Overview: Satellite Communication in Ghana - Challenges and Prospects

Busy Internet is a Ghanaian ISP that uses satellite connectivity to bring Internet to West Africans. The operations of this ISP illustrate the reliability, versatility and efficiency of, VSAT, (Very Small Aperture Terminal) networks in delivering fast broadband Internet services

Digital Twin of a Teaching and Learning Robotics Lab

The advancing technologies of Industry 4.0, which includes digital twins, is gaining ground and becoming more popular in many industrial sectors. In the manufacturing industry, digital twins are used, ranging from simulation to product optimisation. This work focuses on using LiDAR data, SLAM algorithms and basic measure tape for developing a digital twin environment in the open-source platform Gazebo backed by ROS, which scientists, engineers, and students will use to streamline development process, for educational purposes and many more. The work results show a digital replica of specific areas of the Institute of Technology, where multiple robots can be integrated and controlled. Such a platform creates a foundation for improving distance learning and safe initial system testing

Improving Cocoa Production Through Lean: A Case Study of the Ghanaian Cocoa Industry

Cocoa has been useful in several ways, especially to countries that produce it and consumers all over the world. Its benefits range from improving economies to satisfying millions all over the world who desire one cocoa product or the other. The production of cocoa however is not without its own attendant problems. Aging tree stock, spread of diseases, and production capacity problems are, but a few of many challenges that seed gardens that produce cocoa face. This study investigated the pollination process on selected seed gardens in Ghana, the second largest world producer of cocoa. The purpose of this study was to investigate the artificial pollination process of cocoa on seed gardens in Ghana, and explore ways by which the Lean principle of Value Stream Mapping could be applied in improving the process. The process of pollination was observed on eighteen seed gardens, and a current value stream map depicting the existing process developed to give an indication of the current state of affairs. Subsequently, a future value stream map based on the current map was developed to show aspects of the process that could be improved to enhance the operations of the seed gardens. The future value stream map revealed that operational procedures relating to cleaning and preparation of trees, choosing male and female trees for pollination, harvesting of pollen, and manually pollinating practices presented various avenues for improving the pollination process and hence seed production output

Exploring Theological and Biblical perspectives on wealth and poverty

The subject of wealth and poverty is one of the major themes in the JudeoChristian Scriptures. The continent of Africa is one of the regions hugely affected by poverty. As such, there is an ongoing discourse about the biblical view of wealth and how it may be used in tackling the canker of poverty. At one breath, our contemporary materialistic culture is seducing Christians to accept the idea that poverty is a curse from God, whilst on the other extreme, wealth is viewed as an impediment to entering the kingdom of God. While a complete eradication of poverty remains a formidable challenge, particularly in vulnerable contexts, there exists an opportunity for more concerted efforts to alleviate the plight of the impoverished. As a contribution to the scholarly discourse, this paper examined what the Bible reveals about wealth and poverty and made relevant theological deductions for African church in dealing with wealth and poverty. This is timely against the backdrop that the “centre of gravity” of Christianity is in Africa which makes it befitting to address the menace of poverty from the biblical standpoint. The paper conducted a theological study of relevant biblical passages. The fact that one’s wealth does not necessarily indicate their acceptance by God and the need to share material resources were emphasized. Though the authors had the African continent in mind, the paper also applies to other contexts which share Africa’s socio-economic realities

Leadership Styles and Organisational Productivity: A Case Study of Ghana Cement Limited

Leadership is of utmost importance in every institution or organization because of its far-reaching effects on the accomplishment of objectives and organisational growth. It is believed that effective functioning of social systems is largely dependent on the quality of leadership. Leadership behavior of managers has been consistently associated with employee output; and leadership styles of individual managers are powerful predictors of the organizational effectiveness. People, therefore get excited about the topic of leadership. They want to know what makes a great leader, has leadership any impact on organizational performance and personal career success, and what leadership style works? The study was about leadership styles of organizations and their relationship with employee output and the overall organisational productivity. The researcher adopted Convenience and Purposive Sampling methods to collect both qualitative and quantitative data in order to achieve the research objectives. In total, forty (40) respondents were used for the study. The findings revealed that leadership is an important ingredient for high performance. It also came out that the leadership style that involves the subordinates in decision making is the leadership that works. In addition, the study revealed that leadership enhances the competencies and relations, and also help increase employees output. In conclusion, leadership will continue to be an important tool that provides competitive advantage for every organisation, in that it makes employees efficient and effective. The kind of leadership style managers exhibit to an extent determines how confident and motivated an employee will be in performing his duties. Indeed a good leader is a motivator. Finally the researcher recommends that organisations develop long-term strategies to train the workforce especially in leadership styles, to create an enabling environment for career development for employees in order to give of their best. Keywords: Motivation, leadership, productivity and management

DISCOURSE ON NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES INTERVENTIONS IN GHANA (1990-2018)

