College of Humanities & Social Sciences

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    Addressing HIV/AIDS pandemic in the Ejura-Sekyedumase District: a study of knowledge, attitudes and sexual behaviour among unmarried 15-24 year-olds
    (2009-08-05) Agyemang, Seth
    Statistics show a rising incidence of HIV/AIDS infection in the Ejura-Sekyedumase District of the Ashanti Region in Ghana. In spite of this development, many people in the district have limited knowledge and serious misconceptions about the disease. Some deny its existence, while others attribute it to factors such as curses, witchcraft and mosquitoes. Discussions with parents, opinion leaders and young people also confirmed that premarital sex is on the ascendancy in the area, contributing to the increase in the pandemic. The research therefore sought to examine the effects of knowledge of HIV/AIDS and attitudes on the sexual behaviour of unmarried people aged 15-24 years in the study area. Both quantitative and qualitative data were employed. The quantitative data was obtained through questionnaire administered on a random sample of 450 unmarried people aged 15-24 years. The qualitative data was obtained through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The effects of knowledge and attitudes on sexual behaviour were and the testing of the hypotheses were done using the chi square tests, with p≤0.05 as the level of significance. Other modes of analysis were frequency tables and bar graphs. There were four hypotheses for the study: (1) Knowledge of HIV/AIDS is significantly higher among people living in urban areas compared to those living in the rural areas. (2) Higher knowledge of HIV/AIDS results in less sexual activity. (3) Positive attitudes towards premarital sex results in less sexual activity, and (4) The higher the level of self-perceived risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS, the lower the level of sexual activity. The study used a modified form of the Health Belief Model as its conceptual framework. The results showed that 47.3% of the respondents had had sex. The mean and the median ages at first sexual intercourse were 17.5 years and 18 years respectively. The most important sources of information on HIV/AIDS were radio and television. Three of the four hypotheses were justified. Knowledge of HIV/AIDS was significantly higher in the urban area compared to the rural areas (p=.000). Secondly, high self-perceived risk of getting HIV/AIDS was associated with less premarital sex (p=.000). Thirdly, positive attitudes towards premarital sex resulted in less sexual activity (p=.007). However, the hypothesis on the relationship between knowledge of HV/AIDS and sexual behaviour could not be justified as the result was not significant (p=.058). Other results were that education had a positive effect on knowledge and several attitude variables. Sexual activity was lower among respondents who perceived a higher self-efficacy to abstain from premarital sex (p=.000), and among those who believed they could refuse sex for money (p=.007). Condom use at last sexual intercourse was also higher among respondents who perceived a higher self-efficacy to insist on condom use (p=.012) and among those who believed that condoms are effective in preventing HIV/AIDS (p=.009). Contributions to knowledge by the research include the provision of a comprehensive conceptual framework and justification for a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in studying knowledge, attitudes and sexual behaviour. The findings call for increased access to formal education to defuse false perceptions and beliefs about HIV/AIDS, sustained education and communication on HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS education in health settings, accessibility to condoms, and financial/economic empowerment. Unmarried people also need practical skills to be able to translate knowledge on HIV/AIDS into behavioural change. Some areas for further studies have also been suggested.
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    Aesthetic impact of Ghanaian socio-cultural practices on the environment and its protection in Ghana
    (2008-08-08) Avenorgbo, Stephen Kofi
    The environment and its protection are of absolute importance to the development of humanity, socially, culturally, economically and physically. However, due to inadequate aesthetic considerations of the environment, bad cultural practices, ineffective education through art, little integration of art into scientific applications and lack of pragmatic artistic policies by governments, the degradation of the environment is rapidly on the ascendancy. In view of these, this research emphasizes the need to utilize aesthetic considerations and good socio-cultural practices to protect, beautify and conserve our natural as well as the built environments that will help improve the very livelihood of mankind. By employing the qualitative methodology to address the problems identified the research shows by its analysis, presentation, arguments and suggestions that artistic attributes and acceptable cultural values are very important to Ghanaians in enhancing the beauty of the environment, as well as preserve everything that can be found in it, such as forests, rivers, mountains, buildings and so on. This dissertation, however, is a valuable source of information and it is geared towards sensitizing other researchers, stakeholders, policy-makers, institutions, environmentalists and tourism promotion managers to be fully aware of the aesthetic aspects of the environment. The dissertation is presented in seven chapters. The first chapter, being the introductory chapter, deals with the problem and its statement. Chapter Two surveys the related literature on the subject under investigation while Chapter Three deals with an in-depth discussion on the relationship between indigenous aesthetics and the environment. Chapter Four, however, highlights on the methodology employed in the execution of the research. Chapters Five and Six form the findings of the dissertation and provide vivid discussions on the state of the environment as well as its aesthetic impact. These two chapters also present the results of the research. The thesis ends with the seventh chapter which deals with the discussions, conclusions and recommendations. By these indications, this research hopes that if the suggestions and recommendations are well embraced in national policies, our eco-system could be effectively protected from further degradation.
