Consumer motivation and willingness to pay for “safer” vegetables in Ghana

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Iddrisu Yahaya, and Fred A. Yamoah, (2015) "Consumer motivation and willingness to pay for “safer” vegetables in Ghana", British Food Journal, Vol. 117 Issue: 3, pp.1043-1065, the version of record is available online at doi: 10.1108/BFJ-10-2013-0296. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2015 Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess consumer motivation and willingness to pay (WTP) for “safer” vegetables from the use of non-treatment options of wastewater use in urban/peri-urban vegetable production. Design/methodology/approach – As a theoretical basis, consumer theory of maximizing utility being an indicator of individual preference was examined through choice experiment (CE) method to measure the WTP for value of safety within the context of health reduced risk (pathogen reduction) of illness. WTP was tested empirically using survey data from 650 households in the two largest cities in Ghana (Accra and Kumasi) that are characterized by a number of well-established vegetable producers who use wastewater in their production and a large urban and peri-urban vegetable consumer market. Findings – Experience of vegetable borne diseases drives the need for safer vegetables and income and gender are key demographic factors influencing WTP. It was further found that consumers are willing to pay an average amount of GH¢ 4.7 ($2.40) per month for a technology change that would result in the production of “safer” vegetables. Research limitations/implications – Understanding WTP offers insight into consumer concerns, behaviour and their readiness to pay for safer vegetable options. However, a further consideration of the impact of the combinations of the various non-treatment options on pathogen reduction and the assessment of the financial viability of each option will collectively ensure an efficient and cost-effective implementation of the technologies. Practical implications – WTP insight gained has implications for vegetable production, marketing and public health policy. The understanding from the findings forms a solid basis to canvass for certification system for urban/peri urban vegetables. The information provided also helps to formulate effective public education on the safety of vegetables. Originality/value – Measuring WTP for safer vegetables by Ghanaian urban/peri-urban consumers is novel. The CE approach is robust and the findings can inform vegetable production and marketing decisions as well as public health policy formulation.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Employer Branding: Model for Employer Branding Practices in a Multinational Technology Company

Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to explore the practices involved in the development and implementation of an employer branding strategy in a multinational technology company. Framework: This research combines employer branding literature and strategy-as-practice (SAP) as theoretical lens by incorporating a five-step employer process model with catego-ries of ’practices’ in SAP. The combined model serves as a framework to analyse the empir-ical practices. Methodology: The empirical setting is a multiple case-study consisting of three multina-tional technology companies and two consulting firms. Data was generated through partici-pant observation in the primary case and semi-structured interviews in the secondary cases. With an inherently abductive approach based on this exploratory study, the thesis employs the subjective and interpretative approach. Findings: Employer branding strategy formation practices amongst the cases revealed a great deal of similarities although some differences were highlighted as key findings in the micro-level details such as the depth of research, EVP testing, creation of a communication handbook and a framework of implementation. Overall, all the cases deem employer brand-ing strategy as a long-term objective, a co-creation process following an incremental im-plementation pattern aligned with corporate strategy. Intensive engagements and the role of social media are found to play a crucial role in executing employer branding work

Universal Basic Education Policy: Impact on Enrolment and Retention

The universal basic education policy enshrined in the constitution of Ghana is aimed at making education accessible and affordable for all Ghanaian citizens. This paper sought to assess whether the universal basic education policy really have an impact on access at the basic level. The study was carried out on the premise that the universal basic education policy has no impact on enrolment and retention. The study used enrolment data from randomly selected public basic schools. Ten(10) each as treatment and control schools. Descriptive statistics were used in the presentation of the data. The data was enrolment figures taken from the registers of the various schools under study. The study found out that enrolment and retention are on the increase. It again found out that girl’s dropout rate was higher in control schools than boys. The study concluded that girl’s enrolment and retention is largely determined by the universal basic education policy. It is therefore necessary for the provision of incentives for girls and better facilities to meet the increasing demand of enrolment and retention.     Keywords: Universal Basic Education, Enrolment, Retention, Policy, Acces

An assessment of the role and impact of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the management and sustainability of local environmental resources: A case study of Nanun, Ghana

