ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Assessing the agricultural module of Ghana youth employment and entrepreneurial development agency (Gyeeda).

Unemployment particularly among the youth is currently one of the critical problems facing the Ghanaian economy. The challenge has therefore become an issue of great concern not only to citizens and trade unions, but governments alike. The government of Ghana acknowledging the presence of an appreciable number of unemployed youth in Ghana instituted a pragmatic programme like the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA). Some researchers have suggested that many of these notable programmes are implemented on ad hoc basis resulting in a series of challenges militating against its implementation in solving unemployment rate in Ghana. Despite the fact that Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) is considered to create employment avenues for Ghanaian youth, little researches have been done on the Agricultural module of the programme. This research work is therefore carried out to fill this vacuum in Ghana. The general objective of the study is to assess how the Agricultural module under Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency is helping to reduce unemployment among Ghanaian youth. The researcher employed the qualitative method for this research work. A field study was conducted to obtain the relevant data for the study. The target population for the collection of data for the research is the 5 Coordinators of Youth in Agricultural module under Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA). The researcher adopted simple random sampling technique in collecting data from these respondents. Data was collected through direct visitation, observation, and interview guide and was analyzed with thematic approach. After assessing how Agricultural module under Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency is helping to reduce unemployment among Ghanaian youth, the study found that the percentage of youth actually employed under the Youth in Agriculture Programme (YIAP) has fallen far short of general expectation, as not even half of the expected number to be employed under the Youth in Agriculture Programme (YIAP) was actually employed. Information received from the respondents on various challenges associated with agricultural module under Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) include: financial challenges, heavy politicization, problem of land acquisition, low level of education, access to inputs acquisition and problem of research and development. The study recommends that to minimise political colorization, government must employ coordinators based on competence and not party affiliation and government should assist these young farmers on land acquisition since most of these lands are held by chiefs and are not used for any farming business. The study recommends to Ghana government through appropriate agencies like Agricultural research institute and centre for scientific research to embark on new and modern ways of farming in order to improve farming yields in Ghana.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the Association between Nutritional Status and Asymptomatic Malaria Parasitaemia of Children Under Five Years in Ghana

Background: Undernutrition and malaria are major public health challenges and are the main causes of morbidity and mortality in low and/or middle income settings. To fulfil a research need, this study was conducted to determine the association between nutritional status including anaemia and asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in children under five years old. Methods: This was a community based cross-sectional study, conducted in four communities from randomly selected regions in Ghana. Blood samples and anthropometric measures of 250 children were collected for analyses. Parents of children involved in the study, also completed a questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia was 14.8% and anaemia (Hb < 11.0 g/dl) was 58.8%. Binomial logistic regression analysis predicted no significant association between asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia and weight-for-height z-scores (p = 0.592; OR = 1.234; 95% CI: 0.573-2.658), height-for-age z-scores (p = 0.169; OR = 0.651; 95% CI: 0.353-1.200) and weight-for-age z-scores (p = 0.832; OR = 1.094; 95% CI: 0.478- 2.504). However, asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia was a significant predictor of anaemia (p = 0.04; OR = 2.419; 95% CI: 1.041-5.622) and ages beyond two years were risk factors for anaemia. Stunting however was associated with a significant lower odds of being anaemic (p = 0.003; OR = 0.484; 95% CI: 0.301- 0.778). Conclusions: Asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia may have no effect on anthropometric measurements of young children or asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia have no significant influence on anthropometric measures of young children in the short or long term. However, children with asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia are more likely to be anaemic especially after two years. Stunting however may reduce the risk of anaemia in children. This suggests that, asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia may be a contributory factor to the existing burden of anaemia in children from developing countries. Efforts should therefore be made to screen for asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia during routine growth monitoring sessions.

