ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The effects of credit union activities on its members: A case study of selected credit unions in Sunyani Municipality

The main objective of the study is to find out the financial challenges facing members of the Credit Unions and the efforts being made to improve the quality of life of members. The study examined the financial benefits and facilities available to members. One Hundred and Fifty (150) questionnaires were administered to selected members of the three (3) Credit Unions in the Sunyani Municipality. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the analysis. From the research, it was found out that members of the Credit Unions faced certain financial challenges like educational expenses, land and rent advances, working capital and business inputs. It was also revealed that the Credit Union annual interest rates were a little higher than those charged by the banks. In spite of this, the Credit Unions had had tremendous positive effects on the living standards of the members. This was affirmed by the fact that members had access to loans for meeting their financial challenges which they would not have had readily from the Traditional Banks without collateral security. Management staff of the Credit Unions was found to lack the requisite professional competence and expertise for managing the scheme. The study recommends that interest rates of Credit Unions should be reduced and the competence of management staff of the scheme should be upgraded in risk and investment management to make the scheme more viable and sustainable.

Source: KNUST
The Effects of Customer Relationship Management on Customer Retention in the Insurance Industry in Ghana: The Mediating Role of Customer Satisfaction

Today, there is a fierce competition in the insurance industry in Ghana, and one of the key issues is the company‟s ability to practice effective Customer Relationship Management to achieve customer satisfaction in order to retain its existing customers and look for more. The subject of Customer Relationship Management, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Retention has become a global issue. The study sought to examine the effect of customer relationship management on customer retention, with customer satisfaction playing the mediation role. Questionnaire was the main data collection tool used to gather data from 450 customers of the fifteen Non-life selected Insurance Companies in Kumasi. The estimation tool used to test the study hypothesis was Structural Equation Model and STATA 12.0 software was used for analyses. Findings revealed that customer relationship management has a significant positive effect on customer retention. Also, there is a positive and significant correlation between customer satisfaction and customer retention. This shows that the more satisfied customers are the more likely they will stay or stick to a particular policy. Thus, the study result declares that, partial mediation is achieved. The study concluded that both customer relationship management and customer satisfaction are antecedents to customer retention. Customer relationship management is also a significant driver of customer satisfaction in the insurance industry.The study recommended that, the insurance practitioners should invest resources and capacity to intensify the management of customer relationships as this has been shown to impact on profitability. The researcher recommends there should be a further study on the effects of CRM on Customer retention in the life sector of the insurance industry. Another research can be conducted to assess the impact of CRM practises in the insurance industry in Ghana.

Source: KNUST
Effects of decentralised procurement on productivity: a case study of Zoomlionn Ghana Limited

The study aimed at identifying the procurement methods used at Zoomlion Ghana limited, assessing the effects of decentralised procurement, examining the benefits of decentralised procurement functions and evaluating the challenges that inhibit the smooth implementation of procurement activities. The study used a cross sectional design. Purposive sampling method was used to select a total of 80 workers of Zoomlion Ghana who were administered with questionnaires. The statistical package for social science (SPSS) was used for processing the data. The study revealed that the procurement method used at Zoomlion Ghana mostly is Request for Quotation. The study revealed that the highest effect of decentralised procurement on productivity at Zoomlion Ghana was that decentralised procurement ensures better control and supervision of procurement. Also, the study revealed that the greatest benefit of decentralisation to the productivity of Zoomlion Limited was that it provides greater efficiency. Most of the respondents said Zoomlion Ghana Limited faced challenges and the greatest challenge that inhibits the smooth implementation of procurement activities at Zoomlion Ghana limited is the Leveraging of Technology. The study recommended that the management of Zoomlion Ghana Limited should monitor the activities of the procurement team by demanding regular reports and reshuffling them when possible. Also, the management of Zoomlion Ghana limited should not rely solely on one company in the supply of its logistics but also ensure that they analyse the market to get other companies who produces quality products at a moderate price.

