ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Abnormal pricing in international commodity trading: Evidence from Ghana

mispricing of international trade in natural resources contributes to significant tax base erosion from developing countries but is difficult to measure using aggregate trade statistics. In this paper, We apply a novel approach motivated by legal rules for trade and transfer, mispricing. to estimate. abnormal pricing in gold and cocoa exports from Ghana, i.e., exports valued outside an assumed arm's length price range that indicates fair market values. Using daily frequency, transaction-level data from Ghana Customs, our results indicate abnormally undervalued exports of gold and cocoa from Ghana equalled USD 8.8 billion in constant prices (base year 2011) or USD 4.1 billion in current prices between 2011 and 2017. Approximately 11% of gold dorm exports and 1% of cocoa bean exports, and 7.2% of cocoa paste exports appear abnormally undervalued. The implied corporate tax base erosion equals USD 2.2 billion in constant prices (base year 2011), corresponding to an average annual decrease of 0.3% in Ghana's tax-to-GDP ratio.

Source: UG
Abortion experience and self-efficacy: exploring socioeconomic profiles of GHANAIAN women

Background: Unsafe abortions remain a major global public health concern and despite its prevalence, unsafe abortions remain one of the most neglected global health challenges. The proportion of women in Ghana who have experienced unsafe abortions has increased from 45% in 2007 to 62% in 2017. Given the noted consequences of (unsafe) abortions on women health, it is important to explore factors correlated with women’s abortion decisions and why they opt for safe or unsafe methods. The study also examines determinants of over 6,000 Ghanaian women’s selfefficacy in abortion decision-making, given that this is likely to affect the likelihood of future abortions. Methods: Using cluster-level Geographic Information System data from the 2017 Ghana Maternal Health Survey, the study provides a hot spot analysis of the incidence of abortion in the country. The study also makes use of Probit multivariate analyses also show the correlates of abortion with socio-economic factors. Results: Results suggest that abortion among women is positively correlated with the absence of partners, low education levels, higher household wealth, lower parity and family size, polygyny and Christian religious background. Conclusion: It is observed that the groups of women with higher abortion self-efficacy are the same groups of women who are more likely to opt for safer abortion methods, indicating some correlation, albeit indirect, between abortion self-efficacy and women’s abortion behaviors in Ghana. Relevant policy applications are adduced from these research findings.

Source: UG
Abortion practices among women in Buea: A socio-legal investigation

Introduction: there are controversies surrounding the practice of abortion especially in developing countries of Africa. Cameroon is not an exception to this and hence this study aims at assessing knowledge on the awareness of abortion laws, the factors that determine abortion and people’s perceptions on the legality of abortion in Cameroon. Methods: the study is cross-sectional in its design. A total of 224 women were randomly sampled. Data for the study were collected through the use of questionnaires from the sampled women of child bearing age. These were used to assess knowledge on the awareness of abortion laws and the determinants of abortion. The data were analysed using STATA 15. Results: the prevalence of induced abortion was 21%. The major determinants of abortion among these women were; desire to stay in school (28%), fear of parents (24%) and shame of being pregnant out of wedlock (26%). Furthermore, many women are not aware of the situations where abortion is allowed and hence some still undertake illegal abortions even when they find themselves in situations deserving a legal abortion. Conclusion: induced abortion is still common in Buea, Cameroon despite the fact that it is illegal. Cameroon’s legal and health system needs to work in harmony in order to lessen the legal processes of having a legal abortion.

Source: UG
Absence of Organ Specific Toxicity in Rats Treated with Tonica, an Aqueous Herbal Haematinic Preparation

The main research focus of the Electron Microscopy and Histopathology Department in the past 20 years has been in the areas of enteric diarrhoeas with special emphasis on rotavirus. Through its diarrhoea surveillance studies, the Department has helped to firmly establish rotaviruses as a major cause of diarrhoea in children, and document the circulation of unusual rotavirus genotypes in Ghana. The Department has also recently expanded its diagnostic repertoire to include the identification and characterization of noroviruses, astroviruses, and other enteric viruses.

Source: UG
The absence of social capital and the failure of the Ghanian neoliberal mental model

In the 1980s, Ghana sought to institute market liberalization reforms based on policy prescriptions outlined by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank known as Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). SAPs were designed in accordance with a neoliberal framework known as the Washington Consensus (WC). The WC, a strand of the neoliberal shared mental model that was ﬁrst coined by John Williamson, articulated a set of market-oriented policy prescriptions and goals that if pursued faithfully, would help encourage countries on the path to greater economic performance and prosperity. Such prescriptions included instructing governments to pursue policies and strategies aimed at promoting ﬁscal discipline, interest rate liberalization, privatization, deregulation of entrance and exit barriers, and establishing transparent and public-seeking institutions that are established to enforce and abide by a rule of law that would secure property rights and discourage predatory rent-seeking practices.

