ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Access to reeds and mat making in the lower Volta basin of Ghana

This paper explores the origins of pressures on reeds and sedges used for mat making in the lower Volta basin of Ghana, and their impact on the socially embedded system which dictates access to reed fields. Data for the study were collected through field work employing participatory rural appraisal methods in 18 communities, involving 152 mat weavers. The findings showed that the mat-weaving industry has contributed immensely in providing poor women a means of livelihood but reed marshes in the basin have reduced in recent years due to hydrological changes in the area caused by the damming of the Volta upstream. The decline in the availability of reed is exerting immense pressure on this once freely available resource, thus inducing landlords to impose a price on the rights of entry into marshlands by reed collectors. The imposition of these charges affected the very people that the mat-weaving industry is targeted to help. The study recommends the local and central government to play a more active role and civil society groups to broaden the livelihood base of women living in this region. © 2014 The Author. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography © 2014 Department of Geography, National University of Singapore and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Source: UG
Access to Rural Bank Credit in Ghana: The case of women farmers in the Upper East Region, Ghana

Credit is an effective tool that can be used to turn life around for a person, a family or transform self-image, unlock potential and boost the productivity and well-being of the poor. This paper examines the extent of women farmers’ access to credit from Rural Banks (RBs) in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Data were collected from randomly sampled 200 women farmers from four districts and from the archives of the RBs in the region. Semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used for data collection. Growth rates of credit supplies and factors influencing women farmers’ credit access were estimated. The results of the empirical study revealed that the growth rate of credit supply by the RBs from 1998 to 2007 was about 18 percent per annum. Besides, credit supply to women grew at a lesser rate (18%) than that of men (19%) during the period. Factors influencing women farmers’ extent of credit access were found to be age, interest rates, farm size, association membership and formal education, among others. Hence, it is recommended that credit supply to women should be improved if the MDGs, particularly those on poverty and hunger reduction as well as gender equality and empowerment are to be attained.

Source: UG
Access to vaccination services for priority ruminant livestock diseases in Ghana: Barriers and determinants of service utilization by farmers

The Bacteriology Department aims to improve the quality of life first for Ghanaians and the world at large by conducting research into bacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana and globally. In addition to working on enteric pathogens and sexually transmitted diseases, the department’s current main focus is on the two most important mycobacterial diseases of public health importance to Ghana, namely Buruli ulcer (BU) and tuberculosis (TB).

Source: UG
Accessibility and utilisation of maternal health services by migrant female head porters in Accra

t Accessibility to maternal health care by marginalised groups, such as poor migrant women, has remained an issue of concern in Ghana. While a number of studies have been conducted on the livelihoods of migrant female head porters (Kayayei) in cities in Southern Ghana, there is little understanding of their accessibility and utilisation of maternal health services. This paper examines the challenges that the migrant female head porters encounter in the process of seeking maternal health care in Accra. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey on a sample of 70 female head porters and in-depth interviews with key informants and some of the Kayayei. The findings indicate that the factors affecting accessibility to maternal health services by the Kayayei are unavailability of health facilities in the slums where Kayayei live, low-income levels, high cost of maternal health care, long queues and waiting times at modern health facilities, and the perception that traditional medicines are adequate for protecting pregnant women and their babies. It was therefore suggested that government should increase the number of health facilities and strengthen the National Health Insurance Scheme to enhance access to health care by this vulnerable and poor group of people as well as increase health educational campaigns

Source: UG
Accessibility and Utilisation of Maternal Health Services by Migrant Female Head Porters in Accra

Accessibility to maternal health care by marginalised groups, such as poor migrant women, has remained an issue of concern in Ghana. While a number of studies have been conducted on the livelihoods of migrant female head porters (Kayayei) in cities in Southern Ghana, there is little understanding of their accessibility and utilisation of maternal health services. This paper examines the challenges that the migrant female head porters encounter in the process of seeking maternal health care in Accra. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey on a sample of 70 female head porters and in-depth interviews with key informants and some of the Kayayei. The findings indicate that the factors affecting accessibility to maternal health services by the Kayayei are unavailability of health facilities in the slums where Kayayei live, low-income levels, high cost of maternal health care, long queues and waiting times at modern health facilities, and the perception that traditional medicines are adequate for protecting pregnant women and their babies. It was therefore suggested that government should increase the number of health facilities and strengthen the National Health Insurance Scheme to enhance access to health care by this vulnerable and poor group of people as well as increase health educational campaigns.