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    Anticonvulsant and related neuropharmacological effects of a hydro-ethanolic whole plant extract of synedrella nodiflora (L.) gaertn (FAM:Asteraceae).
    (2011-07-19) Amoateng, Patrick
    Synedrella nodiflora (L.) Gaertn. (Family: Asteraceae) is an annual herb which grows to about 60-120 cm high and occurs throughout the West African region. In Ghanaian traditional medicine, the whole plant is used for the treatment of epilepsy. This study presents the anticonvulsant, sedative, muscle relaxant, antinociceptive, antioxidant, the effect on anxiety and the safety of a hydro-ethanolic extract of the whole plant of Synedrella nodiflora. Four murine models of experimental epilepsy were employed for the anticonvulsant screening of the extract, namely; pentylenetetrazole-, picrotoxin- and pilocarpine- induced seizure and penetylenetetrazole- induced kindling. The ability of the extract to cause sedation was investigated using the pentobarbitone- induced sleep test. The neuromuscular effects of the extract were also determined in vivo using the rota-rod test and in vitro with the chick biventer cervicis preparation. Moreover, formalin induced pain and acetic acid induced writhing assay were the tests employed to assess the antinociceptive effects of the extract. The antioxidant effects of the extract was also determined by measuring the total phenols, antioxidant capacity, 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging assay, reducing power assay and inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation. The elevated plus maze, the light/dark test and the Versamax animal monitor were used to investigate the effect of the extract on anxiety in rodents. The acute toxicity test was also done to assess the safety of the extract as herbal medicine. The extract, SNE, showed significant anticonvulsant effect against seizures induced by PTZ by dose dependent increase in both the onset of the myoclonic jerks and latency to myoclonic seizures and a reduction in the duration of seizures. However this effect was not significant compared to the vehicle treated group and not dose dependent. SNE significantly and dose- dependently delayed the latencies to myoclonic jerks and tonic-clonic seizures induced by picrotoxin. SNE also reduced the duration of seizures significantly. SNE also significantly reduced the total frequency of seizures. SNE, also, dose-dependently reduced the total duration of seizures induced by pilocarpine in the mice treated. SNE significantly suppressed the PTZ- kindled seizure at all the dose levels used. SNE (100-1000 mg kg-1) dose-dependently inhibited lipid peroxidation in the PTZ-kindled rats. SNE also, dose-dependently, increased the duration of sleep induced by pentobarbitone in mice. The ability of SNE to attenuate PTZ-, picrotoxin- pilocarpine- induced seizures, PTZ- induced kindling, enhanced sedation of pentobarbitone suggests the possible involvement of GABAergic, anti-cholinergic, or antioxidant mechanism(s). SNE at 1000 mg kg-1 produced a significant reduction in the time spent on the rota-rod at 24 rpm over the two-hour period thus suggesting motor impairment at this dose. Baclofen at 10 mg kg-1 significantly reduced the duration spent by pre-treated mice on the rota-rod. SNE also antagonised acetylcholine- induced contractions in the chick biventer cervicis preparation, thus a neuromuscular blocker. These results suggest a skeletal muscle relaxant effect by S. nodiflora possibly via centrally mediated mechanism(s) involving neuromuscular blockade. In the formalin-induced pain and the acetic acid- induced writhing, morphine and diclofenac were used as standard opioid and NSAID respectively. The hydro-ethanolic extract of S. nodiflora (100-1000 mg kg-1, p.o) and morphine (1-10 mg kg-1) dose-dependently decreased both phases of the formalin-induced nociceptive behavior. The antinociceptive effects of S. nodiflora (300 mg kg-1, p.o) on the first and second phases of formalin-induced pain were significantly blocked by caffeine but not by naloxone. In the acetic acid-induced writhing test, diclofenac and S. nodiflora significantly reduced the number of writhes dose-dependently. Also, the effect of the S. nodiflora (300 mg kg-1) was blocked by caffeine (3 mg kg-1) but the analgesic effect of diclofenac was significantly enhanced. The observed effects of caffeine on the central and peripheral analgesic effects of S. nodiflora in the formalin and acetic acid- induced writhing suggest the possible involvement of adenosinergic mechanism(s). The extract (0.1-3.0 mg ml-1 ) was found to contain phenolic compounds which could be responsible for the antioxidant properties. The extract also exhibited antioxidant properties by reducing Fe3+ to Fe2+ in the reducing power test, scavenged DPPH free radicals and effectively inhibited linoleic acid autoxidation. In the EPM paradigm, S. nodiflora extract (10-300 mg kg-1) exhibited anxiogenic-like activity by dose-dependently decreasing the number of entries into both the open and closed arms, no significant effect on the percent number of entry into the open arms and a decrease in the time spent in the open arm in comparison to the vehicle-treated group. Similarly, S. nodiflora extract (SNE) dose-dependently decreased the number of head dips and stretch-attend postures and the duration of grooming. In the LD test, SNE also exhibited anxiogenic-like effect by significantly and dose-dependently reducing the number of entry into the light compartment, the number of transitions and not significantly, the time spent