ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Decision-making for induced abortion in Accra metropolis, Ghana

Induced abortions are common in Ghana yet the decision-making process for induced abortion is insufficiently documented. This study therefore examined decision-making process for induced abortion in the Accra metropolis using the Health Belief Model. The study design was retrospective and cross sectional based. Data collection methods were quantitative and qualitative. Questionnaire and interview guides were used to obtain data from 40 I and 30 women respectively who had abortion between January and December, 2010, in the Accra metropolis. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 and STATA version 8, while qualitative data were manually analyzed. The study found that, women of various profiles make different abortion decisions with justifications based on peculiar situations during pregnancy. Legal restriction, cost, safety and privacy influenced choice of place and method for abortion. In making abortion decisions, women collaborated with people who influenced the decision-making process. First time pregnancies were mostly aborted regardless of gestational ages and partners' consent. Pressure from partners, circumstances surrounding onset of pregnancy, reproductive intentions and institutional sanctions of pregnant women were push factors for abortion. The study concluded that a decision on abortion is a process that is not always an expression of a woman's own choice, hence recommended policies to support pregnant women in school/apprenticeships to have their babies if they so desire without any hindrances. A further research with respondents' partners was also recommended to compare abortion decision-making among men in Ghana.

Source: UCC
Decision-Making for Induced Abortion in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana

Decision-making for induced abortion can be influenced by various circumstances including those surrounding onset of a pregnancy. There are various dimensions to induced abortion decision-making among women who had an elective induced abortion in a cosmopolitan urban setting in Ghana, which this paper examined. A cross-sectional mixed method study was conducted between January and December 2011 with 401 women who had undergone an abortion procedure in the preceding 12 months. Whereas the quantitative data were analysed with descriptive statistics, thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative data. The study found that women of various profiles have different reasons for undergoing abortion. Women considered the circumstances surrounding onset of pregnancy, person responsible for the pregnancy, gestational age at decision to terminate, and social, economic and medical considerations. Pressures from partners, career progression and reproductive intentions of women reinforced these reasons. First time pregnancies were mostly aborted regardless of gestational ages and partners’ consent. Policies and programmes targeted at safe abortion care are needed to guide informed decisions on induced abortions

Source: UCC
The declining popularity of history as a subject in the senior high schools in the Central region, Ghana

History as an academic discipline in the curriculum provides valuable information and perspectives embedded within a powerful analytical model, which can be especially useful in an inconsistent and rapidly changing world. Although History plays an important role in the schools’ curriculum, it is seen as the least patronized subjects among the Arts in recent times. This study sought to find out the declining popularity of History as a subject in senior high schools in the Central Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey research design was used in this study. The stratified, purposive, proportionate and simple random sampling techniques were used in selecting the sample. In all, 285 students from 20 schools were used. Questionnaire was the main tool used to collect data for the study. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means and the standard deviations. Results of the study revealed that students believe History provides a sense of cultural identity and broadens their intellect by enabling them acquire a lot of ideas about their society and country as a whole. They also indicated that there are more job prospects in studying Government, Geography and Economics than History. It also revealed that the wrong perception of the general public towards the teaching and learning of History and the inadequate teaching and learning materials in History are some of the causes for the decline in the popularity of the subject. It was recommended that teacher educators should help trainees develop a positive mindset and favourable attitude towards the teaching and learning of History since their transfer into the classroom has implications for learners.

Source: UCC
Decomposition and CO2-C evolution of okara, sewage sludge, cow and poultry manure composts in soils

A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the decomposition of various composts in soils by determining the C mineralization rate and microbial biomass level. The differences in the decomposition rate of the composts were examined. The composts used consisted of okara compost made from soymilk residues, cow manure, poultry manure, and sewage sludge composts, which were applied at rates of 50 or 150 g kg- 1 soil to a Chiba Light-colour Andosol. The results showed that, in general, the amount of CO2-C released increased rapidly at the initial stage, but the pattern differed among the composts used. The production of CO2-C depended on the amount applied and the nature of the compost materials. The CO2-C evolution from okara-treated soil was much higher than that from the soils treated with the other three composts, presumably due to the higher level of labile C as evidenced by the larger amount of microbial biomass. The value of qC02 (C02 production per unit microbial biomass) was lower in the okara compost than in the other composts. qC02 was linked to the decomposability of organic materials, reflected in the CO2-C evolution

Source: UCC
Deconstructing applied linguistics conference paper titles: A syntactic analysis