Source: KNUST
ASSESSING THE AWARENESS OF SELECTED INVESTMENT PRODUCTS IN SUAME MAGAZINE AREA

The aim of study is to assess the awareness level of some selected investment products among artisans at Suame Magazine, to find out the source of information about investment product among artisans, to ascertain how one education background affects the awareness level of investment. The study obtained information from one hundred and thirty respondents from an initial target of one hundred and fifty (150) mainly through questionnaire. The results indicates that majority of artisans are not familiar with investment products with the exception of treasury bills. Moreover, it is also realized that those with higher educational background had more knowledge about investment than those with little education, the main source of information to artisans in relation to investment was mainly through friends but other sources like radio and television was quite high among artisans. Among the recommendations made are that financial institution should embark on massive education on the importance of investment as most artisans and for that most in the informal sector do not know much about financial market and investment in general. Moreover, the sales and marketing department of financial institutions should train more sales personnel‟s to carry out this project of sensitizing the general public especially artisans around Suame Magazine and those in the informal sector. Financial institution should endeavor to advertise more on its investment products, channels such as television, the newspapers and especially radio has become important avenues for dissemination of information to a large group of people which can help the drive to sensitize people on investment.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the awareness and extent of handwashing among Senior High School Students In Kumasi Senior High and Technical School-Patase, Kumasi-Ghana

Background: Correct handwashing is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. However, most students are not aware of the essence of hand washing. Objective: The aim is to assess the awareness and extent of handwashing among senior high school students in Kumasi Senior High and Technical School-Patase, Kumasi-Ghana. Methods: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey involving interviewing S.H.S students between that ages of 14-19 years of age. The study used quantitative research tool and semi-structured questionnaire conducted over two months, from April, 2018 to May, 2018. Convenient sampling was used to select the school and the students for the study. A sample size of 300 students were selected. The data was processed and analysed with SPSS (25.0) and exported to Microsoft excel 2016 for better presentation. Results: A 100% (n=300) response rate with female predominance (61.7%) and majority being above 16 years (76.3%). Almost all the students (99%) knew of handwashing with most (43.3%) gaining their information from parents and 65.33% thinks that hygiene should be incorporated in their curriculum. Regarding student's practice, 95.0% indicated that hand washing should be practiced by washing hand with anti- bacterial soap (75.7%) and running water (73.7%) with 69.7% drying their hand after washing. Concerning frequency of handwashing, majority indicated that they always wash their hand after eating (80.0%), after using the toilet (75.3) and before meal (60.0%). Among the factors that limit handwashing practice are lack of facility, no cleansing agent, water shortage, no time for washing and forgetfulness. Conclusions: Although, students had good knowledge of hand washing practice, but inadequate provision and inaccessibility of hand washing facilities at school may not allow them to practice the hand washing knowledge they had acquired.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the adequacy of construction planning and scheduling data utilized by construction firms in Ghana

The increasing need for residential apartments, educational facilities, health infrastructure and roads just to mention a few has over the years become the engine of a high growth rate within the global construction industry. With the back drop of construction being a capital intensive venture, the need to ensure that cost is well managed and ultimately profit gained cannot be over emphasized. It is therefore important to have proper planning, scheduling, monitoring and controlling of construction projects throughout its entire period until project delivery. These principles are achievable by ensuring the preparation of comprehensive construction planning and scheduling data to be used as a yardstick for assessment of project in every aspect of time, cost and quality. The researcher, investigated and assessed the adequacy of data used for construction planning and scheduling among construction firms in Ghana. Data for the study was largely collected through a questionnaire survey and analysed using descriptive statistics. The research made bare the fact that construction firms in Ghana have made efforts at producing some form of planning and scheduling data to support their activities, however the majority are unable to develop the complete data that would allow them to have total control of every aspect of the construction process. Thus the most common representation of a construction plan and schedule by majority of the firms are just programme of works with time lines but no resource allocation for the purposes of cost and material monitoring and control. It was therefore the researcher’s recommendation that that the real cost to the contractor for not having complete control over all aspect of cost, time and quality be investigated and made known in order to motivate them to ensure comprehensive planning and scheduling. Also construction firms and academia should get involved in monitoring and improving the skill and knowledge of personnel within the industry who have the duty of planning and scheduling construction works.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the benefits and challenges of corporate social responsibility in the Kumasi Metropolis: A case of the beverage industry