Source: UG
Accessibility and Utilisation of Maternal Health Services by Migrant Female Head Porters in Accra.

Accessibility to maternal health care by marginalised groups, such as poor migrant women, has remained an issue of concern in Ghana. While a number of studies have been conducted on the livelihoods of migrant female head porters (Kayayei) in cities in Southern Ghana, there is little understanding of their accessibility and utilisation of maternal health services. This paper examines the challenges that the migrant female head porters encounter in the process of seeking maternal health care in Accra. The data were collected through a questionnaire survey on a sample of 70 female head porters and in-depth interviews with key informants and some of the Kayayei. The findings indicate that the factors affecting accessibility to maternal health services by the Kayayei are unavailability of health facilities in the slums where Kayayei live, low-income levels, high cost of maternal health care, long queues and waiting times at modern health facilities, and the perception that traditional medicines are adequate for protecting pregnant women and their babies. It was therefore suggested that government should increase the number of health facilities and strengthen the National Health Insurance Scheme to enhance access to health care by this vulnerable and poor group of people as well as increase health educational campaigns

Source: UG
Accessibility considerations for e learning in Ghana

This paper reports on a study that explored the best ways to design e learning in order to provide better access for adult learners with disabilities. Two districts from the Central Region of Ghana were selected and two major research questions guided the study. The five-point Likert scale was employed between May and August of 2014. The two questions asked were: The kind of issues that should be taken into account in the design and management of accessible e learning? And what problems need be resolved to have accessiibility solutions for e-learning by the diverse adult learner population in the region? The results confirm existing insights about accessibility considerations in Ghana, other African courntries and the world at large for the disabled, showing that Ghana and other African countries are not unique in terms of accessibility requirements in designing e learning in order to provide better access for adult learners with disabilities

Source: UG
Accessibility of Rice Farmers to the Ghana School Feeding Programme and its Effect on Output

The Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) is the Ghanaian version of a Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSP) that has a mandate to give one hot meal a day to school children in public schools from kindergarten through to primary six. The programme was launched in 2005 with the goal of contributing to poverty reduction and increased food security in Ghana. One of the key objectives of the programme is to boost domestic food production by sourcing GSFP raw materials locally, and providing a sustainable market for local food producers in the community. To analyse accessibility of rice farmers to the Ghana School Feeding Programme and its effect on production in three districts of the Northern Region of Ghana, a formal cross section survey of 100 small holder rice farmers was conducted. The transcendental logarithmic production function was applied to analyse the programme's effect on rice output in the three districts using access to the GSFP and other input variables. Our results show that farm labour, farm size, and fertilizer application were significant in increasing farmers' output while access to the GSFP market was not. Again there is no significant difference between the output of those who had access to the school feeding programme and those who do not.

Source: UG
Accessing Academic Library Services by Distance Learners

This study seeks to investigate the accessibility of academic library services to distance learners, with specific reference to University of Ghana Library System (UGLS). A survey was conducted and one hundred and thirty eight (138) Level 400 distance learning students. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) is used to analyze the completed questionnaire. The results revealed that a greater proportion of the respondents were not aware of the library services because they were not available on the UGLS. Distance learners had no remote access to library electronic resources and other databases and therefore did not strongly agree to the provision of information needs through social media services. It was also evident that information needs of respondents were mostly not adequately provided for. The study recommended the following to the management of UGLS; awareness creation of library resources, user education on information literacy of library resources, encouraging the use of social media platforms, training/user education and initiation of borrowing of library resources.

