ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Effect of traditional storage methods and periods on cassava roots (Manihot Esculentus,Crantz) on the yield and nutritional composition of unfermented flour

Cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz), has attained considerable importance as a dominant staple food as well as an industrial raw material at a global level due to its numerous uses of the starch-rich roots. Several traditional storage methods have been devised for cassava roots due to the physiological deterioration that set in 2-3 days after harvesting, followed by microbial deterioration 3-5 days thereafter. However, the adoption level of these methods in general has been very low. It is therefore imperative to consistently investigate the appropriateness of some traditional storage methods of cassava roots meant for unfermented flour production. This study was, therefore conducted at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Enchi, Ghana, to determine the effect of different traditional storage methods and periods of cassava roots on the yield and nutritional composition of unfermented flour. Flesh cassava root of 10 kg each were arranged in woven polypropylene bags, plastic containers, trenches and wooden boxes and stored for 0, 7 and 14 days. The flour produced was analysed for proximate, minerals (calcium, iron and phosphorus), and percentage yield at the Department of Horticulture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. This study revealed a varying impact of storage methods over the storage days. The flour produced from plastic container on storage Day 7 showed significantly (p =0.01) the least (6.56%) moisture content, and it is the method of choice. Plastic container method on storage Day 14 also showed appreciable levels of calcium and iron contents of flour as 0.165 g/100g and 35.55 mg/kg, respectively. The root stored in trench recorded the highest flour yield of 19.17% and 18.17% after 7 and 14 days of storage, respectively. This was significantly lower than the flour yield produced on storage Day 0 as 22.2%. It could, therefore, be inferred from this study that, for best results, in flour yield and nutrients, storage of fresh cassava roots for cassava flour should not exceed 7 days in plastic container.

Source: KNUST
The Effect of Training and Development on Employee Performance at Accra Polytechnic

The study was undertaken at Accra Polytechnic on the topic “The effect of training and Development on Employee Performance at Accra Polytechnic”. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether training and development would have an effect on the performance of employees with Accra Polytechnic as a case study. The methodology that was used for the study was survey. Primary data was collected from a sample of fifty (50) senior staff. Self – administered questionnaire was used in the collection of data for analysis. The study revealed that there were organizational issues such as lack of management support for training and development programmes, which constrained training and development. It was also found that training and development had positive impact on employees of the Polytechnic. The study recommended that in order for Accra Polytechnic to be successful as the first choice Polytechnic in Africa, management must empower all departments to engage in the training and development of employees to build potential and strengthen employees’ competencies.

Source: KNUST
Effect of training and development on employee performance in public institutions in Ghana: a case study of Koforidua Technical University (KTU).

In today’s competitive business environment, Training and Development has become an important human resource activity in all organisations. In order for organisations, specifically a Technical University, to survive, they must pay much attention to the training and development of their employees to enable them compete with other tertiary institutions that have sprang up over the years, especially so, after its conversion to a Technical University not long ago. The main objective of this study was to examine the effects of training and development on employee performance at Koforidua Technical University. Data was collected from a total of One hundred and ninety one (191) administrative staff of the Koforidua Technical University using questionnaires, Sixty three point four percent (63.4%) of the responses were received and SPSS was used to analyse the data. Both primary and secondary methods of data collection were used and tables and charts were used to present the data. Results from the study indicate that training and development programmes were organised for senior staff and senior members to the neglect of some junior staff. In addition, majority of the training and development programmes conducted were related to employee job task. Furthermore, a large number of employees perceived that lack of management support has been a major challenge to training and development programmes. The study recommends that Management of Koforidua Technical University should pay much attention to employee training and development issues since this would help improve the knowledge, skills and attitude of the employees in the University to ultimately improve performance.

Source: KNUST
The Effect of Training on Staff Performance: A Case Study of SIC Insurance Company Limited

This study, sought to determine the impact of training on staff performance using SIC Insurance Company Limited as a case study. The amount, and quality of training carried out varies from organization to organization due to factors such as the degree of external change and also the extent to which the organization supports the idea of internal career development. Simple random sampling was used to select staff for the study. A questionnaire was used to collect primary data from employees of SIC Insurance Company Limited. A personal interview was held with the human resource manager as well as the training manager of SIC Insurance Company Limited. The study assessed the training process of SIC Insurance Company Limited and whether it has improved the performance of staff. The results showed that SIC Insurance Company Limited has both on-the-job and off-the-job training programmes and employees are well informed about training and development programmes in the organization. Every employee, no matter their educational background or level within the company had benefited from a training programme. However, the findings revealed that training practices and methods at SIC Insurance Company Limited are not handled systematically and comprehensively. For the organization to be able to meet the challenges of change as well as productivity, there is the need to introduce other forms of training and development that can equally equip staff to perform better. It was recommended among other things, that the methods involved in training be dully followed to equip staff to perform better on the job. The firm is also advised to ensure that training program is evaluated to ensure its compatibility with changes within the insurance industry.

