ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Ghana’s Porous Borders and the Threat to National Security

This thesis focuses on Ghana’s international land borders, detailing the factors contributing to its porous nature and how that poses threats to the country’s stability. Using qualitative research approach, the study collected data from various Border Sector Commands (BSC) of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and argues that, given the porosity of Ghana’s international land borders and her position in a West African sub-region engulfed in violent activities, the country is vulnerable to cross-border criminal activities which threaten its stability. Key to the factors accounting for the porosity of the country’s international land borders are its border architecture, ineffective checkpoints and challenges of the Border Patrol Unit (BPU). Consequently, evidence of traces of terrorism, smuggling of arms and humans among others, have been recorded in the country. In this vein, various government regimes and stakeholders in border management have taken measures to prevent crossborder crime crisis in the country. Internally, there is an ongoing sensitisation of various communities, the establishment of periodic joint task forces, counterterrorism units and the provision of working logistics among others. Externally, Ghana has rectified various United Nations (UN) conventions on anti-terrorism, suspension of financing of terrorism and money laundering. However, these measures are inadequate to effectively tackle the conundrum of porous borders. The thesis proposed several measures, including a review of Ghana’s international land borders, re-design of a border management plan, provision and incorporation of border communities into development schemes and encouraging inter-agency collaboration in border management.

Source: UCC
Ghana’s right to information bill: opportunity for SDI as a technical infrastructure

Information is an important resource in the 21st century knowledge-based society. Access to public sector information is being viewed as an important path to strengthening democracy, good governance, public service and sustainable development. Ghana is about to enact a right to information law (now The Right to Information Bill) to provide a legal framework for making public sector information accessible to the public. However, while the legal framework is necessary, it is not sufficient to ensure real access to public sector information by the public. This paper highlights the need for designing policy and institutional frameworks in general and a technical infrastructure in particular for actuating the provisions of the anticipated law. With specific focus on access to public sector spatial information, the paper assesses the conditions, opportunities and imperatives for building SDI, at least, as part of the technical infrastructure for making public sector information discoverable, retrievable and usable to the public. The paper argues that the passage of the Right to Information Bill into law carries with significant opportunity for the development of SDI. Steps are then proposed for creating the SDI in a three phase approach: initiation, evolution and building, and integration, institutionalization and scaling up. The significance of the paper lies in its pioneering contribution to the emergent discourse on the design of policy, institutional framework and technical infrastructure for making PSI (especially public sector spatial information) easily accessible to the Ghanaian public in anticipation of the right to information law

Source: UCC
Ghana’s right to information bill: opportunity for SDI as a technical infrastructure

Information is an important resource in the 21st century knowledge-based society. Access to public sector information is being viewed as an important path to strengthening democracy, good governance, public service and sustainable development. Ghana is about to enact a right to information law (now The Right to Information Bill) to provide a legal framework for making public sector information accessible to the public. However, while the legal framework is necessary, it is not sufficient to ensure real access to public sector information by the public. This paper highlights the need for designing policy and institutional frameworks in general and a technical infrastructure in particular for actuating the provisions of the anticipated law. With specific focus on access to public sector spatial information, the paper assesses the conditions, opportunities and imperatives for building SDI, at least, as part of the technical infrastructure for making public sector information discoverable, retrievable and usable to the public. The paper argues that the passage of the Right to Information Bill into law carries with significant opportunity for the development of SDI. Steps are then proposed for creating the SDI in a three-phase approach: initiation, evolution and building, and integration, institutionalization and scaling up. The significance of the paper lies in its pioneering contribution to the emergent discourse on the design of policy, institutional framework and technical infrastructure for making PSI (especially public sector spatial information) easily accessible to the Ghanaian public in anticipation of the right to information law

Source: UCC
Ghana’s System of Local Government Administration As a Barrier to Collaborative Public Management

In view of the present economic atmosphere of inadequate resources, growing demands on services and numerous multifaceted social problems facing developing countries like Ghana, the need for various sectors to work in collaboration with each other has become more imperative. However, while there has been general acknowledgement of the significance in responding to these challenges through collaboration, evidence has shown that there is lack of collaboration amongst different sectors in Ghana. This paper examines the extent to which this collaborative deficit is attributed to the nature of local system of government in the country from the perspectives of actors in a rural district of Ahafo Ano South (AAS). It is a case study research with in-depth interviews carried out amongst 35 sectoral actors within the local government administration. The result showed that one major source of collaborative public management deficiency has been the system of local government administration in the country. The implication is that for government to succeed in its collaborative efforts in managing public services, the local system of administration must be re-examined.

