ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Interactive effects of soil compaction, biochar application, and soil water regime on the growth, yield, and water use efficiency of upland rice

The mechanization of tropical agriculture by conventional tillage has enhanced production and contributed to soil compaction, which has long term adverse effects on soil and crop productivity. Application of biochar is among the several remedial measures proposed to offset the compaction problem. Yet, it is unclear how biochar interacts with varying soil water that occurs under variable weather to mitigate the compaction problem. In this study, a screen house experiment was conducted to investigate the growth, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) of upland rice (Nerica 14) grown under a range of biochar amended compacted soils and soil water conditions. The experimental design was a com pletely randomized design (CRD) in a factorial arrangement with three bulk density (D) levels (D1= 1.30 Mg m−3, D2 = 1.50 Mg m−3, and D3 = 1.75 Mg m−3), two rates of rice husk biochar (RHB) application: (B) = 0 ton ha−1, and B10 = 10 ton ha−1), and three levels of seasonal irrigation (W1 = 391 mm, W2 = 419 mm, and W3 = 569 mm). Grain yield was influenced by biochar, bulk density and water regime. When averaged across irriga tion levels, the B0 grain yields were 1336 kg ha−1, 947 kg ha−1 and 636 kg ha−1 for D1, D2 and D3, respectively. Biochar application reduced both the runoff, drainage, and improved the crop water use efficiency. In terms of WUE, the treatment combination of B10D1W1 and B10D3W3 recorded the highest (14.27 kg ha−1 mm−1), and least (9.28 kg ha−1 mm−1) values, respectively. Though biochar application improved the WUE under all density lev els, high irrigation (W2, W3) could not compensate for the adverse effect of increasing soil density. It is concluded that the adverse impact of tillage-induced soil compaction on up land rice yield can be effectively alleviated by biochar application under varied soil water conditions.

Source: UG
Interactive programmes on private radio stations in Ghana: An avenue for impoliteness

This study aims at showing the impoliteness strategies employed during some radio interactions. The data used here are mainly recordings of the morning shows of some private radio stations in Ghana. We establish that all the recorded utterances have some features that correspond with at least one of Culpeper’s (1996, 2005) impoliteness strategies, which are bald on record impoliteness, positive impoliteness, negative impoliteness, off-record impoliteness and withhold politeness. However, many of the participants prefer the use of the on-record strategies to the off-record strategies of impoliteness. We therefore assert that many participants in interactive radio programmes in Ghana prefer to convey messages to their addressees in a more direct and unrestrained manner, with little or no attention to their (addressees’) face needs. These participants attack the faces of more powerful people not only to demean their social status but also to demand quicker results and gain some psychological relief.

Source: UG
An intercept survey of the use and non-use of footbridges in Ghana

Footbridges reduce pedestrian-vehicular interaction and the incidence of pedestrian crashes. Their use significantly reduce the incidence of pedestrian crashes along major highways in low- and middle-income countries like Colombia, Ghana, Jordan, Malaysia, and Nigeria. This study seeks to investigate the use of footbridges in Ghana. A survey was conducted among pedestrians using and not using footbridges at six locations in Greater Accra and Kumasi Metropolitan areas, respectively. The pedestrians were intercepted in the vicinity of footbridges as users and non-users from 7:00 a.m.–9 a.m., 11:00am-1:00 pm and 3:00 p.m.–5:00 pm daily for seven days. In all, 1852 pedestrians were surveyed. The quantitative data was analysed using SPSS v.21 and Structural Equation modeling (SEM). The study showed a higher prevalence among male non-users than females. Those with secondary education, and those who had been previously involved in a pedestrian crash used footbridges the most. The SEM results revealed that age, gender, training in pedestrian safety, frequency of use, and walking distance, how often one crosses the stretch road, and length of stay in an area affect the use of footbridges. An approach by city managers in low- and middle-income countries, including Colombia, Ghana, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico and Nigeria are required to improve the use of footbridges to reduce the incidence of pedestrian crashes. Specifically, officials of the National Road Safety Authority, Ghana Highway Authority, Motor Transport and Traffic Department of the Ghana Police Service should consider these factors affecting footbridge usage in addressing pedestrian safety on Ghanaian highways.

Source: UG
The interest of the spanish network of investigators in back pain for rehabilitation physician.

