ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
A philosophical analysis of religion as a justification for human rights

One of the highlights of the twentieth century was the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the newly formed United Nations in 1948. Since this step was taken, however, the concept of human rights has become the topic of much debate. Also, current statistics indicate that human right violations are more frequent now than they were, prior to the world wars. To ensure that the UDHR achieves its aim of protecting human dignity, philosophers and other scholars have risen to the challenge of building a coherent theoretical foundation for universal human rights in order that the concept may appeal universally. As part of this exercise, scholars, including Michael J. Perry, have postulated religion as a means, even the only means by which human rights can be justified. On the opposing side of the debate stand the secularists who argue that, considering the nature of religion, it cannot and must not be used as a justification of human rights. This research analyzes the arguments in support of human rights from selected religious traditions and makes some discoveries. Contrary to what some secularist theorists hold, religion does qualify as a justification for human rights except that those who claim religion is the only way to make sense of the morality of human rights might need to revise their stand. The researcher thus concludes that a successful justification of human rights must have both a religious dimension based on faith and a secular one, based on pure reason.

Source: UCC
Philosophical implications of Libet and Wegner on free will

The conventional notion of free will does not possess formidable counter arguments to modern neurobiological investigations proving the implausibility of free will. The pool of evidence gathered by cognitive neuroscientists makes strong justifications to truncate the conception of free will. The research of Benjamin Libet and Daniel Wegner explicate the physical and cognitive limitations that makes free will untenable. Their position purports that we are neurobiologically determined. However, their empirical assessment of free will misguides their conclusion. Free will as a conceptual problem requires an assessment beyond the empirical domain. Despite the solid claims from neurobiological determinism, neurobiological determinism ignores the metaphysical entailment in action. Hence, it gives an unsatisfactory account for human action. This leads to my proposal of neurobiological freedom.

Source: UCC
PHILOSOPHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF LIBET AND WEGNER ON FREE WILL

The conventional notion of free will does not possess formidable counter arguments to modern neurobiological investigations, proving the implausibility of free will. The pool of evidence gathered by cognitive neuroscientists makes strong justifications to truncate the conception of free will. The research of Benjamin Libet and Daniel Wegner explicates the physical and cognitive limitations that make free will untenable. Their position purports that we are neurobiologically determined. However, their empirical assessment of free will misguides their conclusion. Free will as a conceptual problem requires an assessment beyond the empirical domain. Despite the solid claims from neurobiological determinism, it ignores the metaphysical entailment in action. Hence, it gives an unsatisfactory account for human action. To replace neurobiological determinism, this study proposes neurobiological freedom.

Source: UCC
Philosophical perspectives and policy on migration: towards a supranational partnership between African and European unions

The task of this study is to critically explore the various perspectives on migration – philosophical and policy, and to propose for effective cooperation policies between the European Union and the African Union in curbing the influx of irregular migrants as well as policies of admission/readmission for undocumented migrants. We establish that migration sometimes creates enormous problems for both sending and receiving countries, such as patches of extremism, brain drain, huge numbers of recorded deaths, etc. However, we hypothesized that better concerted effort at the supranational level is an important regulatory approach to effectively minimize the dangers and negative effects of the current spate of voluntary illegal migration from Africa to Europe. Our position is that strong collaborative effort anchored on robust theoretical foundation is a potent complementary solution to make migration a development-oriented phenomenon rather than being a problem for governments to always deal with

Source: UCC
Philosophy and the crisis of development in Africa

In this work, I argued that the atmosphere that pervades today's Africa is that of uncertainty and despair. Pessimism now takes the place of the euphoria of the post-independence era. Old regimes are challenged and sometimes ousted. Old ideologies are contested and often discarded. New but harsh economic and social realities make their debuts on the socio-political landscape of Africa as the day slips by. The continent now wears the gloomy picture painted of it some years back, as the scene of a strange and stirring commotion. Many states have literally collapsed. More are daily being packaged for destruction. The carnage in Somalia, Zimbabwe, Chad, not to talk of the Sociopolitical crisis in Sudan and Congo, to mention only a few of the many theatres of war and human slaughter has contributed to the underdevelopment in Africa. This reminds us about how desperate the need for evolving an enduring and workable solution to the African crisis has become. This development has also made the question "What is the way out?" very germane in today's Africa. From the research, it is discovered that development has failed in Africa because most African leaders, with few exceptions, were caught between satisfying their own interests and the developmental challenges of nation building. They are also saddled with strategies and ideologies that hardly any of them believes in and most of them condemn. For me, both capitalism and African socialism are not the way out for African development, but I do suggest, Welfare capitalism (an ideology that will allow the practice of free enterprise or private enterprise system that will also demonstrate commitment and sensitivity to the needs and welfare of the disadvantaged in the society) should be embraced for Africa's development

