ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Assessing coastal vulnerability index to climate change: the case of Accra - Ghana

Coastal zones are under severe threat from climate change and its associated sea-level rise. Areas with relatively low elevations will experience either temporal or permanent flooding, while other areas will experience increased coastal erosion. Several factors within the coastal environment combine to drive coastal erosion. Identifying these variables and quantifying their risk levels enable the vulnerability index of a particular location to be estimated. This study divided the coast of Accra into three sections based on the geomorphology. The vulnerability index was estimated for the three sections by determining their relative risk factors. The 'square root of product mean' (CVI5) method was adopted for this study. The results indicate that the coastal vulnerability index for the entire coast of Accra is 7.7, which falls within the moderate risk category. The western section is more vulnerable to sea-level rise followed by the eastern and the central sections. Inundation in the western section will result in displacement of the local population, destroy their source of livelihood and flood the Densu wetlands - a RAMSAR site. © Coastal Education &amp; Research Foundation 2013.

Source: UG
Assessing Commercial Viability of Technology Start-up Businesses in a Government Venture Capital under Intuitionistic Fuzzy Environment.

Governments around the world are increasingly showing keen interests in venture capital investments in technology start-up businesses. However, determining the commercial potential of a new Technology start-up business is generally seen as a complex exercise especially in a government-controlled setting where selection of candidates can be clouded by several peripheral considerations. To generate more interests in decision-making models aimed at assessing the commercial viability of candidate start-up businesses in a government-run venture capital, this study (1) provides a modified form of the Strategic Technology Evaluation Program (STEP) called G-STEP as a new selection criteria for a government-controlled venture capital scheme (2) adopts a comprehensive intuitionistic fuzzy TOPSIS framework with a sensitivity analysis component for the assessment of early stage but high potential tech start-up firms and (3) demonstrates its applicability with a numerical example assessing the commercial potential of start-up businesses in a Government technology venture capital program. The proposed decision-making framework could be useful in the assessment and selection problems in other government priority areas.

Source: UG
Assessing community relocation and resettlement programs for managing conflicts in the prestea mining community

The application of community relocation and resettlement programs as conflict management frameworks has done little to mitigate land use conflicts in the catchment areas of Ghana’s Prestea mining community. This assertion is made in light of persisting occasional clashes between Prestea’s large-scale mines and local community members. Community relocation and resettlement programs have been put together by the Government of Ghana and large-scale mining firms as tools for managing land use conflicts. However, there is uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of the community relocation and resettlement programs in the face of the continuing conflicts. Conducting a thorough assessment of the impacts of the community relocation and resettlement programs is critical. This study questions the potency of these programs by assessing their effectiveness. This study shows that the programs are ineffective in managing conflicts because the government and large-scale mining companies often cause severe community disruption and hinder the development of other potentially profitable industries of the Prestea Community such as farming, smallscale indigenous mining, and small-scale fishing. © Common Ground, Obed Adonteng-Kissi, Kofi Ohene-Konadu, All Rights Reserved.

Source: UG
Assessing competitive behaviour in emerging banking market: African evidence

Purpose - This paper investigates competitive bank behaviour in Africa for the period 1999-2008 and further examines the impact of institutional quality and political atmosphere on competitive bank behaviour. Design/methodology/ approach - This study used panel data methodology based on the Panzar-Rosse (1987) design. Findings - The findings of the study indicates that the nature of banking system in Africa can best be described as monopolistically competitive. Also, our findings endorse the importance of institutional quality and political stability in fostering competitive banking sector. In particular, the rule of law shows positive and significant relationship with competitive bank behaviour. Additionally, the quality of regulations suggests positive association with bank competitive behaviour. With respect to political environment, stable political atmosphere is conducive for promoting competitive banking sector. Improved regulatory quality coupled with reduced level of perception about corruption fosters competitive bank behaviour. Originality/value - This paper provides useful information relevant to policy makers in the banking sector about the nature of bank competitive behaviour in Africa and the drivers behind the competitive behaviour. Copyright © 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Source: UG
Assessing contract management as a strategic tool for achieving quality of work in Ghanaian construction industry A case study of FPMU and MMDAs