Source: UG
Absence of visible toxic effects accompanying the short-term administration of an aqueous extract of Allium sativa linn. in male sprague-dawley rats

Allium sativum is cultivated in the northern part of Ghana and has gained widespread use as chemoprotective, in curing hypertension, impotence and erectile dysfunction. The multipurpose use together with its aphrodisiac activity has resulted in the widespread use of this plant medicine both in meals and as herbal medications. Safety assessment of this plant however is rare. The present study is designed to evaluate the toxic effect of the aqueous extract of Allium sativa on the prostate, heart, liver kidney and haematological parameters after a shorterm administration in male-sprague-dawley rats. The following doses were used in different groups of male Sprague-Dawley Rats: 5000, 3000 and 1000 mg kg-1. The following parameters were monitored: Clinical Chemistry, Gross and Histopathology (Heart, kidney, liver and prostate). No death was recorded at the highest dose of 5000 mg kg-1. ASE reduced levels of urea and creatinine but increased levels of liver enzymes ALT, AST, ALP and bilirubin levels as compared to the controls. There was a statistically significant increase in WBC count (p&lt;0.005) in all the doses except the median dose. There were no significant change in Red Blood Cell count (RBC) (p&lt;0.003), Haemoglobin (HGB) (p&lt;0.03), Haematocrit (HCT) p&lt;0.0001), Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) Other parameters remained relatively unchanged. Gross pathology did not reveal any abnormality. Histopathological analysis showed that the extract did not have any adverse effect on the integrity of these organs. The results were within histopathological limits and did not reveal any abnormality in the examined organs namely: The prostate, kidney, liver and heart which maintained their integrity after the dose administration. Observations were within histopathological limits. ASE is reasonably safe when administered by the oral route within dosages of 1000-5000 mg kg-1 in Sprague dawley rats. This research has provided the safety implications as to the use of this plant. © 2014 Science Publication.

Source: UG
Absolute levels and ratios of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine production in vitro predict clinical immunity to plasmodium falciparum malaria.

The Department of Immunology conducts research in the field of immunology of infectious and non-infectious diseases. The Department has the overall goal of contributing knowledge to better diagnosis, management, control and prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases in Ghana and worldwide. This is consistent with the overall strategy of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) and in line with the strategy of the College of Health Sciences of the University of Ghana.

Source: UG
Abundance and distribution of the Mediterranean of the fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Diptera:Tephritidae), in Late Valencia citrus orchards in Ghana

The abundance and distribution of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) in Late Valencia citrus orchards and other alternative host crops was investigated using trimedlure-baited traps at the University of Ghana's Agricultural Research Centre in the Eastern region of Ghana. The effect of some climatic factors on the population dynamics of the pest was also studied. The population of C. capitata increased from September to October 2006 and from February to March 2007, when Late Valencia citrus fruits were ripening or ripened. The fruit fly population was the lowest from November 2006 to January 2007 when citrus fruits were in the immature green stage. Ceratitis capitata was not trapped in mango, pawpaw and pepper fields and did not emerge from fruits of these crops. Multiple regression analyses also revealed that rainfall and temperature significantly influenced the pest population. The results of this study have important implications on the decision-making process for the safe, effective monitoring and management of C. capitata in Late Valencia citrus orchards in the study area in Ghana and probably in other areas as well.

Source: UG
Abundance and prey capture success of Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) and Pied Kingfishers (Ceryle rudis) in relation to water clarity in south-east coastal Ghana

Background: Water clarity may negatively influence rate of plunge diving and prey capture success of piscivorous plunge-diving birds, and therefore has implications for their conservation in polluted urban wetlands. We studied the relationship between water clarity and the abundance and prey capture success of Pied Kingfishers (Ceryle rudis) and Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) in two polluted coastal waters of south-east Ghana—the Weija Lake and Densu Delta Ramsar Site.Methods: On each wetland, data on abundance and prey capture success of plunge-divers were collected in four spatio-temporal quadrats of 100 m × 100 m and analysed with concurrent measurements of water quality parameters using GLM regression with Pearson’s correlation coefficients.Results: Mean prey capture success of Pied Kingfishers (34.7± 13.1%) and Common Terns (35.3± 11.0%) were similar but the two species responded differently to water clarity. The abundance of Common Terns was significantly higher in less transparent/more turbid water while that of Pied Kingfishers showed no significant relationship with turbid-ity and transparency. In contrast, the prey capture success of Common Terns was neither related to transparency nor turbidity, as opposed to that of Pied Kingfishers which was significantly higher in more turbid/less transparent waters. Correlations between capture success and bird abundance, as well as capture attempts were insignificant, suggest-ing that increased fish abundance associated with cloudy water may not necessarily promote higher abundance and capture success of foraging birds. Thus, when foraging in less transparent water, capture success may depend more on predator avoidance by fish prey than lower prey detectability of foraging birds.Conclusion: Within a gradient of 15–51 cm transparency studied, lower water clarity did not constrain prey capture success of Common Terns and Pied Kingfishers. Further studies on the foraging ecology of plunge-divers in coastal Ghana are however required to make firm conclusions on the relationship between water clarity and foraging birds and fish prey abundances, as well as capture success.

