Impact of Climate variability and change on agricultural productivity in the three northern regions of Ghana

Agriculture in the three regions of the north is mainly subsistence and rain-fed with very limited irrigation facilities. Traditional approach to agriculture in the region is therefore being threatened by erratic rainfall, high temperature, drought and floods due mainly to a changing climate.  This research, therefore, examines the climate in the Upper West, Upper East and Northern regions and its impacts on agriculture productivity. It began with an extensive desktop study and the collection of rainfall and temperature data from 1961-2010 from the three regions.  The data was analyzed to determine the rainfall and temperature trends and their significance using XLSTAT software and basic statistical tools and subsequently tested with the Modified Mann-Kendal’s test to confirm the increasing or decreasing trends and their significance. The results showed that the climate is changing with an increasing temperature and decreasing rainfall trends across the three regions. The test also confirmed a significant increase in temperature but no trend in rainfall at 95% level of confidence. The change in the climate is also observed to have significant impact on agriculture. The knowledge in the climate variation and change will be relevant to decision and policy makers, farmers, water users, water providers, NGOs and students as a whole. The research was concluded with suggested strategies as policy options to help improve climate change adaptation and agricultural productivity

Image registration via entropy consideration and data fusion

Image registration is a process by which the most accurate match is determined between two images, which may have been taken at same or different times, by the same or different sensors, from the same or different viewpoints. It is one of the crucial steps in remote sensing. Image registration requires intensive computational effort, not only because of its computational complexity but also the increasing resolution of images. For high accuracy and robustness as well as low computational cost a suitable similarity metric, a reduction in search data and a robust search space strategy is needed. Reduction in search data can be achieved by using a few subimages for image registration. We propose a new measure, called alignability, which shows the ability of subimages to provide robust and reliable results. We compare this feature to entropy, variance and gradient magnitude respectively. We show that using alignability produces not only reliable but robust results in image registration. In the dissertation, we investigate mutual information as a similarity metric. We show the effect of bin size on mutual information. Increasing the number of bins discriminates more image intensities, on the other hand, in decreasing the number of bins mutual information becomes noisy or even fail. We propose two methods which formalize the selection of bin size. We show that using the proposed methods increases the robustness of mutual information. Mutual information has emerged in recent years as a popular similarity metric in the registration of images. Unfortunately, it ignores the spatial information contained in the images such as edges and corners that might be useful in the matching of images. It takes into account only the relationships between corresponding individual pixels and not those of each pixel\u27s neighborhood. However, it is essential to consider both quantitative and qualitative information in the registration of images. We propose a new similarity metric, called spatial mutual information, which combines mutual information and a weighting function based on image gradient, image variance, and image entropy of local regions. Salient pixels in the in regions with high gradient, high variance and high entropy contribute more in the estimation of mutual information of image pairs being registered. We show that spatial mutual information is more robust to noise than mutual information. We also demonstrate that the spatial mutual information is not only more robust than mutual information but more reliable in the registration of multitemporal images. A search space strategy based on Robbins-Monro stochastic approximation algorithm is also introduced. Results show that the algorithm is not only fast but robust as well.Die Bildregistrierung ist ein Prozess, durch den die genaueste Übereinstimmung zwischen zwei Bildern bestimmt wird. Dabei können die Bilder zu gleichen oder unterschiedlichen Zeitpunkten, durch denselben oder verschiedene Sensoren vom gleichen oder von einem anderen Betrachtungswinkel aufgenommen worden sein. Es ist einer der entscheidenden Schritte in der Fernerkundung. Die Bildregistrierung erfordert einen enormen Rechenaufwand. Dieser resultiert nicht nur aus der Komplexität der Berechnungen, sondern auch aufgrund der immer weiter zunehmenden Auflösung der Bilder. Für eine hohe Genauigkeit und Robustheit als auch für einen möglichst niedrigen Berechnungsaufwand sind ein passendes Ähnlichkeitsmaß, die Verminderung der "Search Data" und eine robuste Suchraumstrategie erforderlich. Die Reduzierung der Search Data kann durch die Verwendung einiger Subimages für die Bildregistrierung erreicht werden. Wir schlagen ein neues Maß, genannt Alignabilty, vor, das die Fähigkeit von Subimages zeigt, robuste und zuverlässige Ergebnisse zur Verfügung zu stellen. Wir vergleichen dieses Merkmal mit der Entropie, der Varianz bzw. dem Betrag des Gradienten. Wir zeigen, dass die Verwendung von Alginability nicht nur zuverlässige, sondern auch robuste Ergebnisse in der Bildregistrierung erzeugt. In der vorliegenden Dissertation, wird die Verwendung von Mutual Information als ein Ähnlichkeitmaß untersucht. Wir zeigen die Auswirkung der Bin-Size auf die Mutual Information. Durch die Erhöhung der Bin-Anzahl können mehr Bildintensitäten unterschieden werden. Anderseits wird durch die Verringerung der Bin-Anzahl die Mutual Information verrauscht oder schlägt fehl. Wir schlagen zwei Methoden vor, die die Auswahl der Bin Size Größe formalisieren. Wir zeigen, wie die Verwendung der vorgeschlagenen Methoden die Robustheit der Mutual Information erhöht. Die Mutual Information hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren zu einem populären Ähnlichkeitsmaß in der Bildregistrierung entwickelt. Leider ignoriert Mutual Information die in Bildern enthaltene Ortsinformation wie z.B. Kanten und Ecken, die zum Matching von Bildern nützlich sein könnten. Es werden nur die Beziehungen zwischen korrespondierenden Pixeln betrachtet, nicht die der näheren Umgebung. Jedoch ist es notwendig, sowohl quantitative als auch qualitative Information in der Registrierung zu betrachten. Wir stellen ein neues Ähnlichkeitsmaß vor. Dieses wird Spatial Mutual Information genannt und kombiniert die Mutual Information mit einer Gewichtsfunktion, basierend auf dem Bildgradienten, der Bildvarianz und der Bildentropie einer lokalen Bildregion. Hervorspringende Pixel in Gebieten mit einem hohen Gradienten, einer hohen Varianz und einer hohen Entropie tragen mehr zur Schätzung der Mutual Information von Bildpaaren bei die registriert werden. Wir zeigen, dass die Spatial Mutual Information gegenüber Rauschen robuster ist als die Mutual Information. Wir zeigen auch, dass die Spatial Mutual Information nicht nur robuster ist als die Mutual Information, sondern auch zuverlässiger in der Registrierung von multitemporalen Bildern ist. Eine auf dem Robbins-Monro stochastischen Approximationsalgorithmus beruhende Suchraumstrategie wird auch eingeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Algorithmus nicht nur schnell, sondern auch robust ist

