ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Applicability of clay pozzolana in hydraulic backfilling of stopes at the AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi mine

The quest for a cheaper alternative or supplement to ordinary Portland cement as binder in the backfilling of mined out stopes in underground mines motivated this study. Clay pozzolana has been proven to substitute about 30% of Portland cement in general construction works and is cheaper. However, very little is known about its applicability in mine backfill. This study therefore sought to investigate whether clay pozzolana could be applied in the case of hydraulic backfill in the AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine. Samples of the classified tailings from the AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine were prepared with different amounts of ordinary Portland cement and clay pozzolana combinations into 50mm diameter by 120mm high cylindrical specimens and then tested for compressive strength after curing under humid conditions for various periods. Samples of the tailings were also subjected to particle size distribution and sulphate content analyses. The results indicated that generally, backfill with 10%, 25%, 30% and 35% of the ordinary Portland cement content replaced with clay pozzolana had strength values comparable to those obtained for samples containing ordinary Portland cement alone. Ten per cent (10%) pozzolana content replacement showed consistent maximum strength characteristics after curing beyond 7 days. Therefore, in terms of strength; it is recommended that 10% of ordinary Portland cement could be substituted with clay pozzolana in the hydraulic backfilling of voids in the AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine. The particle size distribution analysis indicated that the tailings are suitable in terms of its drainage characteristics for hydraulic backfilling of voids. The results of the sulphate content analysis indicated that the sulphate content of the tailings obtained from AGA, Obuasi Mine for the study was higher compared with the upper limit set by ASTM Standard C94 and European iv Standard EN 1008.Using 2013 as the baseline, an amount of Gh¢12.00 would be saved on every tonnage of cement used. This represents 3% of the amount of money spent on every tonnage of cement used.

Source: KNUST
Application of Area to Point Kriging to Buruli Ulcer Incidence in Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions of Ghana

Buruli ulcer (BU) is the third most common mycobacterium disease after tuberculosis and leprosy. The disease eats through the skin, muscle and bone, leaving victims with disfiguring and debilitating craters. Ghana is the second most endemic country globally, after Cote d’Ivoire with over 1,048 cases with the most endemic regions being the Ashanti, Greater Accra, Central and the Brong Ahafo. The research uses Area to Point Kriging (ATP) method to model the spatial distribution of Buruli ulcer incidence in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions of Ghana. The ATP method used consist of three steps; filtering of noise in the data based on Poisson kriging, the mapping of the corresponding risk at a fine scale and estimating geographical clustering of the disease at the administrative units. This paper focused on the spatial analysis of Buruli ulcer incidence in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo region in terms of sex. The research revealed that there is large range of spatial autocorrelation in males than in females in the various administrative units. The administrative units in Brong Ahafo close to Ashanti region have high BU incidence than the units far away from the Ashanti. The clustering analysis revealed that only Amansie West district is statistically significant for both sexes.

Source: KNUST
Application of Arima Models to the Incidence of Road Traffic Accident, Casualtiy and Fatality Cases in Ghana

Road traffic in Ghana is increasing at a fast rate and has raised major concerns. In this thesis, time series with Box-Jenkins method was applied to 20years of annual road accident, casualties and fatalities data from 1991-2010 to determine patterns of road traffic accident cases,casualties and fatalities in Ghana...

Source: KNUST
Application of Assignment Problem (Workforce Optimization) In Awarding Jobs/Projects in A Biding Tender: A Case Study of Shama Senior High School

Matching highly skilled people to available positions/jobs is a high-stakes task that requires careful consideration by experienced resource managers. A wrong decision may result in significant loss of value due to under-staffing, under-qualification or over-qualification of assigned personnel, and high turnover of poorly matched workers. While the importance of quality matching is clear, dealing with pools of hundreds of jobs and resources in a dynamic market generates a significant amount of pressure to make decisions rapidly. We present a novel solution designed to bridge the gap between the need for high-quality matches and the need for timeliness. This thesis models Shama Senior High School tender - project (Job) assignment problem as an Assignment Problem and solve the problem. The model developed could be adopted for any problem that can be modeled as an assignment problem. The objectives of the study were to: (i) mathematically model Shama Senior High School Tender – project/job assignment problem and solve the problem; (ii) minimize total cost of executing the projects. The Hungarian method was employed to solve the problem. First the algorithm was presented along with relevant examples. A real life problem was analyzed with QM Optimization Software employed to analyze the data obtained from the school. This thesis was organized in to five chapters. Also, related works that have been done in the area of Assignment Problem as well as mathematical theories on Assignment Problems and how they have been solved were reviewed. In the final analysis, it was observed that the total minimum cost of executing the six projects that will maximize total educational quality in the school, or the minimum cost of assigning a tender to a project was GH¢548,000.00. The researcher, therefore, recommended that the assignment problem model should be adopted by the school and other schools as well as other institutions and agencies for tender-project placement and selection planning.

