ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Underwater Acoustics for All: Expanding Capacity with Education and Low-Cost Sensors.

Sound is a persistent yet dynamic component of the marine environment, reflecting both physical and biological properties. Whereas light can only travel tens of meters in the ocean, sound is able to travel tens to thousands of kilometers under certain conditions, revealing information at specific times and places. In addition, underwater sound provides opportunities for sustainable development and blue economy growth that aren’t readily available with other technologies. For example, the melting rate of Arctic ice and the health of coral reefs can be estimated from acoustic measurements (Becker et al., 2023). However, underwater acoustics is a complex topic, requiring specialized education and equipment. To expand the capacity of underwater acousticians requires dedicated educational opportunities and low-cost equipment and analysis resources. The Discovery of Sound in the Sea Project (DOSITS) has spent over 20 years expanding capacity through education and outreach initiatives focused on underwater sound. The project offers foundational educational content in various formats, along with advanced content based on peer-reviewed literature. Most recently, DOSITS has supported the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) through the Ocean Decade Research Programme on the Maritime Acoustic Environment (OD-MAE; Spence et al., 2022; https://mae.dosits.org/) and the Coastal Ocean Environment Summer School In Nigeria and Ghana (COESSING; https://coessing.org). OD-MAE aims to develop a comprehensive science-based program to measure and objectively characterize underwater acoustic environments at regional and global scales. To reach that objective, there is a need to develop low-cost sensors that can be used effectively in countries such as Nigeria and Ghana. COESSING is an international collaboration aimed at advancing ocean science in West Africa and furthering ties between scientists in West Africa and around the globe through one-week summer schools (Arbic et al., 2025, in this issue). DOSITS and the University of Rhode Island (URI) participated in COESSING virtually (in 2022) and in person (in Ghana, 2023). Through these initiatives, the need for low-cost equipment has been accentuated, and multinational collaborations have developed to speed equipment development.

Source: UG
Undescribed sesquiterpenoids with NO production inhibitory activity from oleo-gum resin of Commiphora myrrha

Six undescribed cadinane sesquiterpenoids (1− 6), two undescribed guaiane sesquiterpenoids (7− 8), and an undescribed germacrane sesquiterpenoid (9) were isolated from the oleo-gum resin of Commiphora myrrha. Their structures were determined by the analysis of 1D/2D NMR and HRESIMS data, as well as quantum chemical ECD and NMR calculations. All the sesquiterpenoids were evaluated for their NO production inhibitory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 mouse monocyte-macrophages. The results revealed that commiphone A (1) and commipholide D (7) exhibited significant inhibitory effect on NO generation with IC50 values of 18.6 ± 2.0 and 37.5 ± 1.5 μM, respectively. Furthermore, 1 and 7 dose-dependently inhibited the mRNA expression of in flammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α induced by LPS in the RAW264.7 cells, indicating that 1 and 7 possess potent anti-inflammatory activity in vitro.

Source: UG
Undiagnosed diabetes and impaired glucose regulation in adult Ghanaians using the ADA and WHO diagnostic criteria

Fasting glucose and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) criteria for glucose homeostasis were compared in a cross-sectional cluster, community study in Accra, Ghana. A total of 4636 subjects without prior diagnosis of diabetes had fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour OGTT and measurement of cardiovascular risk factors. Mean age of subjects was 44.2 years; 39.1% of subjects were males. The overall prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes ascertained with both criteria was 4.5% (n=209). The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes by fasting (3.2%) and OGTT (3.1%) criteria were similar (p>0.05). The prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (15.8%) was higher than that of impaired fasting glucose (IFG) (10.7%). Only 56.5% (n=83) of subjects with diabetes by fasting criteria also had diabetes by OGTT criteria. Sixty-two subjects (42.8%) with diabetes by OGTT had normal or impaired fasting glucose. There was poor agreement between the two diagnostic criteria (kappa=0.31). The concordant normoglycaemic group was the youngest and had the lowest body-mass index (BMI), waist girth, waisthip ratio (WHR), total cholesterol, and systolic and diastolic blood pressures. The concordant diabetic group, in contrast, had the highest BMI, waist girth, WHR, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Both systems gave similar undiagnosed diabetes rates but dissimilar IFG and IGT rates. There was poor agreement between the two diagnostic criteria. Diagnostic criteria influenced cardiovascular risk factors. A case may be made for using both criteria in order to ascertain all "diabetes" and all "at-risk" subjects.

Source: UG
Unemployment and self-rated health in Ghana: are there gender differences?

