ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Barriers to corporate customer adoption of internet banking: a case study of Barclays bank Ghana

This study shows the major factors that influence the consumer uptake of Internet Banking ([B) in Ghana; taking Barclays Bank corporate customers as a case study. It identities security concerns, non-access to internet connectivity; most at times due to poor infrastructure, low internet connectivity speeds, unfavourable website feature complexity of IB websites, cost of Internet Banking service (IB), no free trial of service, lack of computers, Ghanaian culture value for face to face interaction during transactions and the current legal system not being able to deal with online fraud as major obstacles(barriers) to the adoption of IB by corporate customers in Ghana. Internet banking as a service, apart from saving time reduces the cost of operation for both banks and customers. The review of literature revealed that, with the internet banking service, banks such as Barclays can operate within an expense rate of 1 5 and 20 percent for retail and business transactions respectively. The same service, when done in the traditional banking way, will have an expense rate of between 50 — 60 percent (Booz et al, 1997). On the part of corporate customers, cost is reduced as well as valuable time saved, as they can sit in the comfort of their offices and do business transactions online. This saves them the cost of traveling miles to the banking hail (transportation or fuel cost) to be served or attended to. It is because of these savings to both banks and their customers that IB attracts such wide research and the very reason why this study was undertaken. Banks knowing what factors affect the adoption of IB is absolutely priceless information and can be the difference between success and failure.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to design –stage cost planning practises in the construction industry of Ghana

The purpose of the study was to identify the barriers to effective design stage cost planning for residential buildings, identify the methods adopted in estimating the design stage cost for residential buildings and ascertain the consequences of inaccurate design stage cost planning for residential building projects. Data was gathered over 127 respondents and was analysed using descriptive statistics. The study found that the common estimation techniques employed by the residential building developers are; cost review and update technique, expert opinion and trend analysis. The study also demonstrated that residential building developers are exposed to many factors that hinder the effectiveness of design stage cost planning. The factors identified included; complexity of contract structure, late contractor involvement in design, inadequate funding, poor project intelligence, poor use of technology, economic issues such as interest rate, inflation, depreciation of the cedi etc, inflexible design, procurement policies that discourage competitive negotiation, low skill staffs and conflict between project parties. The inability to find solution to these challenges results in delay in the completion of projects, increase in original cost and ineffective scope control. The study recommends that there must be an alternate course of action for likely changes in design stage cost. Also design stage cost planning ought to take into account a progression of cost holding classes fitting for the specific task plan. The aggregate estimation of the target costs should not surpass the general confirmed spending arrangement for the project.

Source: KNUST
Barriers of inclusive education: the case of Wenchi Senior High School in the Wenchi Municipality

For general education teachers to effectively include special needs students in their classrooms, they should be knowledgeable in the concept of inclusion. Also the physical environment should be built to meet the needs of students with visual impairment and resource materials should be available to facilitate inclusion. With the introduction of inclusion in Ghana, many students with special needs have been admitted in some of these schools together with their peers without special needs and are being taught by general school teachers. The study assessed the performance of Wenchi Senior High School as an inclusive education institution. The study involved all teachers and students at Wenchi Senior High School. The study utilized qualitative data collection method, and a purposive sampling technique to select 10 regular classroom teachers, the head master and 3 resource teachers as well as 36 visually impaired students for an in-depth interview. The findings of the study indicated generally that, the teachers had no adequate knowledge of inclusive education before the programme was introduced. Besides this major finding, the study also revealed other setbacks to inclusion such as inadequate material resource to facilitate inclusion and the physical environment not being disability friendly. In conclusion, it is recommended that teachers should have more observation training on teaching special needs children in an inclusive setting to enable them to handle all categories of disabilities in the classrooms effectively. Also, Ghana Education Service, (GES) in collaboration with special education division, should organize workshops, seminars for a as well as symposiums aimed at establishing good rapport and collaboration among the stakeholders of inclusive education. Furthermore, it is suggested that the physical environment should be built to address the needs of persons with visual impairment. Consistent in-service training should be organized for all regular teachers in the school to refresh their knowledge and equip them with best inclusive practices to enable them manage the students.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to effective project communication: a case Study of Adonai Shipping Chandelling Project for Tullow Ghana Limited

