ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Acacia tumida prunings as source of nutrients for soil fertility improvement in Niger: biochemical composition and decomposition pattern

Limited sources of organic amendments for increasing nutrient availability for crop growth is a major challenge in Niger. Reports on the role of organic material in soil fertility improvement in the Sahelian zone of Niger have been focused merely on limited range of organic amendments such as animal manure and crop residues. There is however little information on the use of agro-forestry leaves for soil fertility improvement in Niger. The current study was therefore designed to (i) evaluate the quality of Acacia tumida prunings, (ii) determine the decomposition and nutrient release patterns of Acacia tumida prunings (iii) assess the factors that influence the decomposition and nutrient release patterns of organic materials under Sahelian conditions. Litterbag experiment was conducted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments consisted of a factorial combination of (a) three types of organic amendments (Acacia tumida pruning, millet straw and cattle manure), and (b) two levels of insecticide application (with and without insecticide). The litterbag experiment was conducted on sandy and crusted sandy soil types. The percentage composition of N, P and K in Acacia tumida prunings were 2.30, 0.14 and 1.50, respectively on a dry weight basis. The decomposition of Acacia tumida pruning was faster (k/day = 0.014) than that of cattle manure (k/day = 0.012). On the average, 45 and 34 % of organic materials decomposed in the litterbags free of insecticide and litterbags treated with insecticide respectively. The contribution of termites to organic amendment decomposition was estimated to be 36 % for millet straw and 30 % for manure. The highest N release constant (k/day = 0.025) was recorded for millet straw whereas the highest P release constant (k/day = 0.035) was documented for manure. The highest potassium release constant (k/day = 0.114) was recorded for Acacia tumida pruning. This study has contributed to knowledge regarding the decomposition of Acacia tumida prunings which has an important implication for diversifying the source of nutrients for soil fertility improvement in Niger. Moreover, the results of this study indicate that the presence of termites and the intrinsic quality of the organic material play crucial roles in the decomposition of organic materials in the Semi-arid environment of Niger.

Source: KNUST
Accelerating the growth of a business by integrating Online marketing with existing offline activities: the case study of selected hotels in Sunyani Municipality.

Developments in information technology have changed the manner in which competitive advantages are achieved today and with customers becoming increasingly sophisticated and gradually moving towards the internet, it has become necessary for marketers to reach out to this new market segment whilst ensuring that the offline customers are also well catered for. This study therefore aimed at investigating how growth within the hospitality industry can be accelerated by integrating online marketing with existing offline activities. Given the exploratory nature of this study, data was collected quantitatively using questionnaire and qualitatively using interview. In all, fifty (50) customers from five selected hotels within Sunyani Municipality were issued a questionnaire and five managers from these selected hotels were also interviewed. The study revealed that hotels within Sunyanimarket their services offline with few online activities. However, the online marketing comes with tremendous benefits. Based on the findings, the study established that both online and offline marketing activities were important in terms of accelerating business growth as far as hotels in Sunyani are concerned.From this study, the following recommendations were made: hotels should blend the two marketing activities for the time being and slowly shift attention to online marketing activities considering the enormous benefit the study outlined.

Source: KNUST
Acceptance and use of insecticide treated net (ITN) by mothers for malaria control in children under five years in the Sunyani Municipality

Malaria continues to remain a major burden of morbidity and mortality in most parts of developing world, more so in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that about 90% of the deaths associated with Malaria occurred in Africa, South of the Sahara (WHO 2003). But, what is more distressing is that children under-five years are disproportionately affected by the incidence of Malaria, especially in Ghana (GHS, 2001). The study sought to assess the context of acceptability and utilization of Insecticide Treated bed nets (ITNs) among children under five years in the Sunyani Municipality aimed at contributing towards the improvement of reducing malaria incidence. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was adopted, using multistage random sampling method to select study participants. The study was limited to mothers of children under five years. Three hundred (300) mothers with children under five were interviewed using structured survey questionnaire. The main findings, indicated that most (89.3%) of mothers interviewed had adequate knowledge about the causes and prevention of malaria. The respondents knew that the use of JTNs was the best method of malaria prevention. Few mothers however mentioned eating balanced diet (7.7%) and consulting herbalists (0.6%) as the best way to prevent malaria. Respondents’ knowledge about sources of information on ITNs was generally high with hospitals (75.3%) and television (60.7%) as the main sources of information about the net. • Despite their high knowledge about the ITNs, a little more than one-third (3 5%) own the nets. Majority (76.7%) of respondents who own the nets used them the night before the study. Those respondents, who did not have nets, expressed their willingness to buy them when they get money. Based on the key findings, it is recommended that: • Education on the use of ITNs should be intensified. • The Municipal Health Directorate should effectively collaborate with the Municipal Assembly and identifiable groups and organizations to educate the community on Malaria prevention methods through seminars. • The Municipal Assembly should embark on programmes on environmental cleanliness and good hygienic practices to eradicate mosquito breeding sites. • More ITNs to be produced and highly subsidized. • Public and Private Sector participation should be encouraged in the production and distribution of permanently treated ITNs.

