ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Combining raising and spinning techniques in hollow ware forming

Raising, a studio technique in metal forming has not been given much attention by metalsmiths. Spinning, an industrial technique for metal forming is adaptable for studio work but most craftsmen or metal smiths shy away from this technique since they believe it makes them less professional. However, the technique has interesting possibilities, and the aim of this researcher is to find out how well spinning (an industrial technique) can be combined with raising (a studio technique) to influence the development of hollow ware. « Qualitative method of research was used for this research. The whole study was experimental and the descriptive research method was used in the study to review related literature and to describe the various techniques and processes used in the project. Data for the research was collected using interviews and observation as well as the internet and library. The project was successful and the results were discussed under the intellectual, social, cultural, philosophical and artistic contexts. The project works were executed based on the theme "Passion for gourd".

Source: KNUST
COMMODITY PRICE VOLATILITY RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE MINING INDUSTRY OF GHANA: A CASE STUDY OF ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI, OBUASI MINE (GHANA)

Mining is a high risk activity and the success of a mining company such as AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine is a function of many and varied factors that range from the gold price to the suite of laws and regulations governing its business, from labour disruptions to environmental concerns and from diseases to fluctuations in the exchange rate. Against this backdrop, the study sought to examine the management of financial risk (Commodity price volatility). The study used a detailed single case study of a large mining corporation in Ghana to examine the management of corporate financial risk. The study established that there is a comprehensive risk management policy guiding the operations of the mining firm. It was further revealed that the company embarks on risk management with the aim of improving the interest of shareholders and other important stakeholders. The study found that even though AngloGold Ashanti is exposed to financial risks, the company refrains from managing these risks due to their minimal impact on the firm‘s cash flows. The study recommends, among other things that given the current decline in gold prices, AngloGold Ashanti cannot continue to ignore these impacts caused by the declining prices of gold but rather should consider choosing from the rich menu of risk management techniques to protect its current and future cash flows.

Source: KNUST
Commercialisation of religious items in Ghana’s Neo-Prophetic Pentecostal Churches: the cases of Alpha And Omega Ministry International and Christ Healing Ministry International in the Ashanti Region

This work examined the current practice of commercialising religious items in neo- Prophetic Pentecostal churches in Ghana. It focuses on Prophet Alexander Sarpong’s Alpha and Omega Ministry International (AOMI) and Prophet Gabriel Nana Yaw Nimako’s Christ Healing Ministry International (CHMI) in the Bosome Freho district and Juaben municipal, respectively. The study examines the commercialization of religious items in the Ashanti region with a focus on its impact on neo-Prophetic Christianity. This study was carried out using the mixed-method research approach. The data for the study were collected from individuals through interviews and questionnaires, alongside participatory observation. The study provides evidence of the existence of the commercialisation of religious items in neo-Prophetic churches in the Bosome Freho district and Juaben municipal. It revealed that these churches mostly use ‘fear and panic’ tactics where the life crisis of the consumers and clients of the churches are attributed to evil forces. The findings of the study were that spiritual and physical factors like economic hardships, spiritual bondage, and financial support for the church as well as bodily disorders were identified to be among the causes of commercialising religious items in AOMI and CHMI. The study recommends that the practice of commercialisation of religious items in AOMI and CHMI should be given much attention and be addressed in a manner that will see to promote adherents’ well-being and image of prophetism today.

Source: KNUST
Common problems encountered in the teaching of ceramics in Ghanaian Secondary Schools