Source: UG
Accessing Primary Health Care (PHC) Delivery System in the Dangme West District through GIS

Levels of accessibility and utilization of Primary Health Care (PHC) have been assessed using GIS and field research procedures in the Dangme West District (DWD). The broad objective was to identify the patterns and factors which influence accessibility and utilization of health facilities. The targeted sectors of the health delivery system examined are Out Patients Department (OPD) utilization levels, Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and the distribution of health facilities. Nine fully operational health centers and health posts in the district as well as randomly sampled service providers including the District Director of Health Services (DDHS), nurses and opinion leaders were also consulted. This paper presents aspects of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) procedure, its application and the results of the analysis of accessibility and utilization of PHC within the spheres of influence of sampled PHC and other health facilities. GIS is used to map the spheres of influence of government health facilities using the buffer technique to assess threshold population and characteristics of a number of towns and settlements within the sphere of influence of the PHC facility. The critical factors which influenced accessibility and utilization were socio-demographic (age, gender), distance and institutional factors (quantity, distribution of health centers, and quality of care offered). The major community-wide factor identified was poor road network. Beside granting greater autonomy to the District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) to hire competent staff to ensure quality health delivery, the study recommends effective networking among government agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the health sector in order to improve accessibility and utilization of PHC services in the DWD and nationwide

Source: UG
Accidental Opportunities? Women in Family Businesses Taking the Lead in a New Market Economy in Accra, Ghana

Social workers have been working to empower women of diverse backgrounds across several practice settings. However, for women entrepreneurs in Ghana generally and those in family businesses specifically, some socio-cultural factors have persisted to hinder their abilities to promote and sustain their businesses. This paper describes the ways in which women in family businesses in Accra, Ghana have identified and leveraged opportunities presented by structural, cultural, socio-economic, and technological changes to ensure the success of their businesses. The study employed a qualitative research approach with purposive and snowball sampling used to identify and interview 15 women in family businesses. Findings indicate that women in family businesses in Accra, Ghana have creatively made use of the changing socio-cultural and economic landscape of the country to promote their businesses through three main trends which are significant in business growth: the advent and increasing use of social media, innovative business practices, and weakening patriarchy. We recommend that social workers apprise themselves of contexts which have unequal consequences for women and mobilize around these changes to help women entrepreneurs to take full advantage of the opportunities that are being offered in Ghana’s emerging economy.

Source: UG
Accommodating informal economic units in the urban built environment: Petty commodity enterprises in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

This paper investigates the location of small-scale production and service enterprises in Accra, Ghana. Despite a positive change in the attitude of the public sector towards the informal sector, Accra's informal economic units are yet to be adequately accommodated within the urban built environment. Their development has not been promoted, nor their negative effects on the environment reduced. The paper, using a case study of both house- and non-house-based small-scale production and service enterprises (petty commodity enterprises), addresses their site selection and locational preferences, the characteristics of their workshops and work sites and the effects of their operations on the environment. It outlines the implications of these issues and makes some recommendations for accommodating the enterprises within the built environment of the Accra Metropolitan Area.

Source: UG
Account of a Voyage to the Western Coast of Africa.

On presenting the following brief remarks for the perusal of the public, the author feels convinced that they can have no other claim to Notice, than such as they may deserve on account of their Veracity. When he took the various sketches from which the accompanying engravings have been produced, it was with an intention to Give Picturesque Views of the African Coast; but his intentions having been. Rendered abortive by the capture of the ship to winch he belonged, he can now only offer little few trifling observations which he was enabled to make, during the short time he remained • ashore, These, however, will be found, perhaps, to possess no small interest, as they will afford a correct idea of the present State of Sierra Leone, and the slave-Trade, as well as or the custom and manners of the various native tribes.

Source: UG
An Account of Two Missionary Voyages

The re-discovery of a forgotten book is always of interest: but the nature of the book here reproduced makes it of rare and striking interest. Two Missionary Voyages is the first-hand story of a pioneer missionary nearly two hundred years ago-one of the many whom the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent out to work among the settlers in America, from its foundation in 1701 till the Declaration of Independence closed this channel to its agents. A scholar, a Fellow of his College in Cambridge, it was true missionary enthusiasm that called Thomas Thompson from an easy life in England to face the hardships of a new country. His description of his work among the settlers shows many points of similarity to that which has been done in recent years in remote parts of the Canadian prairies or the Australian bush. But among the white settlers he found a number of Negro slaves, and his missionary zeal overflowed into a special care for these poor folk. So much so that after five years among them he conceived the new idea of sailing across to the Guinea coast of Africa to teach the Christian Faith among the tribes from whom the slaves had been taken. The Society approved his plan, and appointed him the first missionary of our Church to the natives of West Africa. Indeed, it may fairly be claimed that he was the originator of missionary work in West Africa.

