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Institutional Repository of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

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Virtualization of knust’s tangible heritage: an Alternative medium to enhance access
(KNUST, 2020-11) Asiamah, Kwabena Ofori
Indisputably, museums provide research, educational and recreational benefits to mankind. This has been carried out manually for centuries. But with the emergence, and spread of Information Communication Technologies (ICT’s) this manual services are changing rapidly to virtual services; all because the current generation of students and researchers alike unconsciously resonate towards electronic platforms to access and utilize information. Not very mindful of this, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology attempted to establish a brick and mortar museum between 2002 -2012 to showcase her heritage but to no avail. Meanwhile huge sums of money, technical and managerial resources had gone into it. In order to salvage such investment and to be able to enjoy the benefits inherent in museum services, the idea of a virtual museum was hatched as an alternative medium to achieve the same goals. The study therefore, analyzed museum services in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), designed, developed and implemented a demonstration virtual museum (Virtual Museum of KNUST– (VIMU KNUST) and finally evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of VIMU KNUST in enhancing access to KNUST’s tangible Heritage. In advocating for the creation of such a resource, the Sequential Exploratory Design in (mixed method) was employed. Questionnaires, interviews, documentary reviews and observation were used to gather data. Initial assessment results were reinforced by a subsequent survey in order to be sure of the preference of the virtual museum by the University. Additionally, a demonstration virtual museum was designed for evaluation and the evaluated opinions were used to refine it for implementation. Analysis of Data revealed that, apart from access enhancement of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology’s (KNUST) heritage by the Virtual Museum (VIMU KNUST), it will also provide monetary, visibility and educational benefits. More so, it became evident that the preference of the university community was on a virtual museum where patrons could sit anywhere and access it via the internet. As a sequel to these, the study recommended among others that the University Management Committee prioritizes the creation of a virtual museum as needed by the University community while ensuring that, the resource is well advertised and that the interactivity as well as navigability features of the resource is up to task.
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Health and safety knowledge transfer and diffusion From the construction industry to the community as a Corporate social responsibility
(KNUST, 2020-06) Williams, Justice
Clear evidences have shown that poor state of health and safety cultural practices have existed among Ghanaian citizenry. This has created much debate among government, academics, religious bodies, opinion leaders and the media, thereby calling for immediate action to improve the situation. Reports from some national institutions like The National Statistical Service Report, (2016) and the Ghana National Fire Service Incident Report, (2016) have pointed out the urgent need to improve the state of Health and safety in the country. The reports have acknowledged that ignorance and negligence rank high as causes of most health and safety problems reported in the country. In recent years, awareness of Health and safety in the construction industry has increased. Meanwhile, these construction companies operate in the communities and are socially expected to go beyond the execution of their projects and engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a give back to society. However, contractors complain about several factors that affect their ability to fulfil this expectation. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a framework for the transfer of health and safety knowledge and its diffusion into Ghanaian communities by construction companies as a corporate social responsibility. In order to facilitate the understanding of the processes of transferring knowledge from a construction company to the Ghanaian communities, two theories were integrated: innovation diffusion theory and knowledge transfer and conversion theory. Through a questionnaire survey and semistructured face-to-face interviews, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from road and building contractors of all classes across the country. The data were analysed using chi-square test of independence, one sample t-test, cumulative scale analysis and factor analysis for the quantitative data while thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. Findings from both the quantitative and qualitative studies confirmed the improvement of health and safety knowledge in the Ghanaian construction industry. The study found that road contractors are better performers in Health and safety than building contractors. Furthermore, the study established that the maturity of health and safety culture in the Ghanaian construction industry is at its first stage of the health and safety culture maturity ladder. The study further found six major challenges confronted by Ghanaian contractors engaged in corporate social responsibility. Topmost among these are the view that Ghanaian contractors have of i v CSR as avoidable expense, the absence of a legal framework to guide CSR implementation and lack of incorporation of CSR into the Vision and Mission Statements of organisations. The study also identified five knowledge transfer enablers and four barriers to knowledge transfer from the Ghanaian construction firms to the communities. Six enablers were also found to be significant in diffusion of knowledge in the Ghanaian communities by contractors with four associated barriers. The findings from the study resulted in the development of stage by stage knowledge transfer and diffusion framework for facilitating transfer of knowledge and its subsequent diffusion from construction companies to the communities as a corporate social responsibility to construction companies. The study contributed immensely to the academia where it tests, extends and integrates innovation diffusion theory and Nonaka and Takeuchi’s knowledge conversion and transfer theory to a new context thereby helping to better explain external knowledge transfer and diffusion from the construction company to the community. Practically, the dynamic factors in integrating innovation decision processes, knowledge transfer and conversion processes, knowledge transfer influencers and complexities and knowledge diffusion influencers and complexities would assist researchers to understand external knowledge transfer from the perspectives of construction companies to the communities. Further, the framework proposed provides a practical step towards actions and activities required to be institutionalised to enhance the transfer process. Therefore, the findings of this study can be used as a practical guide for construction companies to transfer knowledge from the industry to any community in which they find themselves.
