ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Impact of road contractor classification on road maintenance delivery in Ghana

In recent times the issue of inadequate local contracting capacity for the execution of road construction and maintenance projects seems to be assuming a disturbing national concern. Ineffective system of classifying road contractors, lack of road agency supervisory and monitoring capacity, difficulty in obtaining credit and delayed payment for certified work done, have been mentioned as factors affecting road maintenance delivery. This research seeks to assess the impact of the road contractor classification system; road contractor screening, selection and licensing for road works and in particular road maintenance services. The objectives of the study was: (1) to make a critical assessment of the procedures requirements and features of the system, (2) Identify classification factors affecting performing and non performing contractors and (3) draw lessons for an improved classification and tendering ♦ evaluation procedures. The research reviewed classification systems of some countries to understand the frame work of a road contractor classification system and to learn of best practices. Data collection was conducted by administering four different survey questionnaires to contractors, regional road agency staff of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), in two regions. Road maintenance managers of GHA and Ministry of Transportation (MoT) road contractor classification committee members also responded to questionnaires. The questionnaire sought to establish the procedures, criteria, method of evaluation of contractors' application information by the classification committee members. Based on 15 performing and 15 non performing previously selected contractors, road managers evaluated contractor classification factors that influenced the success or otherwise of completed or ongoing projects in the period 2002- 2007. The results show that lack of a proper legal status / structure of the road contractor classification system, weak verification and ineffective evaluation of contractor information results in an adhoc contractor registration and management, inadequate regulation and monitoring. Although the registration system in Ghana has achieved some modest gains in eliminating unsuitable and quack contractors, there is the need to create a separate department, council or board with legal status with a well resourced professional secretariat to be in charge of contractor grading, registration, monitoring and enforcement of contractor classification criteria. Verification and inspection of contractor facilities would then be intensified. In addition the adoption of a point system of evaluating contractors' information at classification would ensure that contractors tendering for road agency projects actually have the resources for which they have been classified.

Source: KNUST
Impact of relocating utility services during road construction: the management of issues when they arise.

Road construction involve huge capital outlay, usually, tax payers’ money (be it donor funded or government funded). Thus prudence is required in its usage. This can be done by ensuring that road projects are designed and implemented efficiently with no extra costs and delays. Utilities present on a right-of-way is one source of additional cost and delay to project implementation, since relocation is often required. This research aimed at analyzing the impact of utility services relocation have on road construction. The research objectives were: to identify challenges of managing utility relocations in road projects, to examine the impact level of utility relocation on road projects and to examine the relationship of time slippage, change orders and cost overruns of road projects with utility relocations. The research made use of structured questionnaire survey and desk study of selected road projects. The statistical tools used in the analysis comprised descriptive statistics, One-Sample T test and Relative Importance Index. Findings of the study indicated that average cost increment on utility budget due to utility relocation was 117%, while time slippage level averaged 17.14%. The study recommends the establishment of strong and supportive institutions, effective coordination and communication among stakeholders, legal and regulatory framework on right of way management, investment in technological tools and softwares and the use of design – build method of contracting.

Source: KNUST
The impact of road network on the marketing of agricultural produce in the Jaman North District, Ghana

This study was designed to assess the impact of road network on the marketing of agriculture in the Jaman North District of Ghana. The cross-section survey research design was adopted in this research work. Purposive sampling was used to select 4 rural communities while questionnaires were used to collect data from 200 farmer households by means of simple probability sampling technique. Data collection was based on primary sources with a 100 percent response rate. Descriptive statistics technique such as percentages, frequencies, means and chi square was used to highlight the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers in the study area. The SPSS package aided in the analysis of the data. The result revealed that almost all the respondents agreed that road networks play a vital role in marketing of agricultural produces. It also showed that road networks create market for agricultural produces so improving road condition allows for better access to a wider market and reduce losses and delays in moving the farm produce. Again, nature of road network affects the cost of transporting agricultural produce to the market centres and hence influences the prices of produce. Also, another impact of road network on the marketing of agricultural produce is that effective and efficient road network increases the availability of agricultural produce in the market. Most of the road networks linking the various communities to the main market were unpaved and immotorable during the rainy season. Farming in the district was characterized by farmers who owned small portions of farm size and used rudimentary methods of agriculture. The study revealed that, the type of road connecting the communities to the market had a significant relationship with the estimated travel time to Sampa, cost of transportation, where farmers sold their farm produce. It did not however find a statistically significant influence of road transport infrastructure on farm size of the farmers in Jaman North District. The study recommended that as Ghana is fighting to abolish extreme poverty and hunger which is one of the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the government should help in the construction of the road network connecting this communities so they can produce more and make food available in the market.