Source: UG
Abundance of African invader fly, Bactrocera invadens drew, tsuruta and white (diptera: tephritidae) and influence of weather parameters on trap catches in mango in the Volta region of Ghana

The seasonal abundance of African Invader fly, Bactrocerainvadens and the influence of temperature and rainfall on fly catches was determined in two agro ecological zones; moist semi-deciduous forest area and the coastal grassland area of the Volta Region of Ghana for year of mango production. Traps containing methyl eugenol were used in monitoring the abundance of the Africa invader fly, Bactrocera invadens where data on both temperature and rainfall were collected from Meteorological Services of Ghana in Volta region. A total of 49,322 organisms captured, 45,829 were identified as Bactrocerainvadens and 3493 were non-fruit fly. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the number of Bactrocerainvadens captured between the agro ecological zones with relative fly densities of 5.06 F/T/D in moist semi deciduous forest area and 2.38 F/T/D in the coastal grassland zone. The result shows that climatic factors affected Bactrocerainvadens differently in different agro ecological area. There was negative correlation and highly significant (p < 0.001) correlation between fruit flies and temperature whereas there was negative correlation and high significant (p < 0.01) difference between rainfall in the moist semi deciduous forest area. In the coastal grassland area, there was negative correlation and highly significant (p < 0.001) between Bactrocerainvadens for both rainfall and temperature. Bactrocerainvadens activities peaked differently during the study period due to favourable climatic conditions. The activities of Bactrocerainvadens peaked during weeks 7 and 29 in the moist semi deciduous forest area while their activities peaked during weeks 3 and 24 for the coastal grassland areas. Both agro ecological zones recorded the presence of Bactrocerainvadens, their number and proportion varied considerably with associated effects of the weather parameters on their abundance. The effect of weather parameters on the abundance of bactrocera invadens requires the development of degree day models to manage them. © 2016, The Author(s).

Source: UG
Abundance, biomass and species composition of nearshore fish assemblages in Ghana, West Africa

Many of the world's fish populations are overexploited, including Ghana's fish resources. This study examines spatio-temporal trends in fish species composition in relation to biotic, abiotic and anthropogenic factors, towards achieving better-informed management of the beach-seine fisheries. Fishery-dependent data were collected between November 1999 and October 2001 from 94 beach-seine hauls fished at two stations along the Ghanaian coast. The catch consisted of fish, crustaceans, other invertebrates, and macroalgae. Generally, juveniles of species that are exploited by offshore fisheries were found in the catches. Species abundance and their occurrence generally peaked between November and January. Duration of solar radiation and tide level appeared to be important predictors of fish biomass. It is important to exploit the nearshore fish assemblage sustainably because of its nursery role. A co-managed (fishers and government) three-month ban on beach-seining (between May and July) is recommended as the most appropriate control measure towards the sustainability of Ghanaian fish stocks. Copyright © NISC Pty Ltd.

Source: UG
Abuse of Library Materials in Academic Libraries: A Study of the University of Cape Coast Library

The study examines the extent to which materials in the University of Cape Coast (UCC) Main Library are abused. Using questionnaire, interviews and a collection survey, the various forms of document abuse, causes of abuse, and categories of documents mostly abused, categories of users that mostly abuse documents and the extent of physical damage to the documents were investigated. The findings of the study indicate that UCC main library materials are under serious threat of abuse through acts of vandalism, mutilation and theft, particularly by student users. The study recommends orientation and awareness programmes for new and old users, periodic stocktaking, better security and supervision, provision of multiple copies and investment in electronic resources.