Source: KNUST
Application of decision support systems at the College level of the Finance Office of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, in 2002 introduced the collegiate system that led to the grouping of academic departments into six colleges with enhanced autonomy for efficient and effective financial management and general administration. Consequently, the Finance Office set up a sub- office within each College to take care of the financial management at the College level. To ensure successful running of the decentralised offices, there is the need for an integrated information system that will ensure data integrity, consistency and reliability for decision making. There is the need to provide enough computers to the senior and junior staffs to avoid sharing of computer time in order to execute their work. Though the colleges are linked to the University’s network, they operate without access to the main Finance Office financial database for the purpose of decision making. The dependence on communication driven DSS (over 65.6%) mainly by using telephone for communication can be shifted to other means such as internet, chats, instant messaging and online collaboration in order to reduce the cost of conventional communication and improve information sharing for decision making. Furthermore, the over 81.3 % preference for document driven DSS leading to most of their operations being paper-based can be converted to data driven DSS to enhance online data sharing.

Source: KNUST
An Application of Credit Risk Management Strategies for Optimising Loan Recovery in Microfinance Institutions: A Case Study of the HFC – Boafo Micro-Finance Services Ltd in Accra Metropolis

As Microfinance Institutions become larger and more sophisticated, risk management should become a more conscious part of their management and governance. Microfinance Institutions with strong risk management maintain quality loan portfolios, avoid liquidity crises, and reduce the risk of loss caused by human error. Credit risk management is a crucial factor that Microfinance Institutions have to handle it effectively in order to promote business continuity. Despite the strict debt recovery guidelines and operational policies set by management to regulate the activities of the credit operations and to manage the credit risk of the institution, yet, they continue to battle with low debt recovery. The objectives of the study were to find out factors contributing to low debt recovery within the organization, assess the guidelines for credit risk management in the organization and finding out the recovery rate as at the end of 2011. The main purpose of the study is to find out the link between how the microfinance Institutions in Accra metropolis applies credit risk management strategies in order to optimise loan recovery. To be able to establish this link in the study, a stratified and purposive sampling procedure was used to select fifty (50) staffs from HFC-Boafo Microfinance Institutions for the study. Pie chart, tables and graphs were used to analyze the data collected from the officers. It was observed that the company had low debt recovery rate which was fuelled by two of its loan products. This was due to some officers not complying to their operational policy. Due to the fact that most of the officers overlook factors leading to low debt recovery and this was not properly supervised by their respective managers as seen in their debt recovery guidelines and operational policy manual, their loan credit were highly exposed to risk leading to leading to low debt recovery rate.

Source: KNUST
Application of dynamic programming to the traveling salesman problem: case study Ghana Education Service Inspectorate Division, Greater Accra Metropolis

The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) arises in many different contexts. In this thesis, we model and solve the Inspectorate division problem of the Ghana Education Service, Accra Metropolis as a Traveling Salesman Problem. The problem is formulated as a network of distances and the solution is presented based on dynamic programming to identify the maximum number of schools an officer can visit with minimum distance. Data on distances were obtained from the Inspectorate Division-GES, Accra. In comparison, the maximum number of schools the officers normally visited was three (3) on a route from past experience whiles our proposed method increased the number of schools to be visited at the same time and condition to five(5).

Source: KNUST
Application of Bühlmanns Credibility Theory to an Automobile Insurance Claims

In this thesis, we study auto-mobile insurance claim counts past data for commercial vehicles having third party liability cover.There are various literature on how this can be done. But in this study experience rating was used. Observations of claim events of the past were used to forecast the future claim counts of the policyholders without considering risk factors that are associated with them.The main objective of this thesis is to estimate the number of auto insurance claims occurring under motor accidents using Bühlmans credibility theory. Speci c objectives were to adopt Bühlmans credibility model and use the model to calculate credibility weighted estimates for the expected number of claims per year for each policyholder. Finally, the weighted estimates were used to estimate the number of claim counts in 2015.The R software was used to compute the Bühlmans credibility factor and the credibility weighted estimates for each policyholder for 2015. Conclusively, the ndings of this study revealed that out of the 600 policy holders about 197 of them are likely to make claims in 2015. It was recommend that the insurance company should make claims reservation for 197 policyholders in 2015.

