ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
A study of the impact of Akan intonation on English in Ghana.

The aim of this research is to investigate the intonation patterns of English employed by theAkan speakers in Kumasi, Ghana. The researcher hypothesises that the intonation patterns Ghanaian speakers of English use varied from those of the L1 speakers of English such asBritons and Americans. It is further hypothesised that the intonation patterns of Ghanaian speakers of English are influenced by their L1 i.e. Akan for the purpose of this study. In finding out the validity or otherwise of these claims, the researcher studies the intonation patterns of Akan and Ghanaian English. Also, the intonation patterns of Ghanaian English and those of Akan, American and British English are compared. To achieve this objective, the researcher selects declarative and interrogative statements with intransitive, transitive and ditransitive verbs. The stress patterns are rotated among the initial and the final words of the statements in the data. Two males and one female participants having Akan as first language are selected from Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, Ghana. The data set is recorded and saved in wav. format. The sound files are run on PRAAT and operated to get rid of unwanted points in the speech contours of the statements recorded. Ending intonation patterns are kept in the form of images and later branded in accordance with the ToBI theory of intonation. Speech patterns of Akan and Ghanaian English produced by Akan speakers are then paralleled. The frequency of the patterns are created and tabulated. The outcomes of earlier studies relating to American and British speakers’ use of intonation patterns are used as a tool for comparing intonation patterns of Ghanaian English and those of the native varieties of English. In the end, I map the speech patterns of Ghanaian English on that of Akan, American and British English. The outcomes show that the pitch contour of declarative statements in Akan and Ghanaian English is similar. It similarly indicates that there is a vivid variation in the American, British and Ghanaian English speakers’ use of speech contours for declarative statements. Identical is the outcome for yes/no and wh-interrogatives since the influence of Akan on the intonation aptterns of English in Ghana is obvious. The discovery shows that the Akan speakers of English in Ghana transfer the first language’s speech contours to English which is a second language to them. The study again establishes that the speech contours employed by Akan speakers of Ghanaian English are poles apart from thoseof the Americans and Britons. The study highlights the importance for teachers of English in Ghana to incorporate an exhaustive discussion of speech patterns in teaching and learning to highlight the diversity between Ghanaian, American and the British speakers’ use of speech contours in English.

Source: KNUST
A Study of Turn Taking in the Chest of a Woman by Efo Kodjo Mawugbe and The Dilemma of a Ghost by Ama Ata Aidoo

ABSTRACT This study employs the qualitative data analysis method to explore how characters in the drama texts In the Chest of a Woman by Efo Kojo Mawugbe and The Dilemma of a Ghost by Ama Ata Aidoo take turns. It again investigates how the characters in the drama texts give up the turns they take and lastly look for what the characters do with the turns they take in the drama texts. The findings show that on how characters take turns in the two drama texts, the methods used are speaker selection, self-selection and self-continuation. It is found that certain adjacency pairs are employed to invite others to take the next turns in the plays. It is seen also that amongst the Nine (9) adjacency pairs found, question and answer dominant. Issues such as power, age, authority and social class are portrayed in how questions are asked in the drama texts, In the Chest of a Woman and The Dilemma of a Ghost. On how turns are yielded in the two drama texts, the findings revealed that characters gave up their turns via three (3) ways. Some characters left their turns after asking questions or making requests. Other characters in the two drama texts yielded their turns after being interrupted by others. Lastly, some characters yielded their turns after making statements which were marked by periods or exclamation marks. On what characters in both plays do with the turns they take; it was revealed that characters took their turns to achieve four (4) functions of language. They include referential, expressive, directive and social. It is seen from these functions that issues such as power and control are exhibited in how certain turns are taken.

Source: KNUST
A Study on Dynamics of CD4+ T-Cells under the Effect of HIV-1 Infection Based on a Mathematical Fractal-Fractional Model via the Adams-Bashforth Scheme and Newton Polynomials

In recent decades, AIDS has been one of the main challenges facing the medical community around the world. Due to the large human deaths of this disease, researchers have tried to study the dynamic behaviors of the infectious factor of this disease in the form of mathematical models in addition to clinical trials. In this paper, we study a new mathematical model in which the dynamics of CD4+ T-cells under the effect of HIV-1 infection are investigated in the context of a generalized fractal-fractional structure for the first time. The kernel of these new fractal-fractional operators is of the generalized Mittag-Leffler type. From an analytical point of view, we first derive some results on the existence theory and then the uniqueness criterion. After that, the stability of the given fractal-fractional system is reviewed under four different cases. Next, from a numerical point of view, we obtain two numerical algorithms for approximating the solutions of the system via the Adams-Bashforth method and Newton polynomials method. We simulate our results via these two algorithms and compare both of them. The numerical results reveal some stability and a situation of lacking a visible order in the early days of the disease dynamics when one uses the Newton polynomial.

