ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Increased Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Independent of Body Adiposity in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Controls in Falciparum Malaria

Information on the extent to which oxidative stress and inflammation occur in the presence of falciparum malaria and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the same individual is limited. This study sought to investigate the extent of inflammation and oxidative stress in adult uncomplicated malaria bymeasuring fasting levels of lipid peroxides, C-reactive protein (CRP), and total antioxidant power (TAP) before and during falciparum malaria, in 100 respondents with type 2 diabetes and 100 age-matched controls in the Cape Coastmetropolis of Ghana. Also, body adiposity index, bodymass index, and waist-to-hip ratio were computed. Before and during falciparum malaria, diabetes patients exhibited higher (𝑃 < 0.05) levels of CRP and peroxides than controls but TAP and BAI were comparable (𝑃 > 0.05) between the two groups. Baseline CRP correlated positively (𝑟 = 0.341, 𝑃 = 0.002) with peroxide only in the diabetic group. During malaria, TAP level in both study groups declined (𝑃 < 0.05) by 80% of their baseline levels. CRP correlated negatively (𝑟 = −0.352, 𝑃 = 0.011) with TAP in the control but not the diabetic group. Uncomplicated falciparum malaria elevated inflammation and peroxidation but decreased antioxidant power independent of adiposity. This finding may have implication on cardiovascular health.

Source: UCC
Increased Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Independent of Body Adiposity in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Controls in falciparum Malaria

Information on the extent to which oxidative stress and inflammation occur in the presence of falciparum malaria and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the same individual is limited. This study sought to investigate the extent of inflammation and oxidative stress in adult uncomplicated malaria by measuring fasting levels of lipid peroxides, C-reactive protein (CRP), and total antioxidant power (TAP) before and during falciparum malaria, in 100 respondents with type 2 diabetes and 100 age-matched controls in the Cape Coast metropolis of Ghana. Also, body adiposity index, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio were computed. Before and during falciparum malaria, diabetes patients exhibited higher (𝑃 < 0.05) levels of CRP and peroxides than controls but TAP and BAI were comparable (𝑃 > 0.05) between the two groups. Baseline CRP correlated positively (𝑟 = 0.341, 𝑃 = 0.002) with peroxide only in the diabetic group. During malaria, TAP level in both study groups declined (𝑃 < 0.05) by 80% of their baseline levels. CRP correlated negatively (𝑟 = −0.352, 𝑃 = 0.011) with TAP in the control but not the diabetic group. Uncomplicated falciparum malaria elevated inflammation and peroxidation but decreased antioxidant power independent of adiposity. This finding may have implication on cardiovascular health.

Source: UCC
Increased Oxidative Stress and Inflammation Independent of Body Adiposity in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Controls in falciparum Malaria

Information on the extent to which oxidative stress and inflammation occur in the presence of falciparum malaria and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the same individual is limited. This study sought to investigate the extent of inflammation and oxidative stress in adult uncomplicated malaria by measuring fasting levels of lipid peroxides, C-reactive protein (CRP), and total antioxidant power (TAP) before and during falciparum malaria, in 100 respondents with type 2 diabetes and 100 age-matched controls in the Cape Coast metropolis of Ghana. Also, body adiposity index, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio were computed. Before and during falciparum malaria, diabetes patients exhibited higher (𝑃 < 0.05) levels of CRP and peroxides than controls but TAP and BAI were comparable (𝑃 > 0.05) between the two groups. Baseline CRP correlated positively (𝑟 = 0.341, 𝑃 = 0.002) with peroxide only in the diabetic group. During malaria, TAP level in both study groups declined (𝑃 < 0.05) by 80% of their baseline levels. CRP correlated negatively (𝑟 = −0.352, 𝑃 = 0.011) with TAP in the control but not the diabetic group. Uncomplicated falciparum malaria elevated inflammation and peroxidation but decreased antioxidant power independent of adiposity. This finding may have implication on cardiovascular health

Source: UCC
Increasing access to higher education for teachers in Ghana through the University of Cape Coast distance education programme

Distance education is an excellent method of learning which gives learners the greatest possible control over the time, place and pace of education. However, it is not without problems. This study examined the status and growth of distance education programmes at the University of Cape Coast (UCC). It also examined the significance as an alternative to attaining higher tertiary education, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well as the concerns of learners on the programmes. The explorative and descriptive surveys were the designs chosen for the study. A sample size of 209 was considered out of a population of 1210 and with a simple lottery method the respondents were selected. Data were collected from both field and secondary sources. The primary data was collated through structured and unstructured questionnaire for students and interview schedule for the key informants (coordinators and DESAG representatives) while the secondary source of information was from documents. The field data were analysed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS). The study revealed that the UCC distance education is of great importance to the competence development of teachers who enroll on the programmes. Nonetheless the challenges students face during the course of their study should be given attention. Students on the programmes recommended among other things to the authorities of the University of Cape Coast that all effort must be made to sustain the good standard of the distance education programmes.