Subsidies, aquaculture technology adoption, and welfare impacts in Ghana and Kenya

This dissertation empirically examines subsidies, aquaculture technology adoption, and welfare implications of fish farming households in Ghana and Kenya. It is divided into three separate chapters, each addressing a specific empirical issue related to aquaculture in the countries. The second chapter of this dissertation applies the lognormal double hurdle model to a cross-section of fish farms to analyze commercial demand for improved feed, and whether the government feed subsidy program influences private demand for the feed. The results indicate that households’ decisions to participate in improved feed market are affected by the quantity of the subsidized feed received. Once the participation decision has been made, the paper finds evidence of crowding-in of the private improved feed sector; that is, the government’s allocations of subsidized feed appear to increase private sector demand. In addition, the price of improved feed influences demand negatively. Moreover, education, extension contacts, and ease of marketing matured fish increase household propensity to purchase improved feed commercially. The implications of these are that policies that help reduce the price of improved feed, such as reduction in tariffs on imported feeds and feed ingredients will foster demand for the feed, as will policies that facilitate marketing of fish at reasonable prices by households. Chapter three uses the same survey dataset as in chapter one, to examine the impact of improved feed technology on fish income and poverty, using the propensity score matching technique. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis allowed for creating a counterfactual comparison group, given that households were not randomly assigned to improved feed adoption group, resulting in selection bias. The results indicate that improved feed technology adoption increases aquaculture income and reduces poverty among fish farming households. Specifically, the income effect of the technology is 23 – 37 percent, with resultant poverty reduction effect of 19 – 23 percentage point. The percentage and absolute impacts are higher among households operating small fish farms (average of a single pond). Chapter four combines the methodological approaches for chapter one (double hurdle model) and chapter two (propensity score matching) to examine the determinants of adoption and extent thereof, and welfare impacts of improved feed in Ghana using a cross-sectional data of fish farming households. The study focuses on the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, and Western regions of Ghana. The data shows that the quantity of improved feed purchased and used on-farm is far below what is technically recommended for maximum yield. The results of the PSM analysis provide evidence that improved feed technology increases fish income, as well as reduce poverty among fish farming households in the three regions studied. Moreover, in order to foster adoption and intensity thereof in Ghana, the results indicate that improving education, extension services delivery, and area under fish farming are vital