The 21st Century has witnessed the rising interest and incorporation of Corporation Social Responsibility (CSR) into the core business of organizations as a result of the relevance of the concept in accruing tremendous benefits to organizations and societies. This has drawn the attention of managers and researchers to the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Nevertheless, studies revealed that the practice of the concept in organizations comes with its own challenges. Thus, this study aimed at assessing the benefits and challenges associated with the practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the beverage industry within the Kumasi Metropolis. The research reviewed literature on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility. The study embraced a mixed methodology where questionnaire and interview were used for data collection and the data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientist (SPSS) and content analysis. The study revealed that regardless of the positive perception of the beverage industry in its contribution toward community development, society had a negative perception of this relationship as they felt the beverage industry was not doing enough to support their socio-economic livelihoods. Also, the study suggested that the beverage industry used Corporate Social Responsibility as a marketing tool to promote their products. Furthermore, the study indicated that the bureaucratic structure of the beverage industry hinders the industry‟s ability to effectively practice Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The researcher therefore recommended a decentralization of the Corporate Affairs Department of the beverage industry; improve community participation in the design stage of CSR programs and the need for an enactment of a comprehensive CSR policy or law in Ghana.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the benefits and barriers of the use of building information modeling (BIM) in the Ghanaian Building Construction Industry

Building Information Modelling “BIM” has become a well-known collaboration procedure in the Building Construction Industry. Property/Home Owners are challenging Architectural, Engineering and Construction companies to provide some form of BIM Services. Evidence exist on the implementation of BIM in the Building construction field in other parts of the world especially in Australia, United Kingdom and many parts of the United States of America. Surprisingly, its implementation is yet to even be discussed in literature in Ghana and other African developing countries. The study, therefore is aimed at exploring the benefits and barriers confronting BIM implementation in the Ghanaian Building Construction Industry. The aim was anchored on the following objectives to identify areas of possible BIM use to identify paybacks with use of BIM looking at the Ghanaian Construction Industry; and to also identify the barriers to its implementation. Data collected was further analysed using mean score ranking and relative importance index. The study adopted survey approach whereby Primary data was collected from respondents including construction managers and other professionals in the Building Construction Industry, Architect, Engineers, and Quantity Surveyors etc. The study identified Building Information Modelling uses for construction, preconstruction and post construction phases as well. The study concluded BIM as tool to assist Building construction planning. The significant benefits with the use of BIM is the improved conception of the task of construction, enhanced communication between project players and improved scheduling proficiency. Despite these potentials, the following key barriers were identified against the implementation, BIM set-up costs, Lack of awareness on it, Risk Exposure, and. Culture opposition. From findings, it is recommended that BIM (4D modelling) ought to be implemented in the Building Construction Industry and an Act of Parliament to give it a legal backing in order to explore the full potentials and further be developed as a standard in the Ghanaian Building industry. The study exhibits a significant epitome in the area of BIM in Ghana. The study is of utmost utility to construction professionals.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the bookkeeping practices of small scale enterprises in the Ejisu-Juaben municipality

This study sought to examine the bookkeeping practices of small scale enterprises in the EjisuJuaben municipality. The specific objectives of the study were to; find out if small scale enterprises in the study area practice bookkeeping and if they do what is its effect on their performance in terms of profitability and growth. Also the challenges small scale enterprises encounter in their practice of bookkeeping were examined. The population of the study was small scale enterprises in the Ejisu-Juaben municipality. Out of this population a convenient sampling technique was used to select a sample of 123 respondents. A cross sectional survey was carried out using questionnaires. The data gathered was analysed quantitatively using SPSS version 22. The study found that most of the small scale enterprises in the municipality do practice bookkeeping. The results of the mean and standard deviation indicate that proper bookkeeping has positive effect on the performance of small scale enterprises. The study concludes that the small scale enterprises in the study area have not only become aware of the importance of bookkeeping but most of them have been practicing it. It is recommended that keeping records manually by SSEs should be discouraged, instead modern methods such as online services (cloud services) and computer software should be used in keeping records. Though keeping records through computer assisted system comes with additional cost to the firm, its benefits is worth the sacrifice.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the budgeting system of Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology.

