ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Can we have a general theory of financial innovation processes? A conceptual review

Introduction: Since the financial crisis of 2008, the theory of financial innovation has been a focus at a time of re-evaluation and re-conceptualization. However, little has been done to evaluate the current state of research considering the increasing complexity of financial innovation. This paper examines the hypothesis of a general theory that encompasses increasing complexities in the financial innovation process. Methods: The paper begins with an overview of the definitions, the features, and the classification schemes of financial innovation. Additionally, the paper reviews the existing literature on the main objects of study in financial innovation and groups the findings under four main concepts. A conceptual analysis is presented that evaluates current approaches to the study of the financial innovation process and the difficulties inherent in constructing a single general theory. The paper proposes a framework based on a meta-theory of financial innovation as a better approach to understanding the inherent complexities and diversities affecting financial innovations. Discussion: (1) Financial innovations present diversities and complexities that make it infeasible to build a unifying general theory to explain their development. (2) The current state of research on financial innovation theories is limited and requires additional input. (3) A meta-theory that identifies, classifies, and connects theories of development for financial innovations is better suited to explaining the complexity of financial innovation processes. © 2018, The Author(s).

Source: UCC
Cancer and non-cancer health risk from eating cassava grown in some mining communities in Ghana

Food crops such as cassava, cocoyam and other tuber crops grown in mining communities uptake toxic or hazardous chemicals such as arsenic, and cadmium, from the soil. Cassava is a stable food for communities in Ghana such as Bogoso, Prestea, Tarkwa and Tamso, which are important mining towns in the Western Region of Ghana. The study evaluated cancer and non-cancer health effects from eating cassava grown in the study areas in accordance with US Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Assessment guidelines. The results of the study revealed the following: cancer health risk for Tamso, 0.098 (RME Reasonable Maximum Exposure) and 0.082 (CTE Central Tendency Exposure). This means that approximately 10 and 8 out of 100 resident adults are likely to suffer from cancer related cases by RME and CTE parameters respectively. For Prestea, we have 0.010 and 0.12, which also means that approximately 1 out of 100 and 10 resident adults out of 100 are also likely to suffer from cancer related diseases by RME and CTE parameters. The results of the study obtained were found to be above the acceptable cancer risk range of 1×10−6 to 1×10−4, i.e., 1 case of cancer out of 1 million or 100,000 people respectively

Source: UCC
Cancer and non-cancer risk assessment from exposure to arsenic, copper, and cadmium in borehole, tap, and surface water in the Obuasi municipality, Ghana

Cancer and non-cancer risk assessment from exposure to As, Cd, and Cu by resident adults and children from different water sources in Obuasi Municipality, Ghana, were measured in this study in accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) Human Health Risk Assessment guidelines. The results of cancer health risk for resident adults in Obuasi exposed to As in their tap water for both Central Tendency Exposure (CTE) and Reasonable Maximum Exposure (RME) parameters, respectively, are 6.6 × 10-4 and 5.5 × 10-6. For resident children in Odumasi, we obtained 4.7 × 10-1 (CTE) and 6.7 × 10-1 (RME). The results of the study obtained in most cases were found to exceed the USEPA’s acceptable cancer risk range of 1 × 10-6 to 1 × 10-4 (i.e., 1 case of cancer out of 1,000,000 people to 1 case of cancer out of 10,000 people). Similarly, the results of the non-cancer human health risk for both resident adults and children were also found in most cases to be greater than the USEPA’s acceptable non-cancer human health hazard index of 1

Source: UCC
Cancer pain assessment and management in ambulatory patients at a tertiary hospital in Ghana

Background: Adequate cancer pain assessment using valid and reliable pain assessment tools is essential for effective cancer pain management. This study evaluated the common types, effectiveness as well as adherence to prescribed analgesics in oncology outpatients in a tertiary oncology centre in Ghana. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study involved 204 oncology outpatients with different confirmed cancer diagnosis attending clinic at the Oncology Directorate of a Tertiary Hospital in Ghana. The research instruments used were the medical folders of patients, a hospital-based electronic drug database system; hospital administration management systems (HAMS) and the Brief Pain Inventory Long-Form (BPI-LF). Results: More than half (63.7%) of the participants reported moderate pain, 37.8% received opioid analgesics: 31.4% strong opioids and 6.4% weak opioids. Less than one-fourth (21.6%) had complete pain relief and 18.1% felt they needed a stronger pain medication. A little more than one-fourth (28.4%) of participants took their pain medications 1-2 times per day. Almost half (45.6%) of participants did not experience side effects from taking pain medications and 27.9% needed more information about their pain medications. Conclusions: Enhancing effective cancer symptom management approaches in healthcare practitioners and incorporating existing knowledge and guidelines on cancer pain management into routine clinical practice should be done to enhance efficient pain relief.

