ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Using PIW as a strategic participatory tool to capture implicit knowledge in organizations.

This paper looks at the challenges that most organizations face in the management of their work environments, with respect to the tools that they can use to effectively capture both the explicit and tacit knowledge held by their employees for subsequent reuse when decisions need to be made. The problem-identification workshop (PIW), which is a participatory tool for enhancing the management of work environment in an organization, was tested in an organization. Participants identified organizational problems, proposed solutions to them, realistically assessed the desirability and possibility of these solutions, and finally recommended action plans to the organization for its short-term, intermediate and long-term design and management of effective work environment towards enhancing work life and productivity in the organization. It was concluded that PIW is a good socio-pedagogic method that can be used as an intelligent participatory intervention tool by managers in organizations in the management of their work environments.

Source: UG
Using Relative Preference mapping (RPM) to identify innovative flavours for 3-blend plant-based milk alternatives in different test locations

The methods available to identify innovations in flavour can be limiting and sometimes long and expensive. Relative Preference Mapping (RPM) was developed as a quick and easy way to identify innovations in wine flavour at wine show consumer day events. There is no report on the use of the RPM method with other non-wine products, neither is there a report on using RPM in a laboratory setting. This study compared the results for consumer preferences for plant-based milk alternatives using RPM methodology carried out in a typical laboratory-based CLT setting and a social setting. In both test locations, ninety (90) regular consumers of plantbased milk alternatives completed the test. The aim was to determine if innovative new flavours of plant-based milk alternatives can be identified from within a set of laboratory-formulated prototypes of three-blend plantbased milk alternatives. In this study, commercially available dairy milk, which was sweetened in the laboratory was used as the reference product. A popular plant-based milk alternative was included in the product test set to provide an internal reference for the laboratory formulated prototypes. From the study, the RPM method was able to highlight an area of innovation where two of the 3-blend prototypes were loaded together with the commercial plant-based milk alternative in the 2D consensus map generated from Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA). When the liking scores from the T-map scale axis in the social and laboratory settings were compared using ANOVA, the liking scores were higher in the social setting than in the laboratory setting. This observation, however, did not change interpretations about flavour innovations highlighted in the 2D map. The RPM method was consistent in highlighting the same products as innovations when used in both test locations. The findings support the use of RPM as a useful tool to determine innovative product flavours and can be used consistently in two different test locations.

Source: UG
Using serial haemorheological parameters to assess clinical status in sickle cell anaemia patients in vaso-occlussive crisis

In a prospective study using standard methods, haemorheological parameters were assessed in 10 sickle cell anaemia patients in pain crises. Patients were investigated for possible changes in determinants of rheology in the course of painful episodes: blood samples were taken for plasma fibrinogen concentration (PFC); plasma viscosity (PV); haematocrit (Hct), whole blood viscosity (WBV) and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) using standard methods. Samples were collected on presentation to the emergency unit and daily for 4 consecutive days. Whole blood viscosity and plasma fibrinogen concentration were significantly higher at onset of crises when compared with baseline values (p<0.01 and p<0.0001), respectively. Plasma fibrinogen and blood viscosity peaked within 24 h of onset of crisis and started declining 48-72 h later. These parameters approached baseline values by the 4th day of painful crisis.There was no significant change in the haematocrit and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate during the period of painful crisis despite change in whole blood viscosity and fibrinogen. In conclusion, this study showed elevated haemorheological parameters in sickle cell anaemia patients in VOC, it also demonstrated an acute rise in these parameters at onset of crisis and a return to almost baseline levels within 96 h of onset of painful episodes.

