ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The story so far-digital preservation in institutional repositories: The case of academic libraries in Ghana

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the standards, strategies, support and challenges of digital preservation in institutional repositories in academic libraries in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The research was qualitative. Data used for analysis were drawn from interviews with respondents selected purposively from eight Ghanaian academic libraries. Findings A key finding of the study was that although the academic libraries had operational directions for digital preservation activities in the institutional repositories, available standards and practices for ensuring long-term preservation seem to be unsuitable. Research limitations/implications Recommendations based on findings included development of comprehensive digital preservation policies to provide mandate and direction to preservation of the libraries digital collections, development of disaster plans, adequate funding, staff development and support from management. Originality/value The study has demonstrated the need for academic libraries in Ghana to have and develop good digital preservation standards for sustaining the institutional repositories to help in realizing its benefits.

Source: UG
Strangers in a strange land: Mapping household and neighbourhood associations with improved wellbeing outcomes in Accra, Ghana

Urban poverty is not limited to informal settlements, rather it extends throughout cities, with the poor and affluent often living in close proximity. Using a novel dataset derived from the full Ghanaian Census, we investigate how neighbourhood versus household socio-economic status (SES) relates to a set of household development outcomes (related to housing quality, energy, water and sanitation, and information technology) in Accra, Ghana. We then assess “stranger” households' outcomes within neighbourhoods: do poor households fare better in affluent neighbourhoods, and are affluent households negatively impacted by being in poor neigh bourhoods? Through a simple generalized linear model we estimate the variance components associated with household and neighbourhood status for our outcome measures. Household SES is more closely associated with 13 of the 16 outcomes assessed compared to the neighbourhood average SES. For 9 outcomes poor households in affluent areas fair better, and the affluent in poor areas are worse off. For two outcomes, poor households have worse outcomes in affluent areas, and the affluent have better outcomes in poor areas, on average. For three outcomes “stranger” households do worse in strange neighbourhoods. We discuss implications for mixed development and how to direct resources through households versus location-based targets.

Source: UG
Strangers on Their Own Land: Examining Community Identity and Social Memory of Relocated Communities in the Area of the Bui Dam in West-Central Ghana

This article examines the importance of social memory among the members of three communities (Bui, Akanyakrom, and Dokokyina) relocated by the construction of the Bui Dam in west-central Ghana. Specifically, the article explores the effects of the resettlement on the affected communities' venerated ancestors, cultural and natural landscapes, as well as the guarding shrines and spirits within the community. The article demonstrates how social memory provides those who are affected by the dam construction an opportunity to renegotiate their social identities, maintain community continuity, and ensure the long-term survival of their cultural history. Based on the research, conducted as part of a broader salvage archaeology project, the article makes several recommendations about how dam authorities can best establish and maintain good working relationships with the affected communities, and also respect their longstanding traditional systems, to ensure successful resettlement and minimal post-relocation livelihood disruptions.

Source: UG
Strategic accountability for sustainability of natural resources – public discharge and optimism in sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose – This study aims to explore individual perceptions about how the government, as the main architect of policies and regulations, discharges strategic accountability in Ghana’s oil and gas sector and, in so doing, promotes resource sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The study reports on a series of interviews with key actors using institutional theory as a lens for discussion and interpretation of results. This approach forms the basis for a number of specific contributions to knowledge regarding strategic accountability around natural resource discoveries. Findings – Whilst many deeply-set problems appear to persist, the paper reports some favourable movement in public perceptions regarding institutional accountability that has not been identified previously. The empirical findings demonstrate how the three elements of institutional theory work together in an emerging country’s natural resource industry to drive a potentially holistic strategic institutional legitimacy, contrary to the existing pervasive picture of detrimental regulative, normative and cognitive institutionalism found within the region. Practical implications – The findings suggest that, contrary to existing regional evidence regarding institutional financial accountability practices around natural resources, Ghana has made favourable strides in terms of strategic accountability discharge. This discovery implies that with persistence and commitment, a meaningful degree of intelligent strategic accountability can be achieved and, with appropriate empirical methodology, identified and rationalised. Social implications – The persistent coercive pressure from the Ghanaian society that caused the government to listen to overtime and take positive steps in the institutionalisation of their strategic accountability process which translated into a holistic institutional legitimacy that has eluded the sub-region for decades, is a glimmer of hope for other societies within the sub-Saharan region that all is not lost. Originality/value – The paper suggests an empirically driven approach to understanding the institutionalisation of strategic accountability practices and their impact on sustainability around natural resources in sub-Saharan Africa. The focus on the strategic aspect of accountability – rather than the financial as in most prior work – and the consideration of opinions at more than a single point in time permits the identification of novel evidence regarding accountability in emerging economies.