Source: KNUST
The effect of Turbocharger on the performance and exhaust emission of diesel engine run on Biodiesel fuel

Biodiesels have been used as renewable alternative fuels for the compression ignition (C.I.) engine. The use of biodiesel fuel in the CI engine leads to substantial reduction in hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. However, the C.I. engine run on petroleum diesel fuel has higher break power and thermal efficiency than when run on biodiesel fuel. A turbocharger is one of the accessories added to the C.I. engine to improve the engine’s performance, efficiency and power. In this work, a palm kernel oil biodiesel fuel (B100) of Ghanaian origin is used to study the performance and exhaust emissions of a C.I. engine fitted with a turbocharger. The experiments were conducted in the automotive engineering laboratory of the Department of Automotive Engineering of the Koforidua Polytechnic where a 4-cylinder VW C.I. engine is dedicated to run on biodiesel and petroleum diesel fuels. The VW engine has a rated power of 55 kW, rated speed 4200 rpm and engine cylinder bore of 79.5 mm x 95.5 mm as well as compression ratio of 22.5 and turbocharger capacity of 0.7 bars. The brake power of the C.I engine, when run on biodiesel fuel, naturally aspirator, recorded 40 kW while recording 50 kW with turbocharger connected respectively at 2200 rpm. In terms of torque, the engine, while running on biodiesel fuel at a speed of 1600 rpm, recorded maximum torque of 195 Nm with natural aspiration and 240 Nm with the turbocharger. For brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), the C.I engine, when run on biodiesel fuel, recorded 320 g/kWh with natural aspiration and 250 g/kWh with the turbocharger. The C.I engine, while running at engine speed of 1600 rpm with the biodiesel fuel recorded 29% with natural aspiration and 36% with turbocharger. The engine, while running at a speed of 1200 rpm, with biofuel, naturally aspirator, recorded CO emissions of 2600 ppm while recording 1700 ppm with the biodiesel fuel and turbocharger (BF–TU) connected. The engine, when run on biodiesel fuel, naturally aspirator, at a speed of 1200 rpm, recorded NOX emissions of 1275 ppm while with the turbocharger connected recorded 1425 ppm.

Source: KNUST
The effect of tyre pressure on vehicle performance

In the world today, due to the high cost of running a vehicle, there has been many research to see ways of minimizing this cost. Some of these cost come from the tyre of the vehicle, amount of fuel needed to run the vehicle smoothly, buying spare parts of vehicles and ensuring safety of the vehicle. This thesis seeks to find the effect that tyre pressures of vehicles have on the fuel consumption and the various ways of reducing this effect if there are any. First of all, a survey of vehicles on KNUST campus was done to ascertain how tyre pressures of these vehicles deviate from the recommended tyre pressures. Then the survey was extended to other four places namely, Kumasi Polytechnic campus, Asafo, Roman Hill and Kejetia. The survey showed that most of the vehicles tyre pressures deviate from the recommended tyre pressure. Out of 660 vehicles surveyed in these five areas in the Kumasi Metropolis, 96.52% had their tyre pressures deviated from the recommended tyre pressures. That means only 3.48% of these vehicles had their measured tyre pressures conforming to the recommended tyre pressures. From this result obtained, a case study was carried out to find out whether these deviations in the tyre pressure of the vehicles have effect on the fuel consumed by the vehicles. Five Nissan shuttle buses in KNUST campus with Vehicles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were studied. A three month case study was carried out starting from September 2009 to November 2009. Values were taken each day at an interval of three hours, that is, 8:00, 11:00, 14:00 and 17:00. In each reading, values were taken for distance travelled, fuel consumed and tyre pressure for all the tyres of the vehicles. From the case study, it was observed that, there is direct effect of the vehicles tyre pressure on the fuel consumed. It was seen that when vehicles tyre pressure deviate from the recommended tyre pressure, there is additional fuel consumed by the vehicle. Using Vehicle 1 as an example, with ten percent tyre pressure deviation above the recommended tyre pressure, an additional fuel of 2.72 litres will be incurred for Kumasi/Accra return trip (540km). Similarly, 10.87 litres and 24.46 litres of an additional fuel will be incurred for twenty percent and thirty percent tyre pressure deviation below the recommended tyre pressure for Kumasi/Accra return trip. These will result in additional money spent by the drivers. In all it was seen from the research that any deviation in tyre pressure of vehicles result in an additional fuel consumed by the vehicles. Also, most vehicles in the Kumasi Metropolis have their tyre pressures deviating from the recommended tyre pressures.