The role of budgeting systems cannot be over emphasize in the implementation and coordination of institutional policies and plans. The current study examined the budgetary system of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology over the period of 2004 to 2014, with the aim of examining the effectiveness of the current budgetary system being used by the university. The study employed both primary and secondary data to analyse the variance in the universities recurrent and capital expenditure and their causes. Other information were solicited through interviews guides and informal discussions with the head of the budget office. The results revealed that whilst the university enjoyed substantial funding options from the government over the periods of 2010 – 2012, the remaining years received less funding compared to the budgeted expenditure of the university. Also, the study revealed that the government‟s decision to release funds to the university is not predetermined by the budgeting processes adopted but the current state of development plans of the government. Factors such as students‟ population and capital projects pre-inform decisions of stakeholders to disburse funds to the university. The findings of the study further revealed that most of the budget officers are not well-trained on the new techniques of budgeting. There is weak coordination between the various planning committees of the budgeting process. In conclusion, the findings revealed that the current budgeting system used by the university is effective, though some weaknesses were found. The study recommends that training and education on budgeting should be encourage to improve upon the skills of the budgeting staff. Also, waste should be discourage as this was found to bloat the budget of the university.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the bookkeeping practices of some selected small and medium scale enterprises in the Suhum municipality.

This study discusses the bookkeeping practices of some selected small and medium scale enterprises in the Suhum Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The study examined the detailed profile of SMEs, bookkeeping practices, whether it conforms to best practices and the challenges they face in their bookkeeping practices. This is to guide policy makers to develop accounting and bookkeeping modules that aims to improve ways by which SMEs bookkeeping can meet international best practices. The research was conducted in the form of a survey. Information was collected from selected SMEs in order to describe some aspect of the population of which the target constitutes a part. The descriptive sample survey helped the researcher to obtain a large sample of information, the result of which could be used to generalize the entire population. The main way through which information were collected was through administering of questionnaires and interviews; answers to these questions by members of the group constituted data for the study. Irrespective of the contributions of SMEs to national development, proper bookkeeping play critical role in the performance and growth of small businesses. The research indicated there was lack of professional skills particularly in bookkeeping procedures among SMEs in Suhum Municipality. It is therefore imperative for accounts clerks to be hired whether businesses are manned by owners or employees no matter the cost, for accounts to be appropriately maintained to enable SMEs keep track of business activities and used it as a source for effective economic planning. In order to ensure bookkeeping and financial management practices of SMEs meet international and best standards, the NBSSI/BAC should collaborate with professional accounting bodies particularly ICA-Ghana to develop accounting and bookkeeping modules that will serve critical needs of SMEs. Government should grant tax incentives to relieve the plight of SMEs that employ professional accounting staff to manage their bookkeeping duties.

Source: KNUST
Assessing the barriers to entrepreneurship among graduates in Ghana

This study assessed the barriers to graduate entrepreneurship in Ghana by using the Brong-Ahafo Region as a case study. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was employed as one hundred and eighteen (118) questionnaires were retrieved for analysis purposes through the use of convenient sampling technique. Based on the findings of the study, it was revealed that the education related factors that serve as constraints to graduate entrepreneurship include the low level of entrepreneurship education in the tertiary educational institutions in Ghana, the inadequate curricula and study programs about entrepreneurship in the Ghanaian tertiary institutions, the existence of wrong teaching and learning methods in tertiary institutions which does not favor graduate entrepreneurship and the lack of trained entrepreneurship lecturers in tertiary institutions within Ghana. However, the funding/capital constraints of graduate entrepreneurship also comprised of the following: lack of personal start-up capital, lack of collateral in securing loans for start-ups, the existence of strict credit-scoring regulations in securing loans, the existence of rigorous documentation procedure in securing credit/funds and also the lack of knowledge and awareness of start-up financing opportunities. High taxes for businesses, the high cost of business registration and the bureaucratic processes in business registration were identified as the administrative/regulatory constraints affecting graduate entrepreneurship. The lack of business connection and contact networks for graduate entrepreneurs, the lack of knowledge of graduate entrepreneurs on available business support services in the country and also the lack of mentoring capacities for graduates constituted the lack of Business Assistance and Business Development Services that served as impediments to graduate entrepreneurship. The study therefore recommended the need for educational reforms in Ghana to include entrepreneurship in the curricula and also train teachers especially for entrepreneurship education from the basic levels through to the tertiary levels. The study also recommended the need for financial institutions to develop entrepreneurship friendly products that will encourage both parents and students to have the urge to save towards start-up funds for their businesses. The study further recommended the need for the Government of Ghana through the Ghana Revenue Authority to reduce the tax rate of start-up businesses of graduate entrepreneurs. Finally, the study recommended the need for the Registrar Generals Department to make use of ICT to enhance the effective registration of businesses devoid of bureaucratic procedures.

Source: KNUST