Source: UG
Strategic CSR practices, strategic orientation and business value creation among multinational subsidiaries in Ghana

Purpose: This study aims to examine the direct influence of strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices on business value creation while accounting for the moderating and mediating roles of strategic orientation. Design, methodology, and approach: It used data from 118 CSR-intensive multinational subsidiaries operating in five major different industries in Ghana and applying hierarchical regression and bootstrapping via Hayes’ PROCESS Macro for the analyses. Findings: The results showed that strategic CSR practices comprise strategic CSR planning, strategic CSR implementation and strategic CSR positioning contribute positively and significantly to business value creation of multinational subsidiaries. Moreover, it found that strategic orientation has directly predicted business value creation significantly and further mediated the nexus between business value creation and the three strategic CSR practices. However, it did not moderate the influence of strategic CSR practices on business value creation. Originality/value: The study validates and adds to the knowledge on strategic CSR and business value creation theory by demonstrating that strategic CSR practices of multinational corporation (MNCs) are parallel to their subsidiaries’ commitment to shared growth in host countries. Similarly, it provides a better understanding of the dual roles of MNCs’ strategic orientation on strategic CSR practices and business value creation, thereby offering valuable information about the underlying economic process and context that can affect the strategic business value of firms’ strategic CSR practices.

Source: UG
Strategic Factors and Firm Performance in an Emerging Economy

Purpose – As a result of the lack of reliable data, systematic research that informs public policy and practice from Ghana seems to be lacking. Although the World Bank's survey concerning Ghana's manufacturing sub‐sector has been available for some time now, yet little is known as regards firm level research and so policy formulation has been affected exceedingly. The purpose of this paper is to identify the strategic factors which influence firm performance from Ghana (an emerging economy). Design/methodology/approach – This study employs the World Bank data set relating to a panel of firms within the Ghanaian manufacturing sector from 1991‐2002. Findings – By pooling the data and setting OLS regression, the results of the study indicate that joint venture (JVs) ownership predicts significant performance compared with similar counterparts that are wholly indigenously owned. Besides, firm size, workforce productivity and the location where a firm operates are strategic drivers of firm performance in a significant way. Originality/value – The paper shows that alliances with foreign businesses by indigenous firms from Ghana boosts the capacity of the local firms with regard to human and financial capital resources, as well as linking them to international supply and distribution networks that greatly enhance their performance.

Source: UG
Strategic leadership capacity building for Sub-Saharan African health systems and public health governance: A multi-country assessment of essential competencies and optimal design for a Pan African DrPH

Leadership capacity needs development and nurturing at all levels for strong health systems governance and improved outcomes. The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) is a professional, interdisciplinary terminal degree focused on strategic leadership capacity building. The concept is not new and there are several programmes globally-but none within Africa, despite its urgent need for strong strategic leadership in health. To address this gap, a consortium of institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, UK and North America have embarked on a collaboration to develop and implement a pan-African DrPH with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. This paper presents findings of research to verify relevance, identify competencies and support programme design and customization. A mixed methods cross sectional multi-country study was conducted in Ghana, South Africa and Uganda. Data collection involved a non-exhaustive desk review, 34 key informant (KI) interviews with past and present health sector leaders and a questionnaire with closed and open ended items administered to 271 potential DrPH trainees. Most study participants saw the concept of a pan-African DrPH as relevant and timely. Strategic leadership competencies identified by KI included providing vision and inspiration for the organization, core personal values and character qualities such as integrity and trustworthiness, skills in adapting to situations and context and creating and maintaining effective change and systems. There was consensus that programme design should emphasize learning by doing and application of theory to professional practice. Short residential periods for peer-to-peer and peer-to-facilitator engagement and learning, interspaced with facilitated workplace based learning, including coaching and mentoring, was the preferred model for programme implementation. The introduction of a pan-African DrPH with a focus on strategic leadership is relevant and timely. Core competencies, optimal design and customization for the sub-Saharan African context has broad consensus in the study setting.

