ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
PROMSAR: A backward Monte Carlo spherical RTM for the analysis of DOAS remote sensing measurements

A correct interpretation of diffuse solar radiation measurements made by Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) remote sensors require the use of radiative transfer models of the atmosphere. The simplest models consider radiation scattering in the atmosphere as a single scattering process. More realistic atmospheric models are those which consider multiple scattering and their application is useful and essential for the analysis of zenith and off-axis measurements regarding the lowest layers of the atmosphere, such as the boundary layer. These are characterized by the highest values of air density and quantities of particles and aerosols acting as scattering nuclei. A new atmospheric model, PROcessing of Multi-Scattered Atmospheric Radiation (PROMSAR), which includes multiple Ray leigh and Mie scattering, has recently been developed at ISAC-CNR. It is based on a backward Monte Carlo technique which is very suitable for studying the various interactions taking place in a complex and non-homogeneous system like the terrestrial atmosphere. PROMSAR code calculates the mean path of the radiation within each layer in which the atmosphere is sub-divided taking into account the large variety of processes that solar radiation undergoes during propagation through the atmosphere. This quantity is then employed to work out the Air Mass Factor (AMF) of several trace gases, to simulate in zenith and off-axis configurations their slant column amounts and to calculate the weighting functions from which informations about the gas vertical distribution is obtained using inversion methods

Source: UCC
The Pronoun ‘We’ and Ideological Commitment: A Corpus-Assisted Critical Discourse Analysis of the Manifestoes of the two Major Ghanaian Political Parties

Over the years discourse analysts have developed interest in the analysis of political discourse, often focusing on campaign messages, state of the nation address, parliamentary debates, among others. However, in the context of Ghana, previous studies have not examined the use of first-person pronouns in party manifestoes. The present study, therefore, examined the use of first-person pronouns in the 2016 manifestoes of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with the view to revealing the ideologies of the selected political parties. The study relied on critical discourse analysis as its theory and employed corpus-linguistic methods through the corpus-analytical software AntConc version 3.5.7 for its analysis. I found that in the NDC manifesto, the pronoun “we” was used to express future intentions, past and present deeds, beliefs, commitments, past promises as well as obligations. On the other hand, in the NPP manifesto, the pronoun “we” expressed intention, recognition, commitment, beliefs, criticism and self-praise. Crucially, while the NDC focused more on past achievements, the NPP focused on self-praise and crtitizing the incumbent administration. With regard to the second research question, it was found that the manifestoes presented promises and intentions with median commitment. This shows that with the exception of a few cases where high commitment was expressed, median commitment was dominant in the manifestoes. This study has implications for critical discourse analysis, ideology in political discourse, personal pronouns in political discourse, and corpus linguistics as an approach for critical discourse analysis.

Source: UCC
Propagation of ultrasonic waves in bulk gallium nitride (gan) semiconductor in the presence of high-frequency electric field

The propagation of ultrasound is studied in bulk GaN semiconductor in the presence of a strong, ac field oscillating at a frequency much higher than that of the ultrasound. Analytical expressions have been obtained for the attenuation coefficient (a) and the renormalized velocity (v) of the acoustic wave. It is shown that the dependencies of the ultrasonic absorption coefficient of the conduction electrons and the renormalized sound velocity on the field amplitude and the sound frequency have an oscillatory character which can be used to determine the effective mass and mobility of the material. The threshold field E ^ = 3.3xlO 2 VI cm needed to observe the oscillation is two orders smaller than that needed in the case of CdS

Source: UCC
Proper accounting record keeping and performance of SMEs within the cape coast metropolis

Scholars argue that the low performance of SMEs partly results from their inability to keep proper accounting records. Yet, extant literature addressing the effect of accounting record keeping on the performance of SMEs in the Ghanaiancontext is scanty. To bridge this gap, the present study sought to assess the effect of accounting record keeping on the performance of SMEs in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The study employed the quantitative research approach, descriptiveexplanatory research design, and cross-sectional survey design. Out of a sample size of 341, 288 completed and valid questionnaires were retrieved hence a response rate of 84.46%. The multi-stage sampling technique was used in selecting samples for the study. A semi-structured questionnaire was employed for data collection and it was self-administered. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Consistent with expectations, the study found that SMEs operating within the Cape Coast Metropolis scored low on the adequacy level of accounting record keeping. To add, the study revealed that the low adequacy level of accounting record keeping led to low performance among SMEs operating within the Cape Coast Metropolis. Additionally, it was discovered that the SMEs were faced with challenges that greatly hamper proper accounting record keeping. The study recommends that institutions that are responsible for improving the performance of SMEs, such as Business Advisory Services, National Board for Small Scale Industries, and Ghana Chamber of Commerce should provide support services to these enterprise’s in the area of proper accounting record keeping.