Ceramics, just like all the other visual arts, has not been given the desired attention as some other subjects, under the school system in Ghana. In fact, most scholars of all ages have once ever considered art as unacademic. For example, one learns from History that Aristotle, the Greek Philosopher draws a distinction between liberal subjects that is, studies for the free citizen, and illiberal subjects - the A.rts and Crafts practiced by slaves; and he would exclude from the curriculum of the free man’s children anything which would make the individual ‘mechanical”, and wage earning oriented. Now, however, with the rapid evolution in industrialization the condescending belief that a vocational linkage for human perception is something for the poor and. dull-witted has been seen to be fallacious. Truly, many modern nations have realized that a country ‘. Technological and industrial advancement cannot be fully achieved if the arts of that country were left to shatter. Surely, a country that surrenders her creative expressions and abandons the foundations of her arts and crafts will live to regret it. In the light of the above, one realizes that in the ongoing Ghana’s educational reforms, whereby great emphasis is placed on the acquisition of vocational skills, the visual arts have dully been recognized. Yet, owing to certain problems that come by the way of teachers some of the arts such a ceramics, do not receive a healthy attention. This essay therefore, stressing ceramics re a vocational subject, seeks to identify problems hindering the teaching of ceramics in the secondary schools and. suggests or recommends solutions to some, if not all, of these problems. The research methodology adopted here is the descriptive and analytical methods. Data collected were through on-the-spot interviews of some ceramics teachers in some secondary schools, a wail as questionnaire sent to other teachers in selected schools. The questionnaire were however, not for a case study of schools that responded but to help get a broad view on problems relating to the teaching and learning of ceramics in schools in Ghana. The analysis thus, has been generalized.. This essay has been divided into chapters. Chapter one covers the introduction which discusses ceramics as a Visual Art and a vocational subject. In chapter two, one finds the literature review about the subject. Chapter three takes a look at the general overview of the teaching of ceramics in secondary schools. Chapter four then, deals with analysis of questionnaire answered by teachers. Finally, the last chapter - five, summarises, offers suggestions, and concludes the essay.

Source: KNUST
Common Risk Factors that Contribute to Metabolic Syndrome (METS) in Patients of Manhyia District Hospital

Metabolic syndrome is becoming a major problem in Ghana. The main objective of the study was to find out the prevalent factors contributing to metabolic syndrome in the Manhyia District Hospital in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A sample size of 106 was used for the study. The type of patients used for the study were those who visit the out- patient department of the hospital and fall within the age group of 18 to 65 years. Recommended instruments were used for the measurement of both anthropometric and blood pressure levels. Questionnaires were used to assess physical activity levels and dietary intake while biochemical data of participants were assessed using their blood samples. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), version 23 was used for the analyses of the collected data. Descriptive statistics (mean scores, frequency distribution), cross tabulation with chi-square test and Multiple Logistic Regression Model were used for the analysis. Microsoft excel was used to generate tables and figures. The study revealed that there was low level of education (88.6%) among the participants. As high as 86% of participants who were found to have smoked in the past had elevated systolic BP. Also, 50% of the respondents who smoked in the past had high level of triglyceride > 1.69mmol/L. Passive smokers showed a positive association with FBG (p-value of 0.034). Also, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 58.5% and the main contributory risk factors of metabolic syndrome among the participants were high BP, high central obesity and high FBG. It is therefore recommended that there should be routine health screening by the Ghana Health Service in the various communities to reduce the incidence of metabolic syndrome. Health education targeted at individuals should aim at encouraging a healthy lifestyle such as being engaged in physical activities, avoiding smoking and consuming low fat and healthy diet.

Source: KNUST
Communication performance inherent in the repetitive attributes of projects: the case of mass housing projects

Purpose The perception that the repetitive nature and attributes of mass housing projects (MHPs) induce significant influence on communication among projects teams have persistently been acknowledged without an empirical accentuation. This seemingly untested knowledge tends to limit the predictive accuracy of success and effectiveness of adopted communication style, strategies and models in mass housing particularly due to the incidence of the repetitive attributes. The purpose of this study is to delineate the influence of the repetitive attributes of mass housing projects on communication performance among the project team. Design/methodology/approach Through the use of questionnaire survey and structural equation modelling analysis, a hypothesized model tested evaluated the effects of the repetitive attributes of mass housing on information flow and information composition communication performance. Findings In the case of influence on information flow, it was seen to be substantial whereas that of the information composition was moderate. Originality/value The findings offer empirical credence to the existing perception and indeed affirm that the repetitive features of MHPs significantly contribute to communication performance related to information flow and information composition among the project team. The implication of these findings is that, practitioners and stakeholders on mass housing are urged to explore bespoke communication methods, medium, strategies and management approaches that fit the MHP attributes and environment to engender managerial and communication efficiencies in the delivery.