Following Swales’ (1990) influential study on research article (RA) introductions, some attention has increasingly been paid to other rhetorical units of both expert and learners’ writing, including titles. A key and effective discursive means through which titles are constructed and presented is the syntactic configuration. The present study, thus, investigates the syntactic structures employed by authors of conference paper titles (CPTs) in Applied Linguistics. A qualitative content analysis was employed to study a corpus of 592 CPTs from a popular conference for researchers, scholars, and practitioners of Applied Linguistics worldwide, supported by some descriptive statistics. The analysis of the data of the study identified three main title styles: Single Unit Title, Compound Unit Title, and Complex Unit Title. The analysis showed that, out of these three title styles, Compound Unit Titles were preferred by researchers. Further, the colon was the dominantly used punctuation mark in separating the components of Compound Unit titles. The final point was that authors preferred prepositional phrases in the post modification of the noun phrase structure of CPTs. The findings of this study have implications for the scholarship on titlelogy, academic writing pedagogy as well as further research

Source: UCC
Deconstructing the Audit Expectation Gap Concept

The Audit Expectation Gap (AEG) concept appears to be, unarguably, as old as the accounting and auditing profession, hence has been variously researched. However, despite its apparent longevity in the accounting literature, there seems to be little consensus as to its precise definition. The concept displays a high degree of fluidity in both the academic and professional discourses. Interestingly, however, most of the discussions of the concept appear to have tried to introduce unity into a conception where the facts show utmost divergence in perceptions. Thus, the variability in the construction of the concept stands seemingly underestimated. This paper analyses the origins and definitions of the AEG concept with a view to contributing to clarifying and characterising it in the context of contemporary financial reporting and accounting ramifications. The paper argues that the conceptual hitches need to be addressed to bring clarity to bear on the conceptualisation, interpretation and application of the concept. It is contended that the lack of harmony in interpretation of the concept has the potential, perceived and/or real, of perpetuating the AEG problem as attempts at tackling a loosely couched phenomenon could prove ineffectual. This paper therefore is yet another modest contribution to providing useful view points and insights supportive of efforts at understanding and evaluating the AEG concept. This, it is believed, could provide added leverage to the incessant efforts and discourses aimed at devising strategies and mechanisms for addressing the existence and/or curtailing the escalation of the concept.

Source: UCC
Deep Preferential Trade Agreement And Sustainable Development In Africa

The trend towards the expansion of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) is becoming more and more apparent. Traditional PTAs that rely on border terms are transitioning to deep PTAs that include high border terms and a variety of post-border terms, but the relationship between deep PTAs and sustainable development has not received significant attention. Using a data from 1990 to 2021 in 23 selected African countries, the study empirically examined the impact of deep PTAs on sustainable development, economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainable development in Africa by using bootstrapped quantile regression. The results show that deep PTAs have a positive impact on sustainable development, the economic and social dimensions of sustainable development. Again, the results also show that deep preferential trade agreements have a negative impact on the environmental dimension of sustainable development. This study highlights the importance of deep PTAs for improving sustainable development and provides new ideas for governments to assist in the formulation of policies that can effectively improve their development. The study therefore recommends that governments should actively engage in negotiations with potential partners, and strengthen trade agreements that include measures for deeper integration. The study also recommended governments should manage urbanisation through urban design that prioritises sustainable development, such as investments in renewable energy sources, and the implementation of effective environmental policies.

Source: UCC
Deep row trenching of waste water treatment works sludge: modelling water flow and nutrient transport in soil profile with HYDRUS-2D

HYDRUS-2D was used in simulating water flow and nutrient (nitrate and phosphorus) transport through soil profile from entrenched waste water treatment works sludge under four different application treatments. The objective was to simulate nutrient migration processes with conceptual simplifications of the inputs to the model based on field evidence, soil survey data and applicable literature. Hydrological modelling of the system require the relationship between the soil moisture content (θ), soil water potential (h) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks). Model application indicated that, the simulated water flow in soil profiles over the monitoring period compared favorably to measured observed soil water contents. However, simulated nutrients transport indicated generally poor direct correlations with measurements but responses of the simulation and observations are similar and the similarities are true for the range of depths simulated in each profile

