperature (Tp) for the WAC, which yields values of about 1500–1600 °C, pressure estimates of initial and final melting yield values of about 3.7–5.2 GPa and 1–1.3 GPa, respectively. Subsequently, 2D thermo-mechanical models have been constructed to explore the width of volcano-sedimentary basin on spatial-temporal evolution of diapirs that emplaced in the lower-middle crust during compression. The models show that the width of the volcano-sediment layer plays an important role in the formation mechanisms of greenstone-granitoid belts. The lower crust beneath sedimentary sequences is deformed into a buckle fold during the first compressional stage, through which relief uplifts slowly. Subsequently, the buckle fold is further deformed into several individual folds. Diapirs made of lower crust rocks ascend and emplace in the middle-upper crust resulting from instability. Benefitting from the mantle temperature, the pressure estimates and the numerical modelling results, a new geodynamic model was constructed. This model indicates that a series of sheet-like granitoids possibly derived from either subducted mélanges, lower crust and/or mantle melting that are accumulated at depths of the subcontinental mantle would channel along diapirs before feeding the upper crust. When the granitoids arrive at the solidified lids of the diapirs, they would favour migrating horizontally and intrude into the upper crust through weakening zones between the diapirs. Our geodynamic model also suggests an asymmetry of structures between the upper and middle-lower crust, with the dome-like granitoids overlying high-grade sedimentary synforms and high-grade diapirs underlying low-grade greenstone belts.

Source: UG
The Role of Women’s Movements in the Implementation of Gender- Based Violence Laws

The question of whether social movements can catalyze change has preoccupied researchers but an understanding of how such change can be created is equally important. Specifically, there has been little investigation of how women’s movements engage in the process of implementation of women’s rights laws. We use a case study of Ghana’s Domestic Violence Coalition to examine the challenges that movements face in the policy implementation process. The Domestic Violence Coalition, a collective of women’s rights organizations, was instrumental to the passage of Ghana’s Domestic Violence Act in 2007. Our study investigates the coalition’s subsequent attempts to influence the act’s implementation. Drawing from the social movement literature, we apply an analytical framework consisting of three internal factors (strategies, movement infrastructure, and framing) and two external factors (political context and support of allies) that have mediated the coalition’s impact on implementation. We find that changes in movement infrastructure are most significant in explaining the coalition’s relative ineffectiveness, as these changes adversely affect its ability to employ effective strategies and take advantage of a conducive political context and the presence of allies. This article advances the literature on rights advocacy by women’s movements by analyzing the challenge of translating success in policy adoption to implementation and explaining why women’s movements may have less impact on implementation processes.

Source: UG
Roll-to-roll fabrication of cellulose nanocrystal-poly(vinyl alcohol) composite coatings with controlled anisotropy

Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) composite coatings may impart many benefits in packaging, electronic, optical, etc. applications, however, large-scale cellulose coating production is a major engineering challenge. A versatile roll-to-roll reverse gravure process for the manufacture of cellulose nanocrystal-poly(vinyl alcohol) (CNC–PVA) coatings on a flexible polymer substrate was investigated in the present work. CNC content was varied from 0 to 100% to determine the effect of CNC concentration on coating anisotropy. Coatings were characterized by polarized light microscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometry, cross-hatch adhesion testing and optical profilometry. This method produced uniform, highly transparent coatings with surface roughness less than 100 nm for all CNC–PVA weight ratios examined. The isotropic-anisotropic coating transformation was observed above 50% CNC, with a maximum anisotropy at 70% CNC along the shear direction. Anisotropic CNC–PVA coatings exhibited increased water vapor barrier performance due to the increased CNC packing and density.

Source: UG
Rosmarinic acid content in antidiabetic aqueous extract of Ocimum canum Sims grown in Ghana

The Department of Immunology conducts research in the field of immunology of infectious and non-infectious diseases. The Department has the overall goal of contributing knowledge to better diagnosis, management, control and prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases in Ghana and worldwide. This is consistent with the overall strategy of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and in line with the strategy of the College of Health Sciences of the University of Ghana.

Source: UG
Rotation of maize with some leguminous food crops for sustainable production on the vertisols of the accra plains of Ghana

Five food legumes were grown, as cover/food crops, in rotation with maize, at the University of Ghana, Soil and Irrigation Research Centre, Kpong. The legumes were determinate cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walper, var. soronko), indeterminate cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walper, var. Adidome mottled), soyabean (Glycine max (L.) Merril, var. GMX 92-16-2M), bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verd, var. Ada) and groundnut (Arachis hypogea L., var. goronga). The experimental treatments were: incorporated legume residues, recommended inorganic fertilizer application (100 kg N, 60 kg P2O5 and 40 kg K2 SO4 ha-1) and no fertilization as control. Soil samples (0-20 cm depth) were analysed for pH, organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N) contents before and after the experiments. Samples of the leguminous crops were also analysed for N content. The indeterminate cowpea continued growth after initial setting of pods and, therefore, had greater biomass (total dry weight - TDW) than the other leguminous crops. Its total N was relatively high in spite of lower N content. The TDWs of indeterminate cowpea, soyabean and groundnut were 2.80, 1.90 and 1.85 t ha-1, respectively; the N contents were 2.7, 4.5 and 4.8% and the total N contents were 75.6, 91.2 and 83.3 kg ha-1. Grain yields of maize were higher in the incorporated soyabean and groundnut treatments than the other leguminous crops. In the major rainy season in 2003, grain yield in the groundnut treatment was 3.3 t ha-1, compared with 3.1 and 1.1 t ha-1 in the inorganic fertilizer treatment and the control, respectively. In the minor rainy season in 2004, grain yield was 3.0 t ha-1 in the soyabean treatment, compared with 3.0 and 1.6 t ha-1 in the inorganic fertilizer and control treatments.

Source: UG
Rotational Energy Harvesting To Prolong Flight Duration of Quadcopters

This paper presents a rotational energy harvester using a brushless dc (BLdc) generator to harvest ambient energy for quadcopter in order to prolong it flight duration. For a quadcopter, its endurance is essential in order to achieve operational goals such as scientific research, security, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Because quadcopters have a limitation on size and mass, they cannot carry a large mass of on-board energy thereby having short flight time. In this paper, BLdc generators are coupled with the propellers of the quadcopter to transfer kinetic energy from the propellers to the generator. Taking into consideration the power requirement of quadcopter, the output of the generator is amplified using dc-dc boost, and is regulated to power and charge the on-board battery. The BLdc generator is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. A final prototype of the rotational energy harvesting system is built, and this comprises a quadcopter, power management system, and a battery charging system. © 1972-2012 IEEE.

Source: UG
Rotavirus diarrhea among children less than 5 years of age in Urban Ghana

The main research focus of the Electron Microscopy and Histopathology Department in the past 20 years has been in the areas of enteric diarrhoeas with special emphasis on rotavirus. Through its diarrhoea surveillance studies, the Department has helped to firmly establish rotaviruses as a major cause of diarrhoea in children, and document the circulation of unusual rotavirus genotypes in Ghana. The Department has also recently expanded its diagnostic repertoire to include the identification and characterization of noroviruses, astroviruses, and other enteric viruses.

Source: UG
Rotavirus diarrhoea hospitalizations among children under 5 years of age in Nigeria, 2011–2016

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