Source: KNUST
Community banking and financing SMEs (Artisans) at Kokompe in Takoradi

The study was carried out to investigate Community Banking and financing of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, using artisans at Kokompe Industrial Area in Takoradi, in the Western Region of Ghana as a case study. It was designed to determine the factors which limit SMEs to assess of credit facility from the formal financial sector. The major instruments used in the study were questionnaires, interview schedules and discussion. A questionnaire of 38 questions was presented to the artisans to respond to. The financial institutions had 15 questions to respond to. The study revealed that 75% of the SMEs were owned by men and 25% owned by women. The artisans were financed by both banks and other financial institutions. Most SMEs preferred the non-bank financial institutions to the banks because of higher interest rate, delay in the release of loans by banks, and inability to provide collateral securities required by the banks. The researcher recommended that, banks and informal financial agents may be able to enter into relationships that took advantage of the latter’s superior information about small clients and their relatively low cost of frequent small transactions, risk can be controlled through character based lending to entrepreneurs (artisans) who have good track record of repayment of loans. Also working arrangement with NGOs may help reduce the cost of screening and monitoring of SMEs entrepreneurs and financing small medium scale enterprises need support in terms of protection from the government against competition from abroad. This can go a long way to help the SMEs increase their sales, profit as well as working capital which would be plough back into the business to increase the capital base of the SMEs businesses.

Source: KNUST
Communication Flow in a Corporate Organisation: A Case of Cocoa Processing Company Limited

The main aim of this study was to weigh up the practice of employee relations in a manufacturing company. Additionally the study was to investigate if there exists an effective communication system and what methods are used in achieving the desired results. In all, fifty members of staff of the Cocoa Processing Company (CPC) were chosen for the study, but forty four answered questionnaires were retrieved. Six Managers were also interviewed. Purposive Sampling was used to select staff and management for the study. By this the population was put into two groups: Staff and Management. Once the quotas have been determined, a sample size of 50 respondents was chosen from the first quota and six from the second quota. Self administered structured questionnaires were used to make sure that respondents answered the same questions. Furthermore, a question guide was used to conduct an in-depth interview with all six managers. The outcome of the study showed there exist a system for communication in CPC. Management has a communication system including durbars, notice boards, as well as departmental meetings. Members of staff also do have channels through which they reach management with regard to their concerns, complains as well as suggestions. Respondents established a good level of satisfaction with the emergency with which managements responds to their suggestions and grievances, with some suggesting a more frequent rate of addressing their concerns and communicating new company policies to them.

Source: KNUST
Community awareness and response to environmental degradation in Keta district, Ghana

Sound environmental management is crucial for the Development of any human society. The Keta District is no exception. The Keta District is faced with deforestation, drought, rising temperatures, indiscriminate bush fires and the depletion of the fragile and sensitive mangrove swamps. Various theories have been propounded to explain the causes of environmental degradation with accompanying measures put in place to arrest the situation. However in Keta District, there has been little success at finding a suitable solution to the burgeoning threat of degradation facing the fragile coastal Savannah and mangrove vegetation. This study attempted to understand how people of all walks of life perceive and respond to environmental degradation. The study dealt with the problem of environmental degradation from the social point of view, so as to bring out the attitude, perception and mode of ensuring a liveable environment by local communities. The results of the study indicate that the people in the Keta District including policy makers are aware of the environmental problems, confronting them. However, whilst some communities were adopting appropriate strategies to solve those problems others were doing absolutely nothing about the looming environmental catastrophe. To help avert an imminent environmental disaster, long and short term plans have been outlined in this report which, when followed, would provide an antidote to the problems facing the Keta District.

Source: KNUST
Community Diversity, Structure and Natural Regeneration of Trees in Tropical Forest: Effects of Human Disturbance

The study was undertaken to determine community diversity, structure and natural regeneration of trees in tropical forest: effects of human disturbance at Terchire (Teekyere) in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Based on the intensity of human disturbance, the study area was stratified into three sites namely heavily disturbed forest (HDF), intermediately disturbed forest (IDF) and a reference forest (RF) to serve as a control. Data was collected between the months of November and December 2010. A total of 49 tree species belonging to 21 families and containing 532 individual adult trees were recorded in the three sites studied. Tree abundance was highest in the intermediately Disturbed forest (IDF) whiles Species richness was comparable to the IDF and the RF. Considering the high Tree abundance and species Riches in the IDF, it indicates that IDF can help maintain plant diversity. Though both the heavily disturbed forest and intermediately disturbed forests have experienced disturbance, the species richness of the former was similar to that of the Reference forest. This supports the intermediate disturbance hypothesis on species diversity. Species richness of both seedling and sapling also showed the same trend in the reference forest. The step-wise multiple regression analysis also revealed that the soil parameters analyzed showed high percentage of variation in the seedlings and saplings structure except for species richness that has very low percentage. Effective Cation Exchange capacity (ECEC) indicated the overall fertility of the soil which affects the structure of seedlings and saplings. From The study it is evident that different levels of human disturbance had varying effects on tree species, regenerating capacity, diversity, and structure.