Source: UCC
Increasing Access to Higher Education through Open and Distance Learning at the University of Education, Winneba.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the increasing access to higher education through open and distance learning at the University of Education, Winneba. The research was conducted using descriptive research design. The target population was drawn from students of the University of Education, Winneba. The population was drawn from all the distance learning campuses of the University of Education, Winneba in the Central Region. The sample size for the study was 225. The study used a non-probability sampling to select the participants. A questionnaire was the main research instrument for the study. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that modules were the major mode of instruction used for delivery in open and distance learning at the University of Education, Winneba. It was found that the online mode of instruction was preferred to the traditional mode of instruction in the open and distance learning programme. The challenges associated with the delivery of open and distance learning programme were reported as inadequate feedback from tutors/lecturers, inadequate student-support system, inadequate tutorial sessions (face-to-face meetings), and inadequate use of multimedia. Management of the university of education Winneba were advised to replace old computers with new ones to promote efficiency in teaching and learning activities. It was recommended that since students prefer technology for instructional delivery, the university should make avaible fast internet service for students and lecturers. There should also be online learning management system for both lecturers and students.

Source: UCC
Increasing children’s participation in African transport planning: reflections on methodological issues in a child-centred research project

This paper examines the potential for applying child-centred research methodologies which involve children doing their own research (with adult facilitators) within a transport and mobility context in West Africa. Relatively little attention has been paid to the transport needs of the poor and powerless within African transport policy and planning: the specifics of children and young people’s transport and mobility needs are essentially unknown and unconsidered. Using evidence from a small pilot study in Ghana, we reflect on both the opportunities and the challenges of work in this field. Although the paper is focused on the specific issues raised by child-centred research, it raises broader questions regarding the potential for research partnerships with vulnerable groups and, more specifically, the challenges of developing more collaborative research processes within transport studies, where technical priorities still regularly triumph over social concerns

Source: UCC
Indications for emergency abdominal surgery in Cape Coast, Ghana

Background: Emergency abdominal surgery continues to form a major workload of the general surgeon. As a result of variation of causes, there is need to revisit and review the pattern of presentation, management and outcome. There had been previous studies from Korle Bu Teaching hospital and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital both in Ghana, but this is from Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Central Region, Ghana. The objective is to determine the pattern of presentation and indications for surgery in patients who had emergency abdominal surgical operation in CCTH. Methods: All patients who had emergency abdominal surgical operations at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital from 1st January 2011 to 25th October 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Four hundred and eleven patients had emergency abdominal operation over a period of 22 months. The mean age at presentation was 36.3 years (SD 19.3). Male to Female ratio was 2.3:1. Intestinal obstruction was the commonest indication for surgery followed by appendicitis and typhoid ileal perforation. Obstructed abdominal wall hernia was the commonest cause of intestinal obstruction. Conclusions: Early reporting in hospital and access to hernia repair will reduce the morbidity and mortality known to be associated with this condition

Source: UCC
Indicators of service quality and satisfaction among graduating students of a higher education institution (HEI) in Ghana

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the indicators of service quality from the perspective of graduating students in a public university in Ghana. The identified indicators of service quality were rated and the extent of satisfaction among the students was determined. Another issue explored was whether the satisfaction among the respondents inures to their loyalty to the university. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was designed, pre-tested and administered to 500 graduating students, and 482 of them were returned for analyses. Principal component analysis was used to determine the indicators of service quality. Independent sample t-test and z-test for proportions were used to compare mean scores and proportions of respondents on various variables, respectively. Findings – The results revealed three indicators of service quality which include quality of academic services and facilities, quality of lecturers and quality of academic programs. Graduands were satisfied with academic services, lecturers and programs. They were, however, not satisfied with the quality of facilities. Majority of the respondents will remain associated with the university as a result of their satisfaction with the services, lecturers as well as programs of the university. It is recommended that the university works assiduously on improving infrastructural facilities to help boost the confidence of the students in the university. Originality/value – This paper argues that what constitutes quality service vary from one academic institution to the other. It is, therefore, needful for institutions to determine from the perspective of their students what may indicate quality service