Source: UG
Strategic Management Practices Of Nurse Managers At The Greater Accra Regional Hospital

Strategic management practice is essential in the health care system especially, among nurse managers, since nurses are front liners in health care delivery. The study sought to explore the strategic management practices of nurse managers. A conceptual framework of the strategic management process was used to guide the study. A qualitative exploratory, descriptive design was utilized. Twelve (12) participants were purposively sampled from the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (GARH). A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data from the participants, and thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Five themes were identified from the data: environmental scanning practices, strategy formulation practices, strategy implementation practices, strategy evaluation and control practices, and challenges encountered in Strategic Management. The study's results showed that nurse managers scanned their internal environment using methods like observation, round checks, and supervision, as well as SWOT analysis as the tool, but the external environment received little attention, so opportunities were not maximized and threats were not reduced. The study recommends that nurse managers should give as much attention to external environmental scanning as the internal environment for efficient and effective strategy formulation and implementation practices. Furthermore, the management of the Greater Accra regional hospital, should give nurse managers support as well as training on strategic management to better equip their skills in contributing to the achievement of the hospital‟s objectives.

Source: UG
Strategic planning in an uncertain environment: The case of Ghana's University libraries

Reports on a survey of the major stakeholders of five university libraries in Ghana, designed to determine the factors in the external environment that affect the development of strategic planning in Ghanaian university libraries. Economic and political factors are perceived to have had the most impact. Reasons for the poor performance of the Ghanaian economy in the last fifteen years include: inflation; currency depreciation; poor employee remuneration; resistance to educational reforms; and increase in educational enrolments.

Source: UG
Strategic planning in LAMIC mental health research: A Ghana case study

The need for more mental health research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LAMICs) has been repeatedly acknowledged. Yet there has been limited focus on how this goal can be achieved optimally. This paper makes the case for orienting mental health research efforts in developing countries within a strategic planning approach at a national level that recognizes the practical constraints of low resource environments, as well as methodological constraints created by factors such as low literacy levels, and the use of multiple languages. A case study of Ghana is used to illustrate how such a strategic planning model could be developed. This proposed approach should be of interest to other LAMICS in need of locally generated mental health research to inform clinical practice, mental illness prevention initiatives, and public policy.

Source: UG
Strategic Planning in Public Universities: A Developing Country Perspective

Effective recruitment and selection practices are key factors to the entry point of human resources in any organization and they also tend to determine the success and sustainability of SMEs. This present study sought to identify the skills and competences required of graduates by SMEs, and the graduates selection and recruitment practices of SMEs. A questionnaire survey was chosen as the most appropriate design for this investigation, with purposive sampling being used to select respondents ranged from company top management. The data was analyzed using SPSS. The results suggest that a majority of SMEs do recruit graduates but do not retain them beyond three years. Respondents identified information technology as the most important skill they require of graduates; followed by numerical skills, written communication skills, oral communication skills, confidence and self discipline. The findings will enhance a realistic recruitment and selection interface between graduate jobseekers and SME recruiters in Ghana.

Source: UG
Strategic Planning in Public Universities: A Developing Country Perspective

This paper presents the results of an empirical study on strategic planning in three public universities in Ghana. It assesses strategy development, the implementation process, the main challenges to strategic planning in public universities, and what their success factors are. Findings indicate that the nature, form, and sophistication of information and communication technology use influenced successful implementation of strategic plans for two public universities. Other results suggested that members of staff perceived strategic planning to be the responsibility of top management; thus, there is little ownership and commitment by academic and other stakeholders.

