ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Osteometric analysis of sexual dimorphism in the sternal end of the rib in a West African population.

This study, and others, are being carried out in order to establish a Forensic Anthropology databank on age estimation and sex determination of skeletonized remains in Ghana. An osteometric study of sexual dimorphism in the sternal end of the right fourth rib on 346 consecutive coroner's autopsy cases (221 males, 125 females) of known age, sex, and race was conducted. The height and width of the sternal end of the rib were measured in each case. The sample was analyzed in three groups: young (<30 years), old (≥30 years), and total sample (total group). Stepwise discriminant function analysis showed that the accuracy of sex determination varied from 80% in the young and 74% in the old groups to 78% for the total group. Statistical analysis of the results obtained when the functions derived from the study were tested using another batch of ribs showed the functions to be effective and reliable in determining sex. When functions derived from a previous study of American Whites were used to determine sex in our study sample, the vast majority of males were misclassified as females. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a Black African population has been studied osteometrically to evaluate sexual dimorphism in the sternal end of the fourth rib.

Source: UG
Osteomyelitis of the mandible associated with osteopetrosis: Report of a case.

A 45-year-old Nigerian housewife with chronic osteomyelitis associated with osteopetrosis is described and discussed. Haematological and radiographical investigations on routine admission led to the secondary diagnosis of osteopetrosis. To our knowledge, this is the first case of osteomyelitis of jaws associated with osteopetrosis reported in an African. © 1988.

Source: UG
Ostracod‐based reconstruction of Late Quaternary lake level changes within the Tangra Yumco lake system (southern Tibetan Plateau)

Tangra Yumco, a large saline lake located in the central–southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, liesin a hydrologically closed basin and is part of a cascade lake system including Tangqung Co, Tangra Yumco andXuru Co. The extension and position of this lake system makes it valuable for reconstructing palaeoclimaticvariations through the lake history and to compare both with the adjacent lake systems. We reconstructed LateQuaternary lake level changes based on data from two lacustrine sediment cores. A micropalaeontologicalanalysis focusing on Ostracoda was carried out combined with dating (14C,210Pb,137Cs), sedimentology andstable isotope data from bulk sediment. Ostracod analysis involves the quantitative documentation ofassociations. An ostracod-based transfer function for specific conductivity was applied to assess and refine lakelevel changes and to compare the results with other lake level reconstructions from the Tibetan Plateau forevaluating inter-regional climatic patterns. Seven ostracod species were detected, withLeucocytherella sinensisdominating the associations followed byLeucocythere?dorsotuberosa,Limnocythere inopinataandTonnacyprisgyirongensis.Fabaeformiscandona gyirongensis,Candona candidaandCandona xizangensiswere found in onlya few samples and at low percentages. The synthesis of ostracod-based environmental reconstruction andchronology for samples from Tangra Yumco reveals the evolution of the lake system during the past 17 ka. A lowlake level around 17 cal kaBPis followed by a recovering until the reaching of a high stand around 8–9 cal kaBP.Subsequently, between 7.7 and 2.5 cal kaBP, it remained relatively stable with a subsequent short-livinglowstand–highstand cycle at around 2 ka. Thereafter, the ostracod-based conductivity transfer function shows anincrease of conductivity corresponding to a lake level rising phase at around 0.4 ka. The recorded changes areindicators of past climatic conditions and refine the palaeoclimatic models in this area.Copyright#2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Source: UG
The ostrich industry in Ghana: prospects and performance

The number of ostrich farms in Ghana has increased lately. This is as a result of the high and faster financial returns these farms are accruing. This study assesses the performance of MacBaron ostrich farm by examining the trends in its output, operating performance, profitability, market structure and future projections of income. Generally, there has been decreasing trends in meat output, value of hide exports and sales at monthly rates of 0.58%, 0.25% and 0.22% respectively. Despite these low and declining trends, the profit level over the years has been increasing at 19.6% annually. The structure of the ostrich market was concluded to be an oligopolistic market. Income projections using the 3-year moving average revealed that the business will still be profitable over the next five years. The study recommends that MacBaron should diversify its output by exploring other markets for the ostrich products like processing the feathers and eggshell and increasing the bird slaughter rate since profit is a function of output. MacBaron should reduce water and electricity costs by the use of energy saving bulbs and the maintenance of all thermostats in electrical systems in the brooder house and that of water by using a high- pressure, low-volume cleaning system and nozzles on all water sprays. Lastly, the study recommends that proper records be kept to ensure good management and planning of inventory.

