ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The impact of information technology on customer satisfaction at Social Security and National Insurance Trust

The imp‎ortance ‎of Inf‎ormati‎on Techn‎ol‎ogy in any ‎organizati‎on in this m‎odern day cann‎ot be ‎overemphasized. Inf‎ormati‎on Techn‎ol‎ogy plays vital r‎oles in data entry, data pr‎ocessing and sec‎urity, and inf‎ormati‎on distrib‎uti‎on. F‎or an‎organizati‎on s‎uch as SSNIT, Inf‎ormati‎on Techn‎ol‎ogy is m‎ore than j‎ust a part ‎of its ‎operati‎ons. IT is needed t‎o ens‎ure that nati‎onal pensi‎ons are administered with the highest f‎orm ‎of integrity s‎o that c‎ust‎omers are d‎uly satisfied d‎uring and after retirement. The primary aim ‎of this research was t‎oassess the impact ‎of Inf‎ormati‎on Techn‎ol‎ogy ‎on C‎ust‎omer satisfacti‎on at SSNIT. 100 members‎of staff and management with 400 c‎ust‎omers were interviewed th‎o‎ugh simple rand‎om sampling. A semi-str‎uct‎ured q‎uesti‎onnaire was devel‎oped t‎o seek the views ‎of the resp‎ondents ‎on the impact ‎of IT in helping them ‎on their j‎ob at SSNIT and in pr‎ocessing their s‎ocial sec‎urity as c‎ust‎omers. The findings were that IT d‎oes n‎ot ‎only facilitate the w‎ork ‎of the staff and management, b‎ut it als‎o increases their efficiency and effectiveness in discharging their d‎uties. Inf‎ormati‎on Techn‎ol‎ogy has red‎uced c‎omplaints ‎of impers‎onati‎on, identity theft, wr‎ong payments as well as many ‎other incidences. C‎ust‎omers als‎o praised the r‎ole ‎of IT in assisting them kn‎ow m‎ore ab‎o‎ut their s‎ocial sec‎urity ‎unlike in the past when they were in the dark ‎over their c‎ontrib‎uti‎ons. ‎One maj‎or rec‎ommendati‎on was that SSNIT sh‎o‎uld ‎use this same Inf‎ormati‎on Techn‎ol‎ogy ‎or acq‎uire m‎ore t‎o impr‎ove the g‎o‎od w‎orks they are d‎oing. They sh‎o‎uld als‎o ed‎ucate the p‎ublic m‎ore ‎on changes in their ‎operati‎ons and help the p‎ublic kn‎ow the distincti‎on between challenges ca‎used by IT ‎or g‎overnment p‎olicies, since many pe‎ople get c‎onf‎used with b‎oth.

Source: KNUST
Impact Test Investigation of Locally Fabricated Vehicle Seats in Minibuses in Ghana

The rate at which road transportation fatalities and injuries occur is escalating. The need to promote the use of safe public transport systems and ensure the use of safer vehicles, among other things is essential. Vehicles associated with road crashes in Ghana are mostly good-carrying/cargo vehicles, which are fitted with seats fabricated by local artisans. It seems that there are no standards for the design, fabrication, installation and inspection of these vehicles seats. This study aimed at ascertaining the safety of these seats during impact. This is achieved by measuring the accelerations of human body during impact as this is a key factor as regards to the severity impact. The study made use of seat dimensions that were obtained by measuring the dimensions of samples of the seats in minibuses at some seat fabrication shops at Suame Magazine, Kejetia and Asafo Lorry parks in Kumasi. In addition, a human dummy based on human body mass distribution was constructed and three-dimensional accelerometer sensors were mounted at various points on the dummy to measure the accelerations. Finally, a sled test experiment was used for the study as it offered the freedom to analyze occupant kinematics and restraint system performance for frontal and rear-end impact modes and their various speeds. The experimental seat was designed to allow backward and downward movement in the backrest and seat base. The head, leg and the knee joint are human body parts normally affected during impact, thus, acceleration readings were taken for these areas. From the experimental results, seat base angles that offered the lowest impact forces were identified and it was concluded that, a seat base angle of 12o to the horizontal axis and seat heights of 34 cm and 40 cm for the front and back legs respectively generated comparatively low impact forces, and can be regarded as the recommended seat base angle for commercial vehicle seat design. It was also realised that some accident injuries in commercial buses, especially the head, knee and leg injuries may be due to the vehicle-seat design and construction.

Source: KNUST
Impacts of electronic banking on customer satisfaction in the banking industry: the case of Barclays Bank Ghana limited and Ecobank Ghana Limited.