Source: UG
Academic achievement among University students in Ghana: The role of personality and motivational factors

Students' academic achievement at every level has become an issue of concern to stakeholders in the country. Whereas, several infrastructural and resource constraints at the societal level have been pointed out, little attention has been given to inherent personal characteristics of students that influence their academic achievement. This study examines whether students' personality characteristics and type of motivation significantly predict their academic achievement. A total of 273 undergraduate students were sampled from the University of Ghana, Legon. The cross-sectional survey design was used and the respondents were administered questionnaires measuring their personality characteristics, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. The students reported their current Cumulative Grade-Point Averages (CGPA) as the criterion. Results from Multiple regression and Pearson correlation analyses showed that only conscientiousness significantly predicted students' academic achievement. Further analysis did not show any significant relationship between extrinsic motivation and academic achievement as well as intrinsic motivation and academic achievement. It is concluded that culture might be exerting a strong influence on personality characteristics and motivation and therefore, the associations should be interpreted within the cultural milieu of Ghana. Additionally, students' personality should be taken into consideration in providing academic guidance

Source: UG
The academic and research librarian in the 21st century

This paper is of the view that with the accelerated development in information and communication technology, the 21st century is an exciting time for academic librarians. However, this can only be achieved under certain conditions such as: the need to embrace change; the ability to keep up with ICT; marketing of library services; project management, among others. Library and information schools must also play new roles. Otherwise, academic libraries may become marginalized and redundant

Source: UG
The Academic and Research Librarian of the 21st Century

This paper is of the view that with the accelerated development in information and communication technology, the 21st century is an exciting time for academic librarians. However, this can only be achieved under certain conditions such as: the need to embrace change; the ability to keep up with ICT; marketing of library services; project management, among others. Library and information schools must also play new roles. Otherwise, academic libraries may become marginalized and redundant

Source: UG
Academic Assessment of Students Work and Quality Assurance in Tertiary Institutions: A Conceptual Framework

This paper discusses the social and cognitive variables that influence the roles of most practitioners during the marking of examination scripts and other student assessment procedures in educational institutions. Most approaches to the assessment of student work and are rooted in the specific historical, legal, national and pedagogical context of the institution. Studies have thus shown that practices differ widely between countries, regions, institutions and subject areas within institutions. It is the position of this paper that academic assessment procedures in educational environments should be designed to suit particular needs of the specific programme of study. What is important here is ensuring that the principles guiding the design of a specific assessment practice are transparent, fair and open to scrutiny by all stakeholders during and after their administration. It has been noted by some external assessors that when the final results of a student’s work do not fit within a normal distribution curve incompetency on the part of the practitioner is to blame. This is a broad accusation and it remains to be shown how to go about substantiating professional incompetencies in academic assessment exercises. It is against this background that this paper presents a conceptual diagram and theories that support the influence of cognitive and social variables on the work of practitioners in higher education.

Source: UG
Academic Challenges of Students with Hearing Impairment (SHIs) in Ghana. Disability

Purpose: Several researches have showed that the average academic performances of students with hearing impairment (SHIs) are below that of hearing students. This research sought to elucidate challenges that prevent SHIs from high academic achievements, using the case of students in Tetteh Ocloo State School for the Deaf in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Method: A qualitative research design was used for data collection through in-depth interviews, analysis and the interpretation of the responses of thirty participants (12 Students with hearing impairments, 11 parents and 7 special educators). Results: Findings showed that challenges which hinder SHIs academic performance emanate from different systems and actors including SHIs themselves, their parents and other institutional barriers that exist in deaf education. The findings also indicated that parents influenced the academic performance of their children with hearing impairment (CHI) through their responsibilities, expectations and the learning assistance they gave to their wards at home. Results also established that institutional barriers such as effective instructional procedures adopted in deaf education, availability of facilities, teaching, reading learning materials, and curricular contents posed challenges to the academic performance of students with hearing impairment. Conclusion: The identified challenges which prevent SHIs from higher academic performance are from different systems of SHIs’ environment and the interplay between them. The study recommends that interventions must be directed at the different systems within their environment.

Source: UG
Academic Experiences of “Zoom-Fatigue” as a Virtual Streaming Phenomenon During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This phenomenological exploratory multiple-case study design was conducted at an open distance e-learning university and a traditional contact residential university, and it was found that the participants viewed video conferencing under the COVID-19 lockdown period as an exhausting experience. A second major finding revealed that the participants were empowered with digital literacy skills to use video conferencing effectively. The current findings add to a growing body of literature on video conferencing with a focus on Zoom fatigue. Further research might explore the lived Zoom experiences of administrators, students, and a larger group of faculties over a longer period. The study findings must be considered when planning and implementing video conferencing for academics and students in open distance e-learning contexts. This study showed that video conferencing is one tool in the emergence of a digital zoom revolution that has radically changed the workspace. The evidence from this study suggests that Zoom fatigue is a reality check for work-related health management.

Source: UG