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Adaptive selection and behavioural conditioning framework for the attitudinal change of construction workers towards the use of safety helmets and goggles
(KNUST, 2020-10) Adade-Boateng, Anita Odame
Construction workers are constantly faced with several hazards due to the nature of their work environment. Head traumas and eye injuries on construction sites are of great concern to industry stakeholders in the efforts to improve health and safety performance of the construction industry. Like most PPE, Safety helmets and goggles are a statutory requirement in most countries to protect the head and face regions which are the most vulnerable in the event of an accident. Safety helmets protect the head against the impact of lateral objects or the impact of falling objects on construction sites. Similarly, safety goggles protect the eyes and the face region from severe injury from flying particles and or other hazards encountered during construction work when used appropriately. Despite their importance, construction workers are reluctant to use safety helmets and goggles due to several discomforts experienced and thus are continuously faced with exposure to several hazards at the workplace. While using these PPE may prevent injury and or fatalities on the construction site, providing workers with poor fitting PPE may introduce other forms of strain that may contribute to avoidable incidents on site. This research employed a combination of adaptive selection and behavioural conditioning principles to remedy the discomforts associated with safety helmets and goggles to improve their use on construction sites. A preliminary investigation was initially conducted through the personal administration of questionnaires to one hundred and twenty-three (123) construction operatives to find out why construction workers do not use given PPE. Data for the main study was obtained through semi-structured interviews and a physiological strain field experiment (using physiological indicators of heart rates and body temperatures) involving sixteen (16) male construction workers, a comparative analysis of linear anthropometric head and face measurements of one hundred and twenty-seven (127) male construction workers and dimensions of construction helmets and goggles available in Ghana within a multiple case study. A questionnaire survey of seventy – four (74) large construction firms in the country was also conducted to identify selection considerations made in the procurement of helmets and goggles. A content analysis on interviewee data indicated that hotness and poor fit are the top two discomforts associated with safety helmets while blurred vision and poor fit are prevalent among safety goggle users. Workers were found to experience little or no physiological strain while using uncomfortable safety helmets in hot weather, when values of physiological indicators were entered into a physiological strain equation and interpreted on a universal scale. A two-sampled T-Test indicated statistically significant differences between helmet and head dimensions, as well as safety goggles and face measurements. Descriptive analysis of the likert data indicated that construction firms consider several factors aimed at ensuring the procurement of comfortable safety helmets and goggles. The study recommends a behaviour-based framework with a three – tier intervention plan, that combines a selection criteria consisting of anthropometric characteristics, ambient temperature, consideration of standards (aimed at improving the comfort experience of users), with activities such as user- involvement in the procurement process, safety inductions with audio-visuals, participatory toolbox meetings and selection of safety champions to stimulate the preferred behaviour of appropriate use of the PPEs. The conditioning theory is then applied in Tier three of the framework to maintain the acceptable behaviour. The proposed framework is intended to ensure the procurement of comfortable safety helmets and goggles for construction work and simultaneously improve the attitude of workers towards these PPE.
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Key indicators for assessing sustainability during the construction phase of building projects in Ghana
(KNUST, 2020-09) Botchway, Seth Yeboah
The attainment of sustainable development would be elusive until due attention is given to sustainability performance assessment. Globally, there is a proliferation of methodologies meant to offer a means of evaluating sustainability performance. Nevertheless, the existing sustainability assessment tools focus more on design and operation issues at the expense of construction-related issues. The sustainability of the project delivery process is equally important, due to its considerable environmental, social and economic impacts. The context sensitivities exhibited by the sustainability concept requires that indicators are established for suitable local application. This study sought to examine key sustainability indicators (SIs) for assessing the sustainability performance of building projects during their construction phase. It specifically sought to assess the degree of familiarity of professionals with the sustainability assessment tools in the Ghanaian Construction Industry (GCI) and identify environmental, economic and social SIs. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey, following the comprehensive review of literature to determine the sustainability assessment tools that have been used in the GCI and identify the relevant candidate SIs, by adopting the purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Out of a total of 330 questionnaires administered, 167 responses were received and analysed. The data analysis consisted of descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, mean score ranking, normality testing and finally the Kruskal-Wallis and MannWhitney tests. In all, 28 sustainability indicators - 10 environmental, 9 social and 9 economic, were identified as critical for construction-phase sustainability assessment of building projects in Ghana. It was recommended that all stakeholders make a concerted effort to enhance the widespread uptake of sustainability practices within the GCI. Further studies can be undertaken to develop a full-fledged index for sustainability assessment, in consequence of indicator development.