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the attainment of quality in Government of Ghana’s (GoG) infrastructural projects through effective contract management and especially, relating to qualification, competence and experience of supply chain stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire and field observations were used to collect primary data from staff of the education ministry and construction professionals. Documentary analyses of contract documents were also undertaken. Findings – The results show that executing agencies’ failure to apply appropriate contract management processes was linked to the gap between stakeholders’ knowledge and actual practice. This was confirmed by Spearman’s rho tests of correlation between overall mean ranks given by professionals and non-professionals, which indicated strong agreement between those groups. Factors such as contractors’ engagement of unqualified supervisory staff, lack of proper projects monitoring and evaluation by executing agencies mainly contribute to the poor quality of work. Research limitations/implications – Investigations were limited to the Funds and Procurement Management Unit of the Ministry of Education, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and local contractors. Nonetheless, the methodology used could be used in future studies to analyse the socio-economic implications on the quality of education infrastructure. Practical implications – Construction is booming in Ghana but the capacity to improve the work quality through effective contract management is limited. However, with the effort of stakeholder and statutory bodies’ support in capacity building initiatives, GoG projects could offer some novel solutions to improve quality of work. Social implications – Construction industry professionals and students’ knowledge and perception on construction industry and contract management is significantly improved. Originality/value – This study provides information on respondents’ knowledge on contract management process, which, if not properly understood, can lead to poor quality of work and loss of money.

Source: UG
Assessing drivers of maize storage losses in south west Benin using a fractional response model

An assessment of drivers of maize storage losses was undertaken in south west Benin applying the Fractional Response Model on information collected from 400 smallholder maize farmers. The mean loss of maize during the storage period reported by farmers was estimated at 10.25 percent of the total harvest. The average marginal effect obtained from the fitted Fractional Response Model revealed that storage technologies, farmers’ post-harvest attitudes, insect damage, weather conditions and infrastructures play a significant role in storage losses maize farmers experience in south west Benin. The findings revealed that farmers who used bags and plastic containers respectively reduced storage losses by 6.7 and 7.8 percentage points compared to farmers who used woven granary baskets. The results also indicated that applying ash, neem leaves, pepper or lemon increased the storage loss by 4.11 percentage points compared to storing without protectant. Drying after harvesting decreased the storage loss by 1.9 percentage point. In contrast, the storage loss increased by 5.1 percentage points for respondents who reported insects as predators of their stored maize, and by 2.1 percentage points when it rains at the time of maize harvest. A one-degree increase in temperature was associated with an increase in storage losses of 4.4 percentage points and farmers who live at less than 26.09 km to market reduced storage losses by 0.17 percentage point. Effective policies for a sustainable reduction of storage losses among maize farmers in the area should consider the need to raise awareness about the loss issue that represents the use of woven granary basket, ash, neem leaves, pepper and lemon as storage technologies. Farmers should be informed to avoid harvesting during times of rain, encouraged to properly dry their produce after harvesting and sustainable hermetic equipment robust against insect growth during storage should be promoted. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Source: UG
Assessing Educational Needs of Workers on Effective Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) Management System in Ghana's Oil Retail Industry

The study examined the knowledge of workers in ten Ghanaian indigenous and multinational oil marketing companies and assessed educational needs of workers to understand how the implementation of the Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) Management System would help in promoting health, safety, environment and quality culture in Ghana’s oil retail industry. A semi-structured interview for management staff, managers, dealers as well as forecourt attendants of retail sites was used. The study revealed that, multinational oil marketing companies implemented HSEQ management systems in their quest to strengthen the safety culture of their companies whereas the indigenous oil companies saw implementation of such HSEQ management system as an additional overhead cost. Moreover, their approaches to achieve safety culture were deficient and failed to embrace holistic approach relying on interventions that lacked effective communication between major partners and stakeholders. The need for companies to formally communicate a procedure for the management of workers compensation claims to all employees prior to engagement and provide HSEQ training programme for supervisory personnel, educating subcontractors about HSEQ policies and procedures was expressed. Educational needs were also expressed for skills to investigate HSEQ incidents and ability to write reports and develop written action plans for prevention of similar incidents in future.