Source: KNUST
The Acceptance of E-Procurement in Ghana: A Study of Key Stakeholders in the Construction Industry in Greater Accra

The Public Procurement Act of 2003 was intended to harmonise public procurement processes, secure judicious, economic and efficient use of state resources and ensure that public procurement is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. The research seeks to find out the acceptance of e-procurement on the local construction industry in Ghana. By policy or practice, the increasing numbers of Government Department in Ghana are mandating the use of information technology (IT) to administer and deliver service to public. Many institutions achieve, or expect to achieve, enhanced procurement service and productivity by using advance technologies in e-Procurement. The research community relies increasingly on e-Procurement-enabler users that massively registered to equip with the system. The effectiveness of the public delivering service regarding procurement is a relevant topic of discussion among the clients. Taking into consideration the gap in the literature, a study has been carried out on the acceptance of e-Procurement in the construction industry in Ghana and the factors that leads to the adoption of e-procurement in the sector as well as the challenging factors that inhibit the acceptance of e-procurement. The factors that lead to the acceptance of e-Procurement system are the framework of this research. Therefore, this research will focus on these factors as the moderating effect towards satisfaction level among the users.

Source: KNUST
Acceptance of HIV Counselling and Testing Among Pregnant Women in the Kumasi Metropolis

In Ghana, as in most parts of Africa, south of the Sahara, HIV/AIDS account for a lot of mortality and morbidity in children. Children born to infected mothers acquire infection and progress to clinical diseases. This mother-to-child-Transmission (MTCT), accounts for most of the cases in children less than 15 years. To help address this problem, the Ghana National Policy on HIV/AIDS and STIs has come out with strategies that include the use of routine Counseling and Testing (CT) as a tool for the prevention of MTCT (PMTCT). The main objective of this study was to determine the level of acceptance of this routine HIV CT, as well as factors associated with acceptance among pregnant women in Kumasi Metropolis. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional type, with structured questionnaire as the data collection tool served on 200 pregnant women attending Antenatal Clinic (ANC) in the Kumasi Metropolis. The sampling frame was pregnant women attending ANC at the three hospitals in the metropolis. The 200 ANC attendants were selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Findings include a high level of acceptance, with 87.5% of respondents accepting to undergo HIV testing either before or after counseling. The effects of socio-demographic characteristics on acceptance of HIV CT were not statistically significant. The knowledge level of pregnant women on HIV/AIDS and Prevention of mother to Child transmission (PMTCT) significantly affected HIV CT acceptance (p = 0.000): Those with adequate knowledge levels were twenty four times more likely to accept HIV CT than those with inadequate knowledge levels. Seeking Spousal permission did not significantly affect acceptance (p= 0.86). However, spousal involvement significantly encouraged HIV CT (p = 0.04) Given the high, level of acceptance which is consistent with high acceptance levels in some African studies, the existing strategy of routine HIV CT, as a tool for PMTCT of HIV, should be sustained, and if possible improved upon.

Source: KNUST
Acceptance of HIV Counselling & Testing Among Pregnant Women in the Kumasi Metropolis