Source: UG
Using Social Marketing to Demystify the Myths Surrounding Covid-19 Vaccination: The Mediating Role of Important Others

Background: The misconceptions and conspiracy theories against the Covid-19 vaccines have been identified as potential factors that could negatively impact herd immunity for COVID-19. vaccination. Focus of the article: From the perspectives of the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior: the study sought to determine an effective social marketing intervention to address the misconceptions about the Covid-19 vaccines. Research Hypotheses: The hypotheses stipulate that perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefit, and perceived barriers of the coronavirus will positively influence COVID-19 vaccination behavior. The study further hypothesized that subjective norms (important others) would significantly mediate the relationships. Methods: Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 821 individuals from three administrative regions, which constitutes 65% of the population of Ghana. The quota and convenience sampling technique was used in selecting the respondents due to the lack of a sampling frame. Results: The study’s findings show that only perceived susceptibility and the perceived barrier directly influence COVID-19 vaccination behavior. The result, however, shows a significant improvement when important others were introduced as a mediating variable. Thus, all four constructs had a positive and significant influence on Covid-19 vaccination behavior through subjective norm (important others) as an intervening variable. The study shows the value of usingopinion leaders as a communication channel in addressing misperceptions and conspiracy theories against the Covid-19 vaccines. Recommendation for Research and Practice: To effectively address the misconceptions about To improve herd immunity and the COVID-19 vaccines, social marketers should identify key influencers in various communities and cities and use them to promote the vaccination program. The study examined and found subjective norms (perceived social pressure from important others in society on an individual to perform or not to perform a behavior) as a significant mediator for promoting COVID-19 vaccination behavior. Limitations: The current study examined the mediating role of subjective norm and the HBMs’ constructs. Future studies could also consider integrating subjective norm as a mediator in other behavioral change theories to predict the target audience’s behavior.

Source: UG
Using Structural Equation Modelling to Examine Predictors of Teachers’ Work Engagement in Ghana

The role and engagement of teachers has been an issue of interest to educational researchers in Ghana lately following the abysmal performance of Ghanaian students in national examinations. This is based on the assumption that the more teachers are actively engaged with teaching and learning environment, the better the performance of students. The purpose of the study was to examine the causal relationship between teachers emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, professional identity, and work engagement. And to achieve this purpose, a questionnaire consisting of four scales was administered to 260 teachers selected from the Adentan Municipal in the Greater Accra Region. Exploratory Factor Analysis, Structural Equation Modelling, and univariate statistical analyses were employed to analyse the data. Results of the analyses established that job satisfaction mediated the relationship between teachers’ emotional intelligence and work engagement. The findings also revealed that emotional intelligence positively affected professional identity directly and indirectly through job satisfaction. It was revealed that female teachers exhibited more professional identity and were more satisfied than their male counterparts. The study concluded with the recommendation that for Ghanaian teachers to be actively engaged with their job, they should be provided with the opportunity to develop and improve their emotional intelligence. It was also recommended that a module on emotional intelligence be included in the curriculum for training pre-service teachers.

Source: UG
Using systemic structural activity approach in identifying strategies enhancing human performance in mining production drilling activity

This article seeks to identify performance-enhancing strategies that could be used to improve and optimise human-technology collaboration in rock drilling 'activity' in deep mines. Results from the analysis of miners' motor actions during rock drilling activity showed that by using procedurally driven strategies, they were able to perform simultaneously two specific tasks that required high levels of concentration and visual control in the normal visual field available to them from inside the protective cabin of the high-technology equipment they were using. The miners simultaneously combine their mental actions and motor actions in recognising and remedying the constraining effects of unfamiliar stimuli during the rock drilling task. It is concluded that the functional efficiency and effectiveness of rock drilling as well as the miner's productive performance in future automated and digitised deep mines could be enhanced by identifying the procedural characteristics of their performance-enhancing actions and operational strategies. © 2014 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Source: UG
Using systemic structural activity approach in identifying strategies enhancing human performance in mining production drilling activity.

This article seeks to identify performance-enhancing strategies that could be used to improve and optimise human–technology collaboration in rock drilling ‘activity’ in deep mines. Results from the analysis of miners’ motor actions during rock drilling activity showed that by using procedurally driven strategies, they were able to perform simultaneously two specific tasks that required high levels of concentration and visual control in the normal visual field available to them from inside the protective cabin of the high-technology equipment they were using. The miners simultaneously combine their mental actions and motor actions in recognising and remedying the constraining effects of unfamiliar stimuli during the rock drilling task. It is concluded that the functional efficiency and effectiveness of rock drilling as well as the miner’s productive performance in future automated and digitised deep mines could be enhanced by identifying the procedural characteristics of their performance-enhancing actions and operational strategies.