Source: UCC
Indicators of teacher effectiveness: A comparative study of rural and urban public junior high schools in the Keta District of the Volta Region of Ghana

The study was conducted to find out the indicators of teacher effectiveness practices which affect students’ performance in rural and urban areas of the Keta district. The variables considered as elements of effective teaching included teacher quality, attitude to work, social traits of teachers, availability of resources, parental support to students and teacher competency.A total of 160 teachers and 320 students together with 32 headteachers were randomly selected from 32 schools from both rural and urban areas of the Keta district of Ghana. Questionnaires were completed by the respondents and observation checklists were used to observe competences and classroom procedures of 16 teachers. The questionnaires were validated by my supervisors subsequent to which reliability tests were conducted in a pilot study. The test results showed high Cronbach alpha coefficients between .730 to .844 for the questionnaires and .870 for the teacher competency instrument. Hence the instruments were found to be reliable for the study. The data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Teachers in the rural areas were observed to have better quality than their urban counterparts. Urban teachers were, however, found to be more competent, with urban students receiving better supports from their parents. Urban students were more privileged in accessing educational opportunities than rural students. It is recommended that regular seminars and in-service trainings should be organised in order to update teachers on prevailing educational policies, regulations and issues.

Source: UCC
Indifference Pricing Under Epstein-Zin Utility: Maximum Principle

The problem of dealing with claims on asset which is not traded has attracted a lot of interests recently. Naturally the approach consist of choosing a related traded asset or index to use for hedging purposes. In this thesis, we consider a model for which the non-traded asset is driven by a Ornstein- Uhlenbeck process. We introduce it into a consumption-investment problem with factor model under recursive utility of Epstein-Zin type. Due to the second Brownian motion, we are working in an incomplete market in which the objective of an agent is pricing and hedging this random payoff. Making use of the maximum principle method, we solve our forward-backward system and find the optimal consumption and investment strategies and a relation given the indifference price. Since a closed form formula for the indifference price is not obtained, a finite difference method is applied to estimate its value. For numerical purpose, we consider a one period model. We perform some numerical analysis on the optimal investment in presence of a claim and on the indifference price. In general, we observe that, for the parameters specification considered, the optimal investment becomes an increasing function with regard to initial wealth of the agent so as to be higher than its value in the no claim case. However, it is rather a decreasing function with respect to the correlation between non-traded and traded assets and is always net off the investment with zero claim. Regarding the indifference price, we observe that it increases when the traded asset becomes more and more correlated to the non-traded one. Then, analysing also the dependency of the indifference price to the risk aversion, we obtain that an agent is willing to pay less for the non-traded asset when he/she becomes less tolerant of risk. Finally, we notice from the indifference price versus the initial wealth that an agent is less willing to take on more risk.

Source: UCC
Indigene-Settler Conflict: A Case Study of the Gbi and Hohoe-Zongo Conflict

Indigene-settler conflicts have occurred all the world over as a result of the differences in basic human-needs such as food, water, shelter and security as pointed out by human-needs theory. Then also, they occur based on ideas, cultural practices and socio-political organisations as espoused by the psycho-cultural conflict theory. Ghana is no exception. Indigene-settler conflicts pose serious threat to peace and stability that the country is enjoying. This study used the indigene-settler conflict between the indigenes of Gbi and Hohoe-Zongo settlers as a case study. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select the participants. In-depth interviews and unstructured observation guide were used to obtain data from the participants for the study. The study revealed that the root causes of the conflict were historical antecedence, identity and ethnicity, hegemony and ownership as well as social relationship. The conflict led to loss of lives, people were permanently relocated to other towns and Hohoe has lost its status as the commercial hub of the Volta Region. The study recommends that State Farm should be established by the government in the area to provide economic activities for the teaming unemployed youths. Inter-marriage is also recommended to repose trust between the two communities and improve upon their interpersonal relationship which will again boost the socio-economic activities and promote sustainable peace in the area.

