ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Combining natural reaction analogues and first derivative spectrophotometric method to enhance the visible spectra of a non-polar crude leaf extract

Aim: This study was aimed at using natural reaction analogues and first derivative spectrophotometry to enhance the visible range of the non polar leaf extract. Study Design: The leaf of Alchornea cordiflora was extracted so as to enrich the extract with chlorophyll holochromes and carotenoids. The ethanolic extract was designated as MX and used as the non polar leaf extract in the experiment. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biochemistry, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, between March 2011 and August 2011. Methodology: A non-polar crude leaf extract was treated with naturally occurring reaction analogues of acidification, alkalinisation, oxidation and reduction. The spectra of the resulting solutions were analyzed by difference and first derivative spectrophotometric methods. Results: The treatment led to the enhancement of the chromophoric content and the general quality of the individual spectrum. The wavelength regions: 420-500, 440-500, 460500, 500-600 nm of spectral improvement were selective to their respective analogue test substance and conditions used in a reaction Conclusion: The 500-600 nm range was better than the Soret and the red regions to monitor the copper complexation with acidic non-polar leaf extracts of Alchornea cordiflora. Alkalinization, oxidation and reduction conditions also resolved the multiple peaks of the Soret region into distinct peaks that can be useful for monitoring and quantification of bioinorganic preparations from the leaf extract of Alchornea cordiflora

Source: UCC
Commercial extraction of rosewood and its Implication for the livelihood of rural households in Wa east district.

Rosewood, one of Ghana's ten most important timber species, is endangered and may become extinct as a result of selective and excessive harvesting. This, however, has consequences for the environment as well as rural livelihoods. In this case, the study looked at how commercial rosewood extraction affects rural communities in the Wa East District. To gather data, the researcher used purposive sampling for the chiefs, land owners, assembly members and Forestry Commission officials while the simple random sampling was used to select household respondents. Three hundred and twenty one respondents took part, and data was collected qualitatively and quantitatively utilizing an interview schedule literature guide. In order to analyze the quantitative data, descriptive statistics were used. Thematic analysis was also utilized to analyse the qualitative data and find themes that needed to be investigated further. This study discovered that over the years, Wa East populations have been subjected to extensive commercial rosewood exploitation, particularly by the Chinese resulting in the near-extinction of rosewood. Furthermore, the study found that livelihoods of rural folks included farming, livestock rearing and charcoal sellers. Therefore, this has had an impact on the environment, which has ramifications for rural livelihoods because several rural people's survival is linked to their environment basically, poverty is worsening, resulting in environmental degradation. It is recommended that the Forestry Commission should collaborate with the traditional authorities to begin a replanting and sensitatization project to educate the rural residents about the value of rosewood.

Source: UCC
Commercial feed availabilty as a factor in poultry (chicken) production in Sekyere West district of Ashanti region, Ghana

Commercial feed availability is essential in areas where poultry (chicken) farmers practice intensive production. A study was thus undertaken in the Sekyere West District (SWD) of Ashanti Region to determine the availability of commercial feed as a factor in chicken production. The study also assessed patronage of Agricare feed in Mampong, SWD, covering a period of 3 years (2004-2006). A census survey, involving 62 active chicken farmers and the feed supply agent in the district, was conducted using interview schedules in 2007. The availability and use of commercial feed, farmers’ preferences, benefits derived, challenges and possible solutions were studied. Statistical product for service solutions (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. Chicken production was found to be a primary occupation for 64% of the farmers studied. Availability of Agricare feed in Mampong was confirmed by 95.00% farmers. Though 93% farmers were literate, 27.42% of them were untrained in feed formulation and 88.71% preferred commercial feeds. Farmers were satisfied with the feed quality and 15 (24.19%) became poultry farmers due to the establishment of the feed outlet at SWD. Availability of the feeds has helped 77.41% of the farmers to improve their bird productivity. Bird populations increased from 72,210 in 2004 to 100,360 in 2006 with marked increases in cockerel production. It was concluded that, availability of quality poultry feeds has a positive influence on production and is critical to farm expansion. It was recommended that ready availability of high quality and preferred types of commercial feeds coupled with financial support to farmers is a priority need to enhance development of the poultry industry in SWD of Ghana.