Source: UCC
The Capabilities of Ultrasound Diagnosis in Assessment of Gastric Carcinoma of Different Localization and Stage

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic possibilities of transabdominal ultrasonography for various localizations of gastric carcinoma (GC). Materials and Methods: The study included 101 patient with GC, the stage T1 in 5, the stage of T2 – in 12, the stage of T3 – in 39 and the stage of T4 – in 45 cases respectively. The stomach tumor in 37 (36.6%) cases was localized mainly in the antrum, 35 (34.6%) – in the body, 12 (11.9%) in the cardia and fundus, in 13 (12.9%) cases it had a total, in 4 (4.0%) - subtotal character. Ulcerating infiltrating forms (UIF) of GC was diagnosed in 71 cases, diffuse infiltrating forms (DIF) in 23 cases. All patients underwent preoperative X-ray, virtual gastroscopy techniques, multidetector computed tomography and transabdominal ultrasonography (USG). Results: The intestinal histological form of GC was detected in 7 cases – with USG in 6 cases. The UIF of GC with the help of USG was diagnosed in 69 (97,2%) cases, DIF – in 23 (100%) cases of T2-T4 stages. The results of USG and CT was coincided in all cases of T3 and in 92,7% of T4 stages of GC. Conclusions: The combined use of ultrasonography and gastroscopy will increase the detection of early intestinal type of GC. USG is the best, cheap, independent method for diagnosing a diffusely infiltrative form of GC, especially of the antrum. At stage T3, he is not inferior to CT in assessing the localization and prevalence of GC, and at stage T4, the difference between them is negligible.

Source: UCC
Capacity building for sustainable socio-economic development of rural women in coconut oil processing in the Nzema East district

The focus on capacity building for women became a conventional practice in the late 1970s in much of Africa. Although various interventions have tackled this aspect in one form or the other, there is still much to be done in building the capacity of women in micro enterprises to reduce poverty and for empowerment. This study determined capacity building for rural women in micro enterprises and their socio-economic development. The sample for the study was selected from women who produce coconut oil in Nzema East District of the Western Region, Ghana. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 5 coconut oil production communities. One hundred and sixty-six (166) respondents were selected from the 5 groups. In-depth interviewing was adopted to elicit information on respondents. Generally, the study revealed capacity building programmes for the women in carrying out their micro enterprises that promote their socio-economic status should be encouraged. This is because income generating activities have been beneficial to the women and their households. In addition, women see their income generating activities as their means of survival, so policies should be directed towards building their capacities on sustainable basis.

Source: UCC
Capacity Development for Effective Implementation of Inclusive Education in Ghana’s Higher Education Institutions

Effective implementation of Ghana‘s policy on inclusive education in higher education institutions demands capacity building for the educators to understand diversity and differentiate teaching to accommodate the learning needs of students living with disability. This study investigated how inclusive education is practiced in one university in Ghana by exploring the level of educators’ awareness of Ghana‘s policy on inclusive education and how the educators understand the policy and are interpreting the policy in the lecture halls. The study adopted the quantitative-qualitative research design to solicit data via self-administered questionnaire and interview from a purposive sample of 37 (32 males, 5 females) lecturers in four academic departments of the University that were implementing inclusive education. It emerged from the study that not all the educators were fully aware of the content of Ghana‘s Inclusive Education Policy. In addition, they also understood the policy differently. The educators generally interpreted disability in terms of the social and medical models of disability found in the literature. To synchronize the notion of disability among the educators and to enable them to appreciate the need for differentiated instruction in inclusive education demands effective capacity development. This could promote university lecturers adopting effective strategies to address the learning needs of students with disability in higher education.

Source: UCC
Cape Coast Journal of Humanities

This volume of the Cape Coast Journal of Humanities contains a variety of well-researched papers. The papers selected for this volume cut across the sub-discipline of History, Literature and Diplomacy. The first essay by De-Valera Botchway and Nyarkoah Gyamera discusses the gradual erosion of the dual-sex political leadership among the Akan-speaking Breman Asikuma people of Ghana. In his paper, David Aworawo examines how European activities impacted on two West African settlements i.e. the Benin and the Warri Kingdoms between 1500 and 1750. In their submission, Sola Akinrinade and Olukoya Ogen traces the history of Indo-Nigerian economic relations emphasising on its implication for south –south cooperation. Michael Ogbeidi in his paper discusses the vexed issue of the role of government in business, while Irene Osemeka’s paper addresses the use of multi-track diplomacy in the management of conflicts in West Africa. Zhe Zhang and Omon Osiki in their article examines the strategic thinking pattern of three great leaders in Asia and Africa. The last paper in the volume written by Felicia Ohwovoriole discusses the oral and literary strategies in Hope Eghagha’s poetry. On the whole, all the papers makes an insightful and interesting reading.

Source: UCC
Capital Adequacy and Performance of Banks Licensed in Ghana

Concerns on capital adequacy has received much attention especially because of the recent financial predicaments in the economy and the role it played in the closure of some commercial banks in Ghana in 2017 and 2018. Empirical studies have shown that substantial capital adequacy is one of the sure ways of circumventing credit risks which plunges the profits and sustainability of the banks. The motivation for the study is that prior to 2019, most of the studies on banking risk focused on rural, small and just few bigger banks. Also, most empirical studies assessing the relationship between capital adequacy and bank profitability in Ghana have focused on return on assets and return on equity as measures of performance. Thus the study sought to examine the effect capital adequacy has on bank performance, by employing net profit after tax and return on capital employed as measures of performance. The study employed the explanatory research design, quantitative research approach. The study employed the General Least Squares random effects panel estimating approach to estimate the effect of capital adequacy ratio on bank performance. First, the results reveal that the capital adequacy ratio generally increase bank performance in terms of net profit after tax. Again, the results revealed that capital adequacy ratio generally decreases bank performance in terms of return on capital employed. Thus, the study recommended that to enhance performance, banks should strive to keep their capital adequacy ratio at the required levels to make them competitive.

Source: UCC
Capital and credit sources and household non-farm income in Ghana

This paper examines the effects of the various sources of capital and credit available for financing non-farm enterprises in Ghana. A maximization of the household production function yields linear equations for estimating the key parameters of interest. Capital from bank, family, NGOs and money lenders significantly influence non-farm income. In terms of business expansion, credit from bank, cooperatives and family/friends are very important. Regional differences also appear to be significant as well as the ecological zones. Gender differences in capital and credit sources affect income of non-farm enterprises.

Source: UCC
Capital Inflows, Industrialisation And Inclusive Growth In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Moderating Roles Of Ifrs Adoption Speed And Institutions

This study investigates the impact of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption speed and the strength of institutional structures on attracting capital inflows, fostering industrialisation, and promoting inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Emphasising the role of IFRS as a pivotal financial screening tool for investors, the study highlights the urgency of adopting these standards in a region marked by a significant financing gap for sustainable industrial development. Utilising a quantitative approach and covering data from 48 Sub-Saharan African countries from 2005 to 2019, the study employs descriptive and inferential statistical methods, including a twostep system GMM estimator, to analyse the data. Key findings reveal that the speedy adoption of IFRS significantly enhances capital inflows, especially in countries with robust institutional support, and that early adopters of IFRS effectively leverage these inflows for accelerated industrialisation and inclusive growth. The study therefore advocates for rapid IFRS adoption and the strengthening of institutional structures in Sub-Saharan countries to optimise capital inflows essential for industrial development and achieving inclusive growth.

Source: UCC
Capital mobility and knowledge diffusion from China into Ghana’s agricultural sector

China’s presence in Africa’s development process represents new configurations in international relationships expressed in capital mobility and knowledge diffusion. (CMKD) This study sought to interrogate Chinese capital mobility and knowledge diffusion into Ghana’s agricultural sector in terms of forms, trends, interpretations, adaptations as well as economic and political outcomes. The study was largely exploratory and descriptive employing mixed methods drawn from both primary and secondary sources using purposive sampling technique. Guided by political economy theories, the study revealed increasing patterns of importation of Chinese equipment with noticeable investments in the industrial fish trawling industry, albeit an observably low level of investments in the poultry and landed investments. These patterns are understood not within orthodox political economy contexts alone but also within social innovation contexts. The study also revealed varied interpretations and modes of cultural adaptations which are useful for policy formulation. The economic outcomes of Chinese CMKD were revealed as promising with threatening challenges. The political outcomes were riddled with traces of appreciable institutional responses but with exhibits of political inertia reducing Ghana’s opportunity to benefit from China’s CMKD. The study concluded that CMKD may produce development or underdevelopment in host countries. However, the occurrence of either of these developmental effects largely depends on institutional support and regulatory policies coupled with the interpretations and the behaviours people attach to the CMKD. It then recommended strong state activism which will alter the Chinese CMKD into opportunities for agricultural development.

