Branding Ghana

Ghana being a developing nation should embark on a national rebranding campaign to change its image domestically and internationally. This paper focuses on ways in which the Ghanaian government can achieve its goals, where the campaign wouldn’t just be another governmental propaganda, but prove worthy of taxpayers’ money, with the effects witnessed by all.Ghana; country branding; tourism

Structural Adjustments And Their Effects: Is There A Way Out For Africa?

The IMF and World Bank have over the years gained a stronghold in African economic policies. This is mainly due to the borrowing and lending relationship between the continent and these sister organizations. This paper seeks to address the negative effects that the IMF imposed Structural Adjustment policies have on the struggling economies of African countries and propose a solution to this problem. The paper also seeks to explore possible alternatives to taking IMF, World Bank loans and gives examples of countries who have explored such options successfully.International Monetary Fund (IMF); the World Bank(WB); Structural Adjustment Programs; loans.

Modeling repairable system failure data using NHPP realiability growth mode.

Stochastic point processes have been widely used to describe the behaviour of repairable systems. The Crow nonhomogeneous Poisson process (NHPP) often known as the Power Law model is regarded as one of the best models for repairable systems. The goodness-of-fit test rejects the intensity function of the power law model, and so the log-linear model was fitted and tested for goodness-of-fit. The Weibull Time to Failure recurrent neural network (WTTE-RNN) framework, a probabilistic deep learning model for failure data, is also explored. However, we find that the WTTE-RNN framework is only appropriate failure data with independent and identically distributed interarrival times of successive failures, and so cannot be applied to nonhomogeneous Poisson process

Structural Adjustments And Their Effects: Is There A Way Out For Africa?

The IMF and World Bank have over the years gained a stronghold in African economic policies. This is mainly due to the borrowing and lending relationship between the continent and these sister organizations. This paper seeks to address the negative effects that the IMF imposed Structural Adjustment policies have on the struggling economies of African countries and propose a solution to this problem. The paper also seeks to explore possible alternatives to taking IMF, World Bank loans and gives examples of countries who have explored such options successfully

Branding Ghana

Ghana being a developing nation should embark on a national rebranding campaign to change its image domestically and internationally. This paper focuses on ways in which the Ghanaian government can achieve its goals, where the campaign wouldn’t just be another governmental propaganda, but prove worthy of taxpayers’ money, with the effects witnessed by all

Branding Ghana

Ghana being a developing nation should embark on a national rebranding campaign to change its image domestically and internationally. This paper focuses on ways in which the Ghanaian government can achieve its goals, where the campaign wouldn’t just be another governmental propaganda, but prove worthy of taxpayers’ money, with the effects witnessed by all

Integrating cashew (Anacardium occidentale) with food crops: perceptions of farmers at Amoma, in the Kintampo South District of the Bono East Region of Ghana

Income maximization from cashew products and proper utilization of resources has significantly evolved in Amoma, as a result of cashew diversification with food crops. The aim of the study was to assess the perceptions of farmers on integrating cashew with food crops. The study aimed to identify the type of food crops intercropped with cashew, as well as reasons and its associated challenges. A total of 83 respondents were purposively sampled from four communities (Asesase, Kukuroase, Tutuoase and Afapemu). The results indicated that all farmers had knowledge on food crops integration with cashew. Amongst the food crops cultivated with cashew include yam, maize, cassava and groundnut. Reasons stated for integration of food crops include weed control, subsistence use and also financial safety nets. Farmers’ major challenge was financial and also weeds control on their farm. The study concluded that yam was the commonest intercrop of cashew followed maize. Key challenges encountered by farmers were weed invasion and inadequate disposable cash for maintenance practices, such pruning and weeding. In pursuit of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 1 (No Poverty) and 2 (Zero Hunger), the study recommends that farmers be trained on proper food crop integration methods at Amoma to boost yield, financial stability and enhance living conditions

Older Ghanaian adults’ perceptions of physical activity: an exploratory, mixed methods study

