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1 – 10 of 30Emmanuel Adjei, Monica Mensah and Eric Amponsah Amoaful
The purpose of this study is to examine the standards, strategies, support and challenges of digital preservation in institutional repositories in academic libraries in Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the standards, strategies, support and challenges of digital preservation in institutional repositories in academic libraries in Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was qualitative. Data used for analysis were drawn from interviews with respondents selected purposively from eight Ghanaian academic libraries.
Findings
A key finding of the study was that although the academic libraries had operational directions for digital preservation activities in the institutional repositories, available standards and practices for ensuring long-term preservation seem to be unsuitable.
Research limitations/implications
Recommendations based on findings included development of comprehensive digital preservation policies to provide mandate and direction to preservation of the libraries digital collections, development of disaster plans, adequate funding, staff development and support from management.
Originality/value
The study has demonstrated the need for academic libraries in Ghana to have and develop good digital preservation standards for sustaining the institutional repositories to help in realizing its benefits.
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Emmanuel Adjei and Monica Mensah
The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which total quality management (TQM) initiatives can improve the quality of services delivery at the medical records unit…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which total quality management (TQM) initiatives can improve the quality of services delivery at the medical records unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) to help meet the expectations and aspirations of patients and customers of the hospital.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted the survey strategy as its research design. The total study population consisted of 114 medical records staff of the KBTH. Questionnaires and personal observations were employed as the data collection instruments. The study recorded a response rate of 98 per cent. Data gathered from respondents were analysed in qualitative terms.
Findings
The overall finding of this study was that, although the medical records department of the KBTH had a fair degree of understanding on the benefits of TQM to records management service delivery, the exiting values for TQM did not meet the framework of good TQM practice, principles and standards.
Research limitations/implications
Even though the subjects for the study were from the biggest hospital in Ghana, the findings of this study may not be generalised to the whole country.
Practical implications
The study has demonstrated the need for the medical records department of the KBTH to have and develop good TQM standards to improve the quality of services to patients and varied customers of the hospital.
Originality/value
The literature reviewed indicated that this study is a maiden attempt to examine how TQM initiatives including sensitivity, customer satisfaction, commitment of top management, team work, effective leadership and participatory management, people development and effective and open communication can improve the quality of medical records service delivery at the KBTH in Ghana.
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Monica Mensah Danquah, Omwoyo Bosire Onyancha and Bright Kwaku Avuglah
The ranking of universities and other research-intensive institutions in global ranking systems is based on numerous indicators, including number of articles with external…
Abstract
Purpose
The ranking of universities and other research-intensive institutions in global ranking systems is based on numerous indicators, including number of articles with external collaboration, number of articles with international collaboration, number of articles with industry collaboration as well as co-patents with industry. The purpose of this paper is to examine university–industry research collaboration in Ghana, with the aim of exploring the relationship between the research output collaborations in the top four universities in Ghana and industry across different geographical scales.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s data was obtained from the SciVal database, which drawn its data from the Scopus bibliographic and citation database. The bibliographic and citation data were extracted using a search of the publications affiliated to the University of Ghana, for the period 2011–2020.
Findings
Key findings demonstrate a constant rise in the number of research publications by the selected universities over time. Research collaboration intensity in the selected universities in terms of co-authored publications was higher as compared to single-authored publications. University–industry research co-authