Understanding Car Ownership among Households in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Accra, Ghana

Household car ownership is a widely researched area due to the trade-offs between the benefits of the mobility provided by the car and the numerous negative impacts the car has on the environment. Most of the studies on car ownership have been conducted in developed countries, although more recently there are studies in emerging economies of the world. There are, however, very few studies on car ownership in developing countries, especially cities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The literature has some key commonalities as drivers to increased car ownership such as rising income and positive attitudes towards the car as a status symbol. There are, however, some important gaps with regards to understanding car ownership in the developing world. First, the household structures and social norms can sometimes be quite different. This may influence the propensity of different parts of society to want to own a car. Secondly, the context in which an ownership decision is being considered can be very different. In the case of developing country city like Accra, few have the opportunity to buy a new car with most being older imports and it may be that the issues such as status a car affords someone are different. Third, the context of public transport is very different. Levels of access to informal public transport could be so high generally that limited service provision does not offer the same explanatory power in understanding car ownership as witnessed in developed countries. The quality of the services and their informality may also be a factor in explaining the relative attractiveness of the car. More recent literature from developed countries is often looking to understand what might be effective in undoing mass car ownership whereas developing countries are trying to understand growth. The context of growth in developing countries is very different to that of the growth periods post the Second World War in the developed world and so new insights are required. This research seeks to bridge those gaps by understanding the factors that influence car ownership in a low car owning economy by researching on potential variables which are identified to affect car ownership. The research utilises both qualitative and quantitative methods. Using Accra, the capital of Ghana as a case study, a focus group discussion was undertaken to gain insight into the study area by understanding contextual issues to help in the development of questionnaires. Further to this, a household data collection was undertaken using questionnaires targeting specifically households in high-income communities followed by households in middle-income and low-income communities. In all 547 usable responses were obtained after the survey which provided data relating to household socio-demographic characteristics, trip characteristics, public transport accessibility and attitude towards car and public transport. The results from the research indicate strong influence of income and number of people employed within a household on car ownership. Other household characteristics like household size, type of household and number of children with household are identified not to be significant factors in understanding household car ownership. The research indicates that car is largely a utility purchase in the city of Accra indicating that life is difficult without owning a car. Also, whilst there exists universal coverage of the informal public transport which appears to be the dominant means of transport in the city there exist numerous negative attributes of the services they provide. Efforts to reduce the rate of car ownership will need to follow a twin track of significantly improving the quality of journeys on public transport along with restraining the use of cars to prevent the gridlock which will otherwise result as incomes grow

Malaria elimination in Ghana:recommendations for reactive case detection strategy implementation in a low endemic area of Asutsuare, Ghana

Background: Progress toward malaria elimination is increasing as many countries near zero indigenous malaria cases. In settings nearing elimination, interventions will be most effective at interrupting transmission when targeted at the residual foci of transmission. These foci may be missed due to asymptomatic infections. To solve this problem, the World Health Organization recommends reactive case detection (RACD). This case study was conducted to identify individuals with asymptomatic malaria, their predisposing risk factors and recommend RACD in Asutsuare, Ghana based on literature review and a cross sectional study. Methods: The study involved a search on PubMed and Google Scholar of literature published between 1st January, 2009–14th August, 2023 using the search terms “malaria” in “Asutsuare”. Furthermore, structured questionnaires were administered to one hundred individuals without symptoms of malaria and screened using rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits, microscopy and real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR). Malaria prevalence based on the three diagnostic techniques as well as potential malaria risk factors were assessed through questionnaires in a cross-sectional study. Results: Cumulatively, sixty-four (64) studies (Google Scholar, 57 and PubMed, 7) were reviewed and 22 studies included in the literature on malaria in Asutsuare, Ghana. Significant risk factors were occupation, distance from a house to a waterbody, age group and educational level. Out of the 100 samples, 3 (3%) were positive by RDT, 6 (6%) by microscopy and 9 (9%) by rt-PCR. Ages 5–14.9 years had the highest mean malaria parasite densities of 560 parasites/µl with Plasmodium falciparum as the dominant species in 4 participants. Moreover, in the age group ≥ 15, 2 participants (1 each) harboured P. falciparum and Plasmodium malariae parasites. RDT had a higher sensitivity (76.54%; CI95 66.82–85.54) than rt-PCR (33.33%; CI95 4.33–77.72), while both rt-PCR and RDT were observed to have a higher specificity (92.55; CI95 85.26–96.95) and (97.30; CI95 93.87–99.13), respectively in the diagnosis of malaria. Conclusion: In Asutsuare, Ghana, a low endemic area, the elimination of malaria may require finding individuals with asymptomatic infections. Given the low prevalence of asymptomatic individuals identified in this study and as repleted in the literature review, which favours RACD, Asutsuare is a possible setting receptive for RACD implementation.</p