Source: KNUST
A Security Shield for Internet of Things (IoT) Devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a new paradigm that enables the convergence of smart objects and the internet. It is an intelligent network that connects all things to the Internet for the purpose of exchanging information and communicating through the information sensing devices in accordance with agreed protocols. Aside the various benefits IoT provides, it also presents challenges related to security and privacy. The direct connection of IoT devices to the internet makes them susceptible to several security threats. Some ongoing projects for enhancing IoT security include methods for pro￾viding data confidentiality and authentication, access control within the IoT net￾work, privacy and trust among users and things, and the enforcement of security and privacy policies. However, even with these mechanisms, IoT networks are vulnerable to multiple attacks aimed to disrupt the network. For this reason, another line of defense, designed for detecting attackers is needed. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) fulfill this purpose. Previous resarch works propose IDSs in relation to IPv6 over Low-power Wireless Personal Area Network (6LoWPAN). However, since IoT will be used in many application domains with different technologies (WiFi, BLE, NFC and Z-Wave), development of IDSs only for 6LoWPAN is insufficient to meet the security needs of every IoT system. This research work focuses on IDSs for IoT devices that use WiFi technology. No previous works address IDSs for IoT devices that use WiFi technology. The research proposes lightweight intrusion detection algorithms that addresses Man￾In-The-Middle (MITM) and Rogue Access Points (RAP) attacks. It goes further to propose an orchestration framework for IoT devices which can be used to logically isolate these devices in instances where vulnerabilities are found on them.

Source: KNUST
A study on district assembly common fund and poverty reduction in rural Ghana; a case study of Asunafo North Municipal Assembly.

This study is aimed to assess the District Assembly Common Fund and Poverty Reduction in Rural Ghana with a specific focus on the Goaso Municipal Assembly. The study adopted both quantitative and qualitative approach to data collection. The researchers used stratified and random sampling technique with a sample size of ninety-two (92) and the data for the study was basically primary. The findings revealed that the Municipal Chief Executives (MCEs) who are to be managers at the Municipal level are not but rather occupied on workshops and meetings, most of which may not be productive and relevant to their duties. The researcher also found out that, District Assemblies do not involve the beneficiary communities in the selection, design, and implementation of development projects. This has led to the abandonment of some projects in the selected communities. Lastly, the researcher found out that, those in remote communities within the districts still lacking basic social amenities such as good school infrastructure, libraries, hospitals, potable water and electricity hence a bad impression by the people in relation to the developments taking place in the education, health, water and electricity sectors owing to lack of funding, limited managerial skills and too much interference from the Municipal level. The study recommends that the District Assembly together with its stakeholders must sensitize the public on the Public Private Partnership policies of the government for active private sector participation in the development management of facilities like stores, public toilets, guesthouses, water supply systems and possibly property rate revenue collection. Also, proposals need to be developed or prepared and presented to development partners and other potential funding sources to solicit their intervention in district development.

Source: KNUST
A study on stakeholder activities in the cocoa industry: evidence from the western north region

Cocoa is a crucial commodity that confers several socioeconomic benefits to nations. The cocoa growing industry has many players or stakeholders who play specific roles to ensure efficiency and enhanced productivity within the industry. The aim of the current study was to explore the activities of the stakeholders within the cocoa industry in the Suaman District of the Western North Region. To achieve this goal, the study employed an exploratory research design and collected primary data to test the relationships of interest through the administration of questionnaires. A total of 100 participants comprising 50 local cocoa farmers and 50 staff of various lbcs were recruited for the study using the convenient and purposive sampling technique. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis of the data gathered. Analysis of the results revealed that “planting shading trees or plants as protective cover for seedlings” was the most performed activity among cocoa farmers while “creating of fire belt around cocoa farms” was the least performed. In terms of activities of stakeholders, “in the event of accident your company shares risks with COCOBOD” recorded the lowest mean score while “your organization is affected by the overall outputs of cocoa farmers” had the highest mean score. The study recommends that future studies must use wider geographical area to explore the relations of interest. Future studies must also include other stakeholders within the cocoa industry to ascertain their roles in enhancing or disrupting the sustainability of the cocoa sector. Also, COCOBOD and lbcs must increase sensitization of local cocoa farmers to encourage them to use good farming practices. Finally, more agricultural institutions must be established to accommodate more extension officers who will facilitate the education and sensitization of stakeholders in the cocoa industry.