Background: The Spanish Back Pain Research Network (REIDE) brings together teams of researchers and clinicians who are interested in nonspecific neck and back pain (BP). Its objective is to improve the efficacy, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of the clinical management of BP. Method: The Network welcomes clinicians and researchers interested in BP. The only requirement to become a member of REIDE is to take part in one of its research projects, and any member can propose a new one. The Network supports those projects that are of interest to two or more groups by assuming their administration and management, which allows the researchers to focus on their task. Its working method ensures methodological quality, a multidisciplinary approach, and the clinical relevance of those projects that are carried out. Results: 179 researchers from 11 areas in Spain are involved in REIDE, including experts in all of the relevant fields of BP research. Most Spanish studies on BP that have been published in international scientific journals come from the teams involved in REIDE, and it currently has 13 ongoing research projects. Conclusions: The Network can help to enhance research among rehabilitation specialists who are interested in BP, and can contribute to the development of research projects which are of interest to the specialty.

Source: UG
Interest Rate and Exchange Rate Exposure of Portfolio Stock Returns: Does the Financial Crisis Matter?

The study examines the impact of changes in interest rate and exchange rates and their unexpected changes on industry and size portfolio returns on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) controlling for the 2007/2008 financial crisis. Three main exchange rates (FX) namely, Ghana cedis (Gh¢)/US dollar, Gh¢/Great Britain Pounds (GBP) and the Gh¢/Euro are used. We use OLS, GARCH and ARIMA in our estimations. The study found that only depreciation of the Gh¢/USD reduces the returns of financial stocks and large firms. There is a direct positive impact of the financial crisis on the returns due to investment shift from developed markets where crisis occurs. Variations in the returns are mostly explained by the market index returns (RM), which has a positive impact. However, we find that the positive impact of RM on the portfolio returns (finance, medium and large portfolios) is reduced during the financial crisis. The results largely reveal that shocks to the conditional variance are highly persistent and the response of volatility decays at a slower rate.

Source: UG
Interest Rate Deregulation and Private Investment: Revisiting the McKinnon –Shaw Hypothesis in Ghana

The study re-examines the McKinnon-Shaw financial liberalization hypothesis, which posits simply that high real deposit interest rates increase financial savings, which in turn lead to increases in the quantity and quality of domestic investments. More specifically, the study investigates the impact of interest rate deregulation on investment in Ghana and the transmission mechanism through which this could happen. Utilizing co-integration and error correction model techniques with data from the period 1970 – 2005, the study findings are as follows. While the study finds a statistically significant and positive relationship between real deposit interest rate and financial savings as well as between bank credit and financial savings, the net effect of a real deposit rate on investment was found to be negative. In other words, holding all other variables constant, a higher real deposit rate which lead to a higher increase in financial savings and then bank credits, were offset by a higher cost of lending, thus making the net effect on investment negative. In this regard, our finding does not seem to provide support for the McKinnon and Shaw financial liberalization hypothesis. Other variables found to be important in explaining investment in Ghana were the financial deepening, the macroeconomic volatility that is proxied by inflation differential and the lagged change in GDP, affirming the accelerator model principle. The findings therefore have important policy implications for the on-going financial sector reforms.

Source: UG
Intergenerational earnings mobility in Ghana

This paper estimates the degree of intergenerational earnings persistence and mobility in Ghana. We use micro-data from the third and sixth rounds of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS). We find relatively high estimates of intergenerational income elasticity (IGE), ranging from 40 to 54 percent, suggesting low intergenerational earnings mobility in Ghana. The results further point to a limited set of inherited circumstances that include the father’s education and occupation. Our estimates show that a father’s education and occupation determine one’s family’s economic status during the teenage years and explain a significant fraction of earnings inequality among male adults in Ghana. The novelty of this paper is the application of linear dynamic panel data models with repeated cross-sections to provide a consistent estimate of intergenerational elasticity of earnings in the framework of two-sample two-stage least squares (TSTSLS) using less restrictive functional form identification without exclusion restriction. The application of this new approach shows that a 1 percent increase in a father’s lifetime income raises a son’s permanent income by a range of 23.9 percent–40.9 percent, an indication of low intergenerational mobility. The results from the modified TSTSLS indicate that the traditional TSTSLS approach overestimates the IGE by at least 0.19.