Source: UCC
A Defence of AYN Rand‘s Rational Egoism

Egoism has been considered by several scholars as a theory that presents a multiplicity of problems. It is argued on several occasions that a theory that proposes selfishness as the sole criterion for assessing the acceptability and unacceptability of an action, merely presents objectionable ideas. These ideas that are considered as objectionable are used as the basis for refuting ethical egoism in general. This has given grounds to the several criticisms egoism faces. To be fair to all versions of egoism and inferring from the fact that all the varying versions of egoism have different constituent elements in their development, this study sets out to draw a line between the rational egoism of Rand and the subjective egoism. Using an evaluative pattern through explanations and analysis, this study aims at presenting the objective principles underpinning Rand‘s rational egoism. The study points out that there are differences between the subjective conception of egoism and the rational conception of egoism. These differences tend to present the general criticisms against egoism as trivial cases in the face of Rand‘s rational egoism. The study further identified that the ethical pillar of Rand‘s objectivism provides a great trajectory for political and social systems that latch onto its principles. Given this, it is recommended that political and social systems built on Rand‘s ethical pillar have far-reaching implications on the nation concerned.

Source: UCC
Defining Health Research for Development: The perspective of stakeholders from an international health research partnership in Ghana and Tanzania

Objectives: The study uses a qualitative empirical method to define Health Research for Development. This project explores the perspectives of stakeholders in an international health research partnership operating in Ghana and Tanzania. Methods: We conducted 52 key informant interviews with major stakeholders in an international multicenter partnership between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK, Vaccine Developer) and the global health nonprofit organisation PATH and its Malaria Vaccine Initiativeprogram(PATH/MVI,Funder-DevelopmentPartner),(RTS,S)(NCT00866619). The respondents included teams from four clinical research centres (two centres in Ghana and two in Tanzania) and various collaborating partners. This paper analyses responses to the question: What is Health Research for Development? Results: Based on the stakeholders’ experience the respondents offered many ways of defining Health Research for Development. The responses fell into four broad themes: i) Equitable Partnerships; ii) System Sustainability; iii) Addressing Local Health Targets, and iv) Regional Commitment to Benefit Sharing. Conclusion: Through defining Health Research for Development six key learning points were generated from the four result themes: 1) Ensure there is local research leadership working with the collaborative partnership, and local healthcare system, to align the project agenda and activities with local research and health priorities; 2) Know the country-specific context - map the social, health, legislative and political setting; 3) Define an explicit development component and plan of action in a research project; 4) Address the barriers and opportunities to sustain system capacity. 5) Support decentralised health system decision-making to facilitate the translation pathway; 6) Govern, monitor and evaluate the development components of health research partnerships. Overall, equity and unity between partners are required to deliver health research for development.

Source: UCC
The Degree of Fidelity of the 2007 Education Reform Implementation

The purpose of the study was to investigate how ‘faithfully’ teachers were implementing the 2007 Education Reform in Ghana. From the Central and Western Regions in Ghana, 129 basic school teachers were surveyed. Only descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. The study found that basic school teachers were practically constrained to implement the curriculum as planned. Therefore, degree of fidelity of implementation of the 2007 Education Reform was not impressive. Accordingly, it is recommended for the adoption of an eclectic stance as a combination of the approaches to implementation will elicit a more viable result.

Source: UCC
Degree Of Financial and Operating Leverage and Profitability Of Commercial Banks in Ghana

The profitability and operational and financial leverage of Ghana's commercial banks were examined in the study. Four goals were outlined in order to fulfil the study's primary goal. The initial goal was to examine how Ghanaian commercial banks' profitability was impacted by their level of financial leverage. Analysing the effect of operating leverage level on commercial banks' profitability in Ghana was the study's second goal. Analysing the impact of liquidity on Ghanaian commercial banks' profitability was the third goal of the research. Analysing the impact of macroeconomic variables on the profitability of Ghanaian commercial banks was the study's fourth goal. The explanatory research design was used in the investigation. Annual data from eight Ghanaian commercial banks were taken between 2013 and 2021. The study's goal was accomplished through the application of ordinary pool least squares. The fixed effect and random effect options were evaluated using the Hausman test. The quantitative method was applied. The study discovered a favourable correlation between commercial banks' profitability and their level of financial leverage. The level of operating leverage was negatively correlated with commercial banks' profitability. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between company profitability and liquidity. Ultimately, the research revealed that the lending and exchange rates had a detrimental impact on the profitability of Ghana's commercial banks. According tothe report, banks should decrease their financial leverage and liquidity, create effective plans to raise their operating leverage, and capitalise on the GDP growth in their respective countries in order to boost profitability.