Source: UG
Strategic responses of microfinance institutions to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis in Ghana

This paper examines the impacts of COVID-19 on MFI operations and the response measures taken by MFIs in Ghana. Data from interviews shows that MFIs are faced with operational difficulties as a result of the crisis: inability to disburse new loans and collect loan repayments which is leading to increase in portfolios at risk, increased operational costs, and bottlenecks with non-financial service delivery. Reduction in lending and rescheduling of outstanding loan repayments, adoption of flexible working arrangements, and use of digital technologies are key response measures taken by the MFIs although the scale of implementation differed considerably by contextual factors.

Source: UG
Strategic talent management scholarship: a review of current foci and future directions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review strategic talent management (STM) research with the aim of providing major insights into the under-explored themes, issues, theories and methods. Design/methodology/approach – The method included a systematic review of studies from 2007 to 2019 in five reputable academic databases. In total, 51 studies met the inclusion criteria and were analysed. Findings – STM can be leveraged to achieve several positive employee, organisational and macro-level outcomes. However, the realisation of these positive outcomes can be threatened by several challenges, which need to be addressed through the creation of conditions critical for the success of talent management strategies. Moreover, effective talent management strategy regime does not lie on the shoulders of just one individual but a collective responsibility of multiple stakeholders. The study also highlighted the digitalisation of STM, integration of ethical and responsible management principles into talent management strategies, and strategic management of unconventional of talent pools as key trends. Finally, several major weaknesses in the current STM scholarship from theoretical, content, context and methodological perspectives are discussed. Research limitations/implications – Although the studies included in the analysis may not include all studies published during the study period, it is assumed that they provide a good representation of such studies. Originality/value – Since no systematic study was conducted specifically on STM, this study contributes to the talent management literature by identifying several research issues and gaps while defining

Source: UG
Strategic Value and Electronic Commerce Adoption among small and medium sized enterprises in a transitional economy

Purpose – This paper sets out to examine the relationship between the perceptions of the strategic value of e-commerce and e-commerce adoption among 107 owners/managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in a transitional economy, Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – The membership of the top 100 Ghanaian businesses, called the Ghana Club 100 (GC 100), and non-traditional exporters (NTEs) was surveyed using a structured questionnaire in face-to-face interviews. Principal axis factoring with varimax rotation was employed to identify and estimate the constructs in the model, followed by an exploratory factor analysis to test for the inclusion of all items in the model. Finally, canonical analysis was employed to study the interrelationships among the sets of multiple dependent and multiple independent variables. By so doing control for moderator effects existing among various variables was effected. Findings – Organizational support was the strongest predictor on the perceived strategic value (PSV) constructs, followed by managerial productivity, and decision aids. Perceived usefulness, compatibility, external pressure and organizational pressure were found to be statistically significant determinants of e-commerce adoption. These findings are consistent with prior studies. Additionally, it was found that ease of use was also influential in the e-commerce adoption decision of Ghanaian SMEs. Originality/value – The study shows the value that SME owners/managers in a transitional economy place on e-commerce, and the role envisaged for it. The study also provide an insight into the e-commerce adoption in a transitional economy context. Owners/managers of SMEs in other developing countries may find the study useful in making decisions relating to e-commerce adoption. The impact of the perceptions of e-commerce and e-commerce adoption on firm performance in transitional economies is a worthy area for future research. Replication of the study in other transitional economies is therefore warranted.

Source: UG
Strategies and Initiatives in Acculturation: Voices from Ghana

Culture shock and acculturation are salient aspects of any international study trip. Over the years, many institutions have devised several strategies to help international students transition to life in the host country. However, most of these strategies are insensitive to diverse cultural or country specifics. Drawing from Social Learning Theory, this paper provides narratives from four former students from the West African country of Ghana and how they navigated the process of acculturation in their respective host nations. The narratives discuss their feelings during the study abroad trip, some of the challenges they faced, and personal as well as institutional strategies that aided in ameliorating the experience of culture shock. A few recommendations for Student Affairs Practitioners are also provided.

Source: UG