Source: UG
An Interim Economic Appraisal of the Volta Resettlement Scheme - Ghana

The problem of resettling people whose homes are disrupted by the creation of darns is one vd1ich will be faced more frequently in various countries of the world as the need for hydro-electricity in the newly developing countries increases. The problem of what to do v7ith people so displaced is subject to many different solutions. First, people can be given some form of compensation based on the goods, crops, houses and other buildings which they are about to lose, and then left to rehabilitate themselves elsewhere. Secondly, they can be resettled in new towns and villages with or without compensation for loss of land and then left to develop for themselves new methods and sources of income. Or thirdly; if the state takes a much wider view of its need to participate in economic development, it may decide that in addition to settling the people in new' townships it must also help to find them new sources of income, thus taking a much greater responsibility for rehabilitation. This latter course is most important where there are scarcities of land, where the people involved have had specific sources of income and would find it difficult to secure alternative sources of employment, and where there are clan and tribal differences so thtl.t carefully planned resettlement is needed to prevent sociological md political unrest All these conditions existed in the Volta Basin. land was particularly scarce in the south, south-east and south-west of the dam. There were many tribal and land ownership disputes awaiting to be rekindled which could have caused conflict. The people involved were poor, nearly all illiterate, nearly all were farmers and with no other source of income, apart from the Ewes, a migrant tribe which undertook fishing.

Source: UG
Interim environmental influence of oil exploration on human lives in Ghana: a case of Half Assini and Efaso

paper focused on the interim environmental influence of oil and gas exploration activities on human lives in the Half Assini and Efaso communities in Jomoro District of the Western region of Ghana. Two stage sampling technique was used. It employed purposive sampling of residents living in the Jubilee Oil field environs. After, simple random sampling was used to select 300 respondents from the study area out of a population of about 8,000. The factors of adverse environmental change as a result of oil exploration considered in the study include air, noise and visual pollution. The multinomial logistic estimation model revealed that the likelihood of perception of air pollution’s influence on the environment was positively and significantly related to oil exploration. That of noise pollution was not significant. Visual pollution (disposal of sea weeds) was likewise an eyesore at the beach.

Source: UG
Interleukin gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to HIV-1 infection: a meta-analysis

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
Interleukin-5 levels in relation to malaria severity: a systematic review

Background The role of cytokines such as interleukin-5 (IL-5) in the pathogenesis of malaria remains unclear. This systematic review sought to synthesize variations in IL-5 levels between severe and uncomplicated malaria, as well as between malaria and controls not aficted with the disease. Methods This systematic review was registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO; CRD42022368773). Searches for studies that reported IL-5 levels in patients with malaria (any severity) and/or uninfected individuals were performed in Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, CENTRAL, and MEDLINE, between 1st and 10th October, 2022. The risk of bias among all included studies was minimized using the Strength ening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines for reporting observational stud ies. The diferences in IL-5 levels between malaria and uninfected controls, and between severe and uncomplicated malaria were synthesized by narrative synthesis. Results Among 1177 articles identifed in the databases, 23 matched the eligibility criteria and were included in this systematic review. Qualitative syntheses showed the heterogeneity of IL-5 levels between diferent severities of clini cal malaria and uninfected controls. The majority of the included studies (12/15 studies, 80%) found no change in IL-5 levels between malaria cases and uninfected controls. Similarly, most studies found no diference in IL-5 levels between severe (regardless of complications) and uncomplicated malaria (4/8 studies, 50%). The qualitative syntheses revealed that most studies found no diference in IL-5 levels between severe and non-severe malaria. Conclusions The comprehensive review suggests that IL-5 levels are unchanged in patients with diferent levels of clinical severity of malaria and uninfected controls. Given the limited number of published studies on IL-5 levels in malaria, there is a need for additional research to determine the function of this cytokine in the pathogenesis of malaria.

Source: UG
Intermittent preventive treatment for children (IPTC) combined with timely home treatment for malaria control

The Epidemiology Department contributes to the mission of the institute through basic and applied epidemiological research on, but not limited to, malaria and other diseases of public health importance. It is also home to the Social Science Unit of the Institute, including the Health Support Centre for HIV/AIDS and other communicable and noncommunicable health problems.

Source: UG
Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy: Assessment of the Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine Three-Dose Policy on Birth Outcomes in Rural Northern Ghana

Background. Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) decreases placental parasitaemia and improves birth outcomes. Currently, WHO recommends three or more doses of SP given during antenatal care (ANC), spaced one month apart after 16 weeks of gestation till delivery. This study determined the level of uptake of SP and its association with birth outcomes in rural northern Ghana. Methods. A survey was carried out at the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo, Ghana, among mothers who had delivered within ten weeks and were seeking postnatal care. Data on time of first ANC, number of visits, receipt of IPTp-SP, and birth outcomes were extracted from the antenatal records of 254 mothers. Mothers were interviewed on their background characteristics and obstetric history. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were carried out to determine association between antenatal indicators, uptake of IPTp-SP, and birth outcomes using Stata version 13. Results. Uptake of three-five doses of SP was IPT3 =76.4%, IPT4 =37.3%, and IPT5 = 16.0%. Receipt of first dose of SP at 16, 17-24, and 25-36 weeks of gestation was 16.9%, 56.7%, and 26.4%, respectively. Taking the first dose of SP during the second trimester allowed for taking ≥3 doses of SP compared to taking the first dose during the third trimester (χ2 = 60.1, p<0.001). Women who made ≥4 visits were more likely to receive ≥3 doses of SP compared to those who made <4 visits (χ2 = 87.6, p<0.001). Women who received ≥ 3 doses of SP were more likely (OR = 3.3; 95% CI: 1.69-6.33) to give birth at term and also have normal weight babies (OR =4.0; 95% CI: 1.98-8.06). Conclusion. Uptake of three or more doses of SP contributed to improved pregnancy outcomes. Increased efforts towards improving early ANC attendance could increase uptake of SP and improve pregnancy outcomes.