Source: UCC
Philosophy of Teaching, Teaching Style and ICT Use: A Qualitative Study of the Perspectives of High School Mathematics Teachers

This study is a response to findings that have shown the importance of teachers’ philosophy, teaching styles and ICT use in impacting student learning outcomes. The study adopted an exploratory case design to explore the philosophical foundations, teaching styles and the levels of ICT use of six high school mathematics teachers in Ghana. Data for the study was collected using semi-structured interviews. The study found that the high school teachers used mainly the teacher-centered teaching approaches in which they dominate classroom instruction by disseminating knowledge to their learners. In spite of its perceived potentials, the study also reported low usages of ICT in instructional delivery among the teachers. Interestingly, the philosophy of teaching reported in the study by the teachers resonates with their current teaching style and ICT usage levels; the study found that the high school mathematics teachers hugely subscribed to the absolutist philosophical views of teaching mathematics which takes root in teacher-dominated teaching approaches. Consequently, the study reiterates that if teachers hold philosophical views that support the absolutist school of thought, they are likely to use delivery strategies which do not support ICT use but position the teacher to assume a central role in the instructional processes.

Source: UCC
Phosphorus release dynamics under phosphate rock and ammonium sulphate in soil amendment

This study was undertaken to assess the release pattern of available phosphorus in a Togo phosphate rock and ammonium sulphate soil amendment. Treatments were prepared through the combinations of soil, phosphate rock (PR) and ammonium sulphate (AS) fertilizer. The treatments were; Control, 12.5g PR, 25g PR, 12.5g PR+1g AS, 12.5g PR+2g AS, 25.0g PR+1g AS and 25.0g PR+2g AS kg-1 soil. Standard laboratory methods were used to assess pH, available phosphorus (P) and total phosphorus (P). Generally, the pH of treatments decreased to the lowest levels between the 4th and 6th weeks after amendment. The AS fertilizer treatments had significantly (p≤0.05) lower pH values than those without. Amendments with the 2gAS kg-1 soil had significantly (p≤0.05) lower mean pH values than those with the 1gAS kg-1 soil. The AS fertilizer treatments also had significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher levels of the available P than those without. The higher the amount of the AS in the amendment, the higher the level of the available P concentration. Increase in the level of AS in the amendment also increased the mean value of the available P released. The peaks of available P released were observed between the 6th and the 8th weeks, after the lowest pH values had been attained. Decreased soil pH relatively increased the amount of phosphorus released (y = -12.47x + 111.4; R2=0.53). Addition of PR in the treatments increased the total P levels. In conclusion, combined application of AS and PR has the potential to increase soil P availability, which is beneficial to crop farmers

Source: UCC
Phosphorus sorption in tropical soils

Phosphorus is an important primary nutrient required by plants in large quantities. The various forms of P that plants can take up are the primary monobasic phosphate ion (H2PO4−), secondary dibasic phosphate ion (HPO42−) and phosphate ion (PO43−). In tropical soils, phosphorus adsorption is a major process that controls its availability to crops. Soils with low phosphorus adsorption capacity are often unable to supply adequate phosphorus to the growing crops thereby affecting their yields. This paper reviews the phosphorus adsorption phenomenon in a tropical soil. The review showed that Langmuir isotherm, Freundlich isotherm, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) isotherm, DubininRadushkevich, and Temkin isotherm are the mostly used isotherms models for describing phosphorus adsorption. From the review, soil acidity and alkalinity, soil temperature and the electrical potential of clay surface are the main factors influencing phosphorus adsorption. Also, precipitation was discovered to be the main mechanism of P adsorption in tropical soils. Fertilization practices such as the addition of organic manure, crop residues, rock phosphate, water-soluble P fertilizers and incorporation of phosphorus solubilizing organism are highly recommended to increase P solubility and availability in highly weathered soil

Source: UCC
Photo-degradation of microbes in hand-dug well-water using different radiation sources

Microbial bacteria in well-water have been treated using three different radiations and efficiency of treatment determined. The radiations were SUV (Sun with UV); SNoUV (Sun with NoUV, sun with UV portion filtered out) and LEDUV (radiations from LED source). Reduction in the Raman water peak at 526 nm and DOM fluorescence intensity at 550 nm indicate that the DOM experienced photo degradation when exposed to radiation. A first-order kinetic equation was used to model this decline and degradation rate constant K calculated from the slope of the resulting natural log graph. The half-life was determined. At 526 nm and 550 nm fluorescence peaks trend downward with time, indicating a reduction in DOM. Sample exposed to SUV showed greatest reduction and SNoUV the least. SUV had least half-life, and registered shortest time in reducing the DOM to one-half its initial value (fastest sample purification rate) while SNoUV registered the highest half-life. There was a count of coliform bacteria and Total Heterotrophic Bacteria using culture techniques before and after exposure to the radiations. Using the sum of all the microbes, the first-order kinetic equation was used to model the decrease with time and degradation rates K and half-life calculated. Exposure to SUV showed fastest decline and SNoUV slowest. This confirmed findings in LIF study, with the order of efficiency of radiation sources also in agreement with findings of the LIF. A sample was kept in the dark and analyzed. For that, its fluorescence peaks fluctuated and showed just a minimal reduction in the microbes