Iterated Crank–Nicolson Method for Peridynamic Models

In this paper, we explore the iterated Crank–Nicolson (ICN) algorithm for the one-dimensional peridynamic model. The peridynamic equation of motion is an integro-differential equation that governs structural deformations such as fractures. The ICN method was originally developed for hyperbolic advection equations. In peridynamics, we apply the ICN algorithm for temporal discretization and the midpoint quadrature method for spatial integration. Several numerical tests are carried out to evaluate the performance of the ICN method. In general, the ICN method demonstrates second-order accuracy, consistent with the Störmer–Verlet (SV) method. When the weight is 1/3, the ICN method behaves as a third-order Runge–Kutta method and maintains strong stability-preserving (SSP) properties for linear problems. Regarding energy conservation, the ICN algorithm maintains at least second-order accuracy, making it superior to the SV method, which converges linearly. Furthermore, selecting a weight of 0.25 results in fourth-order superconvergent energy variation for the ICN method. In this case, the ICN method exhibits energy variation similar to that of the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method but operates approximately 20% faster. Higher-order convergence for energy can also be achieved by increasing the number of iterations in the ICN method

Digital Identity Management on Social Media: Exploring the Factors That Influence Personal Information Disclosure on Social Media

A number of social media platforms have emerged as dominant medium for societal discourse, enabling significant user involvement in creation and shaping of social media contents. However, the phenomenon raises the challenge of digital identity management on such platforms in order to maintain reputations and ensure information privacy preservation. This study examined the factors that influence users&rsquo; decision to disclose personal information on Social Media and their antecedents. We employed a mixed-methods approach based on analysis of data of 250 respondents from tertiary institutions in Ghana, and 8 focus group discussions comprising 86 participants. The results revealed a lack of user awareness and appreciation of the limitations of the privacy settings on social media platforms. Secondly, we observed that users&rsquo; ability to establish the legitimacy of parties to social media interactions are fundamental requirements in how individuals engage social media. Finally, there is a disparity between information privacy concerns and actual privacy practices of users on social media

Quantifying and analysing water trade-offs in the water-energy-food nexus: The case of Ghana

Water, Energy and Food (WEF) are inextricably linked, and the Water-Energy-Food nexus (WEF nexus) provides a comprehensive framework for addressing the complex and intricate interconnections in the development of these invaluable resources. Quantifying the interconnections among energy, water, and food sectors is a preliminary step to integrated WEF systems modelling, which will further contribute to robust WEF security management. However, the use of the WEF nexus concepts and approaches to systematically evaluate WEF interlinkages and support the development of socially and politically relevant resource policies in Ghana has been limited. This study sets the pace in the development of WEF nexus research in Ghana to facilitate policy and decision-making in the WEF sectors in the country. The study aimed at quantifying the existing water trade-offs in the WEF nexus and also modelling the trade-offs, considering basic development scenarios. The water intensities of food production and energy generation in Ghana were found to be 990 m3/tonne and 2.05 m3/kWh, respectively. Scenario analysis was done to project future annual water requirements for food production, energy generation as well as socio-domestic WEF demands based on two possible development scenarios. The analysis predicts that with business as usual, the annual water requirements for food production and energy generation as well as domestic sustenance in Ghana would increase by 34% in 2030. However, technological advancements and innovation in the energy and food sectors could reduce annual water requirements by over 26% even when 100% access to electricity is achieved nationwide

Impact of anthropogenic activities and salinity on groundwater quality in a typical coastal basin, West Africa

This record includes an extended abstract and MP4 presentation. Presented at the 42nd WEDC International Conference

Communication Medium Used by Clients and Health Professionals in Accessing and Providing Healthcare in Low Resource Setting: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Background. There exist continuing challenges with communication medium used during health service provision. These challenges relate to clients and health institution, intra- and interhealth institution communications. This study reviewed the existing healthcare communication medium from the perspectives of clients and health professionals at a tertiary hospital in Ghana. Methods. Cross-sectional design was employed with a multilevel sampling method to select a total of 650 participants consisting of 303 clients, 303 health workers, and 44 hospital directorate managers for the study. A structured survey questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. Results. Close to ninety percent (89.8%) of staff resort to direct means (face-to-face medium) to communicate among each other. Majority (64.4%) of them also communicated with management through meetings sections. Nearly all healthcare providers (97.4%) communicated with clients through direct means (face-to-face medium). Almost all forms of communication between the hospital management members and the general public were done through letters and official memos. Conclusions. The study revealed blended forms of communication media used by health providers and health service consumers. These differences in medium of communication could amount to possible difficulties such as lack of information and truncation of information flow. Developing a systematic way of information flow using a common information platform will improve access to health services