Source: UG
Accountability and transparency: Is this possible in hospital governance?

Health institutions in developing countries need to be transparent and accountable to attain universal health coverage and effective institutions as man dated by Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3 (target 3.8) and SDG 16 (target 16.6), respectively. This study seeks to achieve two objectives: 1) to examine financial, performance, and political or democratic accountability at the teaching hospitals in Ghana toward achieving good hospital governance; 2) to examine event and process transparency practices in the teaching hospitals. A comparative case methodology was employed with data from structured questionnaires administered to hospital administrators. The study revealed only one of the four teaching hospi tals understudy is accountable in terms of financial, political/democratic, and per formance accountability. Also, the same teaching hospital was found to practice both process and event transparency, establishing the correspondence between accountability and transparency. The study concludes that most of the teaching hospitals in Ghana have challenges with accountability and transparency at varying intensities. Thus, efforts to ensure accountability and transparency are recom mended for quality healthcare delivery and good hospital governance.

Source: UG
Accounting for disasters Evidence of under-representation of victims in the accountability process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate disaster accountability process, and it seeks to advocate for involvement of victims as salient stakeholders in the accountability process. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopt a case study of the 3rd June, 2015 flood disaster and fire that occurred in Accra, Ghana and draw mainly on interviews, as well as observations and a review of publicly available documents. Findings – Several actors are involved in disaster management in Ghana. These actors play several roles as part of the disastermanagement process. Coordination is observed among some governmental actors. However, there is a little collaboration among these actors. There are, therefore, no clear accountability relationships between the actors. Moreover, the forms of accountability process are largely upward and internal. So, although we find the victims as salient stakeholders, their perspectives are not prioritised as part of the accountability process. Research limitations/implications – As a result of less engagement with victims in the accountability process, a central accountability concern, outcomes, namely, benefits for victims in terms of changes in their knowledge, status, attitudes, values, skills, behaviours or conditions were not promoted. Downward accountability should be encouraged to promote better outcomes. Originality/value – Although some studies on accounting for disasters have been undertaken, there is none in our local context, and also this study has been able to uncover under-representation of victims in the accountability process using adaptive accountability lens.

Source: UG
Accounting for the transitions after entrepreneurial business failure:An emerging market perspective

This study builds on prior scholarly works on institutions and entrepreneurship by examining the process of transitions and institutional obstacles that force serial entrepreneurs’ shift to operate in the formal or informal sector after entrepreneurial business failures. Using insights from 32 serial entrepreneurs in Ghana, a framework was developed and utilized to explicate how the pull and push motivations for the transition into or persisting with formality or informality after business failure unfolds over time.Our analysis sheds light on the processes and effects of the motivations on the persistently high level of entrepreneurial activities in the informal sector for many emerging economies.

Source: UG
Accounting for Weather Variability in Farm Management Resource Allocation in Northern Ghana: An Integrated Modeling Approach

Smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana face challenges due to weather variability and market volatility, hindering their ability to invest in sustainable intensification options. Modeling can help understand the relationships between productivity, environmental, and economical aspects, but few models have explored the effects of weather variability on crop management and resource allocation. This study introduces an integrated modeling approach to optimize resource allocation for smallholder mixed crop and livestock farming systems in Northern Ghana. The model combines a process-based crop model, farm simulation model, and annual optimization model. Crop model simulations are driven by a large ensemble of weather time series for two scenarios: good and bad weather. The model accounts for the effects of climate risks on farm management decisions, which can help in supporting investments in sustainable intensification practices, thereby bringing smallholder farmers out of poverty traps. The model was simulated for three different farm types represented in the region. The results suggest that farmers could increase their income by allocating more than 80% of their land to cash crops such as rice, groundnut, and soybeans. The optimized cropping patterns have an over 50% probability of increasing farm income, particularly under bad weather scenarios, compared with current cropping systems.

Source: UG