Source: UCC
Giant neoplastic omental cyst masquerading as ascites: a case report

Introduction: Cystic lesion of the omentum and mesentery are rare. The incidence of both cyst types has been variously reported to vary from 1/27,000-100,000 hospital admission. Omental cysts occur three to ten times less frequently than mesenteric cyst. Preoperative diagnosis is infrequently made because of lack of characteristic symptoms and signs. Case presentation: We present our diagnostic and management challenges in a 43-year-old man with an unusually giant omental cyst confirmed as fibrosarcoma at histology. The cyst gave the abdomen an anteroposterior diameter of about 74 cm that could not be penetrated sufficiently by X-ray photons to produce diagnostic image even at maximum attainable output. Patient benefited from surgical excision. The removed cyst contained about 35 litres of fluid. Conclusion: Neglected omental cysts as in this case may grow to enormous size, undergo malignant transformation and poses serious diagnostic and surgical challenges.

Source: UCC
Giant scrotal lymphedema of unclear etiology: a case report

Introduction: Scrotal lymphedema is common in the tropics and subtropics. The giant variants can cause a lot of physical disability and psychological disturbances. Case presentation: We present a 25-year-old Nigerian male with giant scrotal lymphedema with severe debilitating symptoms, immobility and emotional disturbance. He benefited from a modified Charles’ procedure and reconstruction of the penile shaft using a split-thickness skin graft. Conclusion: Giant scrotal lymphedema related to poverty, ignorance and neglect, is amenable to surgery. Surgery provides a cosmetically acceptable and functionally satisfying outcome.

Source: UCC
Girls participation in basic education in the eastern part of Nadowli district

The purpose of the study was to find out the extent of participation of girls in basic education in the Eastern part of the Nadowli District in the Upper West Region of Ghana and to examine the reasons for that level of participation. Two sets of data were used in the investigation. These data were documentary data and interview data. The respondents comprised parents of pupils, female girls in basic schools, school dropouts, head teachers of the selected basic schools and the Nadowli District Education Officers. The main method employed in the data analysis was the calculation of percentages. The findings of the study indicate that many girls enter class one but some dropout as they get to the junior high school levels because of poverty and low premium some parents give to girls’ education. The study therefore recommends that steps be taken by government to make modern agricultural extension services reach the small-scale and subsistence farmers in the Upper West Region to alleviate poverty. Also it is recommended that public education be given in those communities to disabuse the minds of the rural folk concerning the traditional conceptions they cherish that females are meant for only the kitchen and that they are made to become wives to men.

Source: UCC
Glass Ceiling and Career Progression of Female Workers at the College of Distance Education, University Of Cape Coast

ABSTRACT The general purpose of the study was to examine the nexus between glass ceiling and career progression of women working the College of Distance Education at the University of Cape Coast. With that the study first sought to examine the factors that lead to glass ceiling at the workplace and further sought to assess the career progression of women as a result of glass ceiling. Lastly, the study examined the effect of glass ceiling on the career progression of women at the College of Distance Education. To achieve these specific objectives, the study employed a quantitative approach and a descriptive design where questionnaires were administered to 97 female respondents at the college out of 130 population size. The study found that the female workers were highly affected by glass ceiling due to child birth, child care and family commitments. The study again found that women are affected by glass ceiling negatively such that there is slow development in their progression, promotion speed and remuneration growth. The study further found that both personal factors and organisational factors of glass ceiling negatively affect career progression of female workers. It was concluded that a negative association exists between glass ceiling and career progression of women. The study recommended that Management and Authorities of the University and the College should assist female workers with mentors aid them to progress in their careers.