Source: UG
Assessing expanded community wide treatment for schistosomiasis: Baseline infection status and self-reported risk factors in three communities from the Greater Accra region, Ghana

The Department of Parasitology conducts research into parasitic diseases of public health importance with the overall goal of reducing their transmission and the heavy disease burden that they impose on affected populations. The Department maintains focus on parasitic diseases in general. These include major diseases such as malaria, and others listed under the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) control initiative such as, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Source: UG
Assessing Forest Species Diversity in Ghana’s Tropical Forest Using PlanetScope Data

This study utilized a remotely sensed dataset with a high spatial resolution of 3 m to predict species diversity in the Bobiri Forest Reserve (BFR), a moist semi-deciduous tropical forest in Ghana. We conducted a field campaign of tree species measurements to achieve this objective for species diversity estimation. Thirty-five field plots of 50 m × 20 m were established, and the most dominant tree species within the forest were identified. Other measurements, such as diameter at breast height (DBH ≥ 5 cm), tree height, and each plot’s GPS coordinates, were recorded. The following species diversity indices were estimated from the field measurements: Shannon–Wiener (H′ ), Simpson diversity index (D2 ), species richness (S), and species evenness (J ′ ). The PlanetScope surface reflectance data at 3 m spatial resolution was acquired and preprocessed for species diversity prediction. The spectral/pixel information of all bands, except the coastal band, was extracted for further processing. Vegetation indices (VIs) (NDVI—normalized difference vegetation index, EVI—enhanced vegetation index, SRI—simple ratio index, SAVI—soil adjusted vegetation index, and NDRE—normalized difference red edge index) were also calculated from the spectral bands and their pixel value extracted. A correlation analysis was then performed between the spectral bands and VIs with the species diversity index. The results showed that spectral bands 6 (red) and 2 (blue) significantly correlated with the two main species diversity indices (S and H′ ) due to their influence on vegetation properties, such as canopy biomass and leaf chlorophyll content. Furthermore, we conducted a stepwise regression analysis to investigate the most important spectral bands to consider when estimating species diversity from the PlanetScope satellite data. Like the correlation results, bands 6 (red) and 2 (blue) were the most important bands to be considered for predicting species diversity. The model equations from the stepwise regression were used to predict tree species diversity. Overall, the study’s findings emphasize the relevance of remotely sensed data in assessing the ecological condition of protected areas, a tool for decision-making in biodiversity conservation.

Source: UG
Assessing Frictions Within The Ecowas Free Trade Protocol. The Case Study Of The Nigerian Border Closure On Trade Relations With Ghana

The research was aimed at assessing the frictions within the ECOWAS Free Trade Protocol, with a focus on the closure of the Nigerian boarder to trade relations with Ghana. A sample size of 10 Executives of GUTA and GEPA officials were interviewed. The research had three key objectives, and these were to identify the consequences of the border closure on Ghana’s trade sector, to examine the effects and implications of border closure on Ghana’s trading with Nigeria and to evaluate the lessons drawn from the closure of the border. For the first objective, the study findings indicated that, the Nigeria Border closure had had an adverse effect on ECOWAS Free Trade Policy. This study found out that again, the primary cause for the 28-days closure of Nigeria Border, was to stop the illegal importation of smuggled rice from Benin to Nigeria as well as the importation of other goods. The findings stated that, instead of the border closure to all, it could have been limited to a total ban of goods from Benin. The study’s second objective focused on the effects and implications of the border closure on Ghana’s trade sector. In assessing the effects and implications, findings pointed out that, there were several negative impact and implications for the Ghanaian trade sector. Some included low revenue, job loss and low trade flow. The third and final research objective of the study focused on the lessons learnt from the Nigeria border closure. The findings pointed out that, the Nigeria border closure had had a bad effect on ECOWAS free trade policy and Nigerians could have ban importation from Benin and dealt with only Benin instead of closing its border to all countries. It has also been learnt that Ghanaian traders must diversify its business market and not rely too much on Nigeria. Additionally, there is the need for regular consultation between Nigeria and Ghanaian authorities to ensure that, in the event of a future border closure, there would be another route for Ghanaian products to be allowed into the Nigeria market with proper labelling. Lastly, Nigeria must come out clear if they want to be part of the ETLS or not. The study therefore recommended that, ECOWAS states must respect all provisions in all protocols that they have signed unto at all times. The ECOWAS Commission should take advantage of this issue and embark on an intensive education for all its members on the provisions of the ELTS. Additionally, the ECOWAS commission should be bold enough to crack the whip in such instances to ensure that, this border closure that not repeat itself. Lastly, the ECOWAS Commission must initiate a dialogue which will end up in the signing of a trade treaty between Nigeria and Benin.