Source: UCC
Prophetism in the Church of Pentecost in Ghana

The Church of Pentecost (CoP), in Ghana employs prophecy in contemporary times to appoint people to higher offices, transfer Church workers, and give direction generally. These functions have sometimes caused hatred, divisions, envy, insecurity, embarrassment and social incoherence due to its unchallenged powerful presence. Notwithstanding, prophecy identified and nominated Prophet M. K. Yeboah and Apostle M. K. Ntumy as Chairmen in 1988 and 1998 respectively averting states of confusion that would have ensued in the Church. There is therefore a debate as to whether to use or not to use prophecy. Since the inception of the Apostolic Church (AC), the CoP's precursor, there has been a shift in the understanding of prophecy. Initially, prophecy was acknowledged as divine in origin and infallible. Currently prophecy is viewed as a divinely inspired message but that it passes through the theological lenses of the one speaking. To forestall confusion, prophets are thus graded to determine who can or cannot give direction to the Church via prophecy. Phenomenological methods were employed to investigate the merits and demerits of using prophecy in the CoP. Observations, interviews, as well as the use of archival material generated by the CoP and its American and British antecedents were used to arrive at conclusions. Even though prophetic guidance has been helpful to the CoP, this work concludes that different methods could also be employed rather than making a given method the norm. Finally, the CoP, as a denomination needs to choose a governmental system most satisfactory and realistic as the occasion demands.

Source: UCC
Pros and cons of hosting international tourists: is it rational?

Homestay hosting is increasingly becoming popular in tourists destinations in different parts of the world. And it is, presently, being used as a tool or sustainable community development. Despite its seeming virtue and it often being positioned as an attractive alternative tourism product/ accommodation; academic work has not et critiqued homestay tourism in the same manner. N empirical knowledge of the good and bad side of hosting is relevant to help devise measures to minimize or if possible eliminate such hosting problems. This article, thus, provides a critical and timely review of homestay tourism, using in-depth interviews with 12 host families in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The study found that homestay hosting is beneficial to host families as it offers social interaction and reservation of local culture, a sense of local ride, income and employment, and educational opportunities or operators’ children. Notwithstanding the benefits, challenges exist including culture shock, seasonality of homestay business, insecurity and delayed payments by some intermediaries. n the end, the implications of understanding both the positive and negative aspects of hosting international tourists are discussed

Source: UCC
Prospect for Developing School Based Extension Support System in the Central Region of Ghana

The study was a survey conducted two phases in six randomly selected districts of the Central Region of Ghana to determine the prospect for developing senior secondary schools (SSS) The first phase was to find the perceived need and extension support system in JSS and SSS. The second phase was to determine the presence or absence, and the strengths or weaknesses of the required conditions and inputs perceived by respondents in the first phase to have influence on the school based extension support system. Probability sampling techniques were used to select a sample size of 442 respondents comprising agricultural extension agents (AEAs), agricultural science teachers (ASTs) and headmasters in SSS and JSS, district agricultural development questionnaires (and structured interview for illiterate farmers). Data were analysed using percent frequencies, relative frequencies and means. The prospect for school based extension support system (SBESS) was determined by SWOC and force field analyses. Findings revealed a wide age range among farmers. Educational qualifications of school heads and agricultural science teachers were quite high, as required by the policy of the ministry of education and Sports. However, almost all the AEAs were educated only up to the certificate level. Farmers had very low levels of formal education. Result showed an important need for an extension support system in the Central Region. Prospect for SBESS was perceived as high, but higher in the JSS than SSS. This could be attributed to closeness of the JSS to the farmers’ as a result of it being community based. Agricultural science teachers, AEAs, students and farmers were considered as relevant participants of SBESS. School heads and DDOs were considered as supervisors. Major required conditions and inputs for SBESS were; available time, perceptions, attitudes and motivation of relevant participants; their competency levels and education and cooperation among them; availability and quality of students’ agricultural club, farm and farm equipment in the schools, and favourable curricular, administrative and policy environments. Over 38.0% of JSS in the study did not have school farms, but 36.7 percent had farms that were suitable for SBESS. All the SSS had school farms, but only 23.8% of the farms were considered as suitable for SBESS SWOC analysis revealed that the strongest driving forces for SBESS were high level of motivation among the relevant participants, good cooperation spirit between AEAs and ASTs (especially in the JSS), favourable attitudes of relevant participants, and favourable policy environment. The strongest restraining forces were: low level of education among farmers, inadequate supervision of agricultural activities in the schools, inadequate funding of school agricultural activities, and non-existence of active students’ agricultural club in schools. Force field analysis revealed positive prospect for SBESS in both JSS and SSS, but higher in the JSS. The prospect can be improved by overcoming the major restraining forces.