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An assessment of the quality of delivery care in the Manhyia Kumasi Metropolitan District
(KNUST, 2017-06) Humado, Priscilla Shika
Background Maternal mortality contributes to about 20 million death per year despite the completing of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) implementation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2014), every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. 99% of these maternal deaths occur in developing regions particularly Africa and Asia. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 380 per 100, 000 live births for Ghana is an improvement over the past 20 years but we still could not reach the target of three quarters reduction by 2015. This study seeks to investigate the quality of supervised delivery care in the Manhyia Kumasi Metropolitan District of the Ashanti Region Methodology The study is a descriptive cross sectional study using simple convenient sampling. For the purpose of the research a total of one fifty (150) respondents were interviewed. The respondents comprised of 140 mothers who have babies aged 0-6 months who delivered at Manhyia hospital and attending PNC and 10 health workers at the Manhyia labour ward which included doctors, nurses, midwives, nursing students and midwifery students were also interviewed after they consented to be part of the study. Results Mean ages of our respondents were between 15 – 35 years with majority of them having secondary school education (45%). All the health workers (100%) in the labour ward monitor labour with partograph but only 90% of the respondent knew partograph was started in active phase of labour. 55% believe if initial assessment require referral there was no need for partograph. 90% believe infection is not a problem in the facility, and all sharp instruments were disposed using a sharp box. All the labour ward health workers use clean running water for hand washing. All labour ward health workers believe that minimal vaginal examination and the use of chlorhexidine in HIV/ AIDS patients prevents infections, 90% objected to artificial rupturing of membrane and 70% responded positively to the use of obstetric interventions xiv in labour. 73.5% of the staffs welcomed the respondents with a smile whiles 93.9% listened to their views, about 5.4% of the respondents were verbally abused by staffs with 96.6% sensitive to the plight of the patients. All the skilled staff present in the department were available for work but 30.6% of the respondents believe they are inadequate for the work. The cord was cut after 1-3mins, most babies were dried after delivery and mothers were encourage to breastfeed within 30 mins. 97.9% of clients were educated on breastfeeding, 83.2% established breast feeding within the first 30 minutes after birth under normal circumstances.76% of the clients upon orientation from the medical staff implemented the exclusive 6 months system. Conclusion This study has sought to assess the quality of delivery care in the Manhyia district hospital, Kumasi metropolis. The general over view of the study showed an above average quality of health care with respect to delivery care. xv
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Lost children: a critical analysis of child soldiering in uzodinma iweala’s beasts of no nation and Ishmael beah’s a long way gone: memoirs of a boy soldier.
(KNUST, 2023-01) Otoo, Paul
ABSTRACT In the Child Soldiers International Annual Report (2017-2018), it is revealed that globally, over 10,000 children were formally released from armed forces and groups during 2017. Delivering his annual report on children and armed conflict to the Security Council in 2021, the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, revealed that more than 8,500 children were used as soldiers in the year 2020 in various conflicts across the world. Obviously, the high numbers of child soldiers witnessed over the years, especially in Africa is clearly indicative of the need for an unremitting discussion on the topic with the aim of ending this repugnant enterprise. It is for this reason that this thesis through textual analysis, anchored on the trauma theory and supported by the theory of literary realism, critically analyzes the child soldier phenomenon in Uzodinma Iweala’s novel, Beasts of No Nation (2005), and Ishmael Beah’s memoir, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (2007). This research work concentrates on how the child soldier as a result of his traumatic experiences is rendered lost: a child who is robbed of his childhood and innocence and for that matter, transitions from a victim of war to a victimizer. By discussing the child soldier as the narrative voice, this research is able to explore the traumatic experiences of child soldiers through their own narrations. The child soldier’s loss of innocence and childhood is further highlighted after the war and during the period of rehabilitation. The difficulty experienced by the child soldier at this stage communicates how lost he has been rendered. KEYWORDS: Civil War, Child-soldier narrative, Child soldier, Trauma theory
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Discourse strategies in advertising language: a case of selected radio and newspaper advertisements in Ghana
(KNUST, 2023-02) Ahiale, Isaac Kwame
ABSTRACT Newspaper and Radio advertisements still provide an impressive return on investment for businesses. Aware of this, advertisers use language, actions and strategies to create a common ground with their audience. This study examines how advertisers, relying on cultural ideologies, use several discourse strategies of language to persuade their target audience. Classical Conditioning theory, the study primarily discusses how advertisers use both linguistic strategies and elements in the target culture to persuade their audience, with the view to unravelling how meaning is embedded in the advertising texts. Data is collected through general observation of how buyers are influenced by strategies such as persuasions, implicature, honorifics, conversational tone and verbal descriptions (rather than numerical measure/hard data), in advertisements on radio stations including Peace FM, Joy FM, Adom FM, Citi FM and Star FM, and advertisements in newspaper outlets including Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times. This study reveals among other things that:  Advertisers tend to employ endearment forms and familiar expressions to influence the buying behaviour of their audience.  Linguistic devices such as repetition, apposition, implicature, hedges, honorifics, and conversational tone normally characterize spoken and written advertisements.  Advertisers adapt linguistic features of communication to dominant ideologies in the indigenous culture so as to persuade the target audience.  Many advertising authorities have come to believe that advertising works best when it most closely approximates a dialogue between two human beings.