Source: UCC
Commitment and Agency in the State of the Nation Address of Two Ghanaian Presidents: A Modality and Ergative Analysis

Politics is one of the most fertile fields of language use in discourse studies. Discourse analysts have studied various genres of political discourse but the State of the Nation Address has received little attention especially in the Ghanaian research domain. This study employed the systemic functional linguistics frameworks of transitivity and modality to analyze the State of the Nation Address of two Ghanaian presidents (John Mahama and Akufo-Addo). Using the two presidents as a case study, the study aimed to determine the levels of agency and commitment Ghanaian presidents show through language choices. The study resorted to a qualitative content analysis where the summative and directed approaches were adopted as a research design. The data was retrieved from the official website of the Parliament of Ghana. Purposive non-probability sampling was used to sample the two State of the Nation Addresses for analysis. The modality analysis revealed that median value modal verbal operators dominated both SONAs followed high-value modal verbal operators. There was no use of low-value median operators in the data. The findings suggest that Ghanaian presidents do not often show high level of commitment through the linguistic choices they make. The transitivity analysis also revealed that certain patterns of systemic choice ascribe agency to Ghanaian presidents in the SONA while certain patterns of systemic choice allows Ghanaian presidents to escape agency. The study confirms ultimately that linguistic choices are motivated by various factors and language is a resource for making meaning. The study also has implications for Systemic Functional Linguistic theory, political discourse analysis, transitivity studies, pedagogy, professional practice and studies on the State of the Nation Address.

Source: UCC
Commitment of cocoa farmers in the Obuasi Municipality to the cocoa industry

ABSTRACT The study examines the extent of commitment of cocoa farmers in the Obuasi Municipality. The data for the study were obtained from cocoa farmers in the Obuasi municipality through a survey in the month of December, 2009. The methodology covers the study area, study design, population, the sample and sampling procedures, sources of data collection, research instruments, pilot testing, field work, challenges to be encountered, and data analysis procedure. The study revealed that cocoa farmers with the highest educational attainment were more committed to their work than their counterpart with low educational attainment. Similarly, cocoa farmers with more working experience as cocoa farmers tend to be more committed to their work. Financial constraints, pests and diseases, insufficient equipment, and bad weather were considered to be the most challenging problems facing farmers. Elements such as prompt payment, payment of bonuses, mass spraying, provision of jute sack, and fertilizers were considered as the major factors that motivate farmers to remain in the cocoa sector. The following recommendations were made by the researcher; COCOBOB should make it a point to ensure that there is a prompt payment of all the bonuses due the cocoa farmers. Also supply of fertilizers and jute sacks by COCOBOD to the farmers would go a long way to boost their morale and commitment level. The government should be proactive in ensuring that these basic needs (portable drinking water, good access roads, health facilities, schools and teachers posted to these communities.) of the cocoa farmers are timely met.

Source: UCC
Commitment to environmental management in hotels in Accra

The sporadic development of hotel facilities in a developing West African city like Accra in Ghana, coupled with their consumption of natural resources and generation of waste has implications or environmental sustainability. This article therefore seeks to ascertain hotel managers’ attitude towards environmental management and to examine their commitment to environmental management through the implementation of environmental policies and programs. The study took the form of a survey of managers of 200 hotels, ranging from budget to our-star rated, employing the stratified random sampling procedure. Though a greater number of hotel managers had a positive attitude towards environmental management, it was the upscale and larger hotels that were more committed to environmental management especially in terms having; a designated officer responsible or environmental management, written environmental policy statement, environmental action lan, a history of implementing environmental programs and ecolabelling or environment related certification. The article proposes interhotel collaboration in environmental management of that smaller hotels could profit from the experiences and resources of larger hotels

Source: UCC
Commodities prices, banking sector’s financial soundness, and the macro-economy of Ghana

The recent high volatility of prices in international commodity markets has increased concerns for countries that rely heavily on commodity exports. When commodity prices decrease, it can lead to lower economic growth and increased demand for credit, which can negatively impact financial soundness. Therefore, the study assesses the effect of commodity prices on banking sector’s financial soundness indicators (BsFSI) as objective one, the influence of macroeconomic variables in the relationship between commodity prices and BsFSI as objective two, and the interconnectedness among commodity prices, BsFSI and the macro-economy of Ghana as objective three. The study followed positivist quantitative and explanatory research. Seventeen variables measured on a monthly basis over a period spanning from January 2007 to March 2022 were employed. The inferential techniques employed in the order of the objectives are (a) Quantile Regression and non-parametric causality test, (b) Bi-wavelet and Partial wavelet, and (c) Time-varying parameter Vector Autoregression (TVP-VAR) connectedness and Wavelet multiple. Objective one found significant effects of commodity prices on Ghana’s BsFSI at diverse market conditions. The second objective revealed that macroeconomic variables influence the nexus between commodity prices and BsFSI in Ghana across time and frequency. The final objective found that Ghana has a significantly high degree of connectedness among commodity prices, BsFSI, and macroeconomic variables. The study recommends that policy measures on cocoa export should be tailored to bolster the sector's resilience, given its influence on foreign exchange earnings. Also, there should be a prudent approach in managing non-performing loans as it is imperative to prevent overborrowing and potential insolvency risks, especially among banks with higher capital adequacy ratios.