NGOs have been heralded as the vehicle of choice for aid delivery by international organizations lice the World Bank and the United Nations and also by western governments, especially in the last two decades. This is a tacit acceptance of their role as development agents in the South. However, no substantive research has been done to find out if these NGOs are indeed contributing to the better management of local environmental resources. This research sets out to examine the role and impact of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the management and sustainability of local environmental resources in rural Ghana. What makes this research unique is that the assessment of the effectiveness of these NGOs was done primarily from the perspective of local residents using both qualitative and quantitative data. The data was gathered through questionnaires, open interviews and observations in selected villages in the Nanumba District. The various levels of NGOs—local, regional, national and international—are examined to highlight their specific contributions in the areas of water resource provision and management, agricultural production and forest resource management. It was discovered that local NGOs, and to some extent, regional NGOs were most effective at projects that involved more organizational strengths and less capital to make an impact. This was mainly because local NGOs used traditional modes of organisation and, therefore, were able to get more people involved in their activities. Since local NGOs were cash strapped, they were more effective in areas that required very little money to make an impact. They were therefore seen mostly in agricultural production and productivity. International NGOs and national NGOs, on the other hand, were more effective in projects that required large capital expenditures, especially in the provision of water and the building of schools and health facilities. The researcher also examines ways of making the contributions of these NGOs more effective. The local resource management framework is examined and critiqued and a new one is proposed. This new framework advocates the creation of a District NGO Liaison Office that would be the link between the various types of NGOs operating in the district, traditional authorities, the district administrative office, including the district assembly and its decentralised department and the general public

Energy and deforestation in Ghana: A study of woodfuel-deforestation links in rural Ghana

Forests are one of the most valuable natural resources of many countries, including Ghana. Timber and other forest products have contributed immensely to the development of the country. These same forests have been a source of sustenance to the Ghanian people. Most particularly, forests have been the principal source of domestic energy by way of providing woodfuels. The heavy reliance on forest resources is taking its toll on the health of Ghanaian forests. In recent years, there has been increased awareness of the depletion of trees—a problem that many researchers have attributed to the over-exploitation of forests especially for domestic fuel. This thesis explores the question of the links between woodfuel use and deforestation in rural Ghana. Using two villages (Chamba and Nsuta) in the two main vegetation zones in Ghana--savannah and forests regions--as case studies, the central issues of access to, and use of wood as energy, either in the basic form, or in the processed form as charcoal and how these are linked to forest depletion and environmental degradation are explored. Whilst factors as such as high population growth rate, poverty, inappropriate agricultural policies and practices and logging are important in the debate over deforestation, the exploitation of wood for domestic energy stands out as the main destroyer of forests in Ghana. The author is of the conviction that unless immediate steps are taken to remedy the situation, Ghana, and indeed most of Sub-Sahara Africa are headed for a real environmental and energy crisis. Based on field research, the author makes some specific recommendations including the introduction and promotion of more fuel-efficient stoves, the promotion of a tree planting culture, the establishment of village woodlots, rural electrification and involving rural people in the management of established woodlots. These recommendations emphasise the protection and expansion of existing forests as against advocating the introduction of more sophisticated energy alternatives because, realistically, most rural households cannot afford these alternatives. The key, therefore, to ensuring a steady supply of household energy is to focus on protecting and expanding Ghana\u27s forests

Organiizing informal workers for decent work: the case of the agricultural sector in South Africa

This report focused on organising informal workers for decent work, the case of the agricultural sector in South Africa. It recognizes that the future of the working class unions hinges on their ability to effectively organise the informal workers, more so in the African context, given the global rise in various forms of non-standard employment, including the informalisation of labour. Since the agricultural sector in South Africa is faced with extremely low organisation, especially among seasonal, casual and migrant farm workers, organising of this category could be strategic for union revitalisation and ensure decent work. The research sought answers to the question of what the drivers and barriers to organising the informal workers in the agricultural sector in South Africa are. It considered specifically what social and economic factors, and policy framework affect organising informal workers in the agricultural sector, and in what ways this category of workers could be organised to ensure decent work. A case study design focusing on the trade union, social movements and land rights organising among farm workers in South Africa was employed. Data was gathered through documents, interviews with farm workers, organisers and key informants and observation, from July to September, 2010. The study isolated key social factors such as the paternalistic farmer-farm worker relationship, limited access to social services and social interaction due to spatially distant location of the farms and the workers, as the major barriers to organizing them. However, issues of gender, housing and migrant labour on the farms were the key social factor drivers for organizing among farm workers. Prevailing economic factors such as, poor working conditions, low wages and poor remuneration, land and the extremely low state of unionization were identified as major drivers for organizing informal workers on the farms. Also, the availability of legislation and policies in the post-apartheid state such as, the new labour relations act, the extension of security of tenure act, the basic conditions of employment act and the sectoral determination, were established as key instruments addressing the inequities associated with the informalities in the agricultural sector in South Africa. The study concludes that, although availability of the policy frameworks is a necessary condition for organising through their facilitation of stakeholder engagements, it is not a sufficient condition without awareness and compliance for the realisation of decent work. Arguing that the extremely low organising among farm workers in South Africa contributes to the decent work deficit, and that effective organising would result in decent work and improved living standards among them, the study established that the most effective organising strategy for the farm workers is one that works with them as social beings, including their entire conditions and not only restricted to employment related, as witnessed with the traditional trade unions. The emerging social movement organising through farm and area committees with structures strongly rooted at the level of farms, encompassing all who live and work on farms, are strategies that ought to be encourage