Source: UG
The Other Lives of Ken Gampu or The Photo-Story as Alternative Biography

Using an experimental life-writing approach, the seminar reflects on the South African film actor Ken Gampu (1929-2003)’s picture stories, The Kidnappers (1965) and The Way Home (1965) collectively as an alternative biography of his life in the cinema. It shows that regardless of their flaws, Gampu’s picture stories inscribed an alternative ‘biographical script’ for him, that potentially subverted his marginality in the cinema industry of the 1960s. In their centering of Gampu, the picture stories open the space for reflecting upon popular formats as modes of life-writing. A critical consideration of these modes facilitates a reversal of colonial erasure of the colonised’s agency, and hopefully widens the discursive and archival reach of film studies.

Source: UG
Otoo. D.D.

Background Menstruation is a natural and inevitable process in females. However, adolescent girls continue to face challenges with several misconceptions and myths. Despite numerous efforts and campaigns, limited knowledge and unhygienic practices persist, leading to various adverse social and health outcomes. This study examined knowledge, practices and factors influencing menstrual hygiene management practices among female senior high school students in the New Juaben Municipality of Ghana. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 2 senior high schools. Students were selected using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from literature between August to September 2022. Data was entered into Microsoft Excel Software (2020) and then exported to STATA/MP version 17 (STATA Corp) for analysis. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression were conducted with p-values≤0.05 considered significant. Results A total of 557 students were included in the study. 61.22% of students demonstrated good knowledge of menstruation, and 57.09% practiced good menstrual hygiene. Disposable sanitary pads were the most commonly used (97.44%) and preferred (93.25%) menstrual products. Most students changed their sanitary pads two or three times per day (47.49% and 47.30%, respectively). Nearly all participants (99%) bathed during menstruation, with water only (61.13%) being the most common method for genital cleaning. Logistic regression analysis revealed that students who lived with their mothers only (AOR=1.88, 95% CI: 1.16–3.02, p=0.01), had access to dedicated disposal bins (AOR=2.20, 95% CI: 1.42–3.39, p<0.001), and reported adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene needs (AOR=0.60, 95% CI: 0.39–0.91, p=0.017) were more likely to practice good menstrual hygiene. Conclusion Generally, female students had good MHM knowledge and practices with few misconceptions. The study underscores the importance of enhancing menstrual hygiene education, improving school infrastructure, and supporting family-based health education to promote safe and effective menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls. Targeted interventions involving schools, parents, and policymakers are needed to create a supportive environment that ensures menstrual health and educational continuity for all girls.

Source: UG
Our Courts, Our Cases and we are the Judges”: Chiefs as Judges in the House of Chiefs in Ghana

Besides the Supreme Court, The Traditional Councils and the Houses of Chiefs are the official courts mandated by Ghana’s 1992 Republican Constitution to and the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (Act 759) to adjudicate and determine the substance of chieftaincy succession disputes. The Houses of Chiefs serves as customary courts but have over the years incorporated certain aspects of the English law into their proceedings. Through the historical method, interviews and observations, this paper explores the role of chiefs as judges in Ghana’s Houses of Chiefs. The paper first takes a historical view of the Houses of Chiefs, starting from chieftaincy court (native courts in colonial Ghana), and then after Ghana’s independence in 1957, when the Houses of Chiefs system was formed. The second part of the paper deals with the structure and the judicial processes in the contemporary Houses of chiefs. The key finding of this study is that the Houses of Chiefs in Ghana are courts adjudicating on chieftaincy disputes with the chiefs sitting as judges in theses courts. However, the dependency of these courts on the state for funds and support personnel has implications on the judicial processes, and possibly, the rulings of these courts.

Source: UG
“Our Cultural Values and National Orientation”

The paper defines the notion of national orientation and the place of the cultural values of a people in national orientation. It argues that national orientation must be tied to the public philosophy of a people, a public philosophy understood as a corpus of basic ideas and beliefs, an under-layer of values, perceptions, outlooks, fundamental convictions and truths shared by a large section of a society. The paper distinguished two avenues to evolving a national orientation: (i) reevaluation of those features of our culture that we have reason to believe would be worth our while to preserve and utilize in building the institutions of today; (ii) orientations that need to be acquired by reason of their worth in a contemporary society but which do not seem to have been purposely and robustly affirmed by our indigenous cultural values and practices, such as the innovative and scientific orientations or outlooks.

Source: UG
Out of Africa: What can be learned from the studies of allergic disorders in Africa and Africans?

