ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Beyond here and now: Evaluating pollution estimation across space and time from street view images with deep learning

Advances in computer vision, driven by deep learning, allows for the inference of environmental pollution and its potential sources from images. The spatial and temporal generalisability of image-based pollution models is crucial in their real-world application, but is currently understudied, particularly in low-income countries where infrastructure for measuring the complex patterns of pollution is limited and modelling may therefore provide the most utility. We employed convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for two complementary classification models, in both an end-to-end approach and as an interpretable feature extractor (object detection), to estimate spatially and temporally resolved fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and noise levels in Accra, Ghana. Data used for training the models were from a unique dataset of over 1.6 million images collected over 15 months at 145 representative locations across the city, paired with air and noise measurements. Both end-to-end CNN and object-based approaches surpassed null model benchmarks for predicting PM2.5 and noise at single locations, but performance deteriorated when applied to other locations. Model accuracy diminished when tested on images from locations unseen during training, but improved by sampling a greater number of locations during model training, even if the total quantity of data was reduced. The end-to-end models used characteristics of images associated with atmospheric visibility for predicting PM2.5, and specific objects such as vehicles and people for noise. The results demonstrate the potential and challenges of image-based, spatiotemporal air pollution and noise estimation, and that robust, environmental modelling with images requires integration with traditional sensor networks.

Source: UG
Beyond knowledge and awareness: Addressing

Background: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is not new to the world. However, the West African EVD epidemic which started in 2014 evolved into the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the history of the disease. The three most-affected countries faced enormous challenges in stopping the transmission and providing care for all patients. Although Ghana had not recorded any confirmed Ebola case, social factors have been reported to hinder efforts to control the outbreak in the three most affected countries. This qualitative study was designed to explore community knowledge and attitudes about Ebola and its transmission. Methods: This study was carried out in five of the ten regions in Ghana. Twenty-five focus group discussions (N = 235) and 40 in-depth interviews were conducted across the five regions with community members, stakeholders and opinion leaders. The interviews were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim. Framework analysis was adopted in the analysis of the data using Nvivo 10. Results: The results showed a high level of awareness and knowledge about Ebola. The study further showed that knowledge on how to identify suspected cases of Ebola was also high among respondents. However, there was a firm belief that Ebola was a spiritual condition and could also be transmitted through air, mosquito bites and houseflies. These misconceptions resulted in perceptions of stigma and discrimination towards people who may get Ebola or work with Ebola patients.

Source: UG
Beyond Knowledge and Awareness: Addressing Misconceptions in Ghana’s Preparation towards an Outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease

Background Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is not new to the world. However, the West African EVD epidemic which started in 2014 evolved into the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the history of the disease. The three most-affected countries faced enormous challenges in stopping the transmission and providing care for all patients. Although Ghana had not recorded any confirmed Ebola case, social factors have been reported to hinder efforts to control the outbreak in the three most affected countries. This qualitative study was designed to explore community knowledge and attitudes about Ebola and its transmission. Methods This study was carried out in five of the ten regions in Ghana. Twenty-five focus group discussions (N = 235) and 40 in-depth interviews were conducted across the five regions with community members, stakeholders and opinion leaders. The interviews were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim. Framework analysis was adopted in the analysis of the data using Nvivo 10. Results The results showed a high level of awareness and knowledge about Ebola. The study further showed that knowledge on how to identify suspected cases of Ebola was also high among respondents. However, there was a firm belief that Ebola was a spiritual condition and could also be transmitted through air, mosquito bites and houseflies. These misconceptions resulted in perceptions of stigma and discrimination towards people who may get Ebola or work with Ebola patients. Conclusion We conclude that although knowledge and awareness about Ebola is high among Ghanaians who participated in the study, there are still misconceptions about the disease. The study recommends that health education on Ebola disease should move beyond creating awareness to targeting the identified misconceptions to improve future containment efforts.

