ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Graduate Students’ Preferences in Technology Usage in Student-Faculty Interactions at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Technology has had a major impact in education especially in the context of tertiary education. Such impact has manifested more in the advanced world compared to the developing world. This indicates that digital technologies undoubtedly have the potential to enhance traditional classroom teaching. Unfortunately, the exact nature of their contributions to educational achievement are highly debated and understudied in the African context. The impact of various uses of technology in tertiary African education needs to be well understood. This study therefore aimed at exploring graduate students’ perception regarding the use of technology in facilitating student-faculty interaction and its impact on learning experiences and outcomes at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana. The study had graduate students from EVT 852- Curriculum Development in Vocational and Technical Education, and SOC 803-Special Problems in Theory Building classes as its population. These courses were purposively chosen to be studied. All the twenty-three students in the two classes participated in the study. The qualitative research design informed the orientation of the study. In-depth interviews were conducted. The deductive and inductive thematic analytical approach informed the discussion of the qualitative data elicited via the interviews. The study found out that the participants were satisfied with the face-to-face and online technology-based forms of interaction for pedagogical and post-lecture communication purposes respectively. It is therefore recommended, among others, that more emphasis should be placed on technological use in education because it has the capability to enhance the learning experiences and outcomes of graduate students.

Source: UCC
Grammatical cohesion in teacher trainees’ argument essay: A Linguistics analysis of argument essay of a Private College of Education in Ghana

This study examines grammatical cohesion in teacher trainees’ argument essay. Twenty scripts of teacher trainees’ argument essay were purposely selected from a total of hundred essays which were assessed by two inter-raters and used as data for the study. The study basically applied a qualitative method of analysis to the data. The theoretical framework that underpins the study is Halliday and Hasan’s (1976) influential theory of cohesion in English. Three major findings were made. First, teacher trainees frequently use reference and conjunctions to achieve coherence in their argument essay. Second, a good quality essay cannot be judged on the number of cohesive markers present, linguistic features such as grammatical rules of concord and verb tense are equally important. The study further showed that the least used cohesive devices are substitution and ellipsis. The findings of this study have implications for pedagogy and further research

Source: UCC
Grammatical Metaphor in Academic Writing: Functional Diversity of Process Nominalisation in Research Article Abstracts Across Disciplines

In the past few decades, studies on research article (RA) abstracts have, largely, focused on their rhetorical organisation, with little attention paid to their linguistic features. The present study, therefore, investigates the use of process nominalisations as grammatical metaphor in Applied Linguistics, Economics, and Biology RA abstracts. Data for the study comprised 120 RA abstracts, 40 from each of the selected disciplines, published in a period of five years (2014-2018), and collected from the websites of six prestigious journals, two each from the disciplines investigated. Employing qualitative content analysis, specifically the directed and summative approaches, as its research design, the study revealed that, in Applied Linguistics and Economics, nominalised creative material processes have presumed human actors, suggesting that in these two disciplines, coming into existence is explained as happening through human agency. This contrasts with the use of such nominalisations in Biology, where creation is seen as happening as a result of some natural processes. Another interesting finding is the high use of nominalised verbal processes in Applied Linguistics, compared to the other disciplines studied. Concerning the functions of process nominalisations, the study revealed that process nominalisations are used, ideationally, to create taxonomy, interpersonally, to appraise, and, textually, to achieve cohesion. While the study provides empirical support to SFL theory, it also has implications for studies on nominalisation, disciplinary variation studies, and writing pedagogy.

Source: UCC
GRANULAR CELL TUMOUR OF THE LARYNX – A CASE REPORT

Granular cell tumours (GCTs) are benign tumours rarely found in the larynx even though they are common in the head and neck region. The laryngeal tumour may be asymptomatic but typically patients present with hoarseness of voice, stridor, haemoptysis and dysphagia. The lesion can mimic squamous cell thus deep biopsy must be taken with adjacent normal tissue to confirm this pathology. Immunohistochemical staining is also used. Complete surgical resection of this tumour is the treatment of choice. We present a 25year old woman with a laryngeal granular cell tumour involving the right vocal cord diagnosed after direct laryngoscopy and biopsy. She was treated by right cordectomy via a laryngofissure approach. We present the case due to the rarity of the laryngeal granular cell tumour and the need to highlight the importance of taking deep biopsies. If biopsies are superficial, an inexperienced pathologist would mistake it for well differentiated carcinoma.