in the light area. In the EPM and LD test, diazepam (0.1-1.0 mg kg-1), a reference anxiolytic drug, produced a directly opposite response to that exhibited by SNE. The extract, in the VAMS, decreased the locomotor activity of pretreated-mice dose dependently and significantly. SNE reduced the distance travelled and time spent at the center of the observation cage indicating an anxiogenic-like effect. The extract‟s ability to cause a general reduction in locomotor activity suggests sedative effects rather than anxiogenesis. Oral administration of SNE (1000-10,000 mg kg-1) yielded no mortality in the treated mice over a 24 h of observation. Thus the LD50 was approximated to be greater than 10,000 mg kg-1. Thus the extract can be said of as being less toxic. Also high protective indexes produce in the PTZ-, picrotoxin- and pilocarpine-induced seizures by the extract suggest that it has a safe therapeutic profile. In conclusion, the hydro-ethanolic extract of S. nodiflora has anticonvulsant effect in the acute and chronic seizure models of epilepsy used and indicates a possible GABAergic mechanism(s); exhibits central analgesic effect possibly mediated through adenosinergic mechanism and a peripheral anti-inflammatory activity and a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger, a muscle relaxant and has anxiogenic-like and sedation effects.
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    Art and Chieftaincy in Ahwiaa Culture.
    (June, 2010.) Asiedu, Nana Kwaku
    The study, explored the role of Art and Chieftaincy in Ahwiaa Culture. The prime intention of the study stems from the fact that although a great deal of arts pervades the chieftaincy heritage of Ahwiaa, little recognition has been given to these arts in scholarly circles. Ahwiaa, a town that is predominantly a carving community, serves as a place where wooden artefacts are produced for the Asantehene (the King of Asante) and other prominent chiefs. In-depth observation and analysis of the chieftaincy heritage of Ahwiaa culture reveals that art, among the culture of the people, is the most significant phenomenon that makes the chieftaincy of the people outstanding.Data were collected through observation, structured and unstructured interviews and also the administering of questionnaire. The stratified random sampling was used to divide the population into heterogeneous units since the population had much dissimilarity and thus lowered the variance of the population. The main findings of the study indicated that the arts are highly functional and symbolic to Ahwiaa chieftaincy and the latter can neither exist nor operate without its arts. Thearts pervade the other aspects of the culture of the people and therefore play economic, religious, social, political and medical roles in the Ahwiaa community. Chieftaincy of Ahwiaa will cease if the chief stops his carvers from carving stools and other needed wood products for the king and other chiefs of Asante because the chieftaincy system of Ahwiaa was created to carve stools for the said king and chiefs. Finally, the Ahwiaa chieftaincy system itself is predominantly artistic, and that, when the Ahwiaahene, his sub-chiefs and the Queenmother appear formally at a public function, they are fully decorated with artefacts. The study therefore recommends that the Ahwiaahene and his sub-chiefs should establish an institute that would research and document its arts and cultural activities and theAsanteman Council should also give all the necessary assistance to these people to enable them expand this profession to earn more foreign exchange for the region and the country asa whole to enhance its socio-cultural heritage.
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    Assessing employees’ training needs as an important prerequisite for training programmes: a case study of Internal Revenue Service in Accra- Kinbu District
    (2008-08-11) Acheampong, Ernest Yeboah
    This research was undertaken as assessing employees training needs as an important prerequisite for training programmes at IRS in Accra, Kinbu district. The intent of the work was to find out whether IRS embarks on training needs analysis before designing training programmes to suit it. Training in IRS-Kinbu district appears to be routine and lacks any thorough pre-training investigations to determine who needs training or what training will be of maximum benefit to the general service goals. The research methodology involved informal interviews and questionnaires were administered to trainers/facilitators, heads of department, human resource manager and district director to assess the organisation training programmes. The analysis of the results of fieldwork clearly showed that there are loopholes in the organisation training programmes. For instance headquarters sole responsibility for initiating training programmes made it difficult for trainers to identify particular skills gap for the individuals since IRS does not employ training needs analysis to select the right and qualified people due for training. It came to light that most of the staff could not transfer whatever they have learnt to the job after training. The fieldwork showed that there is no post training evaluation system in place. It was found out that the organisation training programmes have got a very weak relationship with its performance. Finally the headquarters should provide the trainers with sufficient logistics and materials and carry out training needs analysis before embarking on productive and effective training. Effective evaluation system is highly recommended.