In Ghana, as in most parts of Africa, south of the Sahara, HIV/AIDS account for a lot of mortality and morbidity in children. Children born to infected mothers acquire infection and progress to clinical diseases. This mother-to-child-Transmission (MTCT), accounts for most of the cases in children less than 15 years. To help address this problem, the Ghana National Policy on HIV/AIDS and STIs has come out with strategies that include the use of routine Counseling and Testing (CT) as a tool for the prevention of MTCT (PMTCT). The main objective of this study was to determine the level of acceptance of this routine HIV CT, as well as factors associated with acceptance among pregnant women in Kumasi Metropolis. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional type, with structured questionnaire as the data collection tool served on 200 pregnant women attending Antenatal Clinic (ANC) in the Kumasi Metropolis. The sampling frame was pregnant women attending ANC at the three hospitals in the metropolis. The 200 ANC attendants were selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Findings include a high level of acceptance, with 87.5% of respondents accepting to undergo HIV testing either before or after counseling. The effects of socio-demographic characteristics on acceptance of HIV CT were not statistically significant. The knowledge level of pregnant women on HIV/AIDS and Prevention of mother to Child transmission (PMTCT) significantly affected HIV CT acceptance (p = 0.000): Those with adequate knowledge levels were twenty four times more likely to accept HIV CT than those with inadequate knowledge levels. Seeking Spousal permission did not significantly affect acceptance (p= 0.86). However, spousal involvement significantly encouraged HIV CT (p = 0.04) Given the high, level of acceptance which is consistent with high acceptance levels in some African studies, the existing strategy of routine HIV CT, as a tool for PMTCT of HIV, should be sustained, and if possible improved upon.

Source: KNUST
Access and utilization of family planning services among males in the Ga-East municipality of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana

Family planning is a voluntary prevention of pregnancy and it entails the interruption of a chain of events that leads to conception. Family planning has been an age long practice, mostly among women. Although men are also included in the utilization of family planning services, practically, most men do not utilize the service. It is important to note that, increase in the usage of the service by men will help guard against unwanted pregnancy, improve child spacing and prevent sexually transmitted infections including HIV by using the appropriate contraceptive. Men’s support and commitment to the utilization of family planning is of importance in Africa. This is because of its contribution to the achievement of the millennium development goals (MDG) 5 and 6, which is to improve maternal health, by preventing both maternal and child mortality and also to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. The study was done in all the four (4) sub-districts in the Ga East District. The topic for the study is access and utilization of family planning among males in the Ga East Municipality. The study design was descriptive cross-sectional. The Sample size was 120 males with ages between 19-59 years. In addition, views about utilization of family planning among men from twenty (20) service providers were obtained to support the study. Interview was the data collection method used and questionnaires, the main tool for data collection. From the study it was discovered that: • Educational background was a significant predictor of ones knowledge about family planning. In other words, the higher one moves along the educational ladder, the more his knowledge about family planning • Generally, across the age groups, more people have knowledge about family planning than those who do not have any idea. (80%). • The majority of the respondents were within the age 19-39years (76.7%). • The respondents with some level of education are in the majority (91.5%), compared to those without any form of education, among others.

Source: KNUST
Access to credit from Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) by Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Kumasi Metropolis

Access to credit for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Kumasi Metropolis in the Ashanti Region of the Republic of Ghana, is one of the thorny issues as far as growth and development of SMEs is concerned. This study is meant to highlight on how SMEs could reasonably access credit from financial institutions. It also gives an expose on credit delivery processes of Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) to economically support SMEs. The study received responses from 329 owners of SMEs, three (3) NBFIs, National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and experts in credit delivery processes and SMEs activities. Questionnaire was used to gather primary data for the study through cross-sectional survey design. Secondary data from literature review of the study supported questionnaire administered to collect data from respondents. The study used tables, percentages and Microsoft Excel to produce bar graphs for data presentation, analysis and discussion. The study identified inadequate SMEs funding, non-formalization of SMEs credit from friends and family members, cash lien, collateral security, insider loan fraud, high interest rates, misclassification of borrowers of credit and credit repayment periods as challenges of SMEs access to credit and credit delivery processes of NBFIs. The study called for the establishment of SMEs Development Fund (SMEDEF), formalization of SMEs credit from friends and family members, proper administration of collateral security for loans, proper classification of borrowers in credit delivery, effective management of cash lien, competitive interest rates on loans, flexible credit repayment periods, restrictions on insider loan fraud and SMEs capacity building to streamline credit delivery in SMEs and NBFIs operations.