Purpose – A large extant literature examines the association between unemployment and self-rated health. Most of these studies reveal that unemployment diminishes self-rated health. Another strand of this literature, albeit sparse, suggests that the relationship between unemployment and self-rated health is gendered. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to examine whether unemployment is correlated with self-rated health in Ghana; and second, to explore whether and to what extent men differ from women on the basis of this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – The authors used data from the Wave 6 of World Values Survey in Ghana (n¼1552) and probit and instrumental variable probit regressions to empirically examine the association between unemployment and self-rated health in Ghana. Findings – The results confirm that unemployment is negatively correlated with self-rated health among Ghanaians. Specifically, the unemployed are about 6.84–7.20 percent less likely to report good health status in a pooled sample. Further, after correcting for endogeneity, unemployed men are about 26.68 percent less likely to report good health. However, the association is not statistically significant for unemployed women. Originality/value – The study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence from Ghana.

Source: UG
Unemployment in Africa: How appropriate is the global definition and measurement for policy purpose

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to establish the concept of unemployment defined by the International Labour Organisation appears to be too narrow within the context of many African countries including Ghana. This phenomenon tends to put many jobless adults into the discouraged worker category thereby giving a misleading picture about the unemployment situation in these countries. In addition, the structure of the labour market in many African countries is such that informality takes the face of unemployment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a scatter plot and simple correlation analysis to show a trade-off between informality or vulnerability of employment and unemployment rates in Africa. The paper also adopts descriptive approach based on simple diagrams to show the extent of discouraged worker effect on the phenomenon of unemployment. Findings – The paper finds a significantly negative correlation between unemployment and informality in Africa. Beside the high level of informality that hides the face of unemployment, the exclusion of many discouraged workers in estimating unemployment underrates the seriousness of the phenomenon. The paper therefore recommends the adoption of a broader definition of unemployment that accounts for discourage workers and underemployment to show the true picture of labour market challenge in Africa. Additionally, targeted programmes to support and transform the informal sector is required to make it a more attractive means of employment rather than being seen as a refuge point for the unemployed in Africa. Originality/value – The observation that unemployment should be looked at from a broader perspective that accounts for discourage workers to inform policy design forms a base of the paper’s contribution to the body of literature. In addition, the high level of informality that hides the problem of unemployment shows that labour market challenges should not be restricted to unemployment but low quality of employment that characterises informality as well.

Source: UG
Unemployment in Ghana: a cross sectional analysis from demand and supply perspectives

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the causes of unemployment in Ghana from both labour demand and supply perspectives based on most recent cross sectional data set from one nationally representative household survey and a baseline survey for Millennium Development Support. Design/methodology/approach – A logit regression estimation technique is applied to two different household survey data sets of 2008 and 2013 to capture the effect of labour demand and supply on unemployment. Findings – Using education and age as capability variables to represent supply factors, unemployment is found to increase with education, and declines with age, confirming higher unemployment rate among the youth, than the old. The paper also observes strong influence of demand factors on unemployment based on relatively higher incidence of unemployment fulltime jobseekers relative to part-time jobseekers and seekers of formal or wage-employment and self-employment or SMEs compared with those seeking any job. Other factors such as the individual’s reservation wage, marital status, sex and poverty status as well as their rural-urban location are also found to cause unemployment in Ghana. Practical implications – Unemployment as a result of the inability of individuals to obtain a job of their choice in the midst of strong economic growth in Ghana suggests weak employment content of growth. In contrast, an increasing phenomenon of unemployment with education also reflects a problem of skill mismatch between skills churn out by education and training institutions and skills requirement by firms in the labour market. Originality/value – The originality of the paper and its contribution to existing literature largely emanate from the inclusion of demand factors in a cross sectional analysis of causes of unemployment. © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Source: UG
The Unending Cycle of Education Reforms in Ghana

This paper analyzes the education reform policies of various Ghanaian governments since independence in 1957. It establishes that the reasons given by successive governments for introducing an education reform has been very similar. Ghana has had numerous education reforms and reviews of existing education systems. These reforms have largely not been able to deliver upon their promises, leading to recurrent calls for reforming the education system. The paper argues that the reform of education in Ghana should be seen more as a political programme rather than a well-planned and realistic attempt to resolve the challenges facing the education system. It is therefore unlikely the 2007 education reform will be different from previous ones.

Source: UG
Unequal distribution of resistance-conferring mutations among Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium africanum strains from Ghana

Isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP) resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) isolates are mainly based on mutations in a limited number of genes. However, mutation frequencies vary in different mycobacterial populations. In this work, we analyzed the distribution of resistance-associated mutations in M. tuberculosis and M. africanum strains from Ghana, West Africa. The distribution of mutations in katG, fabG1-inhA, ahpC, and rpoB was determined by DNA sequencing in 217 INH-resistant (INH r) and 45 multidrug-resistant (MDR) MTC strains isolated in Ghana from 2001 to 2004. A total of 247 out of 262 strains investigated (94.3%) carried a mutation in katG (72.5%), fabG1-inhA (25.1%), or ahpC (6.5%), respectively. M. tuberculosis strains mainly had katG 315 mutations (80.1%), whereas this proportion was significantly lower in M. africanum West-African 1 (WA1) strains (43.1%; p<0.05). In contrast, WA1 strains showed more mutations in the fabG1-inhA region (39.2%, p<0.05) compared to M. tuberculosis strains (20.9%). In 44 of 45 MDR strains (97.8%) mutations in the 81-bp core region of the rpoB gene could be verified. Additionally, DNA sequencing revealed that 5 RMP-susceptible strains also showed mutations in the rpoB hotspot region. In conclusion, although principally the same genes were affected in INH r M. tuberculosis and M. africanum strains, disequilibrium in the distribution of mutations conferring resistance was verified that might influence the efficiency of molecular tests for determination of resistance.

Source: UG
Unexpected elevated alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase levels and hepatitis E virus infection among persons who work with pigs in accra, Ghana.

Several studies have suggested that elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and asparte aminotransferase (AST) may be markers of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. Thus, individuals with elevated ALT and AST may have ongoing subclinical infection of HEV. We estimated the prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies and serum ALT and AST levels among persons who work with pigs in Accra, Ghana.

Source: UG
Unfettering the ball and chain of gender discrimination: Gendered experiences of senior STEM women in Ghana

Gender disparities are rife in Ghana and its educational sector. Despite the plethora of research on gender disparities in Ghana’s education system, there is no coverage on gender disparities in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields in Ghana. The paper’s purpose of the article was to examine the experiences of successful STEM women in Ghana utilizing semi-structured interviews. Fifteen women in STEM in senior faculty ranks were interviewed. Although they faced gender discrimination, their socialization emanated from their parents and other family members who are STEM professionals. Their agency made them linchpins in their study groups, excelled in their studies, and they were assisted to progress on their STEM trajectories by their professors and other mentors. As faculty, their productivity soared and they have been psychologically empowering their protégés.

Source: UG
The unfinished agenda of women's reproductive health

The 2015 FIGO World Report on Women’s Health is published at a special time in the history of health interventions. This year marks the end of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) era and ushers us into the sphere of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). As we talk about UHC it is vital that the emphasis that has been placed on women’s reproductive health over the years does not diminish. The emphasis that WHO is placing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) post 2015 also emphasizes the need to preserve our achieve- ments, while taking on new challenges. In the light of these global developments, the 2015 World Report focuses on the unﬁnished agenda of women’s reproductive health. The MDG era achieved many successes and women’s health was central to a number of the goals.WiththemovetobuildonthesesuccessesbytargetingUHC, it is important to remember that successes in women’shealthover the years are not equivalent to the elimination of women’sreproduc- tive health problems. The 2015 World Report articles provide new perspectives on is- sues that are all too familiar. The Report is divided into three sec- tions: maternal health, reproductive health, and leadership and management. Maternal morbidity and mortality continue to be major issues in many countries. Even though maternal mortality has reduced globally, there are still many places where women face unacceptable risks of death whenever they go through pregnancy, labor, and delivery. The papers in the ﬁrst chapter stress the need for all health services to ensure that the results of maternal death reviews are acted upon using the new maternal death surveillance and response (MDSR) approach. The controversial issue of task sharing or task shifting to ensure adequate coverage of obstetric services is also addressed.Mobile health (mHealth) is a subject receiving much attention and one article looks at the use of mHealth in providing personalized care to pregnant women. Medical conditions in pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, have always been an area of concern in maternal health. With the current emphasis on the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), it is important to understand how the presence of medical conditions in pregnancy could lead to the increase in incidence of NCDs in women. The prevention of type 2 diabetes in women who have suffered from gestational diabetes is considered in one paper

Source: UG
Unintended effects of a targeted maternal and child nutrition intervention on household expenditures, labor income, and the nutritional status of non-targeted siblings in Ghana

