Franklin Nantui Mabe, Gideon Danso-Abbeam, Shaibu Baanni Azumah, Nathaniel Amoh Boateng, Kwadwo B. Mensah and Ethel Boateng
Cocoa is regarded as a brown-golden crop, but its value chain activities are dominated by the elderly. Hence, focussing attention on the young generation of farmers is the surest…
Abstract
Purpose
Cocoa is regarded as a brown-golden crop, but its value chain activities are dominated by the elderly. Hence, focussing attention on the young generation of farmers is the surest way to reverse this trend and secure the future of the cocoa industry. This paper, therefore explores factors influencing youth participation in cocoa value chain activities in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary data were collected using a multistage sampling technique. The authors used a semi-structured questionnaire in collecting data via interviews. Through the theory of utility maximization, a multivariate probit (MVP) model was estimated to identify factors influencing youth participation in cocoa value chain activities in Ghana.
Findings
The author found that some of the value chain activities are complementary, while others are substitutes. Participation in cocoa value chain activities is influenced by access to land, participation in training programmes in cocoa production, membership of Next Generation Cocoa Youth Programme (MASO), access to agricultural credit and other demographic characteristics.
Research limitations/implications
Relevant information and youth-targeted projects enhance their participation in value chain activities.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few studies that empirically analyses drivers of youth participation in cocoa value chain activities in Africa.
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Kwadwo Antwi-Wiafe, Grace Nkansa Asante and Paul Owusu Takyi
This paper aims to examine whether financial technology is complementing the performance of domestic financial institutions or substituting their performance in Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether financial technology is complementing the performance of domestic financial institutions or substituting their performance in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper used data from the Bank of Ghana Payment System Statistics and Time Series Data of the Bank of Ghana from 2012 to 2021, by using autoregressive distributive lags estimation technique.
Findings
The results showed that in both the long run and short run, financial technology has a significant negative impact on bank performance, indicating that fintech serves as substitutes rather than complements for Ghanaian banks. These results suggest that there must be a critical review on the interoperability policy in Ghana and that banks should take advantage of the financial technology to increase profit.
Originality/value
Based on the authors’ study, no empirical work has been extensively done in the Ghanaian context by examining how financial technology serves as either a complement or substitute for domestic banking institutions. This paper focuses on exploring the key definition of financial technology in Ghana and how transactions through these media are affecting or improving the performance of banks.
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Hannah Edjah, Eugene Adu Henaku, Abraham Kwadwo Okrah, Nozomi Sakata and Chris Yates
This study examines the nature and forms of collaboration among stakeholders that led to and existed during the design of the B.Ed. curriculum for the Colleges of Education (CoE…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the nature and forms of collaboration among stakeholders that led to and existed during the design of the B.Ed. curriculum for the Colleges of Education (CoE) in Ghana. It aims to highlight the views of local stakeholders about the processes in an educational project that were likely to have enhanced the importance of contextualisation in the curriculum change process. The paper also prioritises the voices and views of local stakeholders, which have often been stifled in the process of curriculum change in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews, was used to collect data from 17 local stakeholders. Thematic analysis and social constructivism framed the interpretation of findings.
Findings
The study found that the CoE reform prioritised local stakeholders’ input throughout a highly collaborative process. This collaboration unexpectedly led to the development of a curriculum reflective of the Ghanaian context. However, ideological conflicts emerged at both the international and local levels, particularly regarding approaches to change and the decision to extend CoE management to four public universities. The conflicts underscore the power dynamics inherent in educational reforms funded by foreign aid.
Originality/value
The research offers crucial insights for policymakers and curriculum developers regarding the importance of local stakeholder engagement in collaborative reforms involving foreign aid. The study underscores the need for active involvement from all stakeholders to create contextually relevant curricula. While conflicts may arise, the research highlights that a social constructivist approach, combined with continuous communication, negotiation and compromise, can lead to meaningful and sustainable curriculum reform outcomes.