Source: UG
Internal auditing and assurance of corporate social responsibility reports and disclosures: the perspective of some internal auditors in Ghana

Purpose This study aims to examine the nature and extent of internal auditors’ (IAs) involvement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) assurance. It also ascertains the capacity building requirements to legitimise the role of IAs as a credible form of providing CSR assurance. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was adopted, where data were collected through semi-structured interview of IAs of companies in Ghana that produce CSR reports. Findings Findings suggest that companies appreciate the fact that the internal audit function could provide independent assurance on CSR reports. However, there is limited information on the nature and scope of the assurance procedures. Moreover, most IAs seem to lack the requisite knowledge and skills needed to effectively carry out CSR assurance engagements. These evidences suggest a relatively low level of reliance being placed on CSR assurance services provided internally. Research limitations/implications Findings are purely based on the perceptions of IAs. Future studies may include the views of those who appoint IAs (i.e. management). Practical implications Findings engender discussions on the need for IAs and regulators of IAs (e.g. the Institute of Internal Auditors), particularly those in developing countries to begin to conscientise practitioners on the changing roles of the IA in the areas of CSR and CSR assurance. Originality/value This study is one of the very few studies on CSR assurance from the perspective of IAs and it also based on evidence from an African context. Also, the study provides evidence on the need for a deliberate effort to equip internal audit practitioners to provide at least some minimal assurance on CSR disclosures and reports.

Source: UG
Internal auditing and assurance of corporate social responsibility reports and disclosures: the perspective of some internal auditors in Ghana.

Purpose This study aims to examine the nature and extent of internal auditors’ (IAs) involvement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) assurance. It also ascertains the capacity building requirements to legitimise the role of IAs as a credible form of providing CSR assurance. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was adopted, where data were collected through semi-structured interview of IAs of companies in Ghana that produce CSR reports. Findings Findings suggest that companies appreciate the fact that the internal audit function could provide independent assurance on CSR reports. However, there is limited information on the nature and scope of the assurance procedures. Moreover, most IAs seem to lack the requisite knowledge and skills needed to effectively carry out CSR assurance engagements. These evidences suggest a relatively low level of reliance being placed on CSR assurance services provided internally. Research limitations/implications Findings are purely based on the perceptions of IAs. Future studies may include the views of those who appoint IAs (i.e. management). Practical implications Findings engender discussions on the need for IAs and regulators of IAs (e.g. the Institute of Internal Auditors), particularly those in developing countries to begin to conscientise practitioners on the changing roles of the IA in the areas of CSR and CSR assurance. Originality/value This study is one of the very few studies on CSR assurance from the perspective of IAs and it also based on evidence from an African context. Also, the study provides evidence on the need for a deliberate effort to equip internal audit practitioners to provide at least some minimal assurance on CSR disclosures and reports.

Source: UG
Internal boundaries and district administration: A challenge to decentralization and district development in ghana

Traditional institutions in Africa and their role in a decentralized administrative framework has been the subject of analysis in recent times. However, these discussions have centred largely on political power and local control of resources, to the neglect of the challenges of local government boundary setting and its consequences for local development. Therefore, in countries implementing decentralization with existing strong chiefdoms and traditional areas of jurisdictions, such as Ghana, little consideration has been given to the effects of local government boundaries on community cohesiveness and local development. This article examines the challenges of decentralization in Ghana with particular focus on district administrative boundaries. It argues that the non-coincidence of the 'traditional' ethnic boundaries, namely Traditional Areas, and the 'formal' district administrative boundaries of some districts as well as the absence of an integrative system of traditional and modern governance present a challenge to local and district development under the present decentralization process. The article concludes that district boundary setting should be a process of 'negotiated contract' between the state and communities of which the boundary is meant to create a local government territorial area of jurisdiction. This process entails that the criteria for boundary setting take into account both cultural and economic factors. © 2009 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography.

Source: UG