Source: UG
Beyond symptom recognition: Care-seeking for ill newborns in rural Ghana

Objectives: To assess newborn care-seeking practices in a rural area of Ghana where most births take place at home in order to inform potential strategies for reducing newborn mortality. Methods: Qualitative, ethnographic study with quantitative data from a birth cohort collected as part of the surveillance system of an ongoing randomized controlled trial. Data collected comprised 84 h of participant observation (including following an ill newborn through a hospital visit), 14 in-depth interviews with key informants (older mothers and grandmothers), 45 semistructured interviews with mothers, 28 case histories from women who had recently given birth and 32 expert interviews with local health providers. Thirteen focus groups were held with men and women, and narrative histories of newborn deaths were taken from eight women. Birth cohort data came from 2878 singletons born alive in the study district within the year July 2003-June 2004. Results: Significant delays in care seeking for ill newborns occur in Kintampo District, Ghana. 2.1% of 2878 newborns in the birth cohort had a serious illness during the first 4 weeks of life, but care was only sought outside the home for 61% of those and from a doctor or hospital for 39%. Barriers to prompt allopathic care seeking include sequential care-seeking practices, with often exclusive use of traditional medicine as first-line treatment for 7 days, previous negative experiences with health service facilities, financial constraints and remoteness from health facilities. Conclusions: Improvements in care seeking are urgently needed. Families should be urged to seek medical care for any symptom of illness in a newborn; financial and socio-cultural barriers to care seeking for newborns must be addressed in order to improve neonatal survival. © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Source: UG
Beyond Teacher Competencies: A Position Statement on Meeting the Needs of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Inclusive Classrooms in Ghana

Inclusive education stands as a beacon of progress in ensuring the holistic development of children with neurodevelopmental Disorders. Ghana has made significant strides in promoting inclusive education through the inclusive education policy developed in 2015. Central to the successful implementation of inclusive education is the attitude and competence of teachers in managing children with special needs. Notable progress has been observed among teachers, reflecting a growing recognition of the importance of inclusive practices and a willingness to embrace diversity within the classroom. Yet, the journey toward successful policy implementation is fraught with substantial institutional challenges, such as inadequate resources and curriculum rigidity. This paper contends that addressing the complexities of inclusive education demands a comprehensive strategy that extends beyond the realm of teacher attributes alone. Recognising that the barriers to inclusive education in Ghana are multifaceted and encompass various systemic, environmental, and attitudinal factors is imperative. This paper emphasises the imperative for a multidimensional approach that extends beyond the teacher.

Source: UG
Beyond technical details: The stalled Kwabenya Engineered Sanitary Landfill Project in Accra, Ghana

The development of a modern, sustainable system of waste management in developing countries is frequently delayed (and in some cases stalled) by causes that cannot be directly attributed to technical or economic reasons. One such project is the Kwabenya Engineered Sanitary Landfill Project which was conceived in 1991. This paper examines why the project was not actualized though the technical details and financial component were duly secured. Using mainly a qualitative research method, the study revealed that the authority’s poor governance practices spelt the doom of the project. Neither were the direct occupants of the land consulted during the project formulation stage nor were the host community’s fear of environmental reprisals addressed. This paper maintains that successful implementation of projects like a landfill demands the collective participation and acceptability of all stakeholders

Source: UG
Beyond technical: delineating factors influencing recycled water acceptability

Globally, demand for water resources is projected to increase due to climate change and population growth. In many developing contexts, water demand already far exceeds supply and alternatives are already required. Recycled water is increasingly seen as a source of alternative water supply to plug demand-supply gaps. This study examined the factors that influence recycled water acceptance amongst residents of Accra, Ghana. We found that irrespective of the technical specifications on water quality, consumers were only willing to use recycled water for some purposes due to low levels of trust in water service providers because of their inefficiencies and unreliable service provision. Cultural beliefs relating to human waste and the ingestion of waste underlines peoples’ acceptability of recycled water. Thus, future water reuse planning must include community engagement at the planning stage to create the level of trust needed for reuse acceptability.

Source: UG
Beyond the binary debates in migration: Experiences of Fulani nomads, sedentary Fulani, and autochthone farmers in Agogo, Ghana

The contestations over land and pasture redefine broad, complex boundaries between three groups: autochthone farmers of Agogo, Fulani sedentary herders, and Fulani nomads. The broad boundaries have emerged into sub-categories between the sedentary Fulani and Fulani nomads who belong to the same ethnic group of Fulbe in West Africa. With growing population pressures and shrinking resources, the competition for land and livelihoods has fueled tensions among these groups. feeding a cycle of recurring violence. Extended qualitative fieldwork conducted in six communities in the forest transitional zone of Ghana reveals how these tensions are connected to emerging forms of self-categorisation and othering: developing positive attitudes of in-groups, while viewing others less favourably. This has produced a triadic relationship with varied claims to authority, space, and residential superiority. The indigenous farmers claim ownership of the land and demand the evacuation of both sedentary Fulani and Fulani nomads from the area. The secular Fulani claim they are not the troublemakers but that they are blamed for the encroachment and destruction of farms. The Fulani nomads resist assertions that they are dangerous and unapproachable, but intentionally remain aloof and outside. at the margins of Ghana’s legal authority.