Source: UCC
Commodities, Exchange Rates, And Equity Markets In Commodity-Dependent Sub-Saharan African Countries

The transmission of risk across markets occurs when information flow is neither immediate nor complete. This infers that a market's response to adverse sentiment spreads to other markets, irrespective of the prevailing conditions. Accordingly, the global metal market encountered chaos in 2022, coupled with surges in commodity prices, and the IMF disclosed an escalated devaluation of currencies in sub-Saharan Africa. Amidst such occurrences, it becomes vital to acknowledge the potential transmission of risks within these markets, and this stems from the continent's heavy reliance on commodities and the close link between stock market performance and economic progress. By utilising the multivariate wavelet and the Barunik and Křehlík spillover index, this study examines the interdependence and volatility transmission among commodities, exchange rates, and equities in selected sub-Saharan African countries. The study utilised daily prices spanning 2012 to 2022 as a proxy for commodities and equities, with daily nominal indirect quotations proxying for the sample currencies. The study found weak interdependencies between commodity and equity markets in the short and medium term and a bidirectional risk transmission among all sampled markets in the long term. It is recommended that central banks and equity market regulators within these markets strengthen and implement robust risk management policies that take into account these linkages. It is further recommended that governments diversify the economy to ease the burden on commodities, improve production, and enhance value. This will reduce the region's susceptibility to commodity and currency market shocks and enhance economic growth and equity market development.

Source: UCC
Commodity price shocks and fiscal imbalance in Ghana

This study investigated the impact of commodity price shocks on fiscal imbalance in Ghana. The study covered the period of 1990 to 2013 where the country experienced high fiscal imbalance and external debt that led to the HIPC initiative to sustain the debt burden and macroeconomic stability. The Vector Error Correction approach to cointegrationwas used with quarterly data from Bank of Ghana, WDI and ADI. The Impulse Response Analysis from a Bayesian VAR was done to analyse shocks of commodity prices (gold and cocoa), terms of trade, capital formation and the response by fiscal imbalance.Results from the study suggest that commodity price (gold and cocoa) negatively affects fiscal account implying fiscal imbalance in both short and long run. Consumer price Index and interest payment on external debt negatively affect fiscal imbalance in the long run and fluctuate at different time lags in the short run. Terms of trade and gross fixed capital formation both suggested positive effect on fiscal imbalance in the long run and short run. Surprisingly, positive commodity price shocks increase negative fiscal imbalance. Positive shocks of terms of trade and capital formation affect fiscal imbalance both positively and negatively.The study recommended mobilizing more revenue by way of value addition to exports, export diversification, controlled inflation and debt borrowing, private investment and reduction in non-essential expenditures of government.

Source: UCC
Commodity Price Shocks and Fiscal Imbalance in Ghana

This study investigated the impact of commodity price shocks on fiscal imbalance in Ghana. The study covered the period of 1990 to 2013 where the country experienced high fiscal imbalance and external debt that led to the HIPC initiative to sustain the debt burden and macroeconomic stability. The Vector Error Correction approach to cointegration was used with quarterly data from Bank of Ghana, WDI and ADI. The Impulse Response Analysis from a Bayesian VAR was done to analyse shocks of commodity prices (gold and cocoa), terms of trade, capital formation and the response by fiscal imbalance. Results from the study suggest that commodity price (gold and cocoa) negatively affects fiscal account implying fiscal imbalance in both short and long run. Consumer price Index and interest payment on external debt negatively affect fiscal imbalance in the long run and fluctuate at different time lags in the short run. Terms of trade and gross fixed capital formation both suggested positive effect on fiscal imbalance in the long run and short run. Surprisingly, positive commodity price shocks increase negative fiscal imbalance. Positive shocks of terms of trade and capital formation affect fiscal imbalance both positively and negatively. The study recommended mobilizing more revenue by way of value addition to exports, export diversification, controlled inflation and debt borrowing, private investment and reduction in non-essential expenditures of government.