Source: KNUST
Application of electromagnetic and electrical resistivity methods in investigating groundwater resources of the Sunyani Municipality in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana

Two geophysical techniques, the Electromagnetic (EM) and Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) were employed to explore for groundwater in thirteen communities in the Sunyani Municipality. The Geonics EM 34-3 was used for the electromagnetic profiling which employed both the horizontal and vertical dipole modes of recording conductivity values. Vertical Electrical Soundings were also conducted with the ABEM Terrameter SAS 1000C using the Schlumberger protocol. The collected data was analyzed using the Grapher 8 and RES1D softwares. A total of 18 EM profiles of length 2.8 km were traversed and 40 vertical electrical soundings established. The interpretation of the 40 VES points suggested that 13 points were suitable for borehole drilling. From the VES curve analyses, it was also revealed that the subsurface structure of 27 out of the 40 VES points were underlain by three lithological layers while the remaining 13 are of four layer types of varying resistivities. The results are indicated slight to moderate fracture development in the bedrock. Results from the interpretation of the data collected led to the inference of low groundwater potential at Antwikrom, low to moderate groundwater potential at Domsesre and relatively moderate to high groundwater potential in the rest of the eleven (11) communities. The use of the integrated geophysical technique employed for this study shows how the two methods can be applied complimentarily to groundwater exploration. Whereas the Electromagnetic (EM) was used as a reconnaissance tool in determining areas of increasing conductivity with depth, the Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) technique was used in delineating the sequence of subsurface lithologies in order to identify potential aquifers.

Source: KNUST
Application of Euler’s Phi-Function in Abstract Algebra

Euler’s phi – function ϕ(n) is defined for every positive integer n as follows: ϕ(1)=1 and whenn≥2then ϕ(n) is the number of distinct integers k∈{1,2,…,n-1}such that k and n are relatively prime. This thesis seeks to examine the application of Euler’s phi-function in the study of cyclic groups, field extensions and cyclotomic polynomials of a finite field.

Source: KNUST
Application of Dynamic Programming for the Provident Fund Investment Allocation of Ghana Community Network Services Limited Staff (GCNET) Association

Fund managers have to decide the amount of a fund's assets and the type of investment Options that should be undertaken, considering the interest rate and the tradeoff between being able to meet shareholder redemptions and minimizing the opportunity cost from lost investment opportunities. In addition, they have to consider redemptions by individuals as well as institutional investors, the current performance of the stock market and interest rates, and the pattern of investments and redemptions which are correlated with market performance. We formulated the provident fund investment problem of Ghana Community Network Services Limited, GCNet, a Ghanaian company as a dynamic program model. The objective is to determine the optimal investment policy in the company so that the business gets the optimum return of profit from the number of investment alternatives. The general practice is that most establishments do not have a well structured plan on how to allocate funds to various investment options in order to maximize returns from the investments. Investment funds are allocated by trial and error basis and at the discretion of people or departments in charge. These methods are faulted, and are basically inefficient as returns from the fund invested are not optimal. To overcome this problem, we proposed a dynamic programming algorithm in solving our problem. We use actual data from the funds coffers for market performance and interest rates, and demonstrate the quality of the solution as compared to the existing solution from the firm’s investment strategy. We showed from our results that our solution to our investment problem gave an optimal investment returns of GH¢6,600.00, as against the firm’s record of investing all the GH¢100 at a return of GH¢6,500.00. The result is a simple policy that describes when money should be moved into and out of cash based on market performance.

Source: KNUST
Application of economic order quantity with quantity discount model. a case study of West African Examination Council

The Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) is a pure economic model in the classical inventory control theory. The model is designed to find the order quantity so as to minimize the total average cost of replenishment under deterministic demand and some simplifying assumptions. The study focuses on inventory management when the unit purchasing cost decreases with the order quantity, Q. The main objective of the study is to model Economic Order Quantity with quantity discount to achieve optimal level of inventory. The model was analyzed against the current practices of the West African Examination Council, (WAEC) ordering policies to find out whether it is appropriate to go for quantity discount when offered. The Management of WAEC wants to determine if it should take advantage of the discount or order basic EOQ order size offered to them by their suppliers. The 2012 data was used for the analysis, (as shown in table 4.1, page 65). From the analysis it was observed that a discount price of GHȼ890 000.00 is the minimum price that gives the minimum quantity of 350 000. There is no order size larger than 350 000 that would results in a lower price. This means that the company should spend a total cost of eight hundred and ninety thousand Ghana cedis, (GHȼ890 000.00) to order an optimal quantity of three hundred and thirty thousand, (350 000) units of materials. The management will benefit from the proposed approach for their inventory control management system; this could help them take informed decision. The study recommends that the model should be adopted by the company for their inventory control and management planning.