Source: KNUST
Access to employment in Kenya: the voices of persons with disabilities

Introduction: Unemployment is one of the major challenges facing persons with disabilities worldwide. Persons with disabilities experience significantly high rates of unemployment compared with the general population, and are often employed in low-paid jobs. This could indicate a missing link in identifying employment opportunities and impeding factors to the opportunities. This study examined access to employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the Nairobi County in Kenya. Method: An exploratory study design, using qualitative methods, was conducted with three categories of persons with disabilities: the physically disabled, the visually impaired, and the hearing impaired. A convenient sampling was used to recruit 30 participants from five constituencies in Embakasi in the Nairobi County. Findings: The study found that access to employment for persons with disabilities in the study area was limited. Factors responsible for the high unemployment include inaccessible information on employment, negative attitudes, inaccessible physical environment, low educational attainment of persons with disabilities, and ineffective legislation on employment. Conclusion: The lack of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in Kenya suggests that poverty reduction among persons with disabilities will be difficult. Therefore, efforts should be made through implementation of effective policies to remove barriers hindering access to employment for persons with disabilities in Kenya

Source: KNUST
Access and use of e-books among students in Senior High Schools: a case study of schools in Kumasi Metropolis

Electronic books or e-books have been in existence for a considerable number of years. E-books are now common and very popular with people who wish to read one or many books. Unearthing and the thus understanding of challenges hindering students’ access to and use of e-book is important for effective planning and implementation of policies for the successful integration of e-books in the education curriculum. The study seeks to explore access to and the use of e-books among Senior High School students in the Kumasi Metropolis and the associated challenges and problems they do encounter in this quest. A survey study comprising an admixture of quantitative and qualitative methodologies was designed to elicit participants (students) response on the use of e-books. A total sample of 283 students were selected from five senior high schools in the Kumasi Metropolis to constitute the sample size for the study. Structured questionnaires were employed to elicit information relevant to the objectives of the study. Frequencies and percentages of the variables were computed and described to ascertain the responses of the participants. The study discovered that majority of the high school students surveyed, had varying knowledge of e-books but its usage and thus accessibility was the exclusive privilege of a relatively few due to a litany of factors the prime among which is lack of access. It was found out that students used e-books for the purposes of enhancing personal development, self-inspiration, education, information, as well as for academic development. Mitigating against the effective use of e-books were factors like lack of time, prohibition to use certain devices by school authorities, non-affordability of the reading device and preference for printed books as the prime reasons for not patronizing e-books. The study then concludes that Senior High School students in the Kumasi Metropolis read e-books albeit limited to non-academic related purposes like entertainment and general information seeking via the mobile phone which is the primary medium of access. The study therefore recommends to the Ghana Education Service to institute policies to encourage and improve access and use of e-books among Senior High School students by unleashing its untapped potentials for enhanced academic work by properly integrating it into the educational curriculum.

Source: KNUST
Access to finance by small and medium scale enterprises from savings and loans institutions in the Kumasi metropolis

In today’s Global Economy, SMEs are the engine of growth and for that matter they must be funded and thereby the state or the government must put policies that will assist their growth by accessing funds from financial institutions or the banks with lower interest rate. The study aimed at finding out the type of credit used by SMEs from Savings and Loans Companies, other sources of credit accessed by SMEs in Kumasi, the major constraints faced by SMEs in accessing credit from savings and loans companies and to investigate to investigate the assessment criteria used by savings and loans companies in SME loan appraisal. There is evidence that savings and loans companies are making credit available to the entrepreneurs of small and medium scale enterprises. Prior to that inadequate credit was a major problem facing the Sector. There is the need in Ghana for our Universities in collaboration with the banks or financial institutions to educate the public about the importance of savings.

Source: KNUST
Access to justice and inmates at Kumasi central prison

The study explores how inmates at the Kumasi Central Prison access justice. Purposely, the study seeks to outline the reasons for delay in access to justice for the inmates at the Kumasi prison. To examine the extent to which inmates access justice whiles at the Prison, and identify the various challenges they faced at the prisons. We collect data from a survey administered to 230 respondents from key technical persons and some selected inmates at the Kumasi Central Prisons. The study found out that factors such as few judges and magistrates available to adjudicate the massive backlogs of court cases, and lack of transparency of court document processing and publication of court decisions are the reasons for the delays. The study further found out that majority of the inmates were denied access to legal advice and service, and some of the inmates also expressed total ignorance so far as access to justice. We therefore, conclude that access to justice or legal representation is very difficult in the prison, and that many accused persons go through trial without being represented by a legal practitioner. The researcher therefore recommends a Legal Aid Policy that shall promote speedy access to justice, reformative programmes such as skills training for prisoners, a social protection and support programmes that could help for effective reintegration of remand prisoners into society, and the establishment of a remand home to avoid the mingling of remand prisoners with convicted prisoners.

Source: KNUST