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    Attention-Based Drivers, Operational Resilience, and Operational Efficiency: Model Development and Empirical Analysis
    (KNUST, 2019) Essuman, Dominic
    Developing knowledge of drivers and outcomes of operational resilience is important for building resilient societies as societal welfare depends on the sustenance of business operations. However, such knowledge will not only be incomplete but also misleading if the operational resilience construct remains ambiguous. This study first develops the conceptual domain of operational resilience, and second combines insights from the attention-based view of the firm, the contingency theory, and the resource-based view to propose a model to investigate how attention to threats, uniquely, and in interaction with strategic mission rigidity and disruption orientation, affect operational resilience and how operational resilience affects operational efficiency. The proposed conceptual model is tested on survey data from 259 firms in a major Sub-Sahara African economy - Ghana. The measurement and the structural parts of the model are analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and three-stage least squares estimator respectively. Results support the arguments that operational resilience consists of two distinct theoretical components: disruption absorption and recoverability; and that attention to threats positively relates to operational resilience. Additional analysis, however, shows that there is a limit to the operational resilience benefit of attention to threats: extreme levels of attention to threats are associated with low levels of operational resilience. Further results support the arguments that strategic mission rigidity and disruption orientation negatively and positively moderate the attention to threats-operational resilience relationship respectively and that operational resilience is positively related to operational efficiency. The study demonstrates that contingency-based models can be useful for investigating the drivers and outcomes of operational resilience. A key practical implication from the study is that managers' ability to match emphasis on attention to threats with relevant attention structures may boost operational resilience, and accordingly operational efficiency
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    Attention-Based Drivers, Operational Resilience, And Operational Efficiency: Model Development And Empirical Analysis
    (KNUST, 2019) Essuman, Dominic
    Developing knowledge of drivers and outcomes of operational resilience is important for building resilient societies as societal welfare depends on the sustenance of business operations. However, such knowledge will not only be incomplete but also misleading if the operational resilience construct remains ambiguous. This study first develops the conceptual domain of operational resilience, and second combines insights from the attention-based view of the firm, the contingency theory, and the resource-based view to propose a model to investigate how attention to threats, uniquely, and in interaction with strategic mission rigidity and disruption orientation, affect operational resilience and how operational resilience affects operational efficiency. The proposed conceptual model is tested on survey data from 259 firms in a major Sub-Sahara African economy - Ghana. The measurement and the structural parts of the model are analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and three-stage least squares estimator respectively. Results support the arguments that operational resilience consists of two distinct theoretical components: disruption absorption and recoverability; and that attention to threats positively relates to operational resilience. Additional analysis, however, shows that there is a limit to the operational resilience benefit of attention to threats: extreme levels of attention to threats are associated with low levels of operational resilience. Further results support the arguments that strategic mission rigidity and disruption orientation negatively and positively moderate the attention to threats-operational resilience relationship respectively and that operational resilience is positively related to operational efficiency. The study demonstrates that contingency-based models can be useful for investigating the drivers and outcomes of operational resilience. A key practical implication from the study is that managers' ability to match emphasis on attention to threats with relevant attention structures may boost operational resilience, and accordingly operational efficiency.
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    The attitudes and perceptions of students about the study of english grammar: the case of selected senior high school students in northern region
    (2015-05-22) Akurugu, Brigandi Micheal
    The poor quality of English, both spoken and written, of Ghanaians in general, and of our students in particular, has become a source of worry to many well meaning educationists, parents and the general public. Several reasons have been given for the falling standards. Included among them are reading habits, poor teaching, inadequate library facilities, decline in the teaching of grammar and the de-emphasis of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. There are those who believe that the use of the mother tongue at the basic level of education helps the learner to relate similar grammatical concepts in the L1 to those of the English Language. Much as the aforementioned could be said to be accountable, there is a fundamental phenomenon that acts as the underlying cause of the problem. The role that perception and attitude of the learners plays in the acquisition of skills in English has, over the years, been terribly ignored. The perception of students, teachers, policy makers, and the larger community, which includes parents, has played a considerable role in bringing about the fall in the standard of English. This study investigates the extent to which the fall in the standards of English could be attributed to attitudes and perceptions. The study has revealed that a serious disconnection exists between the needs of students and the solutions that are being used to raise the standard of English Language among learners. The study also reveals that, in most cases, parents, teachers and policymakers cannot escape blame for the problem either for their action or inaction regarding the promotion of the learning of the language. Though the study may have identified other reasons for the decline in the standards of English, the study focuses, to a large extent, on the very attitude and perception of the learner. It has suggested ways of developing positive perceptions and attitudes v towards the language. These suggestions include sound approaches to the teaching and learning of the language. The approach is carved in a manner that would make English more attractive to learners thus leading to attitudinal and perceptual change, which in turn would lead to enhanced performance of learners in English.