Several projects suffer from project communication management issues including the oil exploration companies. This research was conducted with the aim of exploring the barriers to effective project communication between services companies and oil exploration companies. The objectives to the study are; to identify the communication channels employed in ship chandelling project; to determine the communication barriers in ship chandelling project; and to investigate mechanisms for enhancing effective communication in ship chandelling. Questionnaire survey was employed in this research. Out of the 123 questionnaires distributed, 111 were collected and considered valid. On the channels employed in chandelling project, the study revealed that the Staff of Adonai chandelling has largely used telephone communication medium, WhatsApp, e-mail, and text messages as means of communication. On the communication barriers in ship chandelling project, the study revealed that, inability to determine project stakeholders’ needs for information, inability to determine communication channels, insufficient interaction between team members and inappropriate communication media. Mechanisms for enhancing effective communication as found from the study include the creation of a communication process through which information must be sent and received, informing ships about new products and explains the use of the product properly, and the creation of communication strategy to enhance onshore and offshore dealings. The study recommended designing an appropriate communication model for the shipping industry in Ghana withy focus on a most of the operators in the shipping industry.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to implementation of project monitoring and evaluation: A study of corporate social responsibility projects of large organisations in the Western Region

Project Monitoring and Evaluation has become a central element in project management, and indeed a useful endeavor that ensures and enhances the success and impact of an intervention. However, the implementation of an effective Project Monitoring and Evaluation in organizations have been with some critical impediments. These challenges render the implementation of Project Monitoring and Evaluation ineffective and consequently affect the success of the project. This study seeks to identify the major barriers to Project Monitoring and Evaluation in the execution of Corporate Social Responsibility projects by large corporations in the Western Region. A survey was conducted to collect quantitative data with the use of a simple closed ended questionnaire. A sample of 34 people participated in the study. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and one sample t test were employed to analyze the quantitative data. Findings from the study revealed that the absence of a Monitoring and Evaluation policy, and budgetary constraints are significant barriers to the effective implementation of Project Monitoring and Evaluation. Factors that were considered to have an influence in the implementation of Project Monitoring and Evaluation were mainly, finance and staff capacity of the performing organization. The existence of these barriers in Project Monitoring and Evaluation pose a significant threat to the success of the project. Performing organizations will fail to provide evidence of an intervention if these barriers are not resolved. Addressing these barriers would offer the project team and performing organization a positive edge to enhance outcome and impact

Source: KNUST
Barriers to implementation of project monitoring and evaluation: a study of corporate social responsibility projects of large organisations in the Western Region

Project Monitoring and Evaluation has become a central element in project management, and indeed a useful endeavor that ensures and enhances the success and impact of an intervention. However, the implementation of an effective Project Monitoring and Evaluation in organizations have been with some critical impediments. These challenges render the implementation of Project Monitoring and Evaluation ineffective and consequently affect the success of the project. This study seeks to identify the major barriers to Project Monitoring and Evaluation in the execution of Corporate Social Responsibility projects by large corporations in the Western Region. A survey was conducted to collect quantitative data with the use of a simple closed ended questionnaire. A sample of 34 people participated in the study. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and one sample t test were employed to analyze the quantitative data. Findings from the study revealed that the absence of a Monitoring and Evaluation policy, and budgetary constraints are significant barriers to the effective implementation of Project Monitoring and Evaluation. Factors that were considered to have an influence in the implementation of Project Monitoring and Evaluation were mainly, finance and staff capacity of the performing organization. The existence of these barriers in Project Monitoring and Evaluation pose a significant threat to the success of the project. Performing organizations will fail to provide evidence of an intervention if these barriers are not resolved. Addressing these barriers would offer the project team and performing organization a positive edge to enhance outcome and impact.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to the adoption of electronic tendering in construction procurement in Ghana