Source: KNUST
Effects of Data Analytics on Business Model Innovation: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Acquisition

The study's goal was to examine the mediating function of knowledge acquisition between data analytics and business model innovation in SMEs in developing economies. Quantitative data was gathered using cross-sectional surveys with a view toward inference and analyzed using inductive logic. The study focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Eastern Region of Ghana, whether they were engaged in manufacturing or providing services. By using a purposive sampling technique, data was collected from 384 knowledgeable employees on the study's major topics. The study proved the hypotheses by using SEM (SmartPLS 4). The data was summarized using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that data analytics capability has a positive and significant effect on business model innovation among SMEs. Knowledge acquisition was shown to have a significant influence on business model innovation, and it was also found to mediate the relationship between data analytics capabilities and business model innovation. Therefore, this suggests that business model innovation in SMEs should benefit from managers' greater openness to acquiring data analytics knowledge and skills.

Source: KNUST
Effects of deforestation on gender-based livelihood activities: A Case of Jaman South District, Ghana.

Forest provides multiplicity of goods and services and other roles in shaping the economic lives of forest fringe communities. In spite of these valuable roles forest plays, it continues to receive damages, especially anthropogenic disturbances. These disturbances are in the form of deforestation. In the Jaman South District, the menace of deforestation has remained high for many years resulting in decline in forest products especially NTFPs and their eventual consequences on economic and livelihood activities of the people. This impact has gender dimensions as forest dependency varies in perspective of men and women. This study therefore examined the effects of deforestation on gender based livelihood activities in the Jaman South District in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews and questionnaire were the methods and tools used for gathering data from 378 household heads which were selected randomly from the seven communities by reason that they depend on NTFPs and have stayed in their communities for twenty years or beyond. Both SPSS and Excel software were used to analyze quantitative data while thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Furthermore, remote sensing analysis of satellite images and NDVI was employed to assess the extent of forest cover loss or gain from 1994-2003 and 2004-2013. Results from satellite image interpretation and NDVI histograms (1994, 2000, 2010 and 2016) showed that the district had lost vast portions of forest cover. This meant that forest cover from 1994-2003 was higher than from 2004-2013. The study further noted that this loss of forest cover resulted in decline in NTFPs and the effect of this decline was gender specific as those NTFPs collected by women only declined more than those collected by men only. This decline in NTFPs collected by women only resulted in severe fall of income that women generated from it and its consequential effect on their livelihoods.

Source: KNUST
Effects of Delayed Payment on Projects and Stakeholders: A Case Study of Keta Municipal Assembly

Delay payment is endemic in the construction industry and needs to be explicitly recognized as this problem recurs from project after project. Its’ alarming rate may go out of hand if measures are not put in place to curtail it. The researcher researched into the causes and effects of delayed payment on project and stakeholders. The objectives of the study are to identify the underlying causes of delayed payment that are characterized with the Keta Sea Defence and Resettlement Housing Units, establish the effects on projects and stakeholders and to determine effective solutions to mitigate these effects. The target groups of respondents were contractors with D1K1, D2K2 and D3K3 classifications, Keta Municipal Assembly and the direct project beneficiaries. The study was limited to Keta Sea Defense Resettlement Housing Unit projects at Adzido, Vodza and Kedzi. A deductive methodological approach was adopted for the study using literature review and surveys. Questionnaires and personal interviews techniques were used to collect data. Results from this study were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 11.0). Findings reveal that the main causes of delays are; poor financial arrangement by the clients, improper planning of projects, poor contractual relationship between parties, bureaucracy, political influence and delay in submission of claims by contractors. On the other hand, cost overrun, time overrun, total abandonment of projects and poor quality of work are effects on contractors, clients and projects. It was also revealed that, the ripple effects on projects beneficiaries (end users) includes; decline in economic activities of the people, poor living condition, insufficient accommodation readily available, denied of early use of project, fast spread of disease among households which claims lives and poor iv health conditions. It was recommended that, since direct beneficiaries of projects will continue to suffer the consequences of delayed payment in various ways and degrees, clients’ financial capacity and credit rating be made transparent to facilitate contractors to assess the employers' ability to pay for projects, projects should be well planned and must not be politicized. Conditions of contracts must be modified and balanced. Risk should be allocated evenly to all parties involved and be enforced.