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    The Attitudes and Perceptions of Students about the Study of English Grammar: The Case of Selected Senior High School Students in Northern Region
    (2010-11-09) Akurugu, Brigandi Michael
    The poor quality of English, both spoken and written, of Ghanaians in general, and of our students in particular, has become a source of worry to many well meaning educationists, parents and the general public. Several reasons have been given for the falling standards. Included among them are reading habits, poor teaching, inadequate library facilities, decline in the teaching of grammar and the de-emphasis of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. There are those who believe that the use of the mother tongue at the basic level of education helps the learner to relate similar grammatical concepts in the L1 to those of the English Language. Much as the aforementioned could be said to be accountable, there is a fundamental phenomenon that acts as the underlying cause of the problem. The role that perception and attitude of the learners plays in the acquisition of skills in English has, over the years, been terribly ignored. The perception of students, teachers, policy makers, and the larger community, which includes parents, has played a considerable role in bringing about the fall in the standard of English. This study investigates the extent to which the fall in the standards of English could be attributed to attitudes and perceptions. The study has revealed that a serious disconnection exists between the needs of students and the solutions that are being used to raise the standard of English Language among learners. The study also reveals that, in most cases, parents, teachers and policymakers cannot escape blame for the problem either for their action or inaction regarding the promotion of the learning of the language. Though the study may have identified other reasons for the decline in the standards of English, the study focuses, to a large extent, on the very attitude and perception of the learner. It has suggested ways of developing positive perceptions and attitudes v towards the language. These suggestions include sound approaches to the teaching and learning of the language. The approach is carved in a manner that would make English more attractive to learners thus leading to attitudinal and perceptual change, which in turn would lead to enhanced performance of learners in English.
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    Characterization of Glucoamylase Produced by Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus sp.
    (2015-05-22) Nyamful, Andrew
    Amylase enzymes are important enzymes employed in starch processing industries for hydrolysis of polysaccharides into simple sugars. Microorganisms including a number of fungal species have been used to produce amylases more economically than from other sources. Glucoamylase (C3009H4570N782O1012S13) is an exoenzyme that removes glucose units consecutively from the nonreducing ends of starch and oligosaccharides. The enzyme also cleaves α-1, 6- and α-1, 3-bonds but at a slower action. Glucoamylase is used in processed-food industry, fermentation technology, textile and paper industries. In this study, four native fungal isolates, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus species and Fusarium oxysporum and the potential of five solid substrates, wheat bran, rice bran, groundnut pod, maize bran and cocoa pod for glucoamylase production were investigated using Solid-State Fermentation process. Isolates of Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus species on wheat bran as substrate at spore concentrations of 1 x 107 per ml produced the highest enzyme activities under optimum growth conditions. Glucoamylase production was found to be affected by temperature, pH, incubation period, nature of substrate and the kind of microorganism used. Glucoamylase production by Aspergillus niger was found to be affected by nitrogen. Glucoamylase produced by Aspergillus niger yielded maximum enzyme activity of 6.66 U/ml in 18 hours of incubation period at a temperature of 40ºC, nitrogen concentration of 0.2 g/l and at pH 5.0. Similarly, glucoamylase produced by Rhizopus species gave maximum enzyme activity of 4.44 U/ml in 18 hours of incubation period at a temperature of 40ºC and pH 4.5. Molecular weights of proteins in culture filtrates were determined by SDS-PAGE. Proteins with molecular weights 61.48, 29.68, 21.06 and 12.33 KDa were identified from culture filtrates of Aspergillus niger and proteins with molecular weights 96.40, 65.56, 51.80, 29.05 and vii 19.75 KDa were found from culture filtrates of Rhizopus species. Kinetic studies using Hanes-Woolf’s plot and starch as substrate gave Kmax = 0.0009548 g/l and Vmax = 2.387 g/l.min for enzyme produced by Aspergillus niger and Kmax = 0.0007443 g/l and Vmax = 2.481 g/l.min for enzyme produced by Rhizopus species.
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    Cultural significance of Edina Asafo Company posts.
    (2006-07-13) Adentwi, Samuel Bentum
    This dissertation is the cultural manifestation of the technical study conducted by the researcher. The main objective of investigating whether in line with modern socio-political and socio-economic development of Edina traditional area, the Edina people has affected the relevance of Edina Asafo was critically appreciated. The research looked into how the Edina Asafo Posts have influenced the modernization and urbanization of the Edina community. It also seeks to find out how the Asafo Posts have affected the Psyche of the Edina people as well as the political, religious, social, medical, economics, entertainment and educational (moral) standard of the people. This research is therefore to help attract and promote both local and foreign tourism in the Edina traditional area, and thereby help create income for the socio-economic development of the people, Edina and Ghana.
