ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Do Poverty and Wealth Look the Same The World Over? A Comparative Study of 12 Cities From Five High-Income Countries Using Street Images

Urbanization and inequalities are two of the major policy themes of our time, intersecting in large cities where social and economic inequalities are particularly pronounced. Large scale street-level images are a source of city-wide visual information and allow for comparative analyses of multiple cities. Computer vision methods based on deep learning applied to street images have been shown to successfully measure inequalities in socioeconomic and environmental features, yet existing work has been within specific geographies and have not looked at how visual environments compare across different cities and countries. In this study, we aim to apply existing methods to understand whether, and to what extent, poor and wealthy groups live in visually similar neighborhoods across cities and countries. We present novel insights on similarity of neighborhoods using street-level images and deep learning methods. We analyzed 7.2 million images from 12 cities in five high-income countries, home to more than 85 million people: Auckland (New Zealand), Sydney (Australia), Toronto and Vancouver (Canada), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. (United States of America), and London (United Kingdom). Visual features associated with neighborhood disadvantage are more distinct and unique to each city than those associated with affluence. For example, from what is visible from street images, high density poor neighborhoods located near the city center (e.g., in London) are visually distinct from poor suburban neighborhoods characterized by lower density and lower accessibility (e.g., in Atlanta). This suggests that differences between two cities is also driven by historical factors, policies, and local geography. Our results also have implications for image-based measures of inequality in cities especially when trained on data from cities that are visually distinct from target cities. We showed that these are more prone to errors for disadvantaged areas especially when transferring across cities, suggesting more attention needs to be paid to improving methods for capturing heterogeneity in poor environment across cities around the world.

Source: UG
Do Remittances Matter in Accelerating Labour Productivity and Capital Accumulation?

In this paper, we examine the effect of remittances on labour productivity and capital accumulation through various channels. Our panel includes 25 African countries with data from 1990 to 2013. We employ the two-step generalized methods of moments estimator. The main results from this study are that remittances on their own do promote labour productivity but not capital accumulation. Indeed, remittances are observed to have a positive impact on labour productivity and a negative impact on capital accumulation. Moreover, remittances do not promote labour productivity in the presence of high natural resource endowment. The effect of remittances on labour productivity is not clear when we interact remittances with life expectancy. Further, remittances tend to promote capital accumulation in the presence of high quality human capital. Policies that promote remitting through formal channels will aid directing remittance inflows into productive investments thus encouraging labour productivity.

Source: UG
Do remittances promote financial development in Africa?

The paper seeks to establish whether or not remittances promoted financial developments and explore the traceable causality between remittances and financial developments in some countries in Africa. We examine the association between remittances received and how they affect the availability of credit to private sector, bank deposits intermediated by financial institutions and money supply. We also question whether the development in the financial sector causes higher levels or otherwise of remittances received. This paper uses data on remittance flows to 50 developing countries in Africa from 1990 to 2011 to explore the nexus. The study uses fixed effects and random effect estimations as well as Vector Error Correction Model method on the panel data. The study shows that remittances promote certain aspects of financial development to some extent and better financial system foster receipts of remittances. The effect of causality is seen in the short run and not in the long-run. The study alludes to literature that remittances could promote financial development in the short run and the development of the financial sector helps increase the propensity to remit via formal channels. © 2016, The Author(s).

Source: UG
Do Shareholders Fight for Firm Value or Market Value in Emerging Markets? The Mediating Effect of Board Structure Dynamics on Dividend Policy Decision

The paper examines the mediating effect of board structure dynamics on the relationship between dividend payout and shareholders’ wealth at the firm level and market level. Panel regression models are used by applying data from 27 listed firms in Ghana between 2010 and 2017. We find that board structure dynamics have a direct effect on shareholders’ wealth at both levels. However, the results reveal new evidence that board structure dynamics play a mediating role on the relationship between dividend policy decision and shareholders’ wealth only at the market level. We find that independent directors and CEO duality significantly reduce market value of shareholders through dividend payout decision. However, independent directors and longer CEO tenure in office mediate a positive effect on the relationship between dividend policy and shareholders’ wealth at the market level. Thus, the mediating effect of board structure dynamics, particularly independent directors and CEO tenure, are important in predicting a positive relationship between dividend policy and shareholders’ wealth at the market level than at the firm level. Therefore, regulatory bodies and investors should provide strong board structure dynamics that serve as a mediating mechanism for prudent dividend policy decisions that add value to shareholders’ wealth

Source: UG
Do smaller businesses pay more bribes? Firm size, informal payments and mitigating strategies in Africa

In this paper, we sought to understand the effect of firm size on demand for and payment of bribes by African firms and the strategies needed to overcome them. We argued that size represents a selectionist pressure on firms to cede to corrupt demands while strategies (time to formalization, relational intensity and foreign participation) from the adaptive perspective of the organization are tools to deal with these pressures. We test our framework using data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys in Africa. We find that the liability of smallness effect exists as the larger a firm gets the fewer bribes in percentage terms it pays out to corrupt public officials. We find also that time to formalization, relational intensity and foreign participation are significant moderators of this effect. The study makes a contribution by testing a contingent framework that integrates the selectionist and adaptive views of organizing.