Source: KNUST
Effects of delay payments on road maintenance in Ghana: the case of Ghana highway authority, Ashanti region

Many researchers have come to the point that payment delayed can lead to serious difficulties in construction. This issues includes, cash flow precisely to the contractor, which may end up in an unsuccessful delivery of project. In this setting, the study looked into the effects of Delay Payments on Road Maintenance in Ghana. In construction delay payment is a serious issue, and this study found it important to research in this area. The objectives under this study were; to identify the causes of delay payment on road maintenance in Ghana, to determine the effects of delay payment on road maintenance in Ghana, and lastly, to identify probable means to mitigate delay payment on road maintenance in Ghana. The respondents chosen for this study were the staff of the Ghana Highway Authority, and other workers in the road construction sector, the quantitative method, together with the purposive sampling technique was selected in conducting this study. The study selected eighty (80) respondents from the staff of the Ghana Highway Authority, but 60 questionnaire came back after questionnaires were distributed. The relative importance index was used in analyzing data gathered. After analysis of the data, the causes of delay payment on road maintenance which is the very first objective, and this factors include: poor communication between contracting parties, poor allocation and mismanagement of funds, withholding of Payment by Client and the last of all, conflict among the Parties Involved. The second objective showed the effects of delay payment on road maintenance, and factors that were mainly selected are: It leads to poor performance from contractors, the project can also lose its workers, increases in total project cost, which is also a disagreeable condition for clients and also delay payment can give rise to disruption of work, this was the main goal of the study, which was also achieved. The last objective gave out probable means to mitigate delay payment, factors ranked very effective in this section comprises: Consisted method of Payment, practice of good financial management, proper cash flow during the execution of project, and establishment of financial Institution. The respondents had in-depth knowledge in this area of research, through which they supported the study to accomplish in key goal.

Source: KNUST
Effects of delays in completion of health facilities for local communities: A case of the Ningo Prampram District

The high rate of abandoned projects in Ghana have become topical in most intellectual discussions today. The rate at which health construction projects have been discontinued by new governments are alarming therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the effects of delays in completion of health facilities for local communities in Ningo Prampram. The specific objective of the study includes; to identify the causes of delay in completion of health facilities in the Ningo Prampram District; to examine the effect of delay in completion of health facilities in the Ningo Prampram District and to provide measures on timely delivery in completion of health facilities in the Ningo Prampram District. The study adopted the quantitative approach to research with mainly a deductive and or descriptive research design. These designs helped the researcher to provide information and describe them using narrative of figures which represent the opinions expressed by the respondents. The study used purposive. These sampling techniques helped the researcher draw out samples of about 40 respondents who knew so much about health projects and their impacts on the Ningo Prampram District. In other to solicit information from the respondents without recording any form of bias, a closed ended questionnaire was used to draw out strict and coherent responses that were in line with the research objectives. The analysis of the study was conducted using descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics in the form of regression analysis. The regression analysis was used to test the effect and significance of delay in completion of the health facilities at Ningo Prampram. The study results showed from the regression analysis that there is a positive effect of delay in completion projects of health facilities in Ningo Prampram. Secondly the study accomplishes that, there is a significant association between delay in completion and the nature of health facilities in Ningo Prampram. Addressing financial issues in relation to project completion, hiring the right staff for the right job, and availability of the raw materials were the key measures for ensuring project completion

Source: KNUST
Effects of desiccants, packaging materials and storage periods on seed quality and longevity dynamics of three indigeneous forest tree species

This study was carried out to determine the effects of seed desiccants, packaging materials and storage periods on seed quality and longevity dynamics of three very important indigenous forest tree species. The experimental period was December, 2015 to June, 2016. Seed collection was done at the Bobiri Forest Reserve. The desiccation experiment was set up using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three (3) replications for each of the three species. The seed storage experiment was set up using 3 x 6 factorial arrangements in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications for each of the three species. Seed storage experiment was conducted using six packaging materials (jute, nylon, paper, ziplock bag, airtight bottle and no packaging) with three storage periods (no storage, three months storage and six months storage). Germination percentage, seed vigour, 1000 seed weight, moisture content, seed health analysis, carbohydrate, protein and oil contents were assessed before storage, three and six months after storage. The study revealed that the beads dried the seeds of Pericopsis elata within 2 days, 3 days to dry Sterculia rhinopetala seeds and 12 days to dry G. cedrata, which was much faster than the rest of the desiccants without any deleterious effect on seed quality and longevity. Pericopsis elata and Sterculia rhinopetala showed orthodox seed storage behavior by surviving drying to a lower moisture content hence improving storability when packaged in airtight bottle (3.5%) and ziplock bags (3.5%) storage periods increased. The seed carbohydrates, proteins and oils for Pericopsis elata and Sterculia rhinopetala were maintained in the airtight packaging materials thereby improving seed storability. The dormancy of Sterculia rhinopetala was released by using GA3 with a germination percentage of 96.33%. Moist saw dust significantly extended the life span of the Guarea cedrata seeds for at least 21 days. A total number of nine fungi isolates were identified v during storage. The seed viability equations predicted that P. elata and S. rhinopetala seeds could be stored for 200 years and 177 years, respectively, after six months of storage. Seed viability dropped significantly (155 days for P. elata and 79 days for S. rhinopetala) after the accelerated aging test performed on the six-months old seeds. The study concluded that P. elata and S. rhinopetala could best be dried with beads at a faster rate and subsequently stored for a longer period using airtight packaging materials whilst G. cedrata, could be stored in a moist saw dust.