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    Domestic water use and its implications for childhood diarrhoea in the Atwima Nwabiagya
    (November, 2015) Danquah, Leslie
    It is estimated that diarrhoea is responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million children per year making it the second leading cause of death in children under-five years globally. The relationship between water quality and diarrhoea has received much attention in the literature however much needs to be learnt about long-term variations in domestic water use behaviour, per-capita water consumption and its relationship with childhood diarrhoea in Sub-Saharan Africa in general and Ghana in particular. This panel study therefore explored seasonal variations in domestic water use and its relationship with childhood diarrhoea in households having children under-five years. A total of 378 households were drawn from 4 communities in the Atwima Nwabiagya District, Ghana using simple random sampling. The communities were surveyed in the wet season (June – August, 2012) and dry season (January – February, 2013) respectively. Quantitative data was collected from mothers of under-five year old children using interviewer-administered questionnaire and observation schedules whereas qualitative data was collected using Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews. Multiple regression and correlational analysis were used to examine the determinants of domestic water use for households in the wet and dry seasons as well as for urban, peri-urban, piped and un-piped households. Bi-variate and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify risk factors associated with childhood diarrhoea and expressed in odds ratios (OR). A paired sample t-test; t(255) = 10.92, p 0.001, showed a statistically significant variation in mean per capita water use in the wet and dry seasons. Mean daily per capita water use was estimated to be 54 liters in the wet (n = 263) and 22 liters in the dry season (n = 366). Household size and size of the primary water storage vessel accounted for 9% of total variation in per-capita water use in the wet season whereas household size, length of water storage (days), duration of water service and size of the primary water storage vessel accounted for 35% of the total variation in per-capita water use in the dry season. Residential location (AOR= 3.01, 95% CI 1.61 – 5.63) showed a statistically significant relationship with childhood diarrhoea in the wet season. In the dry season, the mother’s age (AOR= 3.52, 95% CI 1.00 – 10.32), the mother’s educational level (AOR= 4.67, 95% CI 1.80 – 12.13), storage of water outside the dwelling (AOR= 0.38, 95% CI 0.17 – 0.84) and children often playing on the bare ground (AOR= 3.05, 95% CI 1.35 – 6.89) showed a statistically significant relationship with childhood diarrhoea. This study concludes that mean per-capita water use in households varied across the wet and dry seasons. The number of under-five year olds was not a statistically significant determinant of per-capita water use and no statistically significant association was found between per-capita water use and childhood diarrhoea in the wet and dry season. The intensification of maternal education on the mechanisms of transmission of environmentally related diseases such as diarrhoea in the household was recommended. Other recommendations included the provision and maintenance of adequate sanitation infrastructure, regular monitoring of per capita water use and institutional capacity building. It was recommended that future research focuses on an assessment of the microbiological quality of water sources and stored water in the domestic domain.
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    The effects of organizational work-life balance policies on employee engagement
    (2015-07-13) Asiedu-Appiah, Felicity
    Underpinned by the boundary management theory, organisational support theory, role theory and other related theories, the study proposed and tested a multi-level model that simultaneously examined the intermediate linkages or mechanisms through which work-life balance (WLB) impact individual and organisational work-related outcomes. First and underpinned by boundary management theories, the study examined at the organisational level, collective employee awareness and usage of organizational WLB policies, as pathways through which the adoption and implementation of WLB policies influences collective experience of WLB at the organizational level. Second and, underpinned by organisational support (perceived organizational support) and social exchange (employee engagement) theories, the study examined cross level mechanisms through which experienced WLB may influence employee work-related attitude and behaviour such as cognitive engagement and perceived organisational support. At the individual level of the model, the study investigated the linkages between job resources and its potential outcomes such as work-life enrichment, perceived organizational support and behavioural engagement on the basis of organizational support theory, role and spill-over theories. Propositions made in this study were also tested with multisource data obtained from junior and senior staff, and managers of 30 organisations from the three major sectors of the Ghanaian economy. Results of the hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) analysis revealed that (i) collective employee awareness and usage of WLB policies influenced collective experience of WLB at the organisational level. Additionally, results of hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) tests of the cross-level influences on the motivational implications of WLB revealed that, collective awareness, usage and experience of WLB had positive and significant influence on perceived organizational support at the individual level. The result also indicates iii that employees‘ collective experience of work-life balance (EWLB) significantly but negatively moderates the relationship between employee cognitive engagement and perceived organisational support (POS) such that at low levels of cognitive engagement, high EWLB influences POS more than low EWLB. Results from HMR analysis of level one hypotheses revealed that job resources led to work-life enrichment, perceived organizational support and behavioural engagement among employees. Employees‘ satisfaction with WLB policies partially mediated the relationship between job resources and employees‘ behavioural engagement, while traditional gender role partially mediated the relationship between work-life enrichment and perceived organizational support. Additionally, perceived organisational support had a direct influence on behavioural engagement. Based on the findings of the study, theoretical and managerial/practical implications for WLB research are discussed. Limitations related to the field-nature of the study as well as content areas for future programmatic research aimed at enhancing the nomological network of WLB and employee engagement are also discussed.