E-tendering is accepted globally as a fast and efficient means of conducting procurement. This technique has helped to overcome some of the challenges with the traditional paper base method. The current study sought to explore the barriers to the adoption of electronic tendering in construction procurement in Ghana. Structured questionnaires were designed and administered to key professionals involved in construction tendering such as quantity surveyors, project managers, Architects among others. The data collected was analyzed into descriptive statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software. Relative Importance Index was also used to analyze some of the data collected. The results revealed that the drivers to electronic tendering practices are reduction in time to source materials, enhancement of decision making and market intelligence, improvements in communication, and price reduction in tendering. The barriers to the adoption of electronic Tendering in Ghana included conservative nature of the industry, poor ICT infrastructure to support electronic tendering, the rules and regulations that cover the tendering process are still predominantly paper-based, skepticism about the method, fear for the possibility of hacking which defeats the principle of sealed bids, concerns of security of submitted tenders, and lack of agreed standards. The critical success factors also included availability of reliable ICT Infrastructure, Availability of reliable, affordable and fast Internet services, availability of skilled personnel to handle e-Procurement tools and processes, knowledge of the beneﬁts of e-tendering use, High level of computer literacy among construction stakeholders, Conﬁdentially in e-tendering transaction, security and authentication of e-tendering process, and top management commitment and support to e-tendering adoption. Based on the above it was recommended that the industry stakeholders should be flexible and embrace e-tendering as it has numerous benefits. Public educations should also be embarked on.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to Healthcare: The case of Students at Ashanti School for the Deaf, Jamasi.

Persons with Deafness encounter numerous challenges in their quest to access healthcare. These challenges have the potential to limit access to healthcare and more importantly endanger their health. This research aims to bring to the fore the challenges encountered by students with deafness in their attempt to access healthcare. The design is a case study using quantitative methods .A total of 67 students were purposively selected for the study. Closed ended questions were used to access the various challenges associated with healthcare. Need indices were estimated based on choices on a Likert scale. In terms of access priority majority of respondents prioritized friendliness and respect from healthcare professionals. Difficulties with knowing which facility to visit, securing permission to visit a health facility, lack of funds, difficulties with transportation and access to interpreter services within health facilities were major barriers to access to healthcare. Family support was the highest need index for females while that of males was recorded on health worker privacy. The varied nature of the issues at stake requires that all stakeholders should be involved if deaf students are to enjoy greater access to health care. It is recommended that teachers make more time to thoroughly discuss issues of health education with students. Clinicians and non-clinicians as well should be made aware of the need to thoroughly explain health issues to deaf students.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to smallholder plantation development in off-reserve forest areas in Ghana (a case study in three selected forest districts)

A study was carried out on smallholder plantation establishment in the off-reserve areas in three forest districts namely Offinso, Kintampo and Dunkwa. The main objectives were; firstly, to identify the objectives and motivation for smallholder tree planting; secondly, to identify barriers to tree planting; and finally, based on the barriers identified, propose options to address them. Data on objectives and barriers were collected and analysed using SPSS v.17 and Excel softwares whiles an expert consultative meeting was held to collect data on the options to address the identified barriers. Results indicated that the major objective for tree planting in off-reserve areas is financial returns. Low pricing of trees emerged as the major barrier to tree planting in the off-reserve areas. Kruskal Wallis H test showed that price varied significantly across the three districts for species of the same age class and size range. Tree growers also lacked technical capacity to maintain their stands resulting in low quality of the stands. Experts in forest plantation development in Ghana proposed options including publishing of guiding prices for the sale of teak and other species on the Forestry Commission (FC) website to guide tree growers’ negotiation for better prices for their trees. This is because tree growers lacked information on market prices to guide them in negotiations with buyers. Tree growers are willing to continue planting and expanding their plantations if they have maximum benefits accruing to them from their plantations. Therefore, to ensure participation of more farmers in smallholder plantation establishment in off-reserve areas, it is recommended that the FC provides regular assistance in terms of technical support and also set fixed prices for the purchase of trees in off-reserve areas.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to the adoption of electronic tendering in construction procurement in Ghana

E-tendering is accepted globally as a fast and efficient means of conducting procurement. This technique has helped to overcome some of the challenges with the traditional paper base method. The current study sought to explore the barriers to the adoption of electronic tendering in construction procurement in Ghana. Structured questionnaires were designed and administered to key professionals involved in construction tendering such as quantity surveyors, project managers, Architects among others. The data collected was analyzed into descriptive statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software. Relative Importance Index was also used to analyze some of the data collected. The results revealed that the drivers to electronic tendering practices are reduction in time to source materials, enhancement of decision making and market intelligence, improvements in communication, and price reduction in tendering. The barriers to the adoption of electronic Tendering in Ghana included conservative nature of the industry, poor ICT infrastructure to support electronic tendering, the rules and regulations that cover the tendering process are still predominantly paper-based, skepticism about the method, fear for the possibility of hacking which defeats the principle of sealed bids, concerns of security of submitted tenders, and lack of agreed standards. The critical success factors also included availability of reliable ICT Infrastructure, Availability of reliable, affordable and fast Internet services, availability of skilled personnel to handle e-Procurement tools and processes, knowledge of the benefits of e-tendering use, High level of computer literacy among construction stakeholders, Confidentially in e-tendering transaction, security and authentication of e-tendering process, and top management commitment and support to e-tendering adoption. Based on the above it was recommended that the industry stakeholders should be flexible and embrace etendering as it has numerous benefits. Public educations should also be embarked on.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to environmentally sustainable procurement of goods at Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA).