Source: UG
Do sustainability ethics explain the impact of country-level corporate governance on financial stability in developing economies?

The study presents empirical evidence on how sustainability ethics affect the relationship between country-level corporate governance and financial stability in developing countries. Employing the dynamic system Generalized Method of Moments on a panel dataset of 137 developing countries over the period, 2006–2019, the study found that the positive effect of country-level corporate governance framework on financial stability is not instantaneous. We find that internal and external corporate governance frameworks have a strong positive synergistic effect on financial stability. We confirm that corporate governance measures substitute sustainability ethics to yield a desirable outcome of financial stability. Finally, the study finds evidence to support that sustainability ethics reduce the negative impact of country-level corporate governance on financial stability. The study recommends that the build-up of quality sustainability ethics can help tame the reductive effect of the country-level corporate governance framework on financial stability in developing countries.

Source: UG
Do transnational links matter after return? Labour market participation among Ghanaian return migrants

Do transnational links matter after return? The study presents the conditions under which migrants participate in the labour market of their home countries. Though transnationalism describes return migration as a circular movement, there is still evidence of permanent return prompting the question of how returnees utilise their transnational links after return. This paper presents an analysis of pre- and post-return experiences of Ghanaian international migrants, focusing on their strategies, assets and labour market participation. The study finds that return migrants keep ties with host countries for the sake of businesses and other benefits which may not be readily available in the home country. The paper suggests that in order to promote national development and enhance national competitiveness in a globalising world, Ghana needs to encourage collaboration amongst its residents abroad and encourage opportunities for the sharing of knowledge and expertise.

Source: UG
Do Transnational Links matter? Labour Market Participation of Ghanaian Return Migrants

Do transnational links matter after return? The study presents the conditions under which migrants participate in the labour market of their home countries. Though transnationalism describes return migration as a circular movement, there is still evidence of permanent return prompting the question of how returnees utilise their transnational links after return. This paper presents an analysis of pre- and post-return experiences of Ghanaian international migrants, focusing on their strategies, assets and labour market participation. The study finds that return migrants keep ties with host countries for the sake of businesses and other benefits which may not be readily available in the home country. The paper suggests that in order to promote national development and enhance national competitiveness in a globalising world, Ghana needs to encourage collaboration amongst its residents abroad and encourage opportunities for the sharing of knowledge and expertise

Source: UG
&quot;Do We Register Our Deaths?&quot;: Motivations And Barriers To Death Registration In Ghana.

Death registration is generally low in sub-Saharan African countries, including Ghana. This study investigated the factors that motivate and serve as barriers in registering for a death certificate. A cross-sectional qualitative study design was used to interview twelve birth and death registration officers in Ghana. The interviews were analysed using Atlas.ti version 7.5. The results show that death registration in Ghana is generally low. Processing of a deceased person’s estate emerged as the main motivation for the registration of death. Other motivators included the obligation to register deaths and the requirement of death cer tificates for burial. The barriers to death registration included the governance system at the cemetery, the hastiness in burying the dead, the perception of cost of death certificates, and less importance attached to death registration. Policymakers should consider these factors in the design of interventions to increase the rate of death registration in Ghana.

Source: UG
Docking and Molecular Dynamics Identify Leads against 5 Alpha Reductase 2 for Benign Prostate Hyperplasia Treatment