Many banks are making huge investments in technology to maintain and upgrade their infrastructure, in order to provide new electronic information-based services, stay in the competition, manage their risk positions and pricing. Electronic banking has reduced the turnaround time for processing transactions and enables relatively more transactions to be undertaken in a given time. The specific objectives of the study were (i) to find out the need for electronic banking in Ghana; (ii) to establish the link between literacy and use of electronic banking; and (iii) to find out if electronic banking services have reduced customer visits of their bank branches. The research targeted commercial (universal) banks in Ghana as its population and chose two key commercial banks in Ghana; Barclays Bank Ghana Limited and Ecobank Ghana Limited in the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly as its case study. The researcher believes that these sources will provide key data that are relevant to achieve the objectives of the research. Data for the study was collected from seventy (70) respondents made up of customers and management personnel of the selected banks. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data which was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Main findings of the study are that e-banking significantly reduces the amount of time customers spend trying to do business with banks and charges on e-banking services are generally affordable. The researcher recommends that banks must put in place measures that ensure that ATM machines always have cash in them, especially during the weekends; it is very necessary for banks to safeguard the private information they collect about their customers; the government must improve access to education across the country. It is therefore concluded that electronic banking has a significant impact on customer satisfaction and banks must endeavour to invest in electronic banking to earn customers‟ loyalty.

Source: KNUST
Impacts of rural water supply Systems in farming communities: a case study of the Saboba-Chereponi District

Several issues may affect the impact of rural water supply systems in the beneficiary communities, including engineering and socio-cultural factors, geological limitations, poverty, ignorance, poor management and lack of sustainability. These, coupled with poor sanitation and hygiene practices may impede the intended socio-economic benefits. The study aimed at examining how these factors manifest in the beneficiary communities in the study area as well as determine the potential of these water systems for small scale irrigation as a means of income generation especially for repairs and maintenance cost. To achieve this, questionnaires and interviews, meteorological data, information on available yields of the water supply systems, crop data and infiltration data were collected. Besides, a case-control method was used where the same questionnaires were administered to equal number of both communities with interventions and those without. Results of the study revealed that the operational sustainability of the rural water systems in the District was a serious problem. This was due to many factors including inconvenient siting of water-points, poor design and construction of water systems, geological limitations, lack of spare parts, and lack of support to communities and monitoring role from the service providers, District Assembly and other stakeholders. Others included inactive Water and Sanitation Committees at community level, failure to account transparently for funds generated, lack of preventive maintenance, and the community’s lack of sense of ownership and apathy, inability to generate sufficient income, lack of community cohesion and lack of capacity. The prevalence of water related diseases except guinea worm were still high in the beneficiary communities due to poor sanitation and hygiene practices and these were: malaria (81.6%), diarrhoea (68.3%), typhoid fever (66.7%), skin diseases (23.3%), intestinal worms (6.7%), and bilharziasis (5.1%). Education on guinea worm eradication has been successful in eradicating the disease in the District. Socio-economically, potable water supply has attracted teachers to the beneficiary communities and encouraged many women to engage in different economic activities including small scale irrigation. The water systems have a high potential for small scale irrigation as a means of income generation. Training of community management committees has also enabled some of them to be self employed. Although there is not a simple formula to solve the problems enumerated above, in this study some alternatives are envisaged.

Source: KNUST
The impacts of free maternal delivery policy on maternal mortality in Ghana; a case study of Kumasi Metropolis.

Maternal mortality is a prevalent problem particularly in developing countries including Ghana and as a result, the United Nations has set a goal on maternal health to be achieved by all member countries by 2015 known as Millennium Development Goal 5 which aims to achieve a seventy-five per cent reduction in maternal mortality between 1990 and 2015 levels and also increase access to reproductive health. It is therefore imperative in this research to find the impacts of the Free Maternal Healthcare Policy implemented by the Government of Ghana in 2008 that provides free antenatal care, delivery services and postnatal care to expectant mothers aimed at curtailing the high maternal mortality in the country and achieve the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal 5 by the year 2015. Kumasi Metropolis is used as the case study area with secondary data collected from records of health facilities in the metropolis and running regression models for key variables that were studied including antenatal and postnatal care in the pre-policy and post-policy periods. The results are presented and analysis made. The study revealed that antenatal care related negatively with maternal mortality whiles postnatal care related positively to maternal mortality in the pre-policy period however, the two variables are not statistically significant on impacting on maternal mortality in the pre-policy period. In the post-policy period, both variables relate positively with maternal mortality, however only antenatal attendance has a statistically significant impact on maternal mortality. The study revealed that there are inherent challenges in the operation of the Free Maternal Healthcare Policy to cause a statistically significant impact to curtail maternal mortality thus recommendations are made to concerned agencies to be implemented to enable the country achieve it Millennium development Goal 5 by 2015.