The study sought to examine the barriers limiting the adoption of environmentally sustainable procurement of goods at Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA). The researcher interviewed five (5) individuals identified with procurement function at KMA to collect data. The study established that environmentally sustainable procurement of goods was being practiced but faced a lot of barriers to get the full benefit of it. Procurement contracts of goods were being awarded taking into account the lowest evaluated bid and other considerations such as ecological elements were not included in tender evaluation. The study found out that, the absence of administration backing was a limiting factor in the adoption of environmental sustainable procurement of goods at KMA. Lack of knowledge about sustainable concept, the perception that sustainable goods are expensive especially at the initial stages added to the difficulties influencing the adoption of environmentally sustainable procurement. The study suggests that there ought to be thorough employee training to educate staffs on the need to adopt environmentally sustainable procurement of goods. Benefits of ecologically supportable procurement of goods should be the emphasis and the risks of non-sustainability should also be known. Additionally, motivating incentives ought to be given to suppliers to urge them to develop sustainable products. A sustainable procurement strategic policy ought to be put in place.

Source: KNUST
Barriers to enforcement of national building regulations by Relevant Authorities in Ghana.

This thesis assesses the barriers to enforcement of National Building Regulations by Relevant Authorities in Ghana. The general objective of this research was to access the barriers to the National Building Regulations enforcement by Relevant Authorities in Ghana. In all, 70 respondents were sampled for the study. Five (5) respondents who are Building Developers were sampled with snowball sampling technique while Sixty-Five (65) respondents who are Staff of the District Planning Authority of Accra Metropolitan Assembly were sampled with purposive sampling technique. The study found out that there are barriers that inhibit the enforcement of National Building Regulations in Ghana and these factors that hinders the enforcement of NBR are complexity or bureaucratic procedures and systems, corruption, Political Interference, lack of public education about the building regulations and lack of relevant education (training) for staff. Also, it is recommended that the relevant Authorities streamline permit acquisition. Also, to the District Planning Authority, it is recommended that authorities must continuously educate and train their staff as well as educate the general public on building regulations to increase awareness while seeking for external support from the security agency to ensure those who default are sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to other building developers.

Source: KNUST
The Basel Missionaries’ Christian Education Approach in the Krobo Religio-Cultural Context

This work is about the Basel Missionaries’ practice of Christian Education in the religio-cultural context in Krobo. From an eclectic study of the historical, social and religio-cultural settings of the people, and the missionaries’ work, the thesis traces the problem of ‘syncretism’ and ‘cultural conflicts’ in Krobo Christianity to a faulty Christian education practice of the missionaries, influenced by their indifference to the Krobo culture, which they declare ‘heathen’ and taught their converts to completely avoid. Contending that Christian education needs not be limited to ecclesiastical establishment and nurture alone, but also extended to affect the community in which it operates and its structures, the work questions the missionaries’ neglect of Krobo culture, and existing indigenous educational and cultural categories in their Christian education practice, which this work found to be useful for Christian education. The major finding of the research is that the popular missionary acclamation that the cultural forms are incompatible with Christianity, especially dipo can no longer be tenable. It recommends that, for effective inculturation of Christianity in Krobo, an inculturational Christian education that uses cultural affinities with Christianity as Handmaids of Christian Education (HMCE) is needed. And also, that a Christological construction for Krobo from the person of Klow1ki and the jemeli, and the story of her exchange with the ‘Great Sign’, (the Sing of the Cross) at her disappearance from Krobo cannot be ignored. The constant presence of this sign of the cross in the culture as part of the performance of dipo speaks volumes for Christianity.

Source: KNUST