Source: UCC
Prospects and challenges of citizen participation in development planning: A case study of Ga West municipal assembly

Ghana’s decentralisation policy has the agenda of socio-economic transformation which stimulate democracy, political equity and people's active participation at the local level. Local level development planning plays an important part in the decentralisation process. This study set out to examine the prospects and challenges of citizen participation in development planning in the Ga West Municipality. The study was based on both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data were collected from 120 household heads and 10 key informants by using interview schedules. A multi-stage sampling technique comprising quota sampling, random sampling and purposive sampling was used to select respondents. Secondary data were gathered from books, journals and reports from Municipal Assembly. The main findings of the study are that the municipality is faced with various developmental concerns, citizen participation has both prospects and challenges, and though citizen participation in the development planning is limited women representation and participation in the Ga West Municipal Assembly are low. It is recommended that the MLGRD, NCCE and CSOs should carry out regular education about the local government processes, The main stakeholders in development planning should develop a comprehensive capacity-building programmes to ensure more women participate in local governance.

Source: UCC
Prospects and challenges of females in the hotel sector breaking through the glass ceiling in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis

Female employees in the hotel industry are sometimes unable to compete with their male counterparts on an equal level due to several visible and invisible barriers and challenges such as the demands of marriage and motherhood, gender and sex discrimination, sexual harassment among others. In Ghana very little is known about the problems females face in the hotel industry and how these create challenges for them. This study therefore explores prospects and challenges that prevent females working in hotels from advancing in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis. Both questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from hotel managers and employees. Convenient and purposive sampling methods were used to gather data from the respondents from 20th June to 22nd August, 2014. A total of 201 respondents participated in the study, out of which 196 responded to questionnaires, with 5 managers being interviewed. Tabulations procedures such as frequency distributions, percentages and factor analysis were used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data was analysed manually. The study revealed challenges associated with work-family conflicts and how these in turn reduce the confidence levels of females’ workers thereby leading to unstable minds and attitudes toward work. Comparatively men enjoy better chances of advancing their careers and being promoted to management positions unlike women. The study therefore recommends the implementation of affirmative action policies and quota system, which permit the allocation of a certain number of positions to women. Such system ensures equal representation of women in management and leadership positions, and also guarantees equal treatment for both women and men.

Source: UCC
The prospects and challenges of information and communication technology training in social security and national insurance trust, pension house, Accra

This dissertation explored the extent to which information and communication technology (ICT) is used in Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and how staff are trained to use ICT in the performance of their functions. It further examined how staff.s ICT training needs are assessed as well as the prospects and challenges of ICT training in SSNIT and how these could be turned round for the benefit of SSNIT. The research was conducted at the head office of SSNIT (Pension House) with a sample size of one hundred respondents. Stratified random and convenience sampling procedures were utilised to select the respondents for the study. Data for the study were collected from SSNIT documents as well as questionnaires administered to selected respondents. Data analysis was done using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 10.0 software. The research found that SSNIT makes a high use of ICT. However, not all staff are properly trained to utilise ICT in the discharge of their duties. During staff.s training needs assessment, SSNIT did not involve staff and so ICT training conducted did not benefit some of the staff. SSNIT did not have an ICT training policy or adequate training facilities for ICT training in-house. The study clearly indicated that staff need continuous ICT education to update their knowledge and acquire new technical know-how because of the fast changing and evolving ICT world. This can be achieved with a clearly defined ICT training policy aimed at improving the overall performance of the organisation.