Source: UG
Using Technology to Enhance Students’ Understanding of Selected Science Concepts in Integrated Science

Momentum and Direct Current are fundamental concepts in science, necessary for understanding a variety of phenomena of importance such as work, energy (i.e. potential and kinetic), impulse, power, pressure and force among others. However, investigations conducted among science students in linear momentum and direct current in other countries indicated that the difference between what is taught and what is learnt in science classes is much greater than what most instructors perceived. This is because findings from these studies showed that students have difficulties in understanding linear momentum and direct current. Over the years, this same issues have been raised by the Integrated Science Chief Examiners’ reports at the Colleges of Education level in Ghana. This ongoing study intends to use technology through a three-stage design-based research approach to see if technology could help bring about students' understanding in these two concepts

Source: UG
Using the integration of human resource management strategies at district level to improve workforce performance: analysis of workplan designs in three African countries

Background There is a worldwide shortage of health workers against WHO recommended stafng levels to achieve Universal Health Coverage. To improve the performance of the existing health workforce a set of integrated human resources (HR) strategies are needed to address the root causes of these shortages. The PERFORM2Scale project uses an action research approach to support district level management teams to develop appropriate workplans to address service delivery and workforce-related problems using a set of integrated human resources strategies. This paper provides evidence of the feasibility of supporting managers at district level to design appropriate integrated workplans to address these problems. Methods The study used content analysis of documents including problem trees and 43 workplans developed by 28 district health management teams (DHMT) across three countries between 2018 and 2021 to identify how appropri ate basic planning principles and the use of integrated human resource and health systems strategies were used in the design of the workplans developed. Four categories of HR strategies were used for the analysis (availability, direction, competencies, rewards and sanctions) and the relationship between HR and wider health systems strate gies was also examined. Results About half (49%) of the DHMTs selected service-delivery problems while others selected workforce perfor mance (46%) or general management (5%) problems, yet all workplans addressed health workforce-related causes through integrated workplans. Most DHMTs used a combination of strategies for improving direction and com petencies. The use of strategies to improve availability and the use of rewards and sanctions was more common amongst DHMTs in Ghana; this may be related to availability of decision-space in these areas. Other planning considerations such as link between problem and strategy, inclusion of gender and use of indicators were evident in the design of the workplans. Conclusions The study has demonstrated that, with appropriate support using an action research approach, DHMTs are able to design workplans which include integrated HR strategies. This process will help districts to address work-force and other service delivery problems as well as improving ‘health workforce literacy’ of DHMT members which will benefit the country more broadly if and when any of the team members is promoted.

Source: UG
Using the paired comparison methodology to assess environmental values in the coastal zone of Ghana

Like many developing countries, Ghana is grappling with environmental issues, such as the degradation of coastal natural resources. In an attempt to ameliorate the current state of affairs, broad institutional arrangements and policy interventions have been put in place. However coastal natural resources are still being overexploited and the effects of this are felt more strongly by certain groups (such as women and the rural poor) than others. This has led to the argument pointing to an urgent need to include local resource users as active participants in environmental decision making and to incorporate their environmental values in the management of coastal natural resources. Using empirical data from women in two Ghanaian coastal communities, this paper highlights the importance of exploring how the environmental attitudes and values of women might be considered in the management of local coastal natural resources. It assesses effectiveness of the paired comparison methodology in this respects and how this method can be also used to prioritise their environmental concerns. The results show that in both areas respondents place the greatest importance on the coastal natural resources as sources of wealth creation and of food, values which are often described as being “anthropocentric”. The paper thus argues that having discovered that the ecological value placed on natural resources is low, initiatives that could win the support of people would be those that link the livelihood and wellbeing to coastal NRM. It emphasizes the fact that conservation cannot exist outside of people and social systems; nor will it succeed unless they are linked to the welfare of resource users.

Source: UG
Using the Sakai Learning Management System to change the way Distance Education nursing students learn: are we getting it right?