Source: KNUST
The effect of type of mother yam and botanical extracts on the performance of the yam minisett

The objective of the study was to investigate various modifications of the minisett techniques including the type of mother yam used, age of mother yam and the effect of leaf extracts of Croton aromaticus and Averrhoea bilimbii on the sprouting of minisetts from the two rotundata yam varieties. In experiment 1, 5% leaf extracts from Croton aromaticus and Averrhoea bilimbii was used to treat minisetts from the anterior, middle and posterior portions of Pona and Laribako. The minisetts were nursed in baskets and on seed bed and were observed for sprouting and rot for six weeks. In a second experiment, different ages of Pona and laribako white yams (ware, milked and regenerated mother yams) were compared with water yam in terms of sprouting capabilities. All the different varieties with the different ages were cut into setts between 80gm - 100gm, treated with insecticide,fungicide and woodash. Air dried overnight, nursed in the seed boxes and watered as and when needed. Data on sprouts or rots were recorded every two weeks. Results from the experiment1 showed that Croton aromaticus and Averrhoa bilimbii leaf extracts influenced sprouting in a varied pattern for the different parts of the varieties used. Sprouting had significant increase, insignificant difference or no response due to rot. In experiment 2, Milked and regenerated mother yams gave higher sprouts than ware mother yams. The regenerated yam compared favourably with the control, D. alata in terms of their sprouting ability. Younger regenerated and milked yams had more buds concentrated on the head, middle and tail regions in that descending order as against the ware yam. In terms of variety there were differences in terms of bud count and sprouting. Laribako and D. alata had the highest number of buds and sprouts more and early than pona. Finally, a partial budget analysis of the improved minisett technology compared to the farmers’ practice showed that, improved minisett technique was more profitable.

Source: KNUST
Effect of value for money audit on public sector accountability: evidence from northern region, Ghana

The study examines the effect of value for money auditing on public sector accountability in selected mmdas (Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Sagnarigu Municipal, Gushegu District Assembly and Karaga District Assembly) in the Northern Region of Ghana. The study adopted a descriptive survey approach with a sample size of 83. Quantitative approached was adopted to analyse the data. The study revealed that value for money auditing induce the use of indicators that enhances accountability to users for quality of service, stimulus pressure from an informed domestic public opinion is needed for public sector reform. Cost should not be more than expected in value for money auditing in the region, cheaper inputs may risk the effectiveness and sustainability of value for money auditing. The study also revealed that respondents agreed that a program should not duplicate, overlap, or conflict other related programs, respondents agreed that it is not enough if an activity is very cheap and runs efficiently, but does not achieve results. Also respondents agreed that there should be adequate assessments of needs, clear objectives and adequate means of implementation, respondents agreed that information that is complete, accurate. The study further revealed that respondents agreed that goals and targets should be stated in writing and publicized, clearly specifying its effects, respondents agreed that poor project planning and management cause inadequate supervision and non compliance with terms and conditions of the contract in the selected mmdas in the Northern Region of Ghana. It thus recommended that to enhance economy value for money auditing and public accountability, regulation of the Public Finance Management Act regulations should be adhered to. It requires that expenditure of goods and services 3 should be controlled against spending and procurement plans approved by the responsible accounting officer. The accounting officer should not authorize payment to be made out of funds earmarked for specific activities for purposes other than those activities.