Abstract Background Ghana is experiencing an epidemiological shift in public health issues toward non-communicable diseases that are underpinned by modifiable health behaviors. Physical activity rates have decreased, especially among older adults, coinciding with urbanization and an increase in sedentary work. Community-based physical activity programs are a recommended method of increasing physical activity levels; however, none currently exist in Ghana. The aim of this exploratory study was to determine older Ghanaian adults’ perceptions of physical activity and asses fit and feasibility of adapting and delivering a physical activity program for this population. Methods Through a concurrent exploratory mixed-methods design, data were gathered from Ghanaian older adults (N = 123) during focus groups (N = 10) conducted at one diabetes clinic and nine churches across three urban areas. Qualitative data were collected using a semi-structured script that prompted for responses related to physical activity perceptions and the fit and feasibility of physical activity program characteristics. Quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire assessing participant demographics, physical activity levels, and health rating as well as physical activity knowledge and self-efficacy. Results Findings indicate that older adults in Ghana have a need for and an interest in physical activity promotion. Participants had positive perceptions of being physically active, but were unaware of physical activity guidelines and how to meet them. Peer influence and health care providers’ recommendations were motivating factors for physical activity participation. As for desired physical activity program characteristics, participants expressed interest in group-based activities and becoming peer leaders and preference for a church-based program. Conclusions The results suggest that a group-based physical activity program encouraged by health care providers and delivered at churches through a train-the-trainer model would be well received by aging adults from three urban areas of Ghana. In addition, education on physical activity types is needed, along with better dissemination and education on Ministry of Health physical activity guidelines. This exploratory work highlights preliminary support for a group- and community-based physical activity program for the aging population in Ghana. Beginning with the end in mind, these program characteristics should be considered when adopting, adapting, and implementing an intervention with this population

Assessing the Impact of Illegal Small-Scale Mining (Galamsey) on Cocoa Farming and Farmer Livelihood: A Case Study in the Amansie West District of Ghana

Cocoa and gold are significant contributors to the gross dormestic product of Ghana which makes both commodities key parts of the Ghanaian economy. Unfortunately, in Ghana, most cocoa-growing communities are the hub of illegal small-scale mining commonly known as galamsey. It is alleged that cocoa farmerssell their farmlands for galamsey; however, given that cocoa farming is the primary source of income for many households in rural Ghana. This research aimed at investigating the motivations for galamsey and how the practice impacts cocoa farming and the environment as well as farmer livelihood. The study was undertakenin Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana where both cocoa farming and illegal mining operations coexist. The data for the study was collected using structured questionnaires. Cocoa farmers were purposively selected as respondents in two cocoa-growing communities. Data were obtained from 90 purposively sampled respondents through snowballing. Data collected were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Scientist software. The results revealed that cocoa farmers face challenges due to galamsey such as; labour shortages, water pollution, competition for land amongst others. Also, cocoa farms, especially those downslope, get flooded whenever it rains as a result of uncovered galamsey pits near farms and cause black pod disease, early dropping of immature pods and stunted growth which ultimately reduce the output of cocoa farms. Farmers revealed that this affected their source of income adversely since the majority of them mainly depend on cocoa farming for their livelihood. They also reported a loss of green space and land degradation as some environmental hazards posed by galamsey. Information gathered from tenant farmers revealed that it is mostly landowners who give out their lands for galamsey. The major reasons that encourage galamsey were identified as higher short-term income, financial problems (40%) due to unemployment, and poor cocoa yield (26%).&nbsp

Bioactive constituents of waakye; a local Ghanaian dish prepared with Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench leaf sheaths

Rice and beans are widely consumed in most countries in the world. ‘Waakye’, a popular traditional dish widely consumed in Ghana, is prepared with Sorghum bicolor leaves to give it a distinctive colour. For the first time, the phytochemical properties of waakye prepared with Sorghum bicolor leaves are determined. Total polyphenols and flavonoid content were determined by Folin Ciocalteau and Aluminium chloride techniques respectively. The antioxidant activity of waakye was analyzed based on Ferric reducing antioxidant power and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays. Sorghum leaves showed high fibre (22.53%) and fat composition (8.86%). The leaves depicted high polyphenols (7.30–107.85 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (10.99–960.29 mg CE/g) and good antioxidant ability. Due perhaps to processing related losses, the polyphenols and antioxidant ability retained in the differently treated waakye products significantly reduced with exception of the waakye treated with saltpetre, which showed a higher ferric reducing ability than the aqueous extract of the leaves. Waakye (prepared with sorghum leaves) was therefore found to contain essential phytochemical constituents including antioxidants than without the sorghum leaves (control). The nutritional implication of these findings is that the consumption of waakye could be a potential cheap source of essential fatty acids, antioxidant and polyphenols which could contribute to the health and biological activities. Keywords: Bean and rice, Polyphenols, Antioxidants, Colour, Bioactive compound