Source: UCC
Commonality and individuality in academic writing: an analysis of conference paper titles of four scholars

In the last two and half decades, scholars and researchers in Applied Linguistics and other allied fields have shown an increasing interest in titles of academic publications. The place of style at the level of the individual language user has, however, been under-researched. This study, therefore, investigates the extent to which titles of conference papers vary according to individual authors’ preferences and disciplinary proclivities. A total of 78 conference paper titles of four scholars (two each from the disciplines of Education and Applied Linguistics) constituted the data set for the study. The titles of each scholar were analyzed, based on four variables, namely lexical density, length in words, structural organization, and syntactic encoding, using both quantitative and qualitative analytical approaches. The findings show that the titles of individual scholars within the same discipline vary considerably. Both similarities and differences between the two disciplines regarding the construction of titles are also observed. The study concludes that, in general, titles maintain discipline-constrained and generic characteristics; yet, these titles are considerably characterized by individual preferences of the scholars. These findings of the study have Implications for the scholarship on the interface between individuality and disciplinarity, academic writing and further research

Source: UCC
Communication and Employee Performance at University of Health and Allied Science

ABSTRACT This study sought to examine communication and employee performance at University of Health and Allied Science (UHAS). The specific objectives were to: assess the nature of communication; examine the relationship between communication and employee performance of employees and; examine the influence of communication on employees’ performance at University of Health and Allied Science. The research approach was quantitative and a descriptive survey design was used for this study. The population for the study was ninety. However, the study adopted a census and data was gathered by the use of questionnaire which were personally administered on one-on-one basis. The results revealed that clear information on attitude needed are communicated to them; free and open dialogue; free exchange information and opinions; feedback from management. This enabled administrators to meet targets in a timely and efficient manner, demonstrates effective positive client service, present at work always, demonstrate willingness to learn new skills, share of information, develops and maintain professional working relationships with co-workers and supervisors. Further, it was found that there was a moderate and positive significant relationship between the two variables and based on the regression results, communication had a significant prediction on employees at UHAS performance. It was also concluded that having effective communication programmes help maintain liveliness at the workplace as communication is the lifeblood of every organization. Given the connection between efficient communication and employee efficiency, it was recommended that an increased effort should be made to ensure that management knowledge is complete and understandable.

Source: UCC
Communication in the world of fantasy: A case of Inez Haynes Gillmore’s Angel Island

One of the greatest classics of feminist fantasy science fiction, Angel Island by Inez Haynes Gillmore, tells the tragic story of what happens when a group of five shipwrecked sailors encounter on an Island five winged-women who have left their own race of winged-people. The men and women on this uncharted island are mutually attracted to each other. The bird-like language of the winged-women is as mysterious and fascinating as their graceful beauty. Enchantment turns to lust and the men possess these angel-like creatures in a rather horrific and uncouth manner. The men must come to terms with the language and culture of this extraordinary race of female creatures. The relationship that develops between the men and women in Angel Island work out as one would imagine they would in most feminist novels in the early part of the twentieth century. The relationship is characterized by romance, male dominance, gender inequality, revolts, rebellions and conflicts. The current study focuses on the communicative segment of this fantastic relationship

Source: UCC
Communication Practices Among University Administrators at Central University, Accra, Ghana

The purpose of this study was to assess communication practices among university administrators at Central University, Accra, Ghana. A descriptive survey involving the use of questionnaire was employed to solicit information from administrators. The total sample for the study was 50. A questionnaire was administered to administrators. The data were analysed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, mean and standard deviation. The census sampling method was used, the researcher adopted this method because according the business jargons, the results based on this method are less biased and also it stated that, the census sampling method can be applied in a situation where the separate data for every unit in the population is to be collected, such that the separate actions for each is taken. The results indicated that even though there were laid down standards of communication in the university, there were some few challenges to communication such as receive information through informal channels should be more proactive in communicating issues to employees. Since good communication practices bring about satisfied customers and vice versa, in this case, the major recommendation to the challenges of communication was that conversation intent must be well explained and consent invited and also non-verbal communication such as gestures should be used to enhance smooth flow of communication in the university.

Source: UCC