Incentivizing knowledge exchange engagement: direct and indirect benefits of external engagement

Engagement in knowledge exchange (KE) with external actors has become widely accepted as an integral mission of universities. However, research and teaching performance remain more important for career progression, while engagement activities are more weakly institutionalized. This raises the question of why academics participate in knowledge exchange engagement activities. This paper examines to what extent academics perceive that they are rewarded directly for KE by their university and to what extent they perceive to benefit in terms of their performance in other missions (research and teaching). Furthermore, we examine how these perceptions are associated with actual engagement behavior. We use data from a sample of academics in seven European universities to examine whether direct and indirect benefits from engagement are linked to engagement in a broad range of KE activities. The results suggest that direct university rewards are associated with less engagement in KE activities, while perceived indirect benefits are associated with more engagement. These relationships are particularly strong in STEM fields.acceptedVersio

What motivates academics for external engagement? Exploring the effects of motivational drivers and organizational fairness

Academics have different motivations for external engagement, including to acquire external resources for research (research advancement motivation), to contribute to society (prosocial motivation), or to acquire monetary benefits (pecuniary motivation). Universities also have varying policies for rewarding external engagement. This paper examines the relationship between academics’ motivations for engaging, their perceptions of the fairness of their universities’ policies, and their actual level of external engagement. Most academics consider contributing to the betterment of society as the most important reason for engagement, followed by the advancement of their research. Conversely, few academics consider obtaining personal income to be important. The perceived importance of all three motivations is positively associated with actual engagement behavior. Notably, the strength of research advancement motivation is more closely associated with external engagement than the strength of pecuniary motivation. However, perceptions of organizational fairness are not related to external engagement.publishedVersio

Rootless or rooted in regions? International researchers and local engagement

As universities have internationalised and academic careers have come to encompass relocation across countries and continents, it has often been argued that universities and their researchers have lost the ability to address the issues prevalent in their local geographies. Drawing on survey evidence, Kwadwo Atta-Owusu and Rune Dahl Fitjar explore this relationship and what it means for how universities can support engagement at the local and regional scale

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): Emerging molecular marker tools for improving agronomic traits in plant biotechnology

Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) are providing in depth knowledge in plant biology, breeding and biotechnology. The emergence of many novel molecular marker techniques are changing and accelerating the process of producing mutations in plant molecular biology research. This coupled with the availability of cheap sequencing techniques and access to a complete genome sequence has been shown to complement traditional marker -based approaches. Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) have provided an important source for the study of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in plants. SNP markers have become popular, partly because of their high density within the genome and also their ease with which they are characterized. This review also focuses on some methods used in genotyping SNPs

Billing and location tracking app for transportation

Capstone Project submitted to the Department of Engineering, Ashesi University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering, May 2021Most companies in Ghana provide their staff with buses to make transportation more accessible, but this transportation medium is not tracked, making its operations difficult for staff. Means of payment become a problem when the staff has a higher denomination. This project aims to solve these problems by adapting the tracking technology based on GPS and the cashless payment system based on RFID. Using these technologies, this project will make tracking and payment on these company buses easy. This project goes beyond tracking to estimating the arrival time of the bus and beyond RFID payment to tracking user pickup and endpoints. This system is flexible and allows users to make payments with cash and make payments by scanning a QR code.Ashesi Universit

Social Differences in the Vulnerability and Adaptation Patterns among Smallholder Farmers: Evidence from Lawra District in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

There is growing attention on socially differentiated stakeholder groups in understanding vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. However, empirical research on smallholder farmers in Ghana has not paid adequate attention to social differentiation among smallholder farmers. This study sought to assess the perception of vulnerability and adaptation strategies of socially differentiated groups of smallholder farmers to climate change in Lawra district, north-western Ghana. Gender and age axis of social differentiation are the major focus of this work. The study employed a mix method study design involving 8 FGDs and 160 questionnaire surveys among smallholder farmers. Kendell’s W rank correlation was used to rank constrains identified, descriptive statistics and chi-square was used to determine adaptation patterns among different social groups. Results suggest that, smallholder farmers are not homogenous. Rather, males and females and youth and older folks differ in their perception of vulnerability and subsequent adaptation strategies. The results highlight the need for adaptation interventions that pay attention to different stakeholder needs in reducing smallholder farmers’ vulnerability. Key words: social differentiation, smallholders, adaptation, vulnerability, age, gender

Assessment of the Rationality of Senior High School students’ Choices of Academic Programmes in Kwabre East District of Ghana