Source: UCC
Capital Mobility and Single Currency Adoption: Evidence from the West African Monetary Zone

The quest of introducing a single currency in West Africa seems to be long overdue. Already, there have been three postponements and a fourth postponement is likely according to experts, simply because member countries continue to struggle to achieve the convergence criteria that were set at their initial meeting. The criteria include a single digit inflation, fiscal deficit gross domestic product ratio of less than or equal to four percent, Central Bank financing of fiscal deficit less than or equal to ten percent and gross external reserves position relative months of import cover must be equal to or greater than three months of import cover. There is, therefore, the need to look for alternatives to the convergence criteria including exploring the requirements in the optimum currency area theory. Using a panel data for the five countries in the zone for the period 1970-2010, this study investigates the level of capital mobility in the zone as specified by the theory. Employing the theoretical model based on Feldstein and Horioka paradox, capital mobility is estimated using a dynamic ordinary least square regression approach. It is observed that capital mobility within the zone is fairly high.

Source: UCC
Capital structure and dividend payout of banks in Ghana

The study investigated the effect of Capital structure on dividend payout of banks in Ghana. The main objective of the study was to measure the directional relationship between three capital structure variables. The Capital structure variables used were short-term financial leverages, total financial leverage, equity risk exposure and dividend pay-out was measured using the dividend payout ratio. The study design was casual and panel data. Annual data for all the capital structure variables and dividend payout ratio were collected from 2002-2012 and the panel ordinary least square estimator was used to establish the relationship between capital structure and dividend payout. The results revealed that among the three capital structure variables used in the study, the short term financial leverage have a positive effect on dividend pay-out, the total financial leverage has a negative effect on dividend pay-out and the equity risk exposure had a negative effect on dividend pay-out too. Among the control variables used, age of the bank had a positive effect on dividend payout; profitability had a positive effect on dividend payout, bank size had a positive effect on dividend payout but bank growth has a negative effect on dividend payout. It is therefore conclude that banks in Ghana rely heavily on short term financial leverage to finance their operations and dividend hence it is recommended that the bank of Ghana should reduce the lending rate to the banks to reduce the current over reliance on short term debts.

Source: UCC
Capital Structure and Financial Performance of Selected Financial Institutions in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis

The problem of business collapse typically among the financial institutions in Ghana as a result of financial distress, is real and thus calls for scientific research into the relatedness of business capital to performance. The current study therefore seeks to contribute to bridging the literature gap in an attempt to establish the relationship and the extent of impact that capital structure has on the performance of selected financial institutions operating within the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis. Empirical evidence shows some relationship between capital structure and financial performance of financial institutions, for which the relationship could be positive or negative. This study established that all the financial institutions operating in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis operate with a mix of debt and equity capital but most of them have low gearing issues. EPS showed a positive correlation with capital structure while ROA and ROE showed inverse relationship with capital structure. It was further observed that capital structure displayed some level of impact on ROA, ROE and EPS but the impacts were not significant. Overall, the study concluded that capital structure has both positive and negative impact on the performance of financial institutions. It could be concluded that capital structure has no statistically significant relationship with firm performance in respect of ROA, ROE, and EPS. It is recommended that the board of directors and management of the institutions must ensure prudent decisions on capital structure that yields the best of positive returns.

Source: UCC
CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND PROFITABILITY IN GHNANAIAN BANKS

We studied capital structure and profitability in Ghanaian banks using panel data methodology was employed. Capital structure theories have been utilised to provide the theoretical basis for the work. The study covered 14 banks over the period 1997-2006. it was observed that 87% of the total capital of banks in Ghana is made up of debt. Of this, 65% constitute short-term debts while 22% is made up of long-term debts. This has re-emphasised the fact that banks are highly levered institutions and also highlights the importance of shortterm debts over long-term debts in bank financing in Ghana. This finding agrees with previous studies such as Abor (2005) and Amidu (2007) in stressing the importance of shortterm debt in firm financing in Ghana. This significant negative relationship between bank2 size and profitability suggests that larger banks tend to exhibit lower margins and is consistent with models that emphasize the negative role of size from scale inefficiencies.

Source: UCC