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Kwadwo Owusu, Ayisi Kofi Emmanuel, Issah Justice Musah-Surugu and Paul William Kojo Yankson
This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the El Nino and its effects on maize production in three municipalities: Ejura, Techiman and Wenchi in the transitional zone of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide empirical evidence on the El Nino and its effects on maize production in three municipalities: Ejura, Techiman and Wenchi in the transitional zone of Ghana. Using a mixed approach, the study details the effects of the El Nino on rainy season characteristics, particularly, rainfall amounts and distribution, onset and cessation of rains, duration of the rainy season and total seasonal rainfall and how it impacted smallholder maize production.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a mixed method approach in collecting and analyzing data. For stronger evidence building, (Creswell, 2013) the authors combined interviews and focus group discussions (FGD) to collect the qualitative data. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to extension officers, management information system officers and other relevant personnel of the Ministry of Agriculture in the three municipalities. Six FGD’s were held for maize farmers in six communities in all three municipalities.
Findings
The study shows that the 2015 El Nino had dire consequences on farm yields, subsequently affecting farmer’s incomes and livelihoods. The study further finds that complex socio-cultural factors, some unrelated to the El Nino, aggravated the effects on maize farmers. These include the lack of adequate climatic information, predominance of rain-fed farming, a lack of capacity to adapt and existing levels of poverty.
Originality/value
The study recommends inter alia, appropriate use of seasonal rainfall forecasting to enhance better farming decision-making and the development of elaborate climate variability interventions by national and local agencies.
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Obed Ofori Yemoh, Richard Opoku, Gabriel Takyi, Ernest Kwadwo Adomako, Felix Uba and George Obeng
This study has assessed the thermal performance of locally fabricated bio-based building envelopes made of coconut and corn husk composite bricks to reduce building wall heat…
Abstract
Purpose
This study has assessed the thermal performance of locally fabricated bio-based building envelopes made of coconut and corn husk composite bricks to reduce building wall heat transmission load and energy consumption towards green building adaptation.
Design/methodology/approach
Samples of coconut fiber (coir) and corn husk fiber bricks were fabricated and tested for their thermophysical properties using the Transient Plane Source (TPS) 2500s instrument. A simulation was conducted using Dynamic Energy Response of Building - Lunds Tekniska Hogskola (DEROB-LTH) to determine indoor temperature variation over 24 h. The time lag and decrement factor, two important parameters in evaluating building envelopes, were also determined.
Findings
The time lag of the bio-based composite building envelope was found to be in the range of 4.2–4.6 h for 100 mm thickness block and 10.64–11.5 h for 200 mm thickness block. The decrement factor was also determined to be in the range of 0.87–0.88. The bio-based composite building envelopes were able to maintain the indoor temperature of the model from 25.4 to 27.4 °C, providing a closely stable indoor thermal comfort despite varying outdoor temperatures. The temperature variation in 24 h, was very stable for about 8 h before a degree increment, providing a comfortable indoor temperature for occupants and the need not to rely on air conditions and other mechanical forms of cooling. Potential energy savings also peaked at 529.14 kWh per year.
Practical implications
The findings of this study present opportunities to building developers and engineers in terms of selecting vernacular materials for building envelopes towards green building adaptation, energy savings, reduced construction costs and job creation.
Originality/value
This study presents for the first time, time lag and decrement factor for bio-based composite building envelopes for green building adaptation in hot climates, as found in Ghana.
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Since the advent of digital activism, a lot of scholarly attention has been paid to the use of the internet, especially in Africa, for effecting changes in authoritarian rule…
Abstract
Since the advent of digital activism, a lot of scholarly attention has been paid to the use of the internet, especially in Africa, for effecting changes in authoritarian rule. This chapter extends the work done by such scholars focusing on the work of African digital feminist activists, thus adding to the growing body of work on digital feminist activism. Drawing on interviews and analyses of digital material produced by four different feminist groups in Ghana, this chapter explores the variety of ideas that such digital feminists express, and the manner in which such ideas are received by the larger Ghanaian society. It argues that, indeed, digital feminists are making a positive impact on the larger Ghanaian society. While these digital feminists are subjected to cyberbullying, there are also many ways in which other individuals, both Ghanaian and otherwise are showing support for these women and their ideas. Increasingly, with particular reference to the newest of these groups, it is clear that they have institutional support for their views as evident in public and private organizations sanctioning employees or associates whose digital language they have critiqued. As with activism targeted at authoritarianism, digital activism targeted at patriarchy gets results, changing mindsets and penalizing sexist behaviors.