Source: UCC
Photocatalytic degradation of azo reactive dyes with ultraviolet and sunlight irradiated zinc oxide

Dye effluents are among the most persistent sources of pollution of water bodies and aquatic life. Notable dyes with known carcinogenic effects at low concentrations include azo reactive dyes. The present investigation is focused on the photocatalytic degradation of representative commercial azo dyes using zinc oxide (ZnO). The findings of this research show that ZnO irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) radiation is more effective at degrading C .I. Reactive Yellow 145, C .I. Reactive Blue 194 and C.I. Reactive Red 194 as compared to the sunlight irradiated ZnO. The crystallinity, surface morphology and band gap energy of the ZnO were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image and UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy respectively. The ZnO has a hexagonal wurzite structure with a band gap of 3.17 eV. The degradation profile was found to decrease with increasing initial dye concentration. The degradation efficiency of the respective dyes under UV an sunlight irradiation was found to be 90% and 85% for CIRY145; 88% and 82% for CIRB194; 96% and 90% for CIRR194. Optimum degradation pH values of 6.9, 7.2 and 6.2 were also recorded for CIRY145, CIRB and CIRR194, respectively, and the general degradation profile was found to follow first order kinetics. Gas chromatographic studies of the degradation reaction intermediates also showed that the degradation profile is time-dependent and all potentially carcinogenic intermediates were degraded into smaller environmentally friendly products such as oxalic acid and acetic acid

Source: UCC
Photoconversion of endocrine disruptors (parabens) using zinc oxide photocatalyst

Parabens are widely used as preservatives in drugs, cosmetic products, and foodstuffs. They are found in water bodies, food stuffs, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and personal care products. These parabens cause breast cancer and reproductive issues due to their absorption through the skin. Safety concerns have recently increased due to their potential health risks associated with exposure to these parabens. The purpose of this study is to photoconvert ethylparaben, a member of the paraben’s family, and a potential endocrine disruptor into less toxic substances using cost effective and efficient methods involving light. Photocatalytic degradation experiments were carried out in the sunlight and UV light irradiation under magnetic stirring conditions. HPLC analysis was done and it was found out that the ethylparaben used was pure. UV-Visible absorption spectra analysis was done to monitor the degradation pattern and the maximum absorption wavelength was =256 nm for different concentrations. Kinetic study conducted gave the apparent rate constant to be 0.0041014 molL-1min-1, the absorption coefficient was 0.56874 mol-1 and R2 = 0.9959 using the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) kinetic model. The photocatalytic reaction obeys the first order kinetics as R2 was greater than 0.96. The degradation % of the Sunlight/ZnO was 63.16 % and that of the UV-Vis/ZnO was 82.2 % for a concentration of 0.0361 mM. The degradation of ethylparaben was less efficient in acidic medium and highly efficient in basic medium. At pH 10.4 (basic), the degradation percentage was 73.9 % and at pH 3.3 (acidic), the degradation percentage was 4.87%. The natural solution pH was 6.7, gave a degradation % of 63.16%. GC-MS analysis was done and some of the products and their mass to charge ratio (m/z) were obtained.

Source: UCC
Photolysis of hexamethylenediaminetetra (methylenephosphonic acid) (HDTMP) using manganese and hydrogen peroxide

Aminophosphonates such as hexamethylenediaminetreta(methylene phosphonic acid) (HDTMP) are categorised as persistent substances. They are commonly used as scale inhibitors in cooling water systems and desalination processes. After utilisation, they are often discharged into aquatic environment without pre-treatment. Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) are promising pre-treatments for industrial wastewater treatments. We investigated the photodegradation of HDTMP with or without addition of manganese (Mn2þ) and/or H2O2. Similar to results of our former photodegradation studies, we found that HDTMP also undergoes conversion with or without additives during the ultra violet (UV) irradiation. The reaction rate was most affected by the addition of H2O2, i.e. the HDTMP degradation was accelerated by a factor 3.85 compared with UV treatment without additives. The addition of Mn2þ accelerated the degradation of HDTMP only by a factor 1.53 compared with the UV treatment without additives. The combined addition of Mn2þ and H2O2 accelerated the HDTMP degradation by a factor 2.81. Interestingly, the initial cleavage is not initiated as expected at the CeN bond but at the CeP bond of the methyl carbon and the phosphorus of the methylenephosphonic acid group of HDTMP. This initial cleavage was independent whether the UV treatment was performed with or without additives. Therefore, we conclude that the degradation mechanism is similar independent of the four tested treatment conditions. We identified amino (methylenephosphonic acid) AMPA, dimethylamino (methylenephosphonic acid) DAMP and iminodi(methylenephosphonic acid) IDMP as the major breakdown products by performing LC/MS analyses. The major mineralisation products were ortho-phosphate, ammonium and carbon dioxide. The mass balances of unknown breakdown products allowed us to speculate about the molecular size of the unknown organic breakdown products