Steroid 5 alpha-reductase 2 (5αR-2) is a membrane-embedded protein that together with other isoforms plays a key role in the metabolism of steroids. Tis enzyme catalyzes the reduction of testosterone to the more potent ligand, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the prostate. Androgens, testosterone, and DHT play important roles in prostate growth, development, and function. At the same time, both testosterone and DHT have been implicated in the pathogenesis of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). Inhibition of the DHTformation, therefore, provides a therapeutic strategy that ofers the possibility of preventing, delaying, or treating BPH. Currently, two steroidal drugs that inhibit 5αR-2, dutasteride and fnasteride, have been approved for clinical use. Tese two come at a high cost and also portray undesirable sexual side efects which necessitate the need to fnd new chemotherapeutic alternatives for the disease. Based on the aforementioned, fnasteride and dutasteride were subjected to scafold hopping, fragment-based de novo design, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations employing databases like ChEMBL, DrugBank, PubChem, ChemSpider, and Zinc15 in the identifcation of potential hits targeting 5αR-2. Altogether, ten novel compounds targeting 5αR-2 were identifed with binding energies lower or comparable to fnasteride and dutasteride, the main inhibitors for this target. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations studies identify amino acid residues Glu57, Phe219, Phe223, and Leu224 to be critical for ligand binding and complex stability. Te physicochemical and pharmacological profling suggests the potential of the hit compounds to be drug-like and orally active. Similarly, the quality parameter assessments revealed the hits possess LELP greater than 3 implying their promise as lead-like molecules. Te compounds A5, A9, and A10 were, respectively, predicted to treat prostate disorders with Pa (0.188, 0.361, and 0.270) and Pi (0.176, 0.050, and 0.093), while A8 and A9 were found to be associated with BPH treatment with Pa (0.09 and 0.127) and Pi (0.077 and 0.033), respectively. Structural similarity searches via DrugBank identifed the drugs faropenem, acemetacin, estradiol valerate, and yohimbine to be useful for BPH treatment suggesting the de novo designed ligands as potential chemotherapeutic agents for treating this disease.

Source: UG
Doctoral Defense: Ibsen on the West African Stage-A Case of a Complicated Relationship

At the brink of the collapse of colonial rule, literary and theatrical endeavors in sub-Saharan African colonies were most often political. The plays of Henrik Ibsen found their way into many British colonies because their subjects were relevant to local theater and literary enthusiasts. Additionally, changes in Ibsen’s literary reception in these colonies suggest a development in the attitudes of colonial subjects. In southeastern Asia, particularly In India, there is a thriving Ibsen performance tradition on its postcolonial theatre stages. In sub-Saharan Africa, the southern region has shown a sustained interest in Ibsen’s works, while very little can be said about the western region. This dissertation sets out to explain the low interest in Ibsen’s works on the theatre stages of western Africa by drawing on some markers from Ghana and Nigeria. The study finds its premise on the mapped travels of the play A Doll’s House on the IbsenStage database to piece together historical and political patterns of the reception of Ibsen in Ghana. In a broader context of female imaging in western In African literary traditions, the study situates an argument of reception linked to the traditions of performing and imaging maternity and women. This dissertation finds that colonial citizenship rules and nationalist sentiments of the early post-colonial period, governmental policies on culture, and some traditions offemale imaging in western African literature are liable for the state of Ibsen reception in this region.

Source: UG
Documentation of herbal medicines used for the treatment and management of human diseases by some communities in southern Ghana

Traditional medicine is an important component of the health care system of most developing countries. However, indigenous knowledge about herbal medicines of many Ghanaian cultures has not yet been investigated. The aim of the present study was to document herbal medicines used by traditional healers to treat and manage human diseases and ailments by some communities living in Ghana. The study was conducted in eight communities in southern Ghana. Data were collected from 45 healers using ethnobotanical questionnaire and voucher specimens were collected. A total of 52 species of plants belonging to 28 plant families were reportedly used for treatment and management of 42 diseases and ailments. Medicinal plants were commonly harvested from the wild and degraded lowland areas in the morning from loamy soil. Herbal medicines were prepared in the form of decoctions (67%) and infusions (33%). Oral administration of the herbals was most (77%) common route of administration whereas the least used routes were nasal (1%) and rectal (2%). The results of the study show that herbal medicines are used for treatment and management of both common and specialized human diseases and that factors of place and time are considered important during harvesting of plants for treatments.

Source: UG
Documentation Practices within a Quality Assurance Framework: Midwives’ Experiences in the Greater Accra Region

Midwifery Documentation (MD) is the means by which all care and services rendered to women of the reproductive age, especially during antenatal and postnatal periods are made known to others through either handwritten or electronic means. MD is a major way through which midwifery knowledge is built for the advancement of the profession. This mandatory practice, however, has not received the attention it deserves all over the world due to so many reasons. The theory of Quality Assurance by Avedis Donabedian was used to guide this study to explore midwives’ experiences with Midwifery Documentation Practice (MDP) in the Greater Accra Region (GAR) of Ghana. The study employed a qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Thirteen (13) practicing midwives were purposively sampled from the GAR, precisely a district hospital in the Tema metropolitan area. Data was obtained through one-one interview by means of a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Five (5) major themes emerged from the data which included; the structures for Midwifery Documentation Practices (MDP), steps involved in MDP, outcome as a result of MDP, challenges with Midwifery Documentation (MD) and attitude towards electronic documentation. The last two themes emerged in addition to the ones in the Donabedian quality assurance theory. The findings of this study established that midwives experience many challenges with MD. This finding again disclosed that the negative effects of MDP could be avoided and MDP improved if the identified challenges are worked on by the authorities involved in maternal health issues. These findings have implications for midwifery practice and future research in midwifery.