The popularity of LMSs tools and the different levels of interaction they offer have influenced learning. Interest in the use of technology among nursing students has risen and the need to find out how nursing students use Learning Management Systems to learn has become more critical now in developing countries and universities. Whilst LMSs initial focus had been on the administration of learning, there is the recent interest in how these LMS tools effectually result in learning and student satisfaction. The aim of the study was to explore whether students using LMSs such as Sakai to learn differently as they interact with their course content, their instructors and peers. Collaborative and communicative tools such as Wikis, Blogs and charts were not used intensively. The study found that students were not interacting effectively with their tutors. The lack of social presence has led to the use WhatsApp and Telegram by student groups as opportunities to enhance social presence. The findings suggest that effective use of Sakai CLE collaborative and communication tools can enhance interaction between students and content, instructors and students and among students and their overall learning.

Source: UG
Using Theory in Social Marketing to Predict Waste Disposal Behaviour among Households in Ghana

The study sought to examine how a behavioral change theory (theory of planned behavior) could be used in social marketing to predict households’ waste disposal behavior in Ghana. A quantitative approach using self-administered questionnaires was used for this study. Empirical data was drawn from 343 respondents in the Greater Accra Region. Structural Equation Modelling was used to analyze the hypothesized paths/relationships. The study found that attitude was the strongest predictor of behavior, followed by subjective norm and then intention. In relation to waste disposal behavior, this paper provides evidence for issues of potential research and managerial interest. Practically, the study findings will help social marketing implementers and policy-makers to develop effective waste disposal intervention programs using variables that are applicable in our context. This study appears to be the first to systematically and quantitatively apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in social marketing to investigate waste disposal behavior in an emerging economy context, thus providing empirical evidence for academics, practitioners and public service practises.

Source: UG
Using weather forecasts to help manage meningitis in the West African Sahel

Understanding and acting on the link between weather and meningitis in the Sahel could help improve vaccinedistribution and save lives. People living there know that meningitis epidemics occur in the dry season and end after thestart of the rainy season. Integrating and analyzing newly available epidemiological and meteorological data quantifiedthis relationship, showing that that the risk of meningitis epidemics climbed from a background level of 2% to amaximum risk of 25% during the dry season. These data also suggested that, of all meteorological variables, relativehumidity has the strongest correlation to cases of meningitis.Weather acts alongside a complex set of environmental, social, and economic drivers, and a complementaryinvestigation of local and regional knowledge, attitudes, and practices suggested several additional interventions tomanage meningitis. These include improved awareness of early meningitis symptoms and vaccinations for farmworkerswho migrate seasonally. An economic survey showed that the cost of a single case of meningitis is 3 times the averageannual household income, underscoring the need for improved vaccination strategy.Using these insights, meteorologists and public health workers developed a tool to guide vaccination decisions. Iterativedevelopment allowed a multinational team of public health officials to use the tool while guiding its refinement anddirected research toward maximum practical use. That meant focusing on predicting areas where high humidity wouldnaturally end epidemics so vaccines could be moved elsewhere. Using this tool and this approach could have preventedan estimated 24,000 cases of meningitis over a 3-yr period. © 2015 American Meteorological Society.

Source: UG
Uterine Tonus Assessment by Midwives versus Patient self-assessment in the active management of the third stage of labor (UTAMP): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

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
Utilisation of health services in the Obuasi municipauty

This study examined the utilisation of health services in the Obuasi Municipality. Drawing on Kroeger's (1983) health behavioural model, it specifically examined the incidence of major diseases and people's perception about disease causation. The study also assessed the kinds of health facilities often utilised by different socio-economic groups and factors influencing the use of these health facilities in the Obuasi Municipality. Lastly, the modes through which people in the study area finance their health care were also examined. A multi-stage cluster sampling method was used in selecting 210 respondents for a household survey whiles a purposive sampling technique was used to select interviewees. The study reports that malaria is the most prevalent disease among diseases reported by the respondents. Respondents gave much credence to the natural aetiological model and the germ theory of disease causation. The study showed higher utilisation of hospitals and health clinics than health centres and traditional health centres. The proximity of health facilities, quality of health services rendered, adequacy of equipment and personnel, social accessibility were some of the factors that influence utilisation of specific health facilities in the Obuasi Municipality. The study concludes that there is a direct positive link between perceived morbidity, illness response, access to and use of health care services, as reported by Kroeger (1983). The study therefore recommends provision of mobile or outreach clinical services to dispersed rural communities, which do not have the threshold population to merit Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS)

Source: UG