Source: KNUST
Application of Euler’s Phi-Function in Abstract Algebra

Euler’s phi – function ϕ(n) is defined for every positive integern as follows: ϕ(1)=1 and whenn≥2then ϕ(n) is the number of distinct integers k∈{1,2,…,n-1}such thatkandnare relatively prime. This thesis seeks to examine the application of Euler’s phi-function in the study of cyclic groups, field extensions and cyclotomic polynomials of a finite field

Source: KNUST
Application of extreme value theory for estimating daily brent crude oil prices

Assessing the probability of rare and extreme events is an important issue in the risk management of financial portfolios. Crude oil markets are highly volatile and risky. Extreme Value Theory (EVT), an approach to modelling and estimating risks under rare events, has seen a more prominent role in risk management in recent years. This thesis presents an application of EVT to the daily returns of Brent crude oil prices in the spot market between 1987 and 2009. We focus on the peak over threshold method by analysing the generalized Pareto distributed exceedances over some high threshold. This method provides an effective means for estimating tail risk measures specifically, Value-at-Risk (VaR) and Expected Shortfall (ES). The estimates of these risk measures computed under high quantile (99th percentile) provides estimates of VaR as 8.1% and 8.0% for daily positive and negative returns, respectively. The estimates for expected shortfall are 12.3% and 10.7% for daily positive and negative returns, respectively.

Source: KNUST
Application of game theory in financial management (a case study of Oak Financial Services)

A computational study of Game Theory applied to investment decisions in optimal portfolio selection Problem is considered. Emphasis will be placed on investment decision problem, which is modeled as Game Theory Problem. Data from Oak financial Service for 2012 is examined. The decision – maker has to select at least one option from all possible options in which he can invest. The problem here is to decide what action or a combination of actions to take among the various possible options with the given rates of return. The solution to game theory application in financial investment planning is effective in giving optimal solution as compared with personal discretion means of investment by an investor. From the concept of investment using game theory, the solution to this problem consists of many feasible options investment opportunities where an investor can invest where the limit of the investment amount is not violated. According to the developed model, the value of the game from the various investment options was 5.3 percent growth rate in mutual fund and bonds. The solution shown gave remarkably better results than the independent model normally used by the institution. We therefore recommend that our model should be adopted by the institution for its investment planning.

Source: KNUST
Application of generalized estimating equation (GEE) model on students academic performance: a case study of final year math four students at KNUST

Education as it’s often said is the ‘King of all knowledge’. In its yard are high expectations of academic performance which is very dear to the heart of all and sundry. Hence, any variable that triggers the academic performance of students evoke the awareness of all. The aim of this thesis is to review analyses of “Application of Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) Models on Academic Performance”. There are various statistical and mathematical models employed in the analyses of students’ academic performance in different level of schools. In this thesis, we formulate the Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model approach to analyse the probable performance of students knowing his gender, entry age into the school, the geographical location of students, as well as Graded level of former School attended. We used real data set of students’ Semester Weighted Average (SWA), and back these with validate and reliable questionnaire about students personal information (on their Biodata response) for a complete data set. From our analyses, Coefficient Estimation of the Study Parameters reveals that, only the geographical location of students is significant and hence affects their academic performance. We recommend that Mathematics Education should be strengthened in the Northern belts regions of Ghana. We also recommend further research to check individual differences existing among the students that may account for differences in Academic performance in Institutions.

Source: KNUST
Application of genetic algorithm to find optimal work scheduling for nurses-a case study at the ENT Department,KATH

Hospitals need to repeatedly produce duty rosters for its nursing sta s.The good scheduling of nurses has an impact on the quality of health care,the recruitment of nurses, the development of budgets and other nursing functions. Nurse scheduling is a well known scheduling problem that aims at allocating the required workload to the available sta nurses. This work tends to formulate a model to minimise the shift of nurses using the genetic based algorithm.The results obtained showed that the shift of nurses has been minimised so as to pre-vent a ward from being oversta ed or understa ed while satisfying the needs of the patients. The study shows that genetic algorithm based method can nd optimal schedules that are feasible and acceptable for hospital nursing units.

Source: KNUST