It is common for health and nutrition interventions to target specific household members and for evaluations of their effects to focus exclusively on those members. However, if a targeted intervention changes a household’s utility maximization problem or influences decision-making, households might respond to the intervention in unintended ways with the potential to affect the wellbeing of nontargeted members. Using panel data from a randomized controlled nutrition trial in Ghana, we evaluate household behavioral responses to the provision of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQLNS) to mothers and their infants to prevent undernutrition. We find that targeted supplementation with SQ-LNS had a positive effect on household expenditures on food, including some nutrient-rich food groups, as well as on non-food goods and services. We also find a positive impact on labor income, particularly among fathers. We then explore intrahousehold spillover effects on the nutritional status of nontargeted young children in the household. We find evidence that the targeted provision of SQ-LNS led to higher height-for-age z-scores among non-targeted children in the LNS group compared to the non-LNS group, though only among those with relatively taller mothers, which is an indicator of a child’s growth potential. These findings support existing evidence and suggest that unintended behavioral responses and spillover are a real possibility in the context of nutrition interventions targeting nutritionallyvulnerable household members. Thoughtfully considering this possibility in the design, analyses, and evaluation of targeted nutrition interventions may provide a more complete picture of overall effects. 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license

Source: UG
Union ‘facilitation effect’ and access to non-wage benefits in the Ghanaian labour market

Effective access to mandatory non-wage benefits is key to workers achiev ing decent working conditions. This paper investigates the effects of union presence on workers’ access to non-wage benefits in the Ghanaian labor market. The study draws its data from the 2012–2013 Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 6) and specifies a multivariate model that simultaneously controls for endogeneity and potential sam ple-selection biases. We find that unions have a significant effect on facilitation among workers by improving awareness of and access to work benefits. Other factors that affect benefit entitlements in Ghana include the gender of a worker, urbanization, firm size, sector formality, public v.s. private sector jobs, type of occupation, and the presence of work contracts amongst others. Results presented here indicate that workers from formal-sector firms with union presence are more likely to have access to non-wage benefits. It is also found that despite the statu tory nature of these non-wage benefits, non-compliance was common, predominantly in the informal sector but also in the formal sector. This is particularly the case with respect to maternity leave benefits and indicates a need for greater enforcement of these laws.

Source: UG
Union wage effect: Evidence from Ghana

Consistent with Convention 87 of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Section 79 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) empowers every employee in an organization to either form or join a trade union of their choice for the promotion and protection of their economic and social interests. In spite of this legal provision, union coverage and density in Ghana have continually declined in recent years. The decline in union density and coverage is likely to decrease the collective bargaining strength of unions. It is against this back ground that our study seeks to examine the effect of unions’ bargaining (proxied by union presence variable) on wages in Ghana. We employ the Heckman Selection Model and quantile regression technique to analyze data extracted from the sixth round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 6) and 2015 Ghana Labour Force Survey (GLFS 2015) respectively. The findings indicate that unions’ bargaining effect on wages is positive. Furthermore, the study finds that the union wage premium is highest at the lowest point of the wage distribution (25th quantile) but lowest at the highest point of the wage distribution (75th quantile). Whilst the study acknowledges the importance of education in earn ings determination, we recommend that low-wage employees in a non-union establishment should join a trade union in order to earn a living/decent wage

Source: UG
A unique African storytelling theatre tradition and architecture in Ghana

This paper investigates the Atwa Kodzidan at Ekumfi Atwa in Ghana, designed by dramatist Efua Theodora Sutherland, as an indigenous theatrical edifice apt for the preservation of oral traditions and the performing arts. The study has relied on interviews, content analysis and participant observation to discover that the Atwa Kodzidan has functioned as a model for indigenous national theatre architecture as it has also promoted and sustained the ideals of the storytelling tradition to the benefit of the people of Atwa, its surrounding communities, and around the world.

Source: UG
Unique ion filter—A data reduction tool for chemometric analysis of raw comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data

Comprehensive gas chromatography with time of flight mass spectrometry is a powerful tool in the analysis of complex samples. Chemometric analysis of raw chromatographic data is more useful in one- and two-dimensional separations relative to peak tables. The data volume from such experiments generally necessitates the use of data reduction tools. Such tools often sacrifice some of the multivariate information in the mass to charge ratio dimension. The unique ion filter reduces the over-redundancy in two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data by limiting the data to a few unique/pseudo-unique ions, sub-peaks/slices in the first dimension, and spectra in the second dimension. We explore the performance of this algorithm through careful inspection of two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data before and after application of the filter. A reduction (99%) in the number of variables in a two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry chromatogram passed on to subsequent analysis was observed. Feature selection times for model optimization reduced from 229 (±13) to 6.8 (±0.5) min when the filter was applied. An estimate of two unique/pseudo-unique ions, one sub-peak in the first dimension and five spectra in the second dimension were considered to provide a true representation of each chromatogram and provided enough information to achieve 100% model prediction accuracy.

Source: UG