The study sought to find out whether Senior High School students in Kwabre East District make rational choices of academic programmes in school. The population of the study was all students in the six Senior High Schools in Kwabre East District. However, the Form 3 students were purposively sampled for the study. Stratified random sampling technique with proportional allocation was used to sample 331 Form 3 students from the various programmes in each school for the study. A self-made questionnaire was used to gather data from the 331 respondents. A total of 320 copies of the questionnaire were obtained from the respondents. Statistical Product for Service Solutions was used to analyze the data. Frequencies and percentages were analyzed to answer all the research questions.It was found out that generally Senior High School students in Kwabre East District make rational choices of their programmes of study. This is because most of them assessed their strengths and weaknesses and sought information on their programmes before choosing them. Again, most of them chose their programmes based on their abilities or interests. However, few of them sought counselling from qualified counsellors before choosing their programmes. It was recommended that school counsellors should reinforce students’ rational programme choice behaviour by intensifying counselling in schools so that students will continue to make rational choices of programmes in school. Keywords: career choice, rational choice, academic programmes, Senior High Schools

Effect of Community-Based Functional Aerobic Training on Motor Performance and Quality of Life of Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy

BACKGROUND፡ Efficacies of community-based exercise programmes have been well reported, but there is scarce information on the expediency of community-based rehabilitation in a society where many children with disabilities live in poorly resourced settings with extremely limited rehabilitative services. This study investigated the effects of community-based functional aerobic exercise (CBFAE) on gross motor function, walking distance, and quality of life of children with cerebral palsy (CP).METHODS: Quasi-experimental design was used. Children with gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) levels I – II participated in eight weeks CBFAE training four times/week, 50 minutes/day at 40-80% maximum heart rate. Gross motor function (GMF), walking distance and quality of life were assessed pre and post CBFAE training.RESULTS: Significant improvement was observed in GMF (Dstanding) (8.2%, P=.000), GMF (E-walking + running+ jumping (5.12%, P=.004), walking distance (6.09%, P=.009). Higher significant positive effects of CBFAE were observed in Social wellbeing and acceptance (107.10%, P=.000), and participation and physical health (105.04%, P=.005) by children parent proxy. Self-reported results showed that for CBFAE, significant positive improvements were higher in pain and impact of disability (67.93%, P=.049) and participation and physical health (60.00%, P=.042).CONCLUSION: CBFAE training contributes majorly to improved standing, walking, jumping and running and selfesteem, quality of life of children with spastic CP. Clinicians and exercise therapists should essentially incorporate CBFAE training and activities into the management of children with CP for improved mobility and functional performances

Mapping the Conceptual Field: Notions of the History Syllabus and Textbook from the Teachers’ Perspectives

The Ghanaian High School history syllabus particularly is less explored by teacher practitioner in the field of history. The few researches carved on the teaching of history in the country have focus extensively on methods of teaching, students and teachers viewpoint of the subject at the neglect of what teachers themselves tell of the subject and the syllabus designed by Curriculum Research and Development Division. This research is novel in the context of the country. Using the interpretive phenomenological case study approach, the study interviewed eight history teachers who participated in the study on their volition. Results from the analysed transcript revealed that History teachers have negative perception about the SHS history syllabus. The study also established that the SHS government history textbook is not adequate to be used in teaching History. Finally, the study established that the history syllabus is in tandem with the history textbook utilised by teachers. Based on the finding, it is recommended that school authorities provide continuous training to history teachers on the proper use of the syllabus in order to change their erroneous perception about the syllabus. The ministry of education should revise and update the government history textbook with more information. Besides, the ministry of education should try and recommend other relevant history textbooks for the history teachers.  Again, the ministry of education should ensure that revisions made in the history syllabus should be reflected in the government history textbook. Keywords: History, Syllabus, Textboo

Introduction:Climate, Cocoa and Trees

Climate change is predicted to significantly reduce areas suitable for the cultivation of cocoa, an important cash crop providing a livelihood to over six million smallholders in the humid tropics. Cocoa agroforestry shows potential to increase climate resilience while providing more stable incomes, enhancing biodiversity, supporting healthy ecosystems and reducing the pace at which farms expand into forested areas. Based on the multidisciplinary ‘Climate Smart Cocoa Systems for Ghana’ research project, this book investigates the case of the biophysical and socioeconomic sustainability of cocoa agroforestry in Ghana, the second largest producer of cocoa in the world. After a brief introduction to the research project, this introductory chapter reviews the literature on the links between climate change, farming and agroforestry, thereby situating the study within a wider context. It then presents an in-depth analysis of historical Ghanaian cocoa yields and climate data at both the national and regional levels to establish a foundation for understanding the new climate risks faced by cocoa farmers. The chapter concludes by providing an overview of the chapters that follow and introducing the overall argument that agroforestry can only successfully address climate change impacts on cocoa farming if location-specific biophysical and socioeconomic factors are considered