Source: UCC
Degree of Senior High School Accounting Curriculum Implementation in Ghana: Relevant and Problematic Topics

This study explored the extent to which senior high school accounting curriculum was completed in a school year and the factors that accounted for the noncompletion of desirable portions of the curriculum. Also, topics students and teachers perceived as difficult were examined as teachers indicated their perception of the overall relevance of the curriculum for students’ development. Overall, 27 teachers and 321 students were drawn at random from the population of senior high school accounting teachers and students in the Central Region of Ghana. The respondents completed two different sets of questionnaires (one for accounting teachers; the other for accounting students) which contained open-ended and closed-ended items. Data was analysed into themes and frequencies and percentages. The study found that teachers perceived senior high school accounting curriculum to be relevant for students’ development and a high degree of the curriculum was completed in a school year. However, limited school time, inadequate teaching and learning resources, overloaded syllabus, and students’ engagement in numerous co-curricular activities impeded the completion of the curriculum. Furthermore, teachers had difficulty in teaching some topics for reasons of abstraction, complexity and technicality in those topics. Students’ difficulty in learning some topics were attributed to teachers’ inability to meet students’ needs and understanding. It is recommended that the Ghana Education Service (GES) organises appropriate continuous professional development programmes to capacitate teachers to competently teach all topics in the curriculum.

Source: UCC
Delayed Development Influences the Outcome of Different Grades of D5 and D6 Blastocysts During Freeze–Thaw Cycle

To analyze the effects of blastocysts on the 5th day (D5) and 6th day (D6) of frozen–thawed blastocyst transplantation on pregnancy outcome and provide evidence for further improvement of the strategy. This study included transfers from the Reproductive Medicine Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University during freeze–thaw cycles from January 2016 to December 2017. They were divided into D5 group (1616 cases) and D6 group (619 cases) according to blastocyst formation and development. Each group was further divided into 5 groups according to the quality of the blastocyst and the number of transplants, making a total of 10 groups. Following the frozen transplantation cycle, the transplanting rate was significantly higher for D5 (41.73%) than for D6 (23.98%) (P < 0.05); the ongoing pregnancy rate (47,40%) was also significantly higher than that of D6 (28.43%) (P < 0.05).In the frozen–thawed blastocyst resuscitation transplantation, compared to D6 blastocysts, D5 blastocysts were more conducive to blastocyst implantation and could be used to achieve better clinical pregnancy outcome. In blastocyst selection, a single D5 excellent blastocyst transplant is preferred. Only at the 6th day of non-excellent D6, 2 blastocysts are recommended for transplantation.

Source: UCC
Delegation and Job Satisfaction; Examining the Mediating Role of Leader-member Exhange and Employee Engagement at the Takodradi Technical University

ABSTRACT The study's goal was to look at the influence of delegation on job satisfaction through the mediating roles of employee engagement and Leader Member Exchange (LMX) at Takoradi Technical University (TTU). The study employed the quantitative approach. Structured questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. Two hundred and seventeen (217) respondents from Takoradi Technical University were considered as the study sample. The stratified sampling technique was employed to choose the appropriate sampling size. The data were been processed using the software IBM SPSS (v 26) and Smart PLS (v3). The hypothesis presented was tested by Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation modelling. The results show that the delegation ensures that university staff are satisfied with their job. The study also revealed that the employee engagement buffers partially the association between delegation and job satisfaction at the Technical University of Takoradi. The results demonstrated that the association between delegation and job satisfaction at the technical university in Takoradi was partially mediated at LMX. The study concludes that university managers and supervisors that make it a priority through delegation and responsibility to develop human capacity can increase employee satisfaction. The study proposes that management of higher institutions in Ghana focus on regularly reinforcing their staff through sector delegations in order to increase their employees' job satisfaction. This can be done by assigning the task and giving the employees a certain degree of autonomy to perform the task thoroughly

Source: UCC
Demand for Insurance in Ghana: Do Poverty, Employment Status and Demographic Characteristics Matter?

The paper answers the question of whether poverty, employment status and demographic characteristics matter in the demand for insurance in Ghana. Using binary logit estimation on the GLSS6 data, we found that the poor have a lower probability of demand for insurance, with locational influence being more pronounced for the poor in the rural areas, while formal salaried workers have higher demand for insurance than self-employed. Again, residents in small cities and rural areas purchase more insurance than metropolitan residents and also, the influence of employment status is more of a rural phenomenon than an urban one. Demand for insurance differ depending on poverty and employment status. Policy must focus on segregating the insurance market to cater for different classes of people

Source: UCC