Regime changes in monetary policy

This thesis consists of six chapters of which chapters one and two provide the introduction and a brief review of policy regimes in South Africa. Each of the three chapters that follow has its own structure and method. Chapter six concludes the thesis. The chapters share a common theme of understanding the effects of policy regime changes in stabilising inflation and output dynamics in emerging economies with reference to the South African economy. This thesis’s theme is premised on the debate that policy rate setting better describes the conduct of monetary policy and helps stabilise inflation and output. There is, however, no consensus on the appropriate policy regime and the specification of a policy rule that is universal for all economies. Chapter three establishes whether central bank preferences are related to governors’ tenures when there is a change in policy regime. A time-varying parameter approach that allows the policy preferences to vary over the sample period is used. The results show that the policy parameters exhibit significant changes and that the South African Reserve Bank placed more weight on output relative to inflation over the period 2000 and 2007. The dynamic responses of output and inflation under different central bank governors show different outcomes because of changes in central bank policy preferences and not necessarily different governors at the central bank. The effects of policy switches on macroeconomic performance using a regime-switching small open economy dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model is investigated in chapter four. The novelty of this chapter is in the structural model, where the primary commodity export sector follows a regime shock process that affect the policy parameters is allowed. The results suggest that an unexpected monetary policy shock and its variances account for a smaller proportion of macroeconomic fluctuations in the South African economy compared to external shocks and its variances in the form of exports, import cost inflation, risk premia, preference and technology changes. Chapter five consists of an investigation into central bank credibility by simulating a Markov-switching Bayesian vector autoregression model with time-varying transition probabilities. This is based on changes in monetary policy leading to clear policy goals. The findings suggest that the policy authority was credible over the period 2003 to 2007 and over the period 2010 until 2016. However, policy switched to a low credibility regime over the period 1990 to 1999 and in 2008. It is found that a positive yet unexpected change to credibility leads to a reduction in policy rate which leads to a decrease in inflation. The conclusion indicates that credibility is an important instrument that helps policy authority to conduct efficient monetary policy in stabilising inflation and output

Investigating the Mediation Effect of Satisfaction and Health Issues on the Relationship between Ergonomics and Intention to Use Information Communication and Technology

The focus of this study is to explore how ergonomics factors mediated by health issues and satisfaction influenced intention to use ICT by students for learning and research. A cross-sectional survey designed was used to gather data for the study. Though 1500 questionnaire were distributed to students in six (6) universities in Ghana, only 955 were usable. Purposive sampling method was used for the data collection. The analysis was carried out with multivariate technique -Structural equation modeling. The researchers employed SPSS version 16 and AMOS version 20 for the analysis. Findings of the study suggest that health issues do no mediate the relationship between ergonomic factors and behavioral intentions of ICT use for learning and research. On the other hand, satisfaction completely explained Ghanaian students' intention to use ICT for learning and research. It is therefore imperative for administrators of higher educational institutions to ensure that, ergonomic interventions instituted get students satisfied. Otherwise, their intentions to use ICT provided for learning and research would not be influenced. Keywords: Behavioral Intention, Ergonomics factors, Health Issues and Satisfactio

REVIEW OF STUDIES WITH UTAUT AS CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The main focus of this paper is to contrast and combine results from different studies using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology(UTAUT) and its extensions, in the hope of identifying patterns among studied results, sources of discrepancy among those results, or other existing relationships that may come to light in the context of these study. Studies from which this paper was prepared were basically derived from Emerald, Science Direct, EBSCOhost databases. Out of 20 studies gleaned 4 were on telecommunication, 5 on banking, 12 were on Education and 5 were on Health. Results from these studies are varying. This paper tabulate thematically and chronologically literature where the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology have been applied. The review identified the Topic, Author, Sample Size, Location where the study was carried and theoretical model used. It also includes the Statistical techniques applied, the objectives of the study and the result

Effect of problem-based learning on Colleges of Education students’ achievement in probability and attitude towards solving probability related problems

This paper deals with the effect of Problem-Based Learning on Colleges of Education students’ achievement in, and attitude toward Probability in Tamale Metropolitan of Ghana. The research design was quasi-experimental pre-test post-test two-group design. Convenience and simple random sampling techniques were employed to obtain a sample of 100 students which comprised of 51 students in the control group and 49 in the experimental group. Tests, questionnaire and semi-structured interview were the instruments used for data gathering. Descriptive, Independent samples t-test, ANCOVA and paired samples t-test were used in analysing data. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between students of the experimental group exposed to Problem-Based Learning approach and control group exposed to Traditional Method. Problem-Based Learning developed students critical thinking, good problem solvers and self-directed learners which would lead to life-long memory of Probability concepts and its applications to real-life situations

Exploring fraud and abuse in National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) using data mining technique as a statistical model

This study explored patterns of fraud and abuse that exist in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) claims in the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District using data mining techniques, with a specific focus on malaria-related claims. The study employed quantitative research approach with survey design as a strategy of enquiry. This survey explores the utility of various data mining techniques such as data collection, data cleaning/extraction, data integration, data selection, data transformation and pattern evaluation in the health domain. Samples of 720 clients diagnosed with malaria in the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 from 4 NHIS service providers in the districts were randomly selected for this study.  Results from two-way between-subjects Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that Hospital B Private and Hospital A Private recorded the highest and lowest mean cost of malaria treatment respectively. The study further revealed that repetition of NHIS registration number, overbilling of drugs, drug mismatch, excessive prescription of drugs for malaria treatment and duplication of clients records were some of the fraud and abuse at the facility

Teacher-Student Variables as Predictor of Students' Interest in Mathematics: The Use of Stepwise Multiple Linear Regression Analysis