Source: UCC
Global Asset Classes and Equity Markets’ Returns in Africa

ABSTRACT Although newly-created alliances between African economies and top emerging markets may stimulate economic growth, the tendency to deepen integration across African markets could render African markets less resilient to global shocks as they are known. Notwithstanding, the financial market meltdown occasioned by the COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in intense commodity market volatility for which market participants in Africa have been cautioned about its persistence. Motivated by investors’ relentless search for safety assets and the ripple impact of the recent trade liberalisation in Africa, this thesis examined the interdependence, spillover connectedness, and information transfer between returns on global commodity classes and African equity markets. Hinged on available and comparable data, the research employed daily datasets – equity (Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) and commodity (cocoa, coffee, copper, corn, crude oil, gold, natural gas, palladium, palm oil, rice, sugar, and soybeans) market indices – spanning from 22nd February 2010 to 4th February 2022. The findings from the study underscored high interdependence between commodity and African equities in the short term with idiosyncratic and contagious return spillovers. The effective transfer entropy results suggested high uncertainties with commodity-African equity investments although the markets are efficient in the medium-and-long term horizons. Regulators should deploy vibrant measures that could limit the creation or transmission of shocks across markets. Portfolio managers should deploy effective risk management strategies that capitalise on the changing roles of some assets as diversifiers, hedgers, and safe-havens across time horizons

Source: UCC
The Global imperialism project: lessons from television, movies and radio

Old and latest trends in discussions in the sphere of the role of mass communication in media and cultural imperialism have centered on cultural hegemony and cultural colonialism among other such lines of ideological debate. Some debates have also pointed to globalization as the only way to spread development across the world. Others see globalization as portending some dangers for the cultures of developing countries as they will end up being annihilated. Based on the premise that mass communication and mass media have led to cultural imperialism in the world, the essay uses the cases of music, television programming, television news and films to discuss how United States of America, especially, has dominated the cultures of other countries through the latter’s consumption of American cultural products. Pivoted on the cultural imperialism theoretical framework, the discussion moved a step further by looking at the concept of cultural/media imperialism as Americanization of both the media and the cultural landscapes of the world and no more a generalization of Western countries dominating the cultures of developing countries – this is because some of the Western countries themselves have become victims of this phenomenon of Americanization. It is now therefore the issue of Americanization of the cultures of the world

Source: UCC
Global Shocks and Stocks Market Return in the Automobile Sector

This study examined the connection between global shocks and stock returns in the automobile sector. The global shocks considered are the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price shocks, the Russia-Ukraine war representing geopolitical risk, and COVID-19, which are modelled with selected automobile stocks to arrive at the findings of this study. Eight automobile stocks were employed with four selected from each market, thus the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Wavelet coherence, Diks and Panchenko nonlinear causality test, and quantile regression analysis were employed in analysing time series daily data to arrive at the study’s objectives. Findings revealed oil price shocks and automobile stock returns to be significantly connected. However, this co-movement varies in time and frequency as well as stock markets as SSE showed heightened levels of correlation compared to the NYSE. Results from the causality test also recorded a significant level of causality between COVID-19 and automobile stock returns. However, the Russia-Ukraine war reveals no significant relationship with automobile stock returns. It was recommended that investors, since black swan events, such as COVID-19, negatively impact some sectors, notably the automobile sector, investors should make portfolio investment decisions that will serve as risk diversification for their investment during such occurrences. Policymakers should implement measures that stabilize the price of oil by encouraging alternative sources of energy to reduce volatility and promote market stability. Also, automobile companies may consider diversified supply chains for key automobile materials to avoid effects posed by disruptions in a single region.

Source: UCC
Global Stability of a Predator-Prey Fishery Model With Non-Selective Harvesting: A Study of Linear Optimal Control

A proposed two-dimensional modified Lotka-Volterra fishery model in terms of predator-prey aims to explore the effect of non-selective harvesting on the predator and the prey populations. The study delves into various essential aspects of the dynamical system, comprising positivity, uniform boundedness and persistence. Points of equilibrium are identified. The system’s local and global stability are thoroughly examined and discussed. Moreover, the research explores the concept of bionomic equilibrium, a scenario where economic rent is entirely dissipated. Extending the bioeconomic model, the study investigates a linear optimal control problem to determine the most effective harvesting strategy. Utilising Pontryagin’s maximum principle, the optimal control is characterised. The findings indicate that maximum allowable effort should be exerted whenever the net revenue per unit effort surpasses the total net marginal revenue of predator and prey stocks. Numerical simulations, with data on the marine artisanal fishery in Ghana, are conducted to validate the theoretical discoveries. The outcomes reveal that the fishery can support sustainable harvesting of both predator (tuna) and prey (sardinella) populations, so far as the optimal harvesting effort is set at 100,000 fishing trips annually.

Source: UCC
Global Uncertainties and Commodity Returns

The relationship between commodity returns and global uncertainties has become a focal point of interest for researchers, particularly due to the increasing volatility in global markets. Commodities, as essential assets in the global economy, are often subject to fluctuations driven by factors such as geopolitical risks, economic policy uncertainties, and market shocks. This study investigates the extent of interconnection between global uncertainties and commodities returns at the global level using quantile regression and time and frequency domain analysis (Bivariate wavelet analysis). Utilising a monthly data from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2023, the result from the quantile regression indicates an asymmetrical association between economic policy uncertainty and the selected commodities. Further, the bivariate wavelet reveals that the interdependence between the variables in the long term seem to be more pronounced compared to those in the short to intermediate term. With regards to the multiple wavelets, the result reveals a heightened connections among the variables during long-term periods, indicating that as a result of the integration of the global financial market, the commodity market is capable of reacting to external shocks. Therefore, investors are advised to implement risk management techniques such as allocating a portion of their portfolios to commodities or to diversify among these commodities during the period of induced market fluctuations caused by economic uncertainties and downtown. Also, policymakers should ensure that policies about the commodities should be formulated in a way to protect the commodity market from heightened shocks from these global uncertainties.

Source: UCC
Globalization and competitiveness: challenges of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Accra, Ghana

Globalization, increased competitive pressure and rapid technological changes have brought the business world to a point in history and thus, the Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) sector in Africa and Ghana are the hardest hit and are now experiencing new challenges as they attempt to globalize their operations and become competitive. The objective of this study was to establish the extent to which the challenges affect small and medium enterprises’ globalization and competitiveness in Ghana. The Kendall's Co-efficient of Concordance was conducted in assessing the level of agreement on the extent to which the various challenges affected their enterprises in globalisation and competitiveness. The study revealed that globalisation and competitiveness of the SMEs was affected greatly by the level of competition and increasing technology. The study recommended that the SMEs have to put in place the right strategies in order to embrace the changing circumstances in the world market place

Source: UCC
Globalization and Competitiveness: Challenges of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Accra, Ghana

Globalization, increased competitive pressure and rapid technological changes have brought the business world to a point in history and thus, the Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) sector in Africa and Ghana are the hardest hit and are now experiencing new challenges as they attempt to globalize their operations and become competitive. The objective of this study was to establish the extent to which the challenges affect small and medium enterprises’ globalization and competitiveness in Ghana. The Kendall's Co-efficient of Concordance was conducted in assessing the level of agreement on the extent to which the various challenges affected their enterprises in globalisation and competitiveness. The study revealed that globalisation and competitiveness of the SMEs was affected greatly by the level of competition and increasing technology. The study recommended that the SMEs have to put in place the right strategies in order to embrace the changing circumstances in the world market place.

Source: UCC
Glucocorticoid-Induced Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Family-Related Protein Exacerbates Collagen-Induced Arthritis by Enhancing the Expansion of Th17 Cells

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic autoimmune form of inflammatory joint disease, progressively af- fects multiple joints with pathological changes in the synovia, cartilage, and bone. Numerous studies have suggested a critical role for glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor family-related protein (GITR) in the pathogenesis of autoimmune arthritis by modulating both innate and adaptive immune re- actions, but the underlying mechanisms by which GITR activation promotes arthritic progression re- main largely unclear. In this study, we found that collagen-induced arthritis mice treated with the li- gand of GITR (GITRL) displayed an earlier onset of arthritis with a markedly increased severity of ar- thritic symptoms and joint damage, in which signifi- cantly increased Th17 cells in both spleen and drain- ing lymph nodes were observed. Notably, results showed that a marked expansion of Th17 cells with increased ROR␥t mRNA expression was induced from naïve CD4ⴙ T cells when cultured with GITRL. Consis- tently, normal mice that were treated with GITRL were found to display a substantial expansion of splenic Th17 cells. Furthermore, we detected elevated serum levels of GITRL in patients with RA, which were positively correlated with an increase in interleu-kin-17 production. Taken together, the results from this study have revealed a new function of GITRL in exacerbating autoimmune arthritis via the enhance- ment of the expansion of Th17 cells.

Source: UCC