Source: KNUST
The impact of remittances on the economy of Ghana: critical analysis

The research describes the benefits Ghana has derived from remittances received over the past 10 years. It explores the motive behind remittances. The research describes the nature, size, from and uses of remittances. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with recipients of remittances, and secondary data was collected from the Bank of Ghana. In general remittances have reduced poverty in Ghana and have improved the lives of Ghanaians through its multiplier effect. On the macroeconomic level, it has been more stable than Official Development Assistance (ODA) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) thus in the absence of ODA and FDI, Ghana can have access to foreign exchange. The government should, however, fashion out policies to curb remittances sent through illegal channels like family and friends.

Source: KNUST
Impact of rural banks on the agricultural sector: a case study of Sekyere Rural Bank in Ashanti Region

Like many developing countries, poverty remains a serious problem in Ghana and it remains predominantly a rural phenomenon. Rural development and for that matter poverty reduction has received a great deal of attention in development literature, in national plans of various countries, on political platforms and in lending programmes of most donors. In Ghana the need to improve the living and working conditions of the rural people back to the colonial era. One of the major problems facing the rural population in Ghana has been lack of credit. This has resulted in their inability to increase their productivity, income and improve upon their standard of living so as to rise out of poverty. It is in the light of this that the Bank of Ghana introduced the rural banking concept to meet the credit needs of the rural people and also to assist in the reduction of poverty in the rural communities. The major concern of this study has been to examine the impact of rural banks in the agricultural sector categorized into cash crop producers, food crop production and animal rearers in terms on the effects on employment, income, standard of living and reducing poverty in the rural areas using Sekyere Rural Bank as a case study. This was done by (i) Examining the various kinds of credit/loan offered by the bank to the people in the community. (ii) The effects of the credit/loan on income and standard of living of the people in the community. (iii) The contribution of the bank in the provision of public goods and services specifically education, health and water and sanitation in the development of the community. The study used both primary data in terms of questionnaires and interviews and secondary data in terms of annual reports of Sekyere rural bank and simple table showing percentages, frequencies, cross tabulation and bar charts for the analysis The main results of the study are that the Sekyere Rural Bank provides about four types of Loan to its customers and that within a period of four years the bank was able to increase its loan portfolio by some margin. Loans granted by the bank have also impacted positively on poverty reduction in agricultural sector Kwabre and Afigya Sekyere districts in the Ashanti Region. Incomes and standard of living of respondents were improved. More jobs were also created. The study thus reinforces the notion that institutional credits can be use to break the chain of poverty. Finally, funds provided for community development by the bank has been increasing from the past four years studied.

Source: KNUST
The impact of safety training programme implementation on Project Performance at The Electricity Company of Ghana, Volta-Region

Safety involves both physical and psychological wellbeing of employees in an Organisation and other persons such as the public or customers are adversely affected by the activities and these are of major concern to the employers, employees, Governments and stakeholders but most Project management fails to put in place adequate measures in the safety programme on their project such as safety training. As said by Bamber, (2008) project workers should obtain adequate training in Health, Safety and Environment by making sure that significant lawmaking and procedural factors belonging to Safety are given attention during the initial and all phases of project development. When project members get appropriate safety training for a project, it enhances their knowledge and attitude as well as behaviours to perform their activities in a safer way Goetsch, (2005). The aim of this research was to assess the ‘Impact of Safety Training Programme implementation on Project Performance in an Organisation’, precisely Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Volta-Region with objectives ‘to identify the level of impact in the implementation of Safety Training Programme on the Projects performances among others. Thirty-two (32) Staffs were purposively selected because the respondents had deeper knowledge and understood the study area to provide accurate responses, but only Thirty (30) respondents responded and returned the Structured Questionnaire. Descriptive statistical measure with the distribution tables was employed for ranking in the presentation and analysis of the data for the study. Findings of the study revealed that, even though the Electricity Company of Ghana provides safe environment with management commitment for the implementation of safety training programme on projects, it still lacks adequate resources provision such as equipment to use in the implementation of the program for safety to be adhered. However, these have affected how workers sometimes perform on the projects despite the fact they have been trained safely. But above all, the implementation of Safety training programme has positive impact in improving the Organisation projects performances. The Study recommends management of the Electricity Company of Ghana to review its implementation on Safety training periodically and also provide adequate provision of resources such as the PPE, tools and equipment for all participants undertaking the training to help understand the concept of safety procedures for safety adherence on projects in improving project performances in the Company