Source: KNUST
A suitable claim severity model of comprehensive insurance policy

This study was base on a claim data collected from a recognized motor insurance companies in Ghana. The data from this non-life insurance company was to find the appropriate statistical distributions that best fit the claims data. In the insurance industry two major problems exist; how to get an appropriate model for a large claim data and how to fit and test the appropriateness of the model identified to make future decision. In this study, a clear methodology was set up to deal with the identified problems. Specific distributions were chosen from a group of family of exponential distribution. The study began with a brief introduction for the modeling process as practice by Actuaries. The purpose of the study was to get the best statistical distribution that best fit the claim amount from the insurance company data and fit the data using Quantile–Quantile plot (Q-Q plots) for all the tested distributions. The modeling process established one of the statistical distributions efficiently fitted the claim data. The study went ahead to test for the goodness of fit test using (AIC) that is Akaike’s Information Criterion and a graphical presentation was done using the Q-Q plot. Finally the findings were discussed and conclusions, was made to the work and recommendations were given to guide for further study on similar or same topic.

Source: KNUST
A supervised machine learning algorithm for detecting and predicting fraud in credit card transactions

Fraudsters are now more active in their attacks on credit card transactions than ever before. With the advancement in data science and machine learning, various algorithms have been developed to determine whether a transaction is fraudulent. We study the performance of three different machine learning models: logistic regression, random forest, and decision trees to classify, predict, and detect fraudulent credit card transactions. We compare these models’ performance and show that random forest produces a maximum accuracy of 96% (with an area under the curve value of 98.9%) in predicting and detecting fraudulent credit card transactions. Thus, we recommend random forest as the most appropriate machine learning algorithm for predicting and detecting fraud in credit card transactions. Credit Card holders above 60 years were found to be mostly victims of these fraudulent transactions, with a greater proportion of fraudulent transactions occurring between the hours of 22:00GMT and 4:00GMT.

Source: KNUST
A Survey of Ackee Fruit Utilization in Ghana

Blighia sapida is a woody perennial fruit tree species native to West Africa. The fleshy arils of the ripened fruits are edible while the seeds and capsules of the fruits are used for soap making. Our ethnobotanical survey revealed that although the ackee fruit is overlooked by researchers in Ghana, the fresh ackee aril is traded in some local markets. People have different interests in using ackee and variable knowledge of its uses. Preferred bakery products from suggestions in the survey conducted were cake, chips and rock cake.

Source: KNUST
A systematic framework for dynamic nodal vulnerability assessment of water distribution networks based on multilayer networks

Nodal demands vary throughout the day, as such any vulnerability analysis based on static networks, which considers daily average demands cannot realistically represent the criticality of nodes in the network. This study presents a systematic framework, which couples multilayer networks, structural reducibility and a Demand Adjusted Vulnerability Measure for dynamic nodal vulnerability assessment of water distribution networks (WDNs) under extended period simulation. Within this framework, we present the novel idea of characterizing the dynamics of WDNs with multi-slice networks, which captures the state of the network within a predefined temporal window taking into consideration the directional flow in pipes and the operational status of pumps, valves etc. Using a benchmark WDN, Net 3, as a case study we have demonstrated the importance of demand variations and operational status of various components, no matter how minuscule their operational time, on nodal vulnerability assessment in WDNs. The results indicated that the framework evaluates the criticality of all types of nodes, even intermediary nodes with zero base demand, within any temporal window much more realistically than conventional vulnerability analysis methods based on single (static) networks. Structural reducibility unearthed correlations between the operational status of source nodes and pumps on the general dynamics of the distribution system. The multilayer framework opens a new frontier in vulnerability analysis of WDNs and could serve as a tool for stakeholders in accessing node criticality, impact of various failure scenarios and optimal scheduling of maintenance routines.

Source: KNUST
A theoretical and numerical analysis of a fractal–fractional two-strain model of meningitis

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. Typically, the enlargement is caused by a bacterial or viral infection of the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. For many years, licensed vaccinations against meningococcal, pneumococcal, and Haemophilus influenzae diseases have been accessible. Vaccines are meant to protect against the most dangerous strains of these germs, which are known as serotypes or serogroups. There have been significant increases in strain coverage and vaccine availability throughout time, but there is no universal vaccine against these illnesses. In this study, we explore the mathematical features of a new six-compartmental fractal–fractional two-strain model of meningitis. With the use of compact functions and 𝜙 − 𝜓-contractions, we establish the existence of solutions. To study the unique solutions, we employ the Banach principle. On the basis of the Hyers-Ulam definition for the fractal– fractional two-strain model of meningitis, stable solutions are examined. From the numerical simulations, we notice that as the fractal–fractional order decreases, the number of infected individuals with strain 1 of meningitis decreases, while the number of infected individuals with strain 2 rises. This means that all serotypes or serogroups need to be controlled effectively for the disease to be closed up.