Source: UG
Assessing Ghana’s eHealth workforce: implications for planning and training

Background eHealth—the proficient application of information and communication technology to support healthcare delivery—has been touted as one of the best solutions to address quality and accessibility challenges in healthcare. Although eHealth could be of more value to health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where resources are limited, identification of a competent workforce which can develop and maintain eHealth systems is a key barrier to adoption. Very little is known about the actual or optimal states of the eHealth workforce needs of LMICs. The objective of this study was to develop a framework to characterize and assess the eHealth workforce of hospitals in LMICs. Methods To characterize and assess the sufficiency of the workforce, we designed this study in twofold. First, we developed a general framework to categorize the eHealth workforce at any LMIC setting. Second, we combined qualitative data, using semi-structured interviews and the Workload Indicator of Staffing Needs (WISN) to assess the sufficiency of the eHealth workforce in selected hospitals in a LMIC setting like Ghana. Results We surveyed 76 (60%) of the eHealth staff from three hospitals in Ghana—La General Hospital, University of Ghana Hospital, and Greater Accra Regional Hospital. We identified two main eHealth cadres, technical support/information technology (IT) and health information management (HIM). While the HIM cadre presented diversity in expertise, the IT group was dominated by training in Science (42%) and Engineering (55%), and the majority (87%) had at least a bachelor’s degree. Health information clerk (32%), health information officer (25%), help desk specialist (20%), and network administrator (11%) were the most dominant roles. Based on the WISN assessment, the eHealth workforce at all the surveyed sites was insufficient. La General and University of Ghana were operating at 10% of required IT staff capacity, while Ridge was short by 42%. Conclusions We have developed a framework to characterize and assess the eHealth workforce in LMICs. Applying it to a case study in Ghana has given us a better understanding of potential eHealth staffing needs in LMICs, while providing the quantitative basis for building the requisite human capital to drive eHealth initiatives. Educators can also use our results to explore competency gaps and refine curricula for burgeoning training programs. The findings of this study can serve as a springboard for other LMICs to assess the effects of a well-trained eHealth workforce on the return on eHealth investments.

Source: UG
Assessing groundwater quality in peri-urban Accra, Ghana: Implications for drinking and irrigation purposes

In many developing countries, cities are faced with rising water demand due to rapidly increasing population. inadequate municipal water supply and growing sanitation pressure. Consequently, groundwater resources are being heavily relied on to meet the demand. However, the long-term supply and quality of groundwater are threatened by multiple anthropogenic pressures. This study assessed the quality and suitability of groundwater available to more than 600,000 inhabitants in several peri-urban communities in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Thirty-six (36) borehole samples were analysed for their suitability for domestic and irrigation purposes based on relevant physicochemical parameters. In addition, water quality index (WQI), sodium absorption ratio, and relevant statistical plots were employed to assess the groundwater’s quality and suitability for domestic and irrigation purposes. The results indicate that almost all parameters measured were within the WHO recommended limits for drinking water for most samples. This is reflected in the classification of 92% of water samples as good or excellent quality for domestic purposes using WQI. The abundance of ions in groundwater followed the trend: Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ for cations, and Cl− > SO4 2 > HCO3 − > F > NO3 − for anions. By using principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses, the study identified mineral dissolution and anthropogenic activities as the main factors influencing groundwater chemistry in the study area. These factors resulted in mixed water types, viz., Na-Ca-Mg–Cl and Na-Ca-Mg–SO4, with Na-Cl as the dominant water type. Classifications based on the Wilcox and USSL diagrams, it appears that groundwater in the study area is generally suitable for irrigation. Given that these boreholes are new, the results from this study represent background levels and have important implications for groundwater development and management in the rapidly developing capital of Ghana.

Source: UG
Assessing health care quality in adolescent clinics, implications for quality improvement

Purpose: Adolescents are more exposed to risky health behaviors. However, many adolescents do not seek health care due to the poor quality of care. The purpose of this paper is to assess health care quality in adolescent clinics in Tema, a suburb of Ghana. Design/methodology/approach: Cross-sectional survey design was adopted to collect data from 365 adolescent respondents. Data were analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (version 20) using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression. Findings: The results demonstrate that adolescents perceived quality of care in adolescent clinics to be good. The significant predictors of adolescents’ overall perceptions of quality of care were provider competencies (β=0.311, p<0.01), adolescent’s health literacy (β=0.359, p<0.01), appropriate package of services (β=0.093, p<0.05), and equity and non-discrimination (β=0.162, p<0.01). Research limitations/implications: The study was conducted in an urban setting. Therefore, the generalization of findings must be done with caution. Originality/value: Adolescent health care quality in Ghana is below expectation. However, it has received little attention from researchers. This study provides empirical evidence for adolescent health care quality improvement in developing countries like Ghana.

Source: UG