Analytical and Numerical Validation of Nozzle Spray Measurement Data Obtained from a Newly Developed Production System

A newly developed production test stand for measuring the spray angle of a pressure swirl atomizer was constructed and used to measure a product line of these pressure swirl atomizers -- the macrospray atomizer. This new test stand, utilizing constant temperature hot wire anemometers, captures the spray angle data based on the voltage drop the hot wire probes see as they traverse the spray cone of the atomizer and as fluid droplets impinge upon the wire. Datasets acquired from the experiments are compared and correlated with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation data. In addition, angles obtained from another type of spray characterization technique, the spray angle device, are also compared to see how closely CFD can predict the angle as captured by this new stand and how reliable and independent of human error it is. Another nozzle with a pressure swirl atomizer, the conventional atomizer, is also simulated to compare its agreement with experimental values obtained from the spray angle device. Finally, the datasets are compared to understand if the CFD results, when compared to the two spray characterization techniques used in this thesis for both the nozzle and atomizer can be utilized to assist in future atomizer designs. For the macrospray atomizer, it was found through the experiments that the hot wire stand predicts the spray angle more accurately within 10 error. The spray angle device measured the spray angles within an error of 29 while the CFD introduced more error into the spray angle measurement obtained, within 7 to 93 . The conventional atomizer was found to have an error up to 18 with CFD results and up to 28 with the manual spray angle devic

University Policies That Increase And/Or Decrease Access For African-American Women Seeking Advanced Degrees

The policies of most universities show a lack of dedication in addressing the needs of their non-traditional graduate students, particularly African-American women seeking advanced degrees. As African-American women return to the academy to pursue doctoral degrees,universities must address the issues facing women in general and African-American women in particular. The double-jeopardy that African-American women encounter in terms of race and sex is viewed by some Black feminists as a reason for conducting research specifically on Black women and their role contributions to American society (Brown, 2001)

Analytical and Numerical Validation of Nozzle Spray Measurement Data Obtained from a Newly Developed Production System

A newly developed production test stand for measuring the spray angle of a pressure swirl atomizer was constructed and used to measure a product line of these pressure swirl atomizers -- the macrospray atomizer. This new test stand, utilizing constant temperature hot wire anemometers, captures the spray angle data based on the voltage drop the hot wire probes see as they traverse the spray cone of the atomizer and as fluid droplets impinge upon the wire. Datasets acquired from the experiments are compared and correlated with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation data. In addition, angles obtained from another type of spray characterization technique, the spray angle device, are also compared to see how closely CFD can predict the angle as captured by this new stand and how reliable and independent of human error it is. Another nozzle with a pressure swirl atomizer, the conventional atomizer, is also simulated to compare its agreement with experimental values obtained from the spray angle device. Finally, the datasets are compared to understand if the CFD results, when compared to the two spray characterization techniques used in this thesis for both the nozzle and atomizer can be utilized to assist in future atomizer designs. For the macrospray atomizer, it was found through the experiments that the hot wire stand predicts the spray angle more accurately within 10 error. The spray angle device measured the spray angles within an error of 29 while the CFD introduced more error into the spray angle measurement obtained, within 7 to 93 . The conventional atomizer was found to have an error up to 18 with CFD results and up to 28 with the manual spray angle devic