Source: UCC
A Graph-Theoretic Model of Haemoglobin Domain

In this work, we built a graph-theoretic model of the haemoglobin protein domain and subsequently examine the impact of single point mutations in the entire protein domain to ascertain how significantly the severe and mild mutations are from the wildtype mutation. We computed graph centralities measures and examined the impact of single point mutations in the β-chain of the haemoglobin by comparing the wildtype structure with six most common mutations in the domain. We visualized the impact of the virtual single point mutations by use of dendrogram. Our results showed that the severe mutation (E6V) is significantly different from the wild and mild mutations.

Source: UCC
Greater Expansion of IFN-− CD4+ NKT Cells in HIV-1 Compared with HIV-2-Infected Subjects with Preserved CD4+ T Cell Counts

Context: Human Natural Killer T cells are T lymphocytes that express an invariant  T cells receptors and NK cells receptors. They regulate innate and adaptive immune response but are susceptible to HIV-1 infection. Objective: We compare the frequency and the activity of NKT cells in HIV-1 and HIV-2 infected individuals with CD4+ counts greater than 500/mm3 using flow cytometry after overnight stimulation with phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Results: The frequency of NKT cells was similar between both groups and also to sero-negative control subjects. There were also no significant differences in the proportions of total NKT cells and the CD4+ NKT subset that secreted interferon gamma (IFN-) after polyclonal stimulation. However, there was a significantly higher frequency of IFN-- CD4+ NKT cells in HIV-1-infected compared with HIV-2 infected subjects (p = 0.043). Conclusion: These data suggest there is no relationship between the functional activity of NKT cell subsets and the total NKT cell population in HIV infection. The expansion of IFN-- CD4+ NKT cells in HIV-1 infection may serve as target for viral infection and may eventually result in their depletion during chronic infection.

Source: UCC
Greatness in matthew 20:20-34: implications for leadership in christian communities

This study examined Matthew 20:20-34. The visit of the mother of Zebedee’s children and her two sons to Jesus in search for the greatest position (the right and left seat) in Christ’s kingdom set the tone for the research. Their request for the highest position prompted Jesus to question their commitment to what they were asking for. The response of the two to his question and the reaction of the other ten disciples after hearing of the visit of the two sons of Zebedee, gave Jesus the opportunity to teach them some lessons on greatness. The exegetical method was employed in this study and the narrative critical reading was employed to study the text. The research came out with some findings. Firstly, that sacrifice and commitment alone are not enough for qualifying one for the greatest position in the kingdom. Secondly, the concept of servants and slaves put forward as a metaphor for leaders preferred by Christ to other leadership styles practiced in Jesus’ context. Jesus’ lesson to his disciples who wanted to attain greatness in leadership was that they should not emulate the example that is short of what he explained in this text. ©University of Cape Coast Digitized

Source: UCC
Green Accounting Disclosures and Performance of Listed Manufacturing Firms in Ghana

The main objective of the study was to examine empirically the green accounting disclosures and performance of listed manufacturing firms in Ghana. Its specific objectives were to determine the firms size and performance of listed manufacturing firms in Ghana; to assess the profitability of the organization and performance of listed manufacturing firms in Ghana; to determine the leverage and performance of listed manufacturing firms in Ghana and to assess the total sales of the organization and performance of listed manufacturing firms in Ghana. The study used five (5) manufacturing firms for the analysis. The study adopted descriptive survey design and quantitative research approach. Based on the findings shows positive and statistically significant relationship between firm size and performance of the manufacturing companies in Ghana. This implies that the higher the firm size the more profitable firms become. Listed manufacturing companies with higher firm size have high profitability. The study recommends that the manufacturing firms should increase in the amount of money spent on the environment. Secondly, it is advised that there should be measurement of the impact of organization activities on the environment to enable the government formulate policies and programmes to regulate the activities of the organization which may have effect on the environment. Thirdly, the financial statements of the manufacturing firms should also be published to keep the general public and the government agencies to be abreast with the happenings in their environment. Finally, intensive education initiative should be undertaken to stimulate environmental awareness.

Source: UCC
Green Marketing Orientation and Sustainability Performance of Hospitality Firms in Ghana: The Role of Management Support

This study examined the effect that top-level management had on the relationship between hospitality businesses in Ghana's central region and their sustainability performance. This study examined how a focus on green marketing and backing from management affected sustainability performance, drawing on the work of upper echelon theory and the notion of the firm as a system's natural resource base. The research questions were tested using four hypotheses. This study used a quantitative method and an explanatory research design to gather primary data from 197 hotel managers in the Central area of Ghana selected using a simple random selection strategy and given a structured questionnaire. SmartPLS 3 and IBM SPSS Statistics version 26 were then used to evaluate the data. After gathering the data, we used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse it and test our hypotheses. The study's results stress the value of green marketing techniques and the dedication of hotel management in raising the industry's bar for environmental responsibility. When hotels in Ghana's central region received the most support from upper-level management, they performed best on sustainability metrics. To improve sustainability performance and inspire hotel tactical managers to use green marketing practises, the study found that policymakers, practitioners, and management should keep or strengthen their green marketing orientation.