Source: UCC
Photon-assisted process and high-harmonic dynamic localization in graphene nanoribbons

We used a complete tight-binding band structure of grapheme nanoribbon to obtain, for the first time, analytical techniques for observing photon assisted transport, and dynamic localization of electrons in the graphene nanoribbons. When the ribbons are subject to a multi-frequency dc-ac field, photon assisted replicas show up at rather strong drive force. The strong dependence of the photon peaks on ac amplitudes allow for high-harmonic dynamic oscillations at these amplitudes. We identified regions of positive differential conductivity where a nanoelectronic grapheme device may be operated as a small signal amplifier. Our research has also reveal another quantum mechanical phenomenon, fractional photon assisted transport, when the stark factor r > 1

Source: UCC
Photooxidation of 4-chlorophenol sensitized by lutetium tetraphenoxy phthalocyanine anchored on electrospun polystyrene polymer fiber

An electrospun polystyrene (PS) fber incorporating tetraphenoxy phthalocyanine complex of lutetium (LuTPPc/PS) as a photosensitizer was applied for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol in aqueous solution in the presence of visible light. The photocatalytic activity of the LuTPPc in the fber was compared to that of zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) incorporated into the PS fber, and the former showed higher activity. UV–Vis spectral changes of sample solutions indicated transformation of the analyte with first order kinetics and half-lives that are within one and half hours for LuTPPc/PS. Products identified from the spectral changes and gas chromatography were benzoquinone, hydroquinone and 4,40 -dihydroxydiphenol suggesting that the photodegradation of 4-chlorophenol was through both Types I and II mechanism

Source: UCC
Photothermal Lens Spectrometry Measurements in Highly Turbid Media

We measured the photothermal lens signal in samples exhibiting high turbidity using a pump-probe scheme. We show that the photothermal lens signal properties remain nearly unchanged up to values of turbidity of 6 cm1 despite the signal reduction due to the decrease of excitation power associated to turbidity losses. The signal starts decreasing abruptly for values of turbidity larger than 6 cm1.Multiple light scattering yields a reduction of the temperature gradients, which results in a decrease of the effective signal. However, the signal-to-noise ratio remains above 50 for turbidity values of 9 cm1, which corresponds to a reduction of light transmission by more than four orders of magnitude. We report on the detection of the photothermal lens signal through a 2 mm layer of organic tissue with a signal-to-noise ratio of about 500. This technique appears promising for imaging applications in organic samples, which usually exhibit high turbidity for visible and near-infrared light

Source: UCC
The physical and behavioral consequences of Facebook use among university students

Facebook is considered as one of the popular social network among young adults including university students globally. However, little studies have examined the adverse health behaviours associated with extensive Facebook use. Using a randomly selected 648 students from two universities in Ghana and a self-administered questionnaire, this study examined relationships between adverse health effects and unhealthy behaviours among university students using Facebook. Age of students ranged from 18–34, with an average age of 23.27(SD = 3.21). Over 57.5% of the participants spend over one hour on Facebook daily. Students who spend more than an hour on Facebook daily were less likely to answer telephone calls (OR = 5.24; 95%CI = 2.49–11.03), postponing of meals (OR = 0.32; 95%CI = 0.20–0.50), feel isolated from family (OR = 0.42; 95%CI = 0.28–0.61), society (OR = 0.16; 95%CI = 0.08–0.34) but more likely to hold urine (OR = 2.67; 95%CI = 1.82–3.90), faeces (OR = 1.69; 95%CI = 1.14–2.51) and skip breakfast (OR= 1.53; 95%CI = 1.02–2.28). Excessive daily Facebook use was also associated with wrist pains (OR= 1.66; 95%CI = 1.08–2.54). These findings showed that excessive Facebook use had both physical and musculoskeletal health effects on students. Health promotion and interventions are necessary in institutions of higher educations to guide young people towards a healthy use of social media like Facebook. Such interventions should focus on self-control of Facebook use, and periodic screening for musculoskeletal disorders

Source: UCC