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
Out of the ashes: rethinking loss in the African archive

African archives were predominantly outgrowths of the colonialist machinery, essential armoury in the mechanisms of control which paid little attention to comprehensively documenting the cultures and pasts of the subjugated peoples. Consequently, the genesis of conventional African archives was constituted by loss, a fact per haps dramatically signified by the string of fires and other disasters to have hit African archival repositories from as early as 1919. Yet still, the embers of these conflagrations provide opportunities for critical reconsiderations of loss that would lead to theoretical and practical gains in the African archive. Archival loss can prod African archivists towards new ontologies of praxis and conceptions of archive that would enable recovery of all the varied registers of the African archive. Specifically, the paper examines the creation and work of the J.H. Kwabena Nketia Archives (at the University of Ghana’s Institute of African Studies) and the Likpe Traditional Area Community Archives as archival sites of resistance and challenge to loss that leverage community and institutional partnerships to build and recover the African archive. Ultimately, these archives’ work, and the general “African archival turn” advocated for here, have implications for African Studies and the decolonising of knowledge production in and about Africa.

Source: UG
Out of the dark but not out of the cage: women’s empowerment and gender relations in the Dangme West district of Ghana

4. In Ghana, strategies to address poverty among rural women have often been linked to women’s empowerment programmes with credit as a core component of these. Yet, many programmes focus on the economic benefit to women without necessarily looking at the impact on gender relations at the household level and its implications on women. Using quantitative and qualitative data from the Dangme West district of Ghana, this article shows how poverty reduction programmes with credit components can reduce women’s vulnerability to poverty and empower them. But much more needs to be done to complement these efforts. The study shows that women beneficiaries as against women non-beneficiaries have significantly improved their socio-economic status through access to financial and non-financial resources. This has in certain instances improved gender relations at the household level, with women being recognized as earners of income and contributors to household budget. However, some women still regard their spouses as ‘heads’ and require their consent in decisions even in issues that have to do with their personal lives. Moreover, the improved economic status of women has resulted in a ‘power conflict’, creating confrontation between spouses. The article recommends that, as part of their programmes, assisting organizations and institutions must address ‘power relations’, the basis of gender subordination at the household level, otherwise socio-cultural norms and practices, underpinned by patriarchal structures, will remain ‘cages’ for rural women

Source: UG
Out-of-Africa migration and Neolithic coexpansion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with modern humans

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
Out-of-pocket payment for primary healthcare in the era of national health insurance: Evidence from northern Ghana

Background Ghana introduced a national health insurance program in 2005 with the goal of removing user fees, popularly called “cash and carry”, along with their associated catastrophic and impoverishment effects on the population and ensuring access to equitable health care. However, after a decade of implementation, the impact of this program on user fees and out-of-pocket payment (OOP) is not properly documented. This paper contributes to understanding the impact of Ghana’s health insurance program on out-of-pocket healthcare payments and the factors associated with the level of out-of-pocket payments for primary healthcare in a predominantly rural region of Ghana. Methods Using a five-year panel data of revenues accruing to public primary health facilities in seven districts, We employed mean comparison tests (t-test) to examine the trend in revenues accruing from out-of-pocket payments vis-à-vis health insurance claims for health services, medication, and obstetric care. Furthermore, generalized estimation equation regression models were used to assess the relationship between explanatory variables and the level of out-of-pocket payments and health insurance claims. Results Out-of-pocket payment for health services and medications declined by 63% and 62% respectively between 2010 and 2014. Insurance claims however increased by 16% within the same period. There was statistically a significant mean reduction in out-of-pocket payment over the period. Factors significantly associated with out-of-pocket payments in a given district are the number of community health facilities, availability of a district hospital and the year of observation.Conclusion The study provides evidence that Ghana’s national health insurance program is significantly contributing to a reduction in out-of-pocket payment for primary healthcare in public health facilities. Efforts should therefore be put in place to ensure the sustainability of this policy as a major pathway for achieving universal health coverage in Ghana.