Source: KNUST
Impact of roofing materials and storage systems on rainwater potability

Rainwater is the main freshwater resource that recharges both surface and ground water. It is usually contaminated by atmospheric pollution which varies the composition of the rainwater from place to place. Due to lack of public pipe borne water supply there is a high level of dependence on rainwater for drinking and other purposes in some communities. This study conducted at Pokuase, a peri-urban community determined the physico-chemical quality of rainwater from aluminum and slate roofs as well as the physico-chemical and bacteriological properties of rainwater from storage systems (plastic barrels, concrete tanks and polytanks). Purposive sampling method was used to select the various houses where the samples were taken. Standard method was used to determine the physico-chemical properties while membrane filtration method was used to determine the bacteriological properties of samples. The physico-chemical parameters of rain rainwater samples from the aluminum and slate roofing systems were below the WHO standard for drinking water except for turbidity (9.62 NTU and 9.51 NTU respectively). Turbidity of rainwater that flowed from aluminum roofs into plastic barrels and concrete tanks were above the WHO standards recorded as 6.488 NTU and 9.06 NTU respectively. Furthermore, turbidity of rainwater that flowed from slate roofs into plastic barrels and polytanks were above the WHO standards which were recorded 7.21 NTU and 7.3NTU respectively .The pH of samples (runoff from slate and aluminum roofs) collected from plastic barrels was below the WHO standards (6.22 pH Units and 6.44 pH Units). Iron content of rainwater that flowed from the slate roofs into the polytanks was above the WHO standards (0.46mg/l). Rainwater samples collected from concrete tanks had high counts of total coliform, faecal coliform and E.coli (7.3975 X 102 CFU/100 ml, 1.5425 X 102 CFU/100 ml and 1.030 X 102 CFU/100 ml) respectively when compared to the other storage systems while samples collected from plastic barrels had high count of total heterotrophic bacteria (2.95950 X 103 CFU/100 ml) when compared to the other storage systems. All the bacteriological counts were however, above the WHO standards. Total suspended solids, ammonium, fluoride, lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury were not detected in the rainwater samples. It was generally observed that both roofs and storage systems have an impact on the potability of rainwater harvested in the area. However, the harvested rainwater in storage systems could be used possibly for all purposes which include washing, flashing, cleaning, and cooking among others except for drinking, due to the high values of the bacteriological parameters. It is thus advisable to boil or treat it before drinking.

Source: KNUST
The impact of safety management implementation on the performance of construction projects in Ghana

Generally, the success of completing any construction project is predicated on key performance indices such as timely delivery of project, construction time, defects as well as client satisfaction. However, what impact does the introduction of safety management has on construction project performance? This research sought to identify key safety management practices adopted in the construction industry, identify those used in the industry and their effect on performance of construction projects in the Ghanaian construction industry. To be able to achieve the specific objectives, 70 questionnaires were administered to site managers, project managers, safety officers as well as well as other site operatives. Fifty-five (55) completed questionnaires collated from the survey were examined using mean score ranking. The summation of findings from the survey revealed Provision of required PPEs as the most commonly safety management practice used in the Ghanaian construction industry. Also, total participation by top management in the sensitization and implementation of safety was identified by the respondents as a significant improvement measure for safety management during construction projects. The findings and recommendations listed in this study may be essential to clients as well as other construction professionals in facilitating the delivery of projects according to the defined standards and specifications. It will also be an added benefit for construction firms if a similar study is conducted to ascertain the effect of safety management on cost performance of construction projects in Ghana