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are reported to have caused significant deaths for more than a decade. Consequently, NCDs have posed as a threat to the socio-economic well-being of individuals and families, contributed to a rise in healthcare costs and largely undermined the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) especially in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence of NCDs have compounded the problem of already ill equipped healthcare systems in these countries as they are faced with constraints to deal with the burden of both infectious and non-communicable diseases. Informed largely by the rapid increase in NCDs and their subsequent threat to public health, we aimed to ascertain the various healthcare interventions that Ghana has fashioned out in her bid to prevent and control the incidence of NCDs, how these interventions were rolled out and examined past and present barriers to their implementation since 1990. We culled the data gathered for this paper from both primary and secondary sources to construct a coherent synthesis and to facilitate discussions on Ghana’s NCDs interventions from 1990 to 2018. A systematic analysis of the data gathered, revealed that Ghana’s healthcare system has by far tackled the NCDs burden in two folds; the clinical care aspect and the health promotion aspect. While certain healthcare interventions were purposively directed toward addressing NCDs, others were directed at promoting healthy lifestyles but had a bearing on the prevention and control of NCDs. Present challenges concerning shortfalls in interventions are a reflection of unresolved challenges in the past. We argue that despite the significant strides made for more than two decades, the interventions have addressed the burden of NCDs with limited success given the trends in NCDs mortality and morbidity

Hydrological and Physical Changes of Soils Under Cocoa Plantations of Different Ages During the Dry Season in the Transition Zone of Ghana

The study was conducted at the University of Education, Winneba, Mampong Campus from October, 2007 to March, 2008 to assess the hydrological and physical changes that take place in soils under cocoa plantations of different ages as climate changed through the dry season. The treatments were T1 (control, representing an adjoining grass fallow land), T2 (5-year old cocoa plantation), T3 (4-year old cocoa plantation) and T4 (3-year old cocoa plantation). The parameters measured were: Bulk density, Total porosity, organic matter, gravimetric moisture content, potential evaporation and Net Litter Accumulation (NLA) of the plants. From the results, T2 recorded the highest gravimetric moisture content, porosity, litter fall, organic matter and lowest bulk density and potential evaporation. T1 recorded the lowest and highest values for gravimetric moisture content (3.5%) and evaporation loss of water (249.0mm), respectively, at day 84. Correlation analysis revealed that soil moisture was highly influenced by bulk density, total porosity, potential evaporation and net leaf litter accumulation. Soil moisture storage negatively correlated with potential evaporation (r = -0.987) and bulk density (r = -0.985) but positively correlated with Total porosity (r =0.984) and net litter accumulation (r = 0.941). The proper manipulation of these parameters would ensure good soil moisture retention and better adaptations of cocoa to unfavourable conditions driven by climate change in the Transition Zone of Ghana. Keywords: Gravimetric moisture, potential evaporation, porosity, leaf litter, correlatio

Assessing The Occurrence Of Maternal Mortality And Some Related Factors At Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

Abstract: Maternal Mortality in Ghana continues to be a major public health problem despite many strategies devised by the international community to reduce it. The United Nations (UN, 2009) reports indicates that more than 1500 women die each day from pregnancy related causes resulting in an estimated figure of 550,000 maternal deaths annually. This paper applies logistic regression model to determine the key factors that have significant effect to predicting the occurrence or non-occurrence of maternal mortality incidence. An annual maternal mortality data from 2007 to 2012 from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) was analyzed. The results showed that AGE, PARITY and GRAVIDA contributes significantly to the occurrence of maternal mortality

Overview: Politics and Technology Converge: Case Studies on the Effects of Regulatory Reform on VSAT Adoption in Developing Countries

Developing countries are actively implementing satellite data networks, and have undertaken policy reforms to facilitate such networks. This research examines how regulatory changes have resulted in the removal of barriers relating to the deployment of access technologies and growth in connectivity, especially in VSAT installations for low cost Internet access. In addition, this research seeks to identify the socio-economic impact of emerging data network applications in government, business, health and education. In some cases, government offices have been the driver of change; in other cases, businesses have been the ones to initiate and press these developments forward

An evolutionary study of production of electricity in Ghana (1900–1960s)

The literature on the history of electricity production have studied the evolution of electricity in both developed and developing countries and its impact on their economies. Some have laid foundations upon which other works are carried out. A close examination of historiography and multidisciplinary research on electricity production in Ghana shows that more efforts are required to improve the electric power landscape in Ghana. From the colonial era, the increasing demand for electricity has been the biggest challenge plaguing the energy sector. Respective governments have made significant strides in ensuring reliable and universal access to electricity throughout Ghana, yet such efforts have been accompanied by different levels of challenges. The study uses a qualitative and exploratory research approach to trace the activities that helped, in many other ways to the creation of a sustainable electric power provision to household and industry in Ghana, particularly in two of Ghana’s cities; Accra and Kumasi, within the period 1900 to the1960s. The work focused mainly on archival sources in its quest to arrive at how indigenous Ghanaians provided power for industrial activities and for household purposes. Results from the study show that local and cottage industries relied predominantly on wood, fuel, and biomass for their operations even before the introduction of the more sophisticated means of power generation. Also, the study revealed that in finding solutions to the challenges of electricity production, policymakers have focused more on current issues with little or no effort to trace the historical foundation of electricity production. This notwithstanding, the little efforts that have been made examined the history of energy production, with a limited focus on the immediate post-independence era