Source: UG
The outbreak of COVID-19 and stock market liquidity: Evidence from emerging and developed equity markets

The outbreak of the novel corona virus has heightened concerns surrounding the adverse financial effects of the outbreak on stock market liquidity and economic policies. This paper contributes to the emerging strand of studies examining the adverse effects of the virus on varied aspect of global markets. The paper examines the causality and co-movements between COVID-19 and the aggregate stock market liquidity of China, Australia and the G7 countries (Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the UK and the US), using daily three liquidity proxies (Amihud, Spread and Traded Value) over the period December 2019 to July 2020. Our empirical analysis encompasses wavelet coherence and phase- differences, as well as a linear Granger causality test. Linear causality test results suggest that a causal relationship exists between the number of cases of COVID 19 infections and stock market liquidity. To quantitatively examine the degree of causality between COVID-19 outbreak and stock market liquidity, we employ the continuous wavelet coherence approach, with results revealing the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on stock market liquidity during the low frequency bands for countries that were hard hit with the COVID-19 outbreak, i.e., Italy, Germany, France, the UK and the US. Further, evidence shows that there is a heterogeneous lead-lag nexus across scales for the entire period of the study

Source: UG
An outbreak of gastroenteritis on board an oil drilling rig in Ghana

The article describes an outbreak of gastroenteritis which occurred on an oil drilling rig which operated in the Jubilee fields of Ghana (offshore Takoradi) between May 2011 and December 2013. An outbreak occurred on board approximately 10 h following a Christmas day buffet. Various Ghanaian and continental dishes were served during the occasion. Over a 3 day period, a total of 33 cases were recorded at the rig's sick bay. In order to describe the outbreak and determine its possible association with the meals served at the buffet, this case control study was conducted. A short questionnaire was used for data collection and a line list prepared for summarising data of cases. Samples of food could not be taken but water samples from multiple points of the rig's pipe water system were collected and cultured for coliforms. Data was analysed using Epi info version 7. Six foods appeared to be associated with the outbreak with odds ratios ranging from 1.2 to 2.7. The epidemic curve showed a propagated fashion of transmission and the outbreak was brought under control with public education on hand washing and disinfection of surfaces and door handles. The conclusion was that food items served at the buffet were not associated with the outbreak. Instead, a possible contamination of surfaces and door handles probably caused it. To prevent future occurrences, routine and regular hand washing and disinfection of surfaces and door handles is recommended.

Source: UG
Outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Ghana, 2015: degree of losses and outcomes of time-course outbreak management

Clinical Anatomy, Clinical Pathology, Medicine, Surgery, Theriogenology, Epidemiology and Disease Prevention, Food (Meat and Milk Hygiene and Inspection, Zoonoses and Environmental Health, Obstetrics, Mastitis and Udder Management, Veterinary Economics and Business Management, Veterinary Ethics, Jurisprudence and Extension, Clinics and Student Project. Long Vacations

Source: UG
Outbreak of scabies among preschool children, Accra, Ghana, 2017

Background: Scabies occurs worldwide with a prevalence between 0.3 and 46.0%. In Ghana, even though a 5.1% proportion of scabies was reported in a retrospective review of skin diseases at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the nationwide prevalence of scabies is unknown. Overall, its burden is higher in tropical regions. Scabies outbreaks mostly occur among children, the elderly in nursing homes, and prison inmates. Even though primary scabies hardly results in mortalities, the pain, itch, and systemic complications from secondary bacterial infections account for about 1.5 million years lived with disabilities. We investigated a scabies outbreak among school children in Ghana to determine its magnitude, stop the outbreak, and institute preventive measures to minimize risks of future outbreaks. Methods: The investigation was conducted between March 14 and May 17, 2017 among pupils of Presbyterian Secondary Staff Basic School in Accra. We defined a case as a school child who on clinical examination, had an intensely pruritic rash on at least one typical predilection site with or without a burrow, or positive skin scrapings on microscopy. We screened and line listed cases, performed laboratory investigations on skin scrapings and wound swaps, and conducted an environmental assessment. We performed descriptive statistics on data, and calculated attack rate ratios (ARR) at 95% confidence level. Results: Of 823 preschool children screened, 92 were cases. Median age of cases was 4 years (range 2–7 years) and their modal age was 3 years. The overall attack rate was 11.2% (92/823). The sex specific attack rate was 11.5% for males, and 10.8% for females (ARR: 0.93; CI: 0.67–1.28). Compared with the least affected class (crèche), the nursery one class was worst affected (ARR: 5.14; CI: 3.44–7.50). On microscopy, all skin scrapings were negative for scabies. Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp. were isolated from secondarily infected scabies lesions. Conclusions: A scabies outbreak with a propagated source occurred among preschool children. The 3-year-old pupils were most affected. It was controlled by mass treatment with benzyl benzoate and health education. Classrooms and sleeping mats were disinfected. We recommended the decongestion of classrooms and discouraged sharing of sleeping mats.

Source: UG
An outbreak of suspected cutaneous leishmaniasis in Ghana: Lessons learnt and preparation for future outbreaks.

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