Source: KNUST
Effects of different fermentation materials on the quality of mixed and hybrid cocoa beans

A field survey on fermentation practices of farmers was conducted in three cocoa districts in Western South of the Western Region of Ghana. The outcome of the survey led to the establishment of an experiment to determine the effects of the use of polythene sheets or fertilizer sacks as alternative materials for fermentation instead of plantain/ banana leaves on the physical quality and chemical composition of the dried cocoa beans. The experiment was a 2 x 3 factorial in a completely randomized design with three replications. The first factor comprised of two cocoa varieties mainly hybrid and mixed varieties whilst the second factor consisted of plantain/ banana leaves, polythene sheets and fertilizer sacks as fermentation materials. The results of the field survey revealed that averagely 58%, 23%, and 17.7% of the farmers used plantain / banana leaves, fertilizer sacks and polythene sheets respectively for fermentation. However, 4% of the farmers in Samreboi used basket for fermentation of their cocoa beans. The purity of the cocoa beans was significantly influenced by the interactive effects of the cocoa varieties and fermentation materials, Hybrid variety or mixed varieties fermented with plantain leaves had the highest purity above 90%, significantly greater than the purity from the other treatment combinations. The least purity was obtained from mixed variety fermented with fertilizer sack (79.63 %). In a similar trend, the pH of the dried cocoa beans was also significantly influenced by the interactions. Mixed varieties fermented with fertilizer sack and polythene sheet had pH of 6.23 and 6.40 compared with 4.90 recorded by mixed varieties fermented with plantain leaves. All the chemical composition parameters examined in this study were not significantly different between the hybrid and mixed cocoa varieties except pH and free fatty acids. The study revealed that fermentation of cocoa beans with polythene sheets or fertilizer sacks are not adequately fermented

Source: KNUST
Effects of different drying methods and length of storage on quality of seed maize variety Obaatanpa

The main objective of the research was to identify appropriate drying and storage technologies for improving seed quality by enhancing healthy seedlings. Th e design of the experiment was 2 × 4 factorial arrangement in complete randomized design (CRD). The factors were drying methods at two levels: sun and oven drying; Storage durations at four levels: 0, 30, 60 and 90 days. The results depicted that, sun drying resulted in the highest percent (1.69%) of weevil infestation of Obaatanpa maize than oven drying with the least (1.00%). For iron content, sun drying had the higher length of drying period (21.82%), than the oven drying which had the least days of drying (15.32%). Among the storage durations, the highest iron content was obtained at 60 days (20.0%), similarly higher in 30 and 90 days. The least iron content was obtained at 0 day (15.5%). The highest potassium content was obtained from sun drying (0.13%) and the least was observed from oven drying (0.1%). In addition, both sun and oven drying at 30 and 90 days storage duration had the highest ash content (1.5%) and the oven drying at 90 days (0.8%) had the least, while at 30 days storage durations had the highest ash content (1.46%) and the lowest from the 0 day of storage (1.08%). Between the drying methods there were no significant differences. The highest percent of seed carbohydrate content was obtained at 90 days (73.94%) and was similarly higher from 0 and 30 days. The lowest was obtained at 60 days (70.62%). For seed germination test, sun drying revealed the highest percentage of seed germination and the lowest was observed for oven drying while storing for 30 days resulted in the highest seed viability. The least seed viability was recorded for 60 days of storage. A total of five pathogen species were identified (Collectotrichum spp., Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium spp. and Rhizopus spp.). The highest occurrence of fungal infestation was observed iv from 30 to 60 days after storage while, sun dried seed showed highest occurrence of the pathogens compared to the oven dried seeds.

Source: KNUST