Source: KNUST
Effect of value for money audit on public sector accountability: evidence from northern region, Ghana

The study examines the effect of value for money auditing on public sector accountability in selected MMDAs (Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Sagnarigu Municipal, Gushegu District Assembly and Karaga District Assembly) in the Northern Region of Ghana. The study adopted a descriptive survey approach with a sample size of 83. Quantitative approached was adopted to analyse the data. The study revealed that value for money auditing induce the use of indicators that enhances accountability to users for quality of service, stimulus pressure from an informed domestic public opinion is needed for public sector reform. Cost should not be more than expected in value for money auditing in the region, cheaper inputs may risk the effectiveness and sustainability of value for money auditing. The study also revealed that respondents agreed that a program should not duplicate, overlap, or conflict other related programs, respondents agreed that it is not enough if an activity is very cheap and runs efficiently, but does not achieve results. Also respondents agreed that there should be adequate assessments of needs, clear objectives and adequate means of implementation, respondents agreed that information that is complete, accurate. The study further revealed that respondents agreed that goals and targets should be stated in writing and publicized, clearly specifying its effects, respondents agreed that poor project planning and management cause inadequate supervision and non-compliance with terms and conditions of the contract in the selected MMDAs in the Northern Region of Ghana. It thus recommended that to enhance economy value for money auditing and public accountability, regulation of the Public Finance Management Act regulations should be adhered to. It requires that expenditure of goods and services should be controlled against spending and procurement plans approved by the responsible accounting officer. The accounting officer should not authorize payment to be made out of funds earmarked for specific activities for purposes other than those activities.

Source: KNUST
Effect of variety and processing methods on the physicochemical and sensory properties of gari in three districts of the Brong Ahafo Region

The effect of variety and processing methods on the physicochemical and sensory properties of gari in three districts of the Brong Ahafo region was studied. The study aimed at investigating the effect of cassava varieties and processing methods on the proximate, functional, physicochemical and sensory properties of gari. Gari was processed from Bankyehemaa, Ampong and Bensre cassava varieties. Each of the varieties was processed using both traditional and modern processing methods to obtain six gari samples. Physicochemical, proximate and functional analyses were conducted on all the six samples, after which sensory evaluation was carried out using a thirty member panel based on ratings on bases of colour, taste, aroma, texture and overall acceptability. The results showed that carbohydrate, protein and moisture content of gari from all the varieties were significantly different (p<0.01). Bankyehemaa had the highest carbohydrate (90.31%) and protein (3.41%) contents. Processing methods did not have any significant impact (p>0.01) in making variation among the functional properties of gari. The hydrocyanic acid level of the varieties was not significantly influenced (p>0.01). However, the interaction of variety and processing methods influenced significantly differences among pH and hydrocyanic acid of gari. Traditionally processed gari had the least cyanide content as compared to gari obtained from modern processing method. Overall acceptability from sensory evaluation showed that Bankyehemaa gari samples processed through both methods were the most preferred, and the traditionally processed Bensre gari was the least preferred. From the results, it was concluded that variations in physicochemical properties were due to both genetic variation and processing methods. Traditionally processed gari is safer for consumption due to low hydrocyanic acid content.

Source: KNUST
The effect of various drying methods on drying characteristics, sensory and nutritional qualities of yam

The effects of three drying methods: open sun drying (OSD), solar drying (SD) and solar adsorption drying system (SADS) on nutritional qualities, drying characteristics and sensory properties of dried yam were investigated. Three cultivars of white yam species (Dioscorea rotundata) and one cultivar water yam (Dioscorea alata) were subjected to various drying methods, i.e. OSD, SD and SADS. Proximate, mineral, vitamin C, water activity, colour and sensory of the processed yams and the fresh samples were analyzed using recommended methods. The initial moisture content of fresh yam cultivars ranged between 60 %-71 %. The initial moisture content did not have any regular relationship with the fresh content of ash, crude protein, and crude fat except carbohydrate, which showed some positive relationship. All the three drying methods significantly reduced the vitamin C content of sample however; there was no significant difference between SD and SADS methods. The reduction in the vitamin C content in OSD was much higher compared to the other two drying methods. Meanwhile, the vitamin C contents in Pona and Dente cultivars were relatively higher than other cultivars. The SADS and SD had similar effect on vitamin C and mineral content due to fact that the time of exposure to SADS was higher than that of the SD, while the OSD had higher effect on the vitamin C. In all the cultivars, the SADS, which is the combination of adsorption and solar drying, removed the free water faster than the SD system, which is only solar drying. However, OSD was less effective in terms of moisture removal compared to SADS and SD methods. Sensory evaluation results showed amala from SDLI had higher acceptability.

Source: KNUST