Source: KNUST
A Two-Phase Method for Solving Transportation Models with Prohibited Routes

The Transportation Problem (TP) is a mathematical optimization technique which regulates the flow of items along routes by adopting an optimum guiding principle to the total shipping cost. However, instances including road hazards, traffic regulations, road construction and unexpected floods sometimes arise in transportation to ban shipments via certain routes. In formulating the TPs, potential prohibited routes are assigned a large penalty cost, M; to prevent their presence in the model solution. The arbitrary usage of the big M as a remedy for this interdiction does not go well with a good solution. In this paper, a two-phase method is proposed to solve a TP with prohibited routes. The first phase is formulated as an All-Pairs Least Cost Problem (APLCP) which assigns respectively a non-discretionary penalty costM? ij M to each of n prohibited routes present using the Floyd’s method. At phase two, the new penalty values are substituted into the original problem respectively and the resulting model is solved using the transportation algorithm. The results show that, setting this modified penalty cost (M?) logically presents a good solution. Therefore, the discretionary usage of the M 1 is not a guarantee for good model solutions. The modified cost M? M so attained in the sample model, is relatively less than the Big M( 1) and gives a good solution which makes the method reliable.

Source: KNUST
A-Signifying Allegory. Art as an Act of Folding and the Circulation of the Sensible

A-Signifying Allegory. Art as an Act of Folding and the Circulation of the Sensible is a wandering around the epistemic trope of how beings make experience and knowledge of the Earth, and how, consequently, a variety of worlds and ways of inhabiting and using them are conceived. Taking a generative, planetary, decolonial, and posthuman posture, the researchbased artistic practice is carried on under the double lens of the academic and materialspiritual cultures. The metaphor of the fold that Deleuze reads from Leibniz has been pivotal among the various means that connect the Leibnizian incompossible worlds animating the entire project. With Leibniz, it has been tenable to say that all incompossible worlds are possible, and though not together, shape a different scenario for a best possible world in common. The enquiry further interrogates the extraction-driven consumption of the neoliberal system. The approach is not a critique, complaint, or denouncing of situations; rather, it is to let the deep and hidden other voices arise as a form of dissent. So, the means of working and the artworks that emerge contribute to the fabrication of an allegorical archive of the future shaped by attentive listening to the organic libraries of ‘persons’, as centres of intentionality, living or not, organic or inorganic, which precedes and includes the concept of the human. The practice incorporates an experimental research process in collaboration with several actants and organisms, institutions including KNUST Departments, students, artists, practitioners, and more constituting a curatorial entity of mutual care, Zoe KɔKɔɔ, who does not generate a community. In its becoming and a-signifying results, the practice is taken open to the appropriation of whoever encounters it, who simultaneously participates in the circulation of the sensible. Consequently, there is no conclusion, if not this attitude of mild equivocation embedded in any form of translation, as the discovering of new ways of folding

Source: KNUST
A Visual Documentation of Selected Akan Myths

Social interactions have given proof to the many assertions and conclusions of both traditionalist, and academics of the receding nature of appreciation for the countless traditional precepts that define the Akan individual, in recent times. The study aims at giving greater insights and clarity to perceptions and attitudes surrounding the phenomenon, most importantly to provide a working document which can be used by cultural educators, researchers and other stakeholders in the field. Topics explored and reviewed includes, the field of mythology, its concept, and significance, also a comparative examination of some key Asante traditional symbols in relation to design thinking for illustrations. These topics were in line with the research objectives of; a) identification and description of myths, b) classification of diverse Akan myths c) creating visual illustrations of selected myths based on themes that emerge from findings. The phenomenological approach to research employed enhanced the depth of data retrieved from respondents as it dictates a flexibility and adaptive nature of the researcher in the exploration of the subject under study. The accessible population included community members and traditional leaders all within notable indigenous communities, made possible and effective through the purposive sampling methods used. The study revealed that Akans are highly spiritual people and this reflects in their mythical beliefs that influence their customs and practices; as it is relevant in some communities today. Five classifications of myths were identified: 1) myths about death and the afterlife, 2) myths about protection and social governance, 3) myths about births and children, 4) myths about gods and tutelary spirits, and 5) myths about creatures and beings. Further studies can be conducted into the individual categories of myths identified in addition to developing abstract visual documentation of the myths discussed in this study.

Source: KNUST