Source: UCC
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ferric Luvisols under Nitrogen Fertilization in Northern Ghana

Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are two important greenhouse gas that contribute to global warming. Farmers in Northern Ghana rely on mineral fertilizers mainly sulphate of ammonia, urea and NPK compound fertilizers to boost crop production due to low soil fertility. A study was conducted on Ferric Luvisols in Akukayilli in the Tolon District of the Northern Region of Ghana to assess the influence of physic-chemical properties and environmental factors (soil temperature and soil moisture characteristics) on CO2, N2O, NO NO2 emissions. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Two nitrogenous fertilizer sources, sulphate of ammonia and urea at two rates of 60 and 120 kg N ha-1 y-1 and NPK (60-40-40) were used. Maize was the test crop, using the variety omankwa. The fate of excess N fertilizer in the soils were determined by 15N procedures. Application of NPK 60-40-40, sulphate of ammonia 60 and urea 60 kg ha-1 y-1 produced substantial maize yield with minimum production of CO2 and N2O. A nitrous oxide emission factor (EF) of 0.15 % has been established for the Northern savanna zone of Ghana. A large substrate availability (120 kg N ha-1 y-1) was found to contribute to the high emission of greenhouse gases, however, the levels of the greenhouse gases observed in this study are below the threshold that will lead to global warming. Observed 815N values of N2O proved that the application of the compound fertilizer NPK fixed higher nitrogen in the soil than sulphate of ammonia and urea. Water filled pore spaces directly correlated with increase in emission of N gases. It is recommended that the emission factor be assessed for soils of other agro-climatic zone.

Source: UCC
Greenhouse gaseous emission and energy analysis in rice production systems in Ghana

Agriculture in Africa is associated with low food production. The attempt to increase food productivity has the potential to generate some environmental concerns such as greenhouse emissions and energy impacts. The environmental impact of the rice production in the tropics, especially Africa, has not received much attention from the research community. Therefore, analysing the environmental performance of rice (Oryza sativa) production in Ghana provides an effective first step to develop, implement and improve its environmental management. The objective of this study was to assess greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy impacts of rice production in Ghana. Among the three main components of greenhouse gases (GHGs), N2O accounted for the highest value, followed by CO2. Approximately, 477 kg CO2-equivalents of greenhouse gas was emitted per hectare of rice production. Among the activities that generated greenhouse gases, fertiliser application ranked first (72%), with transportation to mills as the second with a relative emission of 10%. Fertiliser application and transportation were the major contributors to SO2 emission. Energy used (mainly from diesel usage) in rice production amounted to 0.2 MJ per hectare. With regards to options to reduce environmental impact of rice production in Ghana, practices that recover investment cost and generate a profit in the short term are preferred by rice farmers over practices that require a long-term to recover investment costs. Practices that have a high probability associated with expected profits are desired over practices that have less certainty about their returns

Source: UCC
Green’s function studies of phonon transport across Si/Ge superlattices

Understanding and manipulating coherent phonon transport in solids is of interest both for enhancing the fundamental understanding of thermal transport as well as for many practical applications, including thermoelectrics. In this study, we investigate phonon transmission across Si/Ge superlattices using the Green’s function method with first-principles force constants derived from ab initio density functional theory. By keeping the period thickness fixed while changing the number of periods, we show that interface roughness partially destroys coherent phonon transport, especially at high temperatures. The competition between the low-frequency coherent modes and high-frequency incoherent modes leads to an optimum period length for minimum thermal conductivity. To destroy coherence of the low-frequency modes, scattering length scale on the order of period length is required. This finding is useful to guide the design of superlattices to reach even lower thermal conductivity

Source: UCC
Greywater characteristics, treatment systems, reuse strategies and user perception—a Review

This paper resents a literature review of the quality of greywater generated in different, especially developing, countries, constituents found in greywater, some treatment systems, natural materials for treatment, some reuse strategies and public perception regarding greywater reuse. The review shows that generation rates are mostly influenced by lifestyle, types of fixtures used and climatic conditions. Contaminants found in greywater are largely associated with the type of detergent used and influenced by other household practices. Many of the treatment systems reviewed were unable to provide total treatment as each system has its unique strength in removing a group of targeted pollutants. The review revealed that some naturally occurring materials such as Moringa oleifera, sawdust, can be used to remove targeted pollutants in greywater. The study further showed that user perceptions towards greywater treatment and reuse were only favourable towards nonpotable purposes, mostly due to perceived contamination or lack of trust in the level of treatment offered by the treatment system