Source: UG
Beyond the Diagnosis: Lived Experiences of Persons with Spinal Cord Injury in a Selected Town in Ghana

Background. Although several studies have been conducted on the lived experiences of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) in high income countries, there is no published data on such experiences in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of persons with SCI in the Tamale Metropolis of the Northern Region of Ghana. Material and Methods. A qualitative descriptive design involving thirteen participants was conducted at the Tamale Metropolis-Ghana. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit participants, using the Neurosurgical Unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital as an outlet for recruitment of the sample. Data was gathered mainly through face-to-face in-depth interviews. The data was analyzed concurrently with data collection, using thematic content analysis. Ethical approval was obtained for the study from the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the research unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital. Results. The three main themes that emerged from the data during analysis were “physical effects,” “psychological effects,” and “social issues.” Conclusion. The findings from the study suggest that SCI is a life threatening condition and that persons with SCI grapple with a myriad of physical symptoms that range from chronic pain and paralysis of lower and/or upper limbs, to bladder and bowel incontinence. These physical symptoms have significant psychological and social effects on the functioning of the affected persons.

Source: UG
Beyond the Environmental Kuznets Curve in South Asian economies: accounting for the combined effect of information and communication technology, human development and urbanization

The aim of this study is to investigate the role of information and communication technology (ICT) and human capital development on environmental degradation (CO2) using the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework in line with the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP21). Five South Asian countries namely: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were considered in the context of the present study between the annual time period of 1990 to 2016. Pedroni cointegration test and Kao’s residual cointegration test are used to assess long term relationship while Dumitrescu and Harlin (Econ Model 29:1450–1460, 2012) is used to test causality relationship between the variables. Empirical findings from the study showed significant effects of ICT import, renewable energy usage and human development decrease CO2 levels while ICT export and urbanization increase carbon emission levels in the long run. Furthermore, a significantly positive association is observed between economic growth and CO2 emission while the square of national income exerts a significantly negative effect on environmental degradation, which supports the EKC for the South Asian states. From a practical implication context, policymakers should not only concentrate on their economic growth trajectory improvement but also enhance the improvement of their ICT infrastructure, invest more in renewable energy sources, follow policies that would help the countries to raise human development standards, as well as consciousness for environmental sustainability should be pursued

Source: UG
Beyond the glass ceiling: an exploration of the experiences of female corporate organizational leaders in Ghana

Although an increase in the inclusion of women in the global labor market has been reported in recent times, existing literature show that women are still heavily underrepresented in organizational leadership positions. Many studies in this area mainly focused on perceived barriers to women’s ascend to leadership positions, while little atten tion is paid to insights into the lived experiences of women who have already managed to assume leadership positions. This study was con ducted to plug this gap in the literature. We interviewed 10 women corporate organizational leaders in Ghana to share their lived experi ences as female leaders within the Ghanaian context. Our findings reveal that women still face several challenges even after breaking the glass ceiling to attain leadership positions in corporate organizations in Ghana. The main challenges were raised around the issue of gender, discrimination, age, their roles as mothers and wives. On the other hand, their positions also came with benefits and opportunities such as improved financial status, a command for respect as well as increas ing their social and business networking capacity. More importantly, age although a disadvantage for the young women leaders, it was seen as a resource for older women as it enhances their respect and seen as performance of motherhood roles in this Ghanaian context. The study concludes that although women leaders’ experiences are largely negative, older women leaders seemed to utilize their positions actively and creatively and perform pseudo-motherhood roles which in turn helps them in the performance of their leadership roles.