Source: KNUST
Impacts of gas pipeline internal coating on system capacity at Ghana National Gas Plant, Atuabo

Pipelines play an extremely important role throughout the world as a means of transporting gases and liquids over long distances from their sources to the ultimate consumers. Transmission pipelines are made of steel and generally operate at pressures ranging from 500 to 1,400 pounds per square inch gauge (psig). Pipelines for gas transportation are coated primarily to ensure that the pipeline does not corrode. In addition to anticorrosion, some pipelines are internally lined typically with a liquid epoxy or Fusion Bonded Epoxies (FBE) system to enhance the flow characteristics of the natural gas or oil travelling through the pipeline. The main types of pipeline coatings in use today include coal tar enamel, polymeric tapes, fusion-bonded epoxy (FBE), spray-applied liquid coatings, and two- and three-layer polyolefin coatings. The main objective of this research was to determine impacts friction and transmission factors of both coated and uncoated pipelines have on flow rates. The AGA and Colebrook-White equations were both used to determine these impacts on system capacity. Using both AGA equations and Colebrook–White equations, it was observed that the coated pipe was able to transport 8.91% and 9.42% more flow rate Q respectively than the uncoated pipe. It is therefore concluded that decreasing the pipe roughness directly results in a throughput or efficiency increase in a pipeline. Thus, smoother pipe surface leads to increased flow capacity. Internal flow coating can also make a significant difference in reducing pumping or compression costs over the lifetime of the pipeline. These reduced energy costs can provide a financial payback within some years of service. Internal coating of steel pipe is also vital to ensure the long term integrity of the pipeline and reasonable long-term reliability.

Source: KNUST
The Impacts of Corporate Branding On Sales of Fashion Accessories in Kumasi: Mediating Effects of Customer Care

The aim of this thesis is to identify the impact of corporate branding on sales of fashion accessories in Kumasi with customer care as the mediating variable. Despite the hard earn efforts and money spent on corporate branding activities; some organizations are incapable of improving sales. There was therefore the need to identify the extent to which corporate branding affects sales. There is a knowledge gap on how corporate branding as a concept influences the sales of fashion accessories in Kumasi. Researched has also shown that, if an element of customer care is added to corporate branding, sales can be increased hence the introductions of the mediating variable customer care. The objectives of this research are as follows: To determine the impact of corporate branding on sales of fashion accessories in Kumasi, Identify the impact of corporate branding on customer care in Kumasi, to examine the impact of customer care on sales of fashion accessories in Kumasi, to determine the mediating effect of customer care on the relationship between corporate branding and sales of fashion accessories in Kumasi. This is a descriptive research which seeks to identify the impacts of corporate branding on sales of fashion accessories with the mediating effect of customer care. A sample sized of 32 was picked since the fashion houses in Kumasi were 32. Questionnaires with a fivepoint Likert scale were used for the survey. Regression analysis was run to prove the various hypotheses using the SPSS data after the questionnaire had been coded and the various variables entered. The researched proved that, corporate branding aids in improving sales and indeed customer care mediates on the relationship between corporate branding and sales. It was recommended that managers of fashion houses must consider customer care in corporate branding in order to improve sales.

Source: KNUST
Impacts of waste on urban surface water resourcs: Case study of Aboabo stream, Kumasi, Ghana

Urbam surface water resources have been under increasing threat of pollution in various human activities. Freshwater resources, which are the major sources of drinking water, are now major receptacles of treated and untreated or partially treated industrial wastes. The Aboabo Stream is not an exception. The study therefore aims at determining the solid and liquid waste handling practices within the communities along the Aboabo Stream..............................................................

Source: KNUST
Implementation and adoption of E-Procurement in Ghana Public Sector: the way forward

E-Procurement implementation in other parts of the world has brought benefits such as efficiency, cost reduction, reduced procurement process, minimize corruption,enhance compliance and standardization of procurement. Though the Public Procurement Authority has made many strides in the adoption of initiation of e-procurement in the Ghana, the pace for the implementation and adoption is still very slow. It was on this background that the study was conducted to investigate the adoption and implementation of e-procurement in the public sector in Ghana. Hence, the specific objectives were: to identify the status of e-procurement implementation and adoption in the public sector, to identify challenges facing effective implementation and adoption of e-Procurement as well as the factors contributing to successful implementation of e-Procurement. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design, using purposive sampling for selecting respondents and administering questionnaire. A total of forty-eight (48) procurement practitioners were received for the study. The collected data were examined using frequencies, percentages, standard deviation and mean score ranking which was aided by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results indicated that the Ghanaian public sector was well informed of the e-procurement process, though it was poorly patronized. It was also found that various challenges such as lack of human resource capacity and poor supplier relationship are more capable of hindering the e-Procurement process. Also, factors such as evolutionary approach to implementation and availability of IT infrastructure were found to positively influence the adoption and implementation of the process. It is therefore recommended that public sector institutions in Ghana need to incorporate the e-Procurement activities into their systems of operations so as to help address the challenges associated with the traditional method of procurement.