Source: KNUST
The Impact of Sales Promotion on Consumer Purchasing Behaviour, in Retailing of Consumer Goods in Kumasi Metropolis. The Mediating effect of Customer Service

The retail business in Ghana has undergone tremendous change over the years as a result of competition among the players. Multinational companies who are into the production of consumer goods are constantly using sales promotion strategies to help influence consumer purchasing behaviour in the retail stores. Customer service activities by retail shops are deemed to also have an impact on the purchase behaviour of consumers. The study focused on investigating the impact of sales promotion on consumer purchasing behaviour, and the mediating effect of customer service activities in Ghanaian retail stores. The survey was conducted on a total of 400 respondents within the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti region of Ghana, out of which 332 responses were received representing 83% response rate. Convenience sampling technique was also adopted in selecting respondents to answer study questionnaires. The results showed that sales promotion strategies such as, price discount, extra pack, souvenirs and coupons, together impacts consumer purchasing behaviour. It was also revealed that the sales promotion positively impacts customer service activities such as reliability of services, assurance, personal interaction and physical evidence. The results also show that, customer service impacts consumer purchase behaviour, thus sales promotion positively impacts consumer purchasing behaviour but customer service partially mediates the relation. The researcher then recommended that, management of retail businesses and major stake holders of the retail business should invest in customer service activities by training their staff on customer service best practices in the retail business while they also intensify sales promotion activities.

Source: KNUST
The impact of sales promotion and advertisement on customer retention in the Brewery Industry of Ghana

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of sales promotion and effective advertisement on customer retention in the brewery industry of Ghana and to ascertain if customer loyalty mediates the relationship between sales promotion and effective advertisement and customer retention. Additionally, the study also sought to ascertain the impact of customer demographic features such as age, gender, education, marital status, and religion on customer retention. Using a well-designed questionnaire, the study sampled the relevant data from one hundred final consumers of beer within the Kumasi Metropolitan Area. The study used partial least square as the analytical technique to examine the hypothesized relationships between the variables. The study found that sales promotion does not directly and significantly influence customer retention. It however indirect influence customer retention through customer loyalty. Customer loyalty significantly mediates the relationship between sales promotion and customer retention. The study also found that, effective advertisement both directly and indirect influence customer retention. The indirect effect however outweighs the direct effect and that the mediation in this case was a partial mediation. The demographic features such as age, gender, marital status, and religion did not significantly influence customer retentions. Education however negatively and significantly influences customer retention.

Source: KNUST
Impact of schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminth infection among pregnant women in the Dangme East District, Greater Accra region.

Parasitic infections during pregnancy and their subsequent pathological effects such as anaemia are common in developing countries. This study determined the prevalence of schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminth infections during pregnancy. A cross sectional survey was conducted on 375 pregnant women during their visits to antenatal clinic in three health centers at Sege, Anyamam, Bonikope within Dangme East District in Greater Accra from April-July, 2012. Urine specimens were prepared using the filtration method, stool specimens were prepared using formol ether concentration method whilst blood film specimens were prepared and stained with Giemsa. All prepared specimens were examined microscopically. The overall prevalence of infection with urine, stool and blood parasite was 49.6% with the following results Schistosoma haematobium (4.5%), Ascaris lumbricoides (8.5%), Schistosoma mansoni (7.5%), Trichuris trichiura (5.9%), Hookworm (4.0%), Strongyloides stercoralis (1.9%) and Taenia species (0.8%) and Plasmodium species (16.5%). More than half (66.4%) of the pregnant women who were infected were anaemic with the highest level of anaemia (37.9%) occurring within 20-29 years age group. Schistosoma haematobium, Schistosoma mansoni, hookworm and Plasmodium spp infections caused anaemia and was statistically significant (p< 0.05). However, severe anaemia (Hb < 7.0 g/dl) caused by the overall parasitic infection was not statistically significant. It was also observed that multigravids and multiparous women were more susceptibility to the negative impact of infections. The study suggests that infections with soil transmitted helminthes, schistosomiasis and malaria, may contribute to anaemia in pregnant women. Therefore preventive and intensive educational vi programmes for the control of these parasites are recommended to reduce the disease burden and their accompanying pathological effects during pregnancy.

Source: KNUST