Source: UCC
Indigenous education in environmental management and conservation in Ghana: The Role of folklore

Studies into indigenous knowledge of African societies and their eco-system, and complemented by western research findings in recent years, point to a common fact that there is a complex interrelation between humans, animals, plants and their physical environment For this reason, Ghanaian societies enforce cultural laws that ensure protection and management of their natural resources. Despite the merits associated with African endowed natural environments, it is scary to note that to date, Ghana still faces serious environmental threats among which are: deforestation, annual bushfires, illegal surface mining, poor farming practices, unconventional methods of dumping human/industrial wastes and pollution of water bodies. This paper therefore attempts to investigate the causes of environmental degradation in Ghana and demonstrate how the people’s folklore can contribute to ensuring a well-conserved environment that can benefit the country’s present and future generations

Source: UCC
Indigenous Hairstyles as Asante Art and Culture

The systematic and Afrocological description of indigenous hairstyles has gained unparalleled attention among scholars. However, the literature on hairstyles have overlooked the history and art components of indigenous hairstyling among Asantes. In an attempt to unravel how the art forms of indigenous hairstyles can be used as a form of social communication, I relied on qualitative research, making use of ethnographic design which required the use of direct observation and in-depth interview methods to elicit data from chiefs, queens, indigenous priests and priestesses, offsprings of deities’ (abosomma), executioners, palace servants who had groomed their hairs in indigenous Asante hairstyles. Other categories of respondents included artists, a historian, a curator, a senior staff at the Centre for National Culture in Kumasi, hairstylists and barbers. In all, the fifty-five (55) participants who were purposively sampled were interviewed. The findings of the study revealed that indigenous hairstyles exist in various artforms like sculptures and body art. These forms possess unique histories, elements and principles of art. They also reveal varied identities and cultural symbolisms. However, as a result of exposure to other cultures and the influence of modernity, many Asantes are swayed to embrace modern forms of hairstyles with their associated aesthetics of which some are detrimental to individuals’ health. Conclusively, indigenous hairstyles help in identity formation and social communication. The indigenous hair dyes are also of high health benefits. Therefore, ways to preserve and transmit knowledge on indigenous Asante hairstyles were recommended.

Source: UCC
Indigenous Knowledge and Coastal Livelihood Resource Sustainability at Moree and Apam Communities in the Central Region of Ghana

This thesis explored how indigenous knowledge systems about coastal environment influence utilisation of coastal livelihood resources and their sustainability in Moree and Apam communities, in the Central Region of Ghana. As a qualitative study, purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling techniques were used to select a total of 36 participants to provide information for the primary data. The data for the study were collected, using interview, focus group discussion, and observation guides. The data were processed by transcribing, coding, and development of themes for the analysis. The study revealed that, the people had over the years used their indigenous knowledge to identify resources in the environment, through family socialisation, interaction with traditional authorities, and the long engagement with the coastal resources. Though there existed indigenous and modern measures that were capable of ensuring sustainable utilisation of the coastal livelihood resources in the communities, the people had flouted them with impunity, and that had led to the unsustainable utilisation of the resources. It is recommended that, the Fisheries Commission, in conjunction with the chief fishermen in the coastal fishing communities, should halt the registration of new canoes for at least one year. Also, a multifaceted collaboration between state officials in the fishing industry and the local authorities, should use both traditional and modern methods of conservation to deal with the problem of over-exploitation of the coastal livelihood resources.

Source: UCC
Indigenous Knowledge And Ocean Management Practices In Axim, Ghana

The issue of effective ocean management practices has assumed a centre stage of national debate in such contemporary times because of its impact on coastal communities and the nation as a whole. Indigenous Knowledge in ocean management has played the role of ensuring the usage of useful practices in managing the oceans. This study explores the forms of ocean-related- Indigenous Knowledge and the patterns of ocean- related-Indigenous Knowledge transfer in the Western Region of Ghana, its relevance in managing the ocean effectively and the seemingly impediments to the promotion of ocean related IK in coastal communities in modern times. By the use of qualitative approach, a total number of 17 focus group discussions and 7 key-informant interviews were conducted. The study employed the Diffusion of Innovation theory by Everett Rogers and Woodley‘s Ecological Knowledge theory and used thematic analysis and phenomenological analytic strategy as the analytic techniques. Among other findings, the participants revealed that ocean-related indigenous knowledge like observance of nofishing holidays, serving of food to the gods in the sea for bumper harvest, and customary laws against the harvest of specific fishes in the sea in Axim helped in preserving the sea and its environs sometime past. However, the nonapplication of indigenous knowledge in recent times has led to the deterioration of the sea surroundings and its resources in Axim. The findings also revealed that there was a huge gap between the knowledge on ocean related IK and practice as a result of the heavy presence of religion and modernization. The paper argues that indigenous knowledge has a way of enhancing the deployment of useful practices in managing the oceans; nonetheless, pragmatic measures like the formation of intergenerational learning programs or clubs and the encouragement of apprenticeship between younger and older members of the community need to be considered to ensure IK‘s continuous application and enforcement among natives in the coastal communities and its successful transfer to the youthful generation.

Source: UCC