Source: UG
Documenting Africa On Film And Nkrumah's Legacy In Pan-Africanist Africa

Following Ghana’s attainment of political independence, the new nation’s leader, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, made efforts to lead Africa’s decolonisation process. He used film as a medium of achieving this Pan-African agenda. Nkrumah restructured and renamed the Gold Coast Film Unit (GCFU), which the British colonial administration had established, as the Ghana Film Industry Corporation (GFIC) and placed it at the forefront of documenting and propagating his version of the Pan African narrative. From neighbouring Togo and Burkina-Faso, to distant Kenya and the Congo, GFIC cameras captured historical moments relevant to Nkrumah’s ideas. Whereas Nkrumah’s political legacy and diplomatic rhetoric are largely known, his use of cinema to execute his agenda remains unexplored. This article draws attention to the role documentary films of the GFIC played in the African decolonisation process. Drawing on information gathered about these films from interviews with key actors within the defunct GFIC, and from personal archives of these actors, it is argued that, although the functional use of documentary films in Nkrumah government appears similar to how film functioned in the colonial regime, GFIC films traversed national education and propaganda to become media of continental African integration and stimuli for post-colonial self- motivation and independence.

Source: UG
Documents Illustrative of the History of the Slave Trade to America (Volume I)

With the origins of the institution of slavery and of the traffic in slaves the documents here presented do not deal. Neither slavery nor the slave trade was new to mankind in 1441, the date of the first narrative presented. The modern traffic presented which is here presented, though it for a time made use of some of the facilities of the earlier trade, was not merely a continuation of the old, with a change in direction which turned the slave coffles from east to west.

Source: UG
Documents Illustrative of the History of the Slave Trade to America (Volume III)

The story of the slave trade of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the two New England colonies of importance in this traffic, is set forth in such detail in the pages which follow that little need be said here. The significance of their connection with this traffic lies not in the amount of their importation, which, though probably larger than is generally realized, was insignificant as compared with that of the Southern colonies, but in the economic importance of their slave – carrying business and to a lesser degree of their commerce in rum, on which in its later years the slave trade rested.

Source: UG
Does a provider payment method affect membership retention in a health insurance scheme? a mixed method study of Ghana’s capitation payment for primary care

Background Ghana introduced a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2003 applying fee-for-service method for paying NHIS-credentialed health care providers. The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) later introduced diagnosis-related-grouping (DRG) payment to contain cost without much success. The NHIA then introduced capitation payment, a decision that attracted complaints of falling enrolment and renewal rates from stakeholders. This study was done to provide evidence on this trend to guide policy debate on the issue. Methods We applied mixed method design to the study. We did a trend analysis of NHIS membership data in Ashanti, Volta and Central regions to assess growth rate; performed independent-sample t-test to compare sample means of the three regions and analysed data from individual in-depth interviews to determine any relationship between capitation payment and subscribers’ renewal decision. Results Results of new enrolment data analysis showed differences in mean growth rates between Ashanti (M = 30.15, SE 3.03) and Volta (M = 40.72, SE 3.10), p = 0.041; r = 0. 15; and between Ashanti and Central (M = 47.38, SE6.49) p = 0.043; r = 0. 42. Analysis of membership renewal data, however, showed no significant differences in mean growth rates between Ashanti (M = 65.47, SE 6.67) and Volta (M = 69.29, SE 5.04), p = 0.660; r = 0.03; and between Ashanti and Central (M = 50.51, SE 9.49), p = 0.233. Analysis of both new enrolment and renewal data also showed no significant differences in mean growth rates between Ashanti (M = − 13.76, SE 17.68) and Volta (M = 5.48, SE 5.50), p = 0.329; and between Ashanti and Central (M = − 6.47, SE 12.68), p = 0.746. However, capitation payment had some effect in Ashanti compared with Volta (r = 0. 12) and Central (r = 0. 14); but could not be sustained beyond 2012. Responses from the in-depth interviews did not also show that capitation payment is a key factor in subscribers’ renewal decision. Conclusion Capitation payment had a small but unsustainable effect on membership growth rate in the Ashanti region. Factors other than capitation payment may have played a more significant role in subscribers’ enrolment and renewal decisions in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

Source: UG