Source: KNUST
The impacts of sustainable public procurement on social development (Brong Ahafo Region, case study Berekum Municipal, Dormaa Municipal Assembly and Dormaa East District Assembly)

To achieve sustainability in public procurement, government needs to develop strategies for the purchase of goods and services. This will enable government to be mindful about how to spend the taxpayers’ money. In Ghana, government spends about 14% of GDP on procurement of goods and services.However, sustainability in public procurement is associated with a lot of factors that stick to consistency for full implementation. Even though, sustainable public procurement is one of the activities that creates more opportunities for countries that consider it as the pivot for the effective implementation of its public procurement Act 2003 (Act,663).The aim for this research is to identify the impact of sustainable public procurement on social development. Identifying the impacts of sustainable public procurement in the public sector, could provide more opportunities for stakeholders who are direct beneficiaries of the public procurement projects by making sure that, projects are executed according to their choice. Extensive literature review was carried out to obtain enough secondary data on the topic which gave a strong foundation on which the research was conducted. The researcher employed a case study research design. A census survey was carried out by selecting study population (sample size) from Berekum Municipal Assembly, Dormaa East District Assembly, and Dormaa Municipal Assembly by using questionnaires through a focus group discussion. The sample size of this research was fifty (50). The study revealed the importance of sustainable public procurement, and its impacts on social development. It also highlighted the different opinions that the above mentioned Municipals and District Assemblies have about sustainable public procurement. The research indicated the factors that influence sustainable public procurement, the barriers to sustainable public procurement, as well as the responsibilities of public procurement Entities, Suppliers, Contractors, and Service providers. At the end of the study, it was revealed that sustainable public procurement promotes fairness, equal opportunities for all suppliers and contractors engaged in public procurement Entities’ contracts. Sustainable public procurement also creates jobs, social amenities; such as schools, good health facilities, protects children from child labour in almost every country across the world. Sustainable public procurement also boosts the economic fortunes of a country that practices sustainable public procurement. Therefore, it’s important for Ghana as a developing country to focus more on the implementation of sustainable public procurement. This will make passage of the public procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) meaningful in order to achieve value for money, which is the pivot of the Act, 2003.

Source: KNUST
Implementation And Influence Of Crowd-Logistics On The Performance Of The Courier Industry In Ghana

The courier industry has become essential in parcel delivery as orders are expected to be physically delivered to required destinations. A technology-driven platform known as crowd-logistics, has been introduced into the industry to connect riders, vendors, and consumers for the delivery of parcels. This study therefore, is purposed to explore the implementation and influence of crowd-logistics on the performance of the courier industry in Ghana. Interest in the crowd-logistics subject is because, courier operations within the last mile in recent times have been regarded the least efficient, most expensive, time-consuming, and non-sustainable component of logistics operations. The study utilized the exploratory research design approach and the qualitative research method to allow for first-hand knowledge from the crowd-logistics system providers due to the dearth of scientific literature. The findings revealed that, crowd-logistics in Ghana is a technology-based system, characterized in two models; “peer-to-peer” and “business-to-peer”. Secondly, the system allows for parcels to be delivered on-time at relatively cheaper cost, while being challenged by non-availability of courier investors, non-professional riders, cyber-attacks and hacking. Also, the system offers economic, social, environmental, and technological opportunities; though there exist threats of, poor and expensive telecom network, driver platform switches, competition, and industry regulations. Unlike other countries, crowd-logistics’ operation in Ghana is such that, system providers assist drivers in the acquisition of vehicles on lease or credit. This should not be the responsibility of the platform provider, but due to the low level of investment in the industry and the need to keep trusted and bonded drivers. Prior delivery, it is recommended that, parcels are physically inspected to confirm their legality; whiles those in transit are insured against any loss or damage. It is also recommended the need for a more responsive feedback system, whiles adopting the USSD code mode for placing requests from non-smart phones and technology illiterates. Essentially, it is required for management to invest into research, development and innovation to stay updated in the industry. Couriers must therefore look forward to a more efficient and effective industry that is likely to be laden with advanced technology applications.

Source: KNUST