Source: UG
Beyond the green revolution: reviving time-tested resilient practices for enhanced food security in Ghana’s upper west region through traditional Authorities

This paper investigates the effects of locally enacted bylaws governing Autonomous resilience Practices (ARP) on the food security of a sample of 700 smallholder farmers in Ghana’s Upper West Region. The research is grounded in the context of the Green Revolution’s inability to address food insecurity for large populations in Africa. The sequential mixed-methods design employed in the study first identified eight prevalent coping strategies for food insecurity among farmers. A pairwise matrix ranking method was used for this task. Subsequently, Poisson regression models were employed to assess how often farmers resorted to these coping strategies when bylaws aimed at protecting the local ecology were enforced. The results reveal highly significant and inverse relationships between increased frequency of implementing local bylaws on ARP and farmers’ frequency of resorting to the eight identified coping strategies for food security. The results underscore the significance of grassroots-level solutions to the shortcomings of the current food system, which produces surplus food but fails to adequately nourish a substantial proportion of the global population

Source: UG
Beyond the job description Exploring the mediating role of leaders’ emotional intelligence on the nexus between leadership styles and voluntary workplace behaviours in the Ghanaian banking sector

Purpose – The primary aim of this study was to determine whether or not leaders’ emotional intelligence plays a mediating role in the relationship between leadership styles and voluntary work behaviours among employees of selected banks in Ghana. Specifically, the objective was to determine the mediating effect of leaders’ emotional intelligence on the relationship between transactional and transformational leadership styles and organizational citizenship behaviours (OCB) and counterproductive workplace behaviours (CWB). Design/methodology/approach – The quantitative approach to research was adopted to collect data from 234 respondents. More so, both purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used for the selection of respondents for the study. Findings – The findings of the study revealed that amongst the various leadership styles and OCB and CWB relationships, only the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB was mediated by leaders’ emotional intelligence. Practical implications – It was however recommended that transformational leadership style be adopted in the quest to encourage employees to exhibit OCB and mitigate employees’ involvement in CWB since such leaders are more prone to exhibiting high levels of emotional intelligence in the dealing with employees. Originality/value – For the first time in the Ghanaian banking sector, this research explores the leaders’ emotional intelligence as mediator on the nexus between leadership styles and voluntary work behaviours of employees of selected banks in Ghana.

Source: UG
Beyond the marginalization thesis: An examination of the motivations of informal entrepreneurs in sub-saharan Africa

For years, informal entrepreneurs were largely classified as 'marginalized' and were perceived to be conducting marginalized ventures for survival. However, this perception gradually changed between the middle of the twentieth century and the start of the new millennium. In analysing the motivations of informal entrepreneurs from Ghana, based on face-to-face interviews with 150 respondents, the key findings were that the motivations of the entrepreneurs transcended the marginalization thesis and that informal entrepreneurs were often motivated not by necessity or opportunity, but rather by an amalgamation of the two. Although women constitute the majority of the necessity-driven informal entrepreneurs, in time some of them become opportunity-driven entrepreneurs. The implication is that there is a need for a shift from necessity-opportunity dualism to a unified approach, which depicts the motivations of informal entrepreneurs in more detail, and for broader research in other economic landscapes.

Source: UG
Bias-corrected NASA data for aridity index estimation over tropical climates in Ghana, West Africa

Study region: Ghana, West Africa. Study focus: NASA’s Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (NASA POWER) satellite-based reanalysis products are used for estimating the aridity index (AI) in Ghana, West Africa. The NASA estimates are compared and bias-corrected with temperature-based potential evapotrans piration estimates and rainfall data from 22 synoptic climate stations. The cumulative distribution function (CDF) matching technique was used for bias correction New Hydrological Insights for the region: The results indicated a previous 36% over-estimation of arid conditions in dryland climates and an under-estimation of wetland climate regions by the NASA POWER data compared with the station-based estimation. Post bias-correction, the satellite-based estimates showed substantial improvements, as evidenced by a correlation coef ficient of R2 = 0.87. The rectified data suggests that with accurate interpretations and calibra tions, satellite-based metrics can play a pivotal role in advancing hydrological studies and water resource management in West Africa Sub-region. This insight underscores the potential of satellite data in augmenting regional hydrological research, establishing a foundation for similar studies in analogous global environments.

Source: UG
The Bible Says! Neo-Prophetic Hermeneutics in Africa.

The neo-prophetic churches, the most recent expression of Pentecostalism, currently experiencing stupendous growth, do more contextual or inculturation hermeneutics than did earlier Pentecostal movements. They have, as their pillars, African biblical hermeneutics (shaped by elements in the African context) and global Pentecostal hermeneutical paradigms (also shaped by Pentecostal beliefs). In relying on these two pillars, they have appropriated western biblical hermeneutical tools, categories and methods in the African milieu; hence their appeal to a large number of contemporary African Christians.

Source: UG