Mechanized co-operative irrigation farming in the South-Afram region of the Volta Lake area of Ghana

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Jobs, Skills and Incomes in Ghana: How was poverty halved?

Poverty has halved in Ghana over the period from 1991 to 2005. Our objective in this paper is to assess how far this fall was linked to the creation of better paying jobs and the increase in education. We find that earnings rose rapidly in the period from 1998 to 2005, by 64% for men and by 55% for women. While education, particularly at the post secondary level, is associated with far higher earnings there is no evidence that the increase in earnings that occurred over the period from1998 to 2005 is due to increased returns to education or increased levels of education. In contrast there is very strong evidence, for all levels of education, that the probability of having a public sector job approximately halved over the period from 1991 while the probability of having a job in a small firm increased very substantially. In 1991/92 a male worker with secondary education had a 7 per cent probability of being employed in a small firm, by 2005/06 this had increased to 20 per cent which was higher than the probability of being employed by the public sector. Employment in small firms, which is the low paying occupation within the urban sector, increased from 2.7 to 6.7 percent of the population, an increase from 225,000 to 886,000 employees. Jobs in total have been increasing in line with the population but the proportion of relatively low paying ones increased markedly from 1998/99 to 2005/06. The rises in income that occurred over this period were due almost entirely to increases in earnings rates, for given levels of education, across all job types particularly among the unskilled. Why unskilled earnings rates rose so rapidly is unclear.

3D Processing, Imaging and Interpretation of Dense Sub Bottom Profile Data Acquired in Avaldsnes and Hafrsfjord

This thesis addresses the challenges associated with conducting archaeological seismic surveys in shallow water and nearshore environments, focusing on the effects of dynamic elements such as wind, tide, and waves. These environments are known to contain a wealth of submerged archaeological remains, yet they are often overlooked due to the difficulties posed by their dynamic nature. While seismic geophysical methods are the preferred approach for archaeological prospection and investigations, the presence of dynamic elements hinders the acquisition of data in a regular grid pattern. The methodology employed to tackle these challenges involves creating a 3D grid of various sizes, tidal correction, interpolation and migration of the seismic dataset using the 3D grid. The proposed methodology was tested in Avaldsnes and Hafrsfjord - historically significant areas in Norway known to have shipwrecks. These locations serve as ideal test sites for evaluating the effectiveness of the methodology in addressing the problems posed by dynamic elements in shallow water and nearshore environments. Three 3D grid sizes were tested – 0.1 by 0.1 m, 0.25 by 0.25 m and 0.5 by 0.5 m - and two interpolation methods – cubic and Shepard’s interpolation – were tested. Results showed 0.1 by 0.1 m 3D grid size interpolated with Shepard’s method and migrated after showed the best seismic image and detail making identifying the shipwreck straightforward. The overall conclusion is that a 3D grid with small sizes, preferably 0.25 by 0.25 m or less, interpolated with Shepard’s method show the best seismic image for interpretation eliminating most of the problems caused by dynamic elements

Through the Looking Glass: Barriers and Coping Mechanisms Encountered by African American Women Presidents at Predominately White Institutions

The purpose of this research is to identify factors (experiences, career paths, and barriers) that influence the career advancement of African American women administrators in higher education. African American women\u27s experiences in higher education are molded by both external factors and internal factors specific to traditional social roles within and outside of the university. This qualitative study examines the personal and professional growth of five African American women who rose to executive leadership positions as presidents at predominately white colleges or universities . There are five main themes in this study. First, African American women who aspire to senior level administrative positions in higher education must be educationally prepared and credentialed. Second, African American women aspiring to senior level administrative positions must be aware of their individual abilities, strengths and biases. Third, African American women on a career path to senior level administrative positions within higher education should obtain a mentor. Fourth, African American women wanting senior level administrative positions in predominately white colleges or universities must develop coping strategies to defuse the inherent institutionalized double oppression of racism and sexism that is prevalent in the higher education arena. Fifth, African American women who reach the senior level of higher education administration must be willing to reach back and nurture the African American women who follow them

Tackling Rural – Urban Drift in Ghana: Labour Intensive Public Work as a Tool in the Wa East District

Rural-urban drift has been among the topical developmental challenges in many countries. In Ghana, available statistics estimate that about 52% of the total population above age seven are the most mobile population. This current study seeks to examine the extent to which the Labour Intensive Public Work can be an efficient strategy to retain potential migrants in their respective communities using Wa East District as the study area. The paper argues that, although 93.8% of the respondents admitted that the Labour Intensive Public Work is beneficial, 70.8% still had the intention to migrate again if the project is not sustained especially during the off-farming season. This study therefore conclude that Labour Intensive Public Work can be a good social intervention tool for curbing rural-urban drift if it is sustained and efficiently implemented. Keywords: Rural-Urban Drift, Labour Intensive Public Work, Wa East District, Ghana

Hydrogeological evaluation of geological formations in Ashanti Region, Ghana

The success of groundwater exploitation in an area largely depends on prior knowledge of existing hydrogeological parameters such as borehole yield, overburden thickness, depth of boreholes, static water level, specific capacity and the quality of water. This study, therefore, employed Geographical Information System to assess some of these hydrogeological parameters in the Ashanti Region using the ordinary kriging interpolation method. Data on 2,788 drilled boreholes in the region were used and the assessment focused on the various geological formations in the region that comprised the Birimian, Granitoids, Tarkwaian and Voltaian formations. The study results indicate that the Birimian formation is generally within medium to high yielding potential zones (30 – 60 l/min or higher) with a high drilling success rate of 91% and average borehole depth of 53 m. The Granitoids are, mostly, within the low yielding zone (< 30 l/min) with isolated high yielding boreholes and have average borehole depth and drilling success rate of 50 m and 72 % respectively. The Tarkwaian formation, on other hand, is within the medium yield zone with a drilling success rate of 80 % whilst the Voltaian formation is mainly classified to fall within low yield zone with about 60% success rate although significant high yield zones occur within the sandstone formation underlying its westernmost part in the region. Groundwater in the region is generally potable except in a few locations within the Birimian and ranitoids,where there are problems with levels of iron, nitrate, manganese and pH. Keywords: Groundwater; Hydrogeological parameters; Geological formations; Geographical Information System; Ashanti Regio