Source: KNUST
Community factories in the Kpandu District

The objective of the study is to examine and assess the adequacy of selected community facilities in the Kpandu district and to investigate how far the enjoyment of these facilities is restricted by location, accessibility, income level and tradition of the community for which the facility id being provided. Further to suggest a more effective way of distributing these facilities to be of optimum service. The health service is chosen for particular study for a number of reasons. Firstly it is the critical facility that every community of whatever size or status demands; secondly it offers a hierarchy of establishments from the Regional Hospital to the Dressing station, similar to the hierarchy of communities in the region; thirdly, distribution, although fairly widespread, is uneven compared, for example, with the distribution of schools where every settlement or small group of settlements has a primary school; and fourthly, it appeared to offer the most consistent records for research. Education and open space are also felt to be important in fostering both the mental and physical health of the community and in this context these facilities have been additionally considered in this study. These community facilities have to be distributed for the optimum service of the communities for which they are provided and in order to do this an index is required as a guide to distribution. This is the function of planning standards. They provide the guide lines for the provision of facilities such as markets, shops, workshops, places worship public buildings, schools and local recreational open spaces. These standards are intended to ensure disciplined programming, planning and designing of the community facilities. The Town and Country Planning division, now the Physical Planning Department of the ministry of Economic Affairs has outlined standards to be used for the purposes of providing community facilities inn its traditional memoranda No. 5 These are stated to be “based on figures primarily intended for Accra and are, therefore subject to variation for schemes on very hilly sites where open space standards must necessarily be higher for geographical reasons. Under these circumstances, residential densities may be proportionally higher though no increase in gross density should be allowed. The Planner however, in using standards such as these has to apply them flexibly in order to achieve the aims and objectives of the plan.

Source: KNUST
Community Health Department assessement of the performance of the management of community nutrition education centre at Tafo, Kumasi

Malnutrition is a serious health problem of concern to most countries. Strategies at controlling this health problem may involve several approaches notable among these is Nutrition Education.; Nutrition education Programme was therefore established to rehabilitate children who are malnourished to reduce the risk of dying from malnutrition. The study assessed the performance of the management of Nutrition Education centre at Tab, Kumasi. The assessment focused on planning and decision making, organising directing and controlling. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data was obtained by means of a survey using questionnaire. Other methods of collecting data were interviews and discussion. Findings of the study revealed a number of important issues. In the first place, it showed that the absence of proper planning has not created the awareness of the existence of the centre in the community. It also revealed among others, (lie major organising problem was, in the low caliber of people running the Centre. They have little knowledge in management. The study revealed various management problems in the area of planning and controlling, and organising and directing to some extent. These problems have had serious impact on the centre as they have negatively affected the performance of the centre and have limited its ability to expand. The study offered a number of recommendations with regard to the appropriate management practices that should be adopted to improve the operations of the Nutrition Education Centre.

Source: KNUST
Community involvement in monitoring and evaluation - a case study of Adra health projects in the Nkoranza District, Ghana

This document presents the objectives, methodology, findings and conclusion of a study carried out in the Nkoranza District in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana between August and November 2000. The focus of study is the health component of ADRA DAP, in which members of the Agro-forestry programme of ADRA are involved. The main objective of the study is to assess the effectiveness of community involvement in M&E. The basic assumption of the study is that the higher the involvement of the project communities in M&E, the more effective is the participatory M&E management of the health project. The study is an exploratory one, using a cross-sectional retrospective qualitative method. Data were collected using a questionnaire instrument and the responses were recorded on a tape recorder for later collation and analysis. In addition, Focus Group Discussions (F.G.D.) were held with project group members to assess views on their contribution to M&E. Apart from the above, there were also reviews of ADRA DAP and the Mid-term Evaluation Document that were submitted to ADRA-CO in January, 2000. The conceptual framework has the M&E process component, as the channel to an effective M&E management of the health project. The study shows that for M&E planning and M&E co-ordination, eight out of 20 project groups (40 percent) each was involved. Twelve and 15 out of twenty project groups were involved in the internal M&E organisation and M&E actions respectively in the health project. The research also attested to the fact that project groups actively participated in the M&E process components of M&E scheduling, reviews, corrective actions and feedback. It was recommended that project groups partake more in the planning and co-ordination functions of internal management of monitoring and evaluation. Community involvement in the M&E process was a critical factor to community performance in the health project. Community involvement in the M&E was described as satisfactory, using the evaluation schedule derived in a participatory process.

Source: KNUST