The study investigated the effect of teacher and student variables on student interest in Mathematics. The study used quantitative approach to research to explore and explain the effect of teacher and students variable on students’ interest in Mathematics. The study used probability sampling technique to select and administer questionnaires to the participating schools and students. A sample of One Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty Three (1,263) was selected from Ten (10) schools in the Ashanti region of Ghana using the random sampling technique. The study revealed that six (6) out of eight (8) predictor variables are statistically significant in predicting students’ interest in Mathematics. The teacher’s ability to connect Mathematics to real life problems and school leadership contributed 37.8% and 2% approximately to the variance in the student interest. The study further concluded that, students’ perception, students’ background, Mathematics facility as well as instructor quality and availability were statistically significant in predicting the student interest in Mathematics. However, the contribution of these predictor variables in explaining the variance in students’ interest was less than 1%. The study recommends that in order for students to be interested in Mathematics, Mathematics teachers should connect Mathematics to real life scenarios to help build student interest

Students’ errors in solving linear equation word problems: Case study of a Ghanaian senior high school

The study examined errors students make in solving linear equation word problems with a view to expose the nature of these errors and to make suggestions for classroom teaching. A diagnostic test comprising 10 linear equation word problems, was administered to a sample (n=130) of senior high school first year Home Economics and General Arts students in a senior high school in the Central Region of Ghana. The errors students made were identified based on the modified Newman Error Hierarchical levels (NEAL), which comprise reading, comprehension, transformation, process skills and encoding errors. The results revealed that majority (60%) of the students attempted most of the questions with a few (2%) arriving at the correct answer which implies students have difficulties in tackling linear equation word problems. It revealed that about 75% of the students made comprehension errors; 86% made transformation errors which occurred during the translation of the statement to algebraic form; 84% made process skills errors which occurred during computation process, and finally 86% made encoding errors which occurred at the final stages of the work. The proportion of students reaching the encoding level was very few (< 30%). In conclusion, it can be argued from the results that students’ errors in solving linear equation word problems are due largely to their inability to comprehend and interpret the sentences in other to proceed to the process and encoding skills. Recommendations are made for supporting senior high school mathematics teachers in in-service education programmes to increase their efficacy in teaching linear equation word problems

Regulatory Effects on Traditional Financial Systems Versus Blockchain and Emerging Financial Systems

The expansion of the Internet led to disruptive business and consumer processes, as existing regulations do not cover the scope and scale of emerging financial technologies. Using organization economic theory as the foundation, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine and compare the financial regulatory impact on traditional and emerging financial systems across a variety of factors including organizational type, predicted users, operational concerns, reasons for cost increases, and changes in business practices as a result of the regulatory environment. Data were collected through a survey of 227 adult Americans who engage in the financial sector and are familiar with the US regulatory environment. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, cross tabulations, and statistical significance was tested using Lambda and Kendall\u27s Tau c. The key finding of this study is that the effects of regulations are different for the traditional and emerging financial systems, showing the need to develop and implement policies that are context specific to the emerging financial systems. The recommendations from the study include suggestions to regulatory agencies to regulate and support emerging financial systems in line with new technology that envisions efficiency and economic fairness. The positive social change implications for this study include the development of a strategy that can ensure economic stability, reduce irregularities, and strengthen investments with a view of protecting the financial system from breakdown

Factors contributing to road crashes among commercial vehicle drivers in the Kintampo North Municipality, Ghana in 2017

Objective: The study assessed driver, vehicular and road-related factors associated with road crashes (RC) in the Kintampo North Municipality.Design: Cross-sectional studySetting: Kintampo North MunicipalityData source: Demographics, vehicular and road usage information on registered drivers at Ghana Private Road and Transport Union (GPRTU) and Progressive Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) in Kintampo North MunicipalityMain outcome: involvement in road crashes and related factorsResult: A total of 227 drivers were approached for this study. None of them declined participation. They were all males. Most were between 28-37 years (30%). The proportion of drivers that reported RC ever involvement in at least one RC was 55.5% (95% CI: 8.0%, 62.1%). In the bivariate analysis, drink and drive changed lane without signalling, ever bribed police officer, drove beyond the maximum speed limit, paid a bribe at DVLA for driving license, violation of traffic signals were found to be associated with RC involvement (p<0.05). Drivers who violated traffic signals had 2.84 odds of being involved in road crashes compared to those who did not [aOR; 2.84 (95%CI:1.06,7.63)]Conclusion: The proportion of drivers ever involved in road crashes was high. The major factor that is associated with RC involvement was a violation of the traffic light signals. Continuous driver education and enforcement of road traffic regulations by the appropriate authorities could curb the road crash menace in the Municipality.Keywords: commercial drivers, road crashes, vehicle, road signs, traffic light signalFunding: The authors funded this work

Primary school mathematics teachers’ ideas, beliefs, and practices of constructivist instructional strategies

The study explored Ghanaian primary school mathematics teachers’ ideas, beliefs and practices of constructivist instructional strategies (CIS). The design for the study was a sequential exploratory design, comprising two hundred and fifty-two (252) mathematics teachers (126 lower primary teachers and 126 upper primary teachers), who were purposively selected from school districts in the Upper East region. The qualitative data consisted of interview responses and lesson observations. The quantitative data consisting mainly of teachers’ responses to 3-point Likert scale questionnaire items, helped to investigate relationship in two quantitative variables. The results indicated that through CIS pupils were able to construct their own understanding, and were willing to follow a learner-centred method of instruction. Additionally, teachers became aware of social interaction and authentic learning tasks, two aspects of CIS. It was also determined that as teachers’ perceptions of CIS increased, their frequency of use of selected CIS correspondingly increased. The implications of this study are that mathematics teachers should be provided with resources that would enable them to teach using CIS. To forestall this, in-service and professional development programmes should continually be organized for teachers to keep them abreast of CIS