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    Electronic Procurement Assimilation, Procurement Process and Value for Money in the Public Sector: Investigating the Role of Influence Mechanisms and Absorptive Capacity
    (KNUST, 2019) Frimpong, John Manso
    The concept of value for money has become very critical in developing countries where states struggle to raise the needed revenue in-house and must augment with funds from international sources to finance public projects. Given the limited resources available to government, ensuring value for money in procurement is key to attain the optimum utilization of scarce budgetary resources. To realize the objective of value for money in public procurement, several interventions have been employed by developing nations including instilling professionalism in procurement actors, enacting procurement laws and implementing sustainable initiatives. One initiative is the use of electronic procurement systems in the public procurement process. These systems afford public sector organisations to respond rapidly to changes and to pursue technologically innovative strategies. The ability of public institutions to recognize the value of a new information, assimilate and apply it largely depends on the institutions’ prior knowledge, institutional pressures emanating from regulations that govern the practice of procurement in the public sector and government policies and initiatives. However, the relationships among institutional pressures, absorptive capacity, e-procurement assimilation and value for money have not been studied. The study first develops a survey instrument to measure value for money and examines how absorptive capacity and institutional pressures influence e-procurement assimilation and the tendering process to achieve value for money in public procurement. A total of 306 public entities were surveyed and partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the empirical data. Theoretical implications of the study include: 1) institutional pressures and absorptive capacity are key drivers of an efficient and effective tendering process, 2) institutional pressure have direct effect on institutional absorptive capacity, 3) the influence of institutional pressures on e-procurement assimilation is mediated by absorptive capacity, 3) the influence of e-procurement assimilation on value for money is mediated by an efficient tendering process and 4) industry type has marginal statistical significance on the influence of institutional pressures and absorptive capacity on e-procurement assimilation leading to value for money in public procurement. Practical implication of this study include: 1) a legal framework for e-procurement would compel actors to comply and use the application, 2) provision of tools needed to scan, identify and assimilate new information necessary for e-procurement application use would enhance efficient procurement process and 3) the instrument developed could be used to conduct value for money audit prior to the selection of appropriate service providers in public sector tendering.
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    Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation in a Sub-Saharan African Nation: An Empirical Test of Competing Models and Theories
    (May, 2014) Asamoah, David
    In this study, the researcher developed a modified research model to examine the antecedents and impact of extent of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems implementation on Process Management Capability, and its subsequent impact on firm performance. The existing model was extended by the addition of the following constructs: Ethical Factors, Data Culture, Organizational Integration, and Organizational Performance. In exploring ERP implementation in Ghana, a Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nation, two competing theories, the Institutional theory and the Panoptic theory, were tested using empirical data collected from a survey involving 115 respondents from organizations in Ghana that had implemented ERP systems. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling-partial least squares. The findings indicate that the Panoptic theory explains the relationships between the constructs better and confirms the positive impact of higher extent of ERP implementation on process management capabilities. Theoretical implications of the study include (1) the emergence of the Panoptic theory as a strong predictor of ERP implementation in SSA (2) the mediating effect of the Ethical factors and Organizational Integration (3) the panoptic theory has more predictability and can be more easily generalized than institutional theory, allowing the research to have a more global impact beyond SSA and (4) Contextual factors such as industry type, employee size, and ERP type influence ERP implementations in SSA. Practical Implications are: (1) ERP systems create information visibility which checks the ethical behaviour of employees and causes them to behave in a socially responsible manner (2) Organizations can achieve greater organizational integration by increasing their extent of ERP implementation and (3) Governments and regulatory bodies must institute policies and protocols that encourage ERP adoption.
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    Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation in a Sub-Saharan African Nation: An Empirical Test of Competing Models and Theories
    (2015-07-07) Asamoah, David
    In this study, the researcher developed a modified research model to examine the antecedents and impact of extent of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems implementation on Process Management Capability, and its subsequent impact on firm performance. The existing model was extended by the addition of the following constructs: Ethical Factors, Data Culture, Organizational Integration, and Organizational Performance. In exploring ERP implementation in Ghana, a Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nation, two competing theories, the Institutional theory and the Panoptic theory, were tested using empirical data collected from a survey involving 115 respondents from organizations in Ghana that had implemented ERP systems. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling-partial least squares. The findings indicate that the Panoptic theory explains the relationships between the constructs better and confirms the positive impact of higher extent of ERP implementation on process management capabilities. Theoretical implications of the study include (1) the emergence of the Panoptic theory as a strong predictor of ERP implementation in SSA (2) the mediating effect of the Ethical factors and Organizational Integration (3) the panoptic theory has more predictability and can be more easily generalized than institutional theory, allowing the research to have a more global impact beyond SSA and (4) Contextual factors such as industry type, employee size, and ERP type influence ERP implementations in SSA. Practical Implications are: (1) ERP systems create information visibility which checks the ethical behaviour of employees and causes them to behave in a socially responsible manner (2) Organizations can achieve greater organizational integration by increasing their extent of ERP implementation and (3) Governments and regulatory bodies must institute policies and protocols that encourage ERP adoption.
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    Farmers’ livelihood in rural Ghana: empirical investigation into risk perceptions and attitudes
    (November, 2015 ) Buabeng, Emmanuel
    Agriculture has and continues to be the backbone of the Ghanaian economy contributing about 21.5% to GDP and employs about 50% of the labour force and contributes substantially to the foreign exchange earning of the economy. Agriculture in Ghana is dominated by smallholder farmers who produce substantial amount of the food needs of Ghanaians. Most smallholder farmers live in the rural areas of Ghana producing a wide range of crops, from cocoa to pepper to cassava and plantain. Notwithstanding the importance of smallholder farmers’ contribution to the economy of Ghana, rural households in Ghana are the poorest as poverty is basically a rural phenomenon in Ghana. These farmers face a wide range of risks that impede their ability to expand and increase their income and ultimately their welfare. These risks and their attitude towards them have profound impact on their output and welfare as their perception and attitudes determine their responses to unfavourable conditions. The research sought to examine the livelihood of rural farmers in Ghana, their risk perception, risk attitudes and how risk perceptions and attitudes impact on their economic, and their overall livelihood. Primary data were gathered from a sample of 1,200 respondents from a field survey of rural farmers from three districts in Ghana selected from three different regions; Offinso North District from Ashanti Region, Techiman Municipality from Brong Ahafo Region and Sefwi Wiawso Municipality from Western Region. Face-to-face questionnaires were administered to the respondents to collect the relevant information from the respondents. Five components of livelihood, Economic, Health, Food, Education and Empowerment were computed. Using the Equally Likelihood Certainty (ELCE), and with three utility functional forms, and the Arrow-Pratt risk aversion formula, risk aversion position of the rural farmers were determined. Using ordinary vii least squares, multiple regressions were run to examine the associations between livelihood and socioeconomic characteristics of respondents, risk perception and socioeconomic characteristics and risk attitudes and socioeconomic characteristics as well as the association between risk perception and attitudes and livelihood. The results from the study show that plantation crop farmers are more secured in terms of livelihood than that of food and vegetable crop farmers. Rural farmers in Ghana located at plantation crop producing areas, have higher economic and overall security status than others located at other areas. The results show that plantation crop farmers consider disease and pests and credit availability as the most important risks that they face whereas food crop farmers perceive yield variability, disease, and pests as the most important risks. However, vegetable crop farmers perceive output prices and yield variability as the most important risks conditions. The work found that livelihood is generally low in the rural areas of Ghana, with differences in livelihood based on location of the farmers and crop type. Farmers were also found to be risk averse with the level of aversion changing with location, crop type and the kind of utility function employed. The research recommends that government can institute policies like expansion of cocoa scholarship to other farmers’ wards, irrigation schemes, establishment of small to medium sized food processing firms for price stabilization to enhance farming in the rural areas to guarantee the income of farmers and their overall livelihood. It is also recommended that any policies enacted should take into consideration the differences in the risk perception and the attitudes of farmers to these risks in order to make the policies work.
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    A Historical Study of the Impact of Colonial Rule on Indigenous Medical Practices in Ashanti: A Focus on Colonial and Indigenous Disease Combat and Prevention Strategies in Kumasi, 1902-1957
    (2010) Adu-Gyamfi, Samuel
    The study addresses the question of lack of in-depth study of the history of medicine in Asante and Kumase specifically. The study is an attempt to fill this lacuna. It examines the influence of the Colonial Administration on indigenous medical practices in Asante and Kumase as well as a focus on Colonial and Indigenous diseases combative and preventive strategies in Kumase. The study traces how indigenous medical practices have continued to be in existence from the nineteenth century to the first half of the twentieth century Asante. It accesses untapped information that deals with the operations of indigenous healers in Kumase and its environs as well as colonial influence. One of the noted influences include the permission granted the Asante Confederacy Council by the Colonial Administration to register indigenous physicians who were known to be genuine. Attestation mostly came from chiefs or native heads whose jurisdictions the practitioners practised and usually it had to be assented to by the Nsumankwaafieso. The closure of witch-finding shrines in Asante and Kumase specifically is one of the noticeable colonial influences. Significantly, there was the development and adoption of some modern techniques and practices in indigenous medical practices and the cessation of such practices as witch finding which was considered injurious to humans by the standards of the Colonial Administration. It also studies the impact made by the Colonial Administration among other things, the registration of unqualified midwives in Kumase and the establishment of Child Welfare Clinic in Kumase and its consequences for the people of Asante. The study highlights the contribution of the Colonial Administration in curing of diseases as well as disease prevention and health promotion in Asante. The information gleaned from various archival sources and interviews threw light on how the Colonial Administration used legislation to influence the way of life of the people of Asante from 1902 to 1957 to ensure that disease transfer was hampered and health promotion effected. The consequences of such colonial influence are carefully documented.