Source: UCC
Greywater characterization and generation rates in a peri urban municipality of a developing country

The quantity and quality of combined greywater from houses with in-house water supply and houses that rely on external sources of a peri-urban area in a developing country were determined. Data for quantity of greywater was collected from 36 households while 180 samples of greywater were collected from 60 households between December 2016 and February 2017. The results indicate that, average water consumption from households with in-house access was 82.51± 12.21 Lc 1 d 1 while households which rely on external sources was 36.64 ± 4.31 Lc 1 d 1 with return factors of 74.16% and 88.57% respectively. Quality analysis also showed significant differences between greywater from the two sources with most of the quality parameters exceeding the regulatory limit. The ratio between biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) ranged between 0.22 and 0.59 for greywater from in-house sources and 0.23e0.62 for external sources indicating low biodegradability of the greywater. The nutrients recorded exceeded the trigger levels for eutrophication while signifcant levels of microorganisms such as E. Coliand Salmonella spp. were also detected in both streams. Direct reuse of greywater for irrigation was found to be unsuitable based on the salinity and sodium hazard analysis. Principal component analysis of the data indicated that the characteristics of the combined greywater in the study area is infuenced by cooking and cleaning practices, personal hygiene, biodegradability, frequency of water use before disposal and sanitary practices in the bathroom. The greywater discharged is detrimental to the environment and poses a health risk to humans and livestock. There is therefore the need for authorities involved to prioritize greywater management and treatment in peri-urban areas of developing countries

Source: UCC
Grievance handling procedures and employee performance: A case of Jayee University College

This study assessed grievance handling procedures and employee performance with a specific focus on Jayee University College. To achieve this objective, the study identified the styles used at the university in handling employee grievances, explored employees’ perceptions about the way their grievances are handled, discovered factors which hinder effective management of employees’ grievances and found out what should be done to effectively manage employees’ grievances. In terms of research design and methodology, the study adopted a qualitative research design and gathered data through interviews. The population of the study included 22 staff of Jayee University College. Data were collected and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The study found that majority of supervisors used integrating approach in trying to solve their employees’ grievances, whereas few supervisors used intimidating style of managing employee grievances. This study found that lack of human resources management skills, bureaucratic procedures and unequal relationship between supervisors and employees were the major hindrances to effective management of employee grievance at Jayee University College. The study concluded that there should be improved communication, enforcement of rules and regulations and improvement of employee punctuality through disciplinary procedures.

Source: UCC
Ground state energy of a polaron in a superlattice

The ground state energy of a polaron in a superlattice was calculated using the double-time Green functions. The effective mass of the polaron along the lanes perpendicular to the superlattice axis was also calculated. The dependence of the ground state energy and the effective mass along the lanes erpendicular to the superlattice axis on the electron–phonon coupling constant α and on the superlattice parameters (i.e. the superlattice period d and the and width 1) were studied. It was observed that if an infinite square-well potential is assumed, the ground state energy of the polaron decreases (i.e. becomes more negative) with increasing α and d, ut increases with increasing 1. For small values of α, the polaron ground state energy varies slowly with 1, becoming approximately constant for large 1. The effective mass along the lanes perpendicular to the superlattice axis was found to the approximately equal to the mass of an electron for all typical values of α, d and 1

Source: UCC
Groundnut oil improves tenderness, juiciness and consistency of beef sausages

This study was conducted to determine the effects of crude groundnut 011 (GO) on the storability and sensory characteristics of comminuted beef sausages. Boneless beef was thoroughly trimmed of all visible fatty and connective tissues, minced and freshly prepared GO was added during comminution to formulate sausages at three levels (5%, 10% and 15%) of 011 Inclusion, and compared with products formulated with only lean beef. Sensory and laboratory analyses were conducted weekly for 3 weeks. The results Indicated that the GO products were more tender, Juicier and smoother than sausages formulated with only lean beef. The GOproducts had Intense groundnut flavour, no effect on flavour liking but enhanced product acceptability. In addition, the GO Increased the unsaturated fatty acid content of the products, had no significant effect on lipid per-oxldatlon and product stability in storage. It is recommended that groundnut 011 Is used In beef sausages up to 15% inclusion, on weight basis for Improved sensory and acceptability of the products

Source: UCC