Source: UCC
Prospects and challenges of precision agriculture in cocoa production in Ghana

The main objective of the research was to examine the prospects and challenges of developing and implementing precision agriculture (PA) in cocoa production in Ghana. Correlational research design was used to collect data using a multistage sampling technique from major stakeholders including scientists (n=12), cocoa extension agents (CEAs) (n=63) and cocoa farmers (n=416) in the cocoa industry in Ghana. Content-validated questionnaires and structured interview schedules were used for data collection. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, one way ANOVA, post-hoc multiple comparison, correlation coefficients, and logistic regression. The results of the study revealed that the majority of cocoa farmers (83%) were willing to adopt precision agricultural technologies (PATs) but their level of awareness of PATs was rather low. The level of awareness of scientists and CEAs were high and fair respectively, however, they both had only a fair knowledge in PA. Five major challenges expected to pose serious challenges to the development and implementation of future PATs were (a) farmer demographic characteristics, (b) economic, (c) educational, (d) environmental, and (e) technical, with farmers’ demographic characteristics expected to be the greatest. Even though correlation analysis showed that 12 out of 28 independent variables had significant relationships with cocoa farmers’ willingness to adopt PATs, the regression analysis revealed only five to be best predictors. The overall best predictor was row planting which together with (a) educational level of cocoa farmers, (b) credit from financial institutions, (c) relative advantage of PATs, and the (d) perceived ease of use of PATs contributed between 38% to 60% of the variance in cocoa farmers’ willingness to adopt PATs. The study concluded that even though PA has high prospects from cocoa farmers’ perspectives, scientists and CEAs believe that the prospects are relatively low due to the enormous challenges that need to be overcome before PATs become a reality in Ghana. The study recommended, among others, the establishment of a PA unit in Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) to champion research into PATs and practices, establishment of resilient research-extension-farmer linkage system for requisite awareness creation and training of stakeholders, and mainstreaming PA topics into institutions of higher learning in Ghana.

Source: UCC
Prospects and challenges of the study leave with pay scheme in Ghana education service: The case of Bolgatanga municipality

The Ghana Education Service (GES) as an organization uses its study leave with pay policy which has been at the easy disposal of teachers since independence of Ghana as a means of up grading its staff. This policy was very flexible until the year 2000 when some restrictions were placed on the accessibility of the facility. This study therefore sought to find out the prospects and challenges of accessing the study leave with pay facility with the restrictions the GES has placed on the facility. The data was gathered from teachers and administrators of the Bolgatanga Municipality. This study consisted of a quantitative survey followed by semi-structured qualitative individual interviews. Theoretical and practical issues of this type of research have been presented along with the research design, data collection and analysis procedures, and ethical considerations. The study found out that majority of teachers have benefited from the facility. However the study leave with pay facility was difficult to access because of subject areas restrictions and other administrative problems. The study concluded that many teachers have accessed the scheme by way of meeting the criteria for selection. However the criterion for selection is accompanied by cumbersome process. The Ghana Education Service should ensure that there is equality for all GES approved courses, monitor beneficiaries to ensure that they return to the classroom after studies, support teachers financially through Distance Learning Programme were some of the recommendations of the study.

Source: UCC
Prospects and constraints of the University of Cape Coast satellite libraries

Purpose: The main objective of the study is to find out the prospects and the factors which militate against the smooth operations of University of Cape Coast satellite libraries. Design/methodology: A well structured questionnaire was used to solicit data from all the staff of the thirty-one (31) satellite libraries on the Campus of the University of Cape Coast. To ensure reliable findings, the survey approach was used. The first part of the questionnaire looked at the status of staff of the satellite libraries. The second part dealt with the information resources of the libraries, services provided by the libraries and staff developmental issues, whilst the last part solicited information on the challenges of these libraries. The quantitative data obtained mainly from the questionnaire were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Finding: Some of the major findings are as follows: staff of the satellite libraries have the opportunity to upgrade themselves academically, the Main Library organised series of in-service training for staff of the satellite libraries, majority of the staff of the satellite libraries were non-professionals, inadequate staff, the majority of the satellite libraries were ill equipped, lack of simple working materials like accession registers and stamps; and lack of recognition of library staff by administrators, lecturers and students. Research Limitations: The major components of a library are; the building, staff and information resources, the study was however limited to the staff and information resources, but excludes the building in which the libraries were housed. Practical implication: Functional satellite libraries are required to support the activities of the main libraries. Originality: Satellite libraries support the main libraries in accomplishing their vision and mission, but it can be noted that much has been written on the main libraries and is it high time the state, management and challenges of Satellite libraries were exposed

Source: UCC