Modeling of the construction of sewer systems

The construction of sewer systems has proven to be challenging. It has been noted that the margin between safety and optimality is small and as such it is not so easy to predict the efficiency of sewer design. This paper tries tolook for a model to describe the motion of water in a channel. A coupled surface runoff-water flow approach is applied to model the water transport from the catchment areas. The Saint-Venant’s equations have been employed and the Lax-Friedrichs scheme has been used to numerically solve the nonlinear system of equations

Integration of Biogas Technology into Farming System of the three Northern Regions of Ghana

This article takes a look at the possible integration of biogas technology into farming system of the three northern regions of Ghana. The nexus between animal husbandry and crop production is a key to improving agricultural productivity in the study areas. The research involves a thorough study of the farming system in the three northern regions and an extensive review of literature on biogas technology. During the research, it was revealed that the three northern regions which have the largest concentration of livestock hardly use the enormous manure generated by these livestock efficiently to improve the condition of their soils which lack basic nutrients such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K) needed for high crop yield. Farmers in the regions thus depend largely on chemical fertilizers. The research compares the use of digested slurry and raw manure, nutritional values of different animals’ slurry and outlines the efficiencies of biogas in different equipment. The paper discusses the processes in biogas production as a source of energy in farming communities, outlines the basic farming systems in the three northern regions, the composition and application of biogas and the digested slurry, and summarizes the micro and macro benefits of the biogas technology. It was concluded with some recommendations

Relevance of Competency Based Training in Polytechnic Education for National Development

The educational system in Ghana has undergone various forms of transformation over the last few decades. These transformations aim at improving the educational system to produce the right calibre of graduates for national development.  The Ministry of Education in 1987 introduced new educational system which gradually replaced the British-based G.C.E Ordinary and Advanced level systems. In September 2007, the country gave birth to another educational reform which emphasized on Science, Mathematics, Technology and Technical & Vocational Educational Training (TVET). This is to provide employable skills for graduates and help reduce the high rate of unemployment in the country. Over the years, TVET has been limited to the apprenticeship, vocational and technical institutions. Learning at the tertiary level has always been the acquisition of theoretical knowledge with very little hands on training. Industries have no other alternative than to give their employees many weeks of on the job training. Introduction of Competency Based Training (CBT) at the polytechnics which aims at providing graduates with the employable skills is therefore welcoming news and must be cherished and sustained by all. CBT is the acquisition of appropriate knowledge, attitudes, personal traits and skills to efficiently perform work place roles in industry, commerce, management and administration. This paper highlights further the need for CBT in all the Ghanaian polytechnics. It outlines the importance of CBT in polytechnic education, gives overview of the structure of the CBT curriculum, its development and implementation in agricultural engineering, assessment criteria and challenges. It was concluded with some recommendations

A model for the relationship between user satisfaction of healthcare facilities management and core healtcare business