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Franklin Gyamfi Agyemang, Nicoline Wessels and Madely du Preez
This paper aims to examine the ways becoming information literate relates to the material objects in the Kente-weaving landscape.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the ways becoming information literate relates to the material objects in the Kente-weaving landscape.
Design/methodology/approach
An ethnographic research design was adopted wherein data was collected using participant observation and a semi-structured interview with 24 participants through their roles as either master weaver, junior weaver or novice weaver. Thematic analysis through a practice-based approach to information literacy frames the analysis of this study.
Findings
Information literacy relates to the material objects in terms of developing the know-how knowledge regarding the Kente-weaving tools used as well as what constitutes the quality of Kente fabrics.
Practical implications
Information literacy goes beyond having theoretical knowledge of the material objects of an information landscape. It is practical, not merely knowing the names of the material objects and what they are literary used for.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that contributes to the understanding of how information literacy relates to material objects in the craft workplace.
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Alexandra L. Ferrentino, Meghan L. Maliga, Richard A. Bernardi and Susan M. Bosco
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in…
Abstract
This research provides accounting-ethics authors and administrators with a benchmark for accounting-ethics research. While Bernardi and Bean (2010) considered publications in business-ethics and accounting’s top-40 journals this study considers research in eight accounting-ethics and public-interest journals, as well as, 34 business-ethics journals. We analyzed the contents of our 42 journals for the 25-year period between 1991 through 2015. This research documents the continued growth (Bernardi & Bean, 2007) of accounting-ethics research in both accounting-ethics and business-ethics journals. We provide data on the top-10 ethics authors in each doctoral year group, the top-50 ethics authors over the most recent 10, 20, and 25 years, and a distribution among ethics scholars for these periods. For the 25-year timeframe, our data indicate that only 665 (274) of the 5,125 accounting PhDs/DBAs (13.0% and 5.4% respectively) in Canada and the United States had authored or co-authored one (more than one) ethics article.
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Samuel Kotey and Shanmugapriya T.
This paper aims to investigate the factors influencing trade artisans’ choice of skills selection as apprentice’s trainee in the Ghanaian construction sector and to identify and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the factors influencing trade artisans’ choice of skills selection as apprentice’s trainee in the Ghanaian construction sector and to identify and address the challenges associated with traditional apprenticeship. Trade artisans with technical know-how in construction and general workplace skills from the traditional apprenticeship training (TAT) in the area of construction were selected from selected sites and training centers.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopted the purposive sampling technique with the aim of gathering knowledge from individuals with expertise in the research area, particularly trade craftsmen who have been trained through the TAT system and are directly involved in construction-related works. Partial least square structure equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analytical approach and principal component analysis were used to reduce the dimensionality of the data set and preserve as much information as possible.
Findings
Three major components, namely, personal and social interest, job assessment and stability and family and faith were identified as the variables that influence an artisan's choice of a skill trade. These influenced the choice of apprenticeship training by young trainees in choosing apprenticeship as a mode of training. Personal interest, living situation of artisans and parents’ educational attainment are the most influencing factors that determine artisans’ choice of selected trades. Moreover, the study also shed light on the challenges inherent in traditional apprenticeship systems, such as the lack of formal technical education, limited access to modern technology and information and poor working conditions.
Practical implications
The study underscores the imperative for stakeholders to enhance apprenticeship programmes within the construction sector. This involves providing more stable job opportunities, improving working conditions and offering access to modern technology and information. Such enhancements not only attract more young individuals to apprenticeship training but also ensure the sustainability and relevance of the workforce in meeting industry demands.
Originality/value
The study finally developed a model that could be used as a foundation for future PLS-SEM evaluation and identified the factors that influence the selection of apprenticeship training by trade artisans.