Public hospitals in Ghana, as in many other developing countries, are faced with facilities management (FM) challenges due partly to the problem of poor services and user dissatisfaction with FM service delivery. Studies to understand the relationship between user satisfaction of healthcare FM and core healthcare business have not addressed the issue from the perspective of this study. To fill this gap, the study examined the relationship between healthcare FM services based on the FM basic framework (people - patients, place – healthcare healing environment, processes –FM service quality and technology – quality of healthcare infrastructure and equipment) and core healthcare business (healthcare personnel, healthcare delivery, adequacy of healthcare resources and healthcare administrative process). The underlying theoretical frameworks for the study included the FM basic framework, SERVQUAL theory, Core Healthcare Business dimensions and A Staff and Patient Calibration Toolkit (ASPECT) which is based on a theory of supportive designs for healthcare facilities. Questionnaire was used to gather data from 622 patients of the three surveyed hospitals (Komfo Anokye, Cape-Coast and Tamale teaching hospitals) in Ghana. The data were statistically tested and analysed by structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. Twelve of the 19 hypotheses were supported. The findings showed that although the patients are satisfied with the quality of healthcare healing environment and the quality of healthcare infrastructure and equipment, they were dissatisfied with the FM service quality. Secondly, the results indicated that healthcare FM service quality and quality of healthcare infrastructure and equipment did not have a positive significant influence on the quality of healthcare administrative process. Also, the quality of healthcare healing environment did not show a positive significant influence on healthcare delivery. The quality of healthcare infrastructure and equipment also did not have a positive significant influence on healthcare personnel. Lastly, out of the four dimensions used to evaluate the quality of core healthcare business, patients were dissatisfied with the adequacy of healthcare resources and healthcare administrative process. Generally, the study model offered a good understanding of the factors that influenced the relationship between users (patients) satisfaction of healthcare FM and core healthcare business. The findings indicated that healthcare institutions must realize that quality healthcare FM service is a means for the healthcare organisations to stay relevant in the eyes of the patients. Thus, the study recommends that the surveyed teaching hospitals in Ghana should aim to achieve patient centered healthcare service deliver by effectively improving the quality of both their FM and core healthcare services, since patient satisfaction leads to patient loyalty

The Church and the Voice of the Other: The Growth of the Faith Community and Dialogue in the Church

Since the Second Vatican Council ended over forty years ago, the Catholic Church has been struggling to find a firm ground in a world of ever-advancing technological change and increasing globalization. Prior to the convening of the Council, the church virtually isolated itself from the rest of the world because it considered itself as a societa prefecta. Dialogue as a communicative act of openness to the other with willingness to change did not exist in the Church because of its understanding of communication as uni-directional-- from the hierarchy to the rest of the people. This study examined the church\u27s communicative practices prior to the convening of the Second Vatican Council and after the Council, focusing particularly on the church\u27s understanding of dialogue. By developing the paradigm of Praxis Religious Dialogue, this study, through the dialogical philosophy of Martin Buber, the incarnational ethics of Emmanuel Levinas, and Bernard Lonergan\u27s theologico-anthropological process of cognition, offers an approach to a new form of dialogue for the church. This new form of dialogue is embedded in the process of aggiornamento of which the Council emphasized to the church in its deliberations. Through the analysis of the narrative of Revelation, this study encourages the church to be more open to praxis dialogue in which priests and laity are considered as partners in dialogue rather than recipients of religious beliefs and instructions. In this vein, the Praxis Religious Dialogue model points the church to the notion of sensus fidei as embedded in the communion fidelium rather than in the hierarchy because the church is the People of God. In conclusion, this study highlights the historicality of the narrative of Revelation as an ever-unfolding event. Therefore in proclaiming it, the church needs to see itself in the historical moment, that is, through a historical interpretive approach to the Revelation event, in order to discern the signs of the times and become an effective instrument in its missionary activity and its encounter with the Other

Social Media in Baptist Churches

The integration of social media into Chicago Baptist Churches congregants recently increased over the last few years. This research study allowed church leaders to determine if social media was an effective media outlet in Baptist churches on the Southside of Chicago. The evaluation research approach was to assess the effectiveness of social media, in particular Facebook and Instagram. Within this conceptual framework, the researcher was able to produced flexible, fixed, and multi-design strategies to abstract a full spectrum of evaluation. The subsequent methodology focused on the dual use of social media and themes that coincide, specifically, marketing, politics, communication awareness, engagement behaviors, viral advertising, and engagement. Twenty-five participants responded to the 21 questions on the Baptist Leadership and Social Media Survey. Results showed that there was a strong, positive, and statistically significant correlation in daily use between the two types of media. For Facebook, the differences showed a strong statistical trend and there was a very strong effect of age. For Instagram, the differences were significant and there was again a very strong effect of age. With respect to changing their current use of social media in the future, men were very likely to change their use of Facebook in the future whereas on women were somewhat to very likely to; however, the difference was non-significant, and the gender effect was small. Men were ‘not so likely’ to change their current use of Instagram whereas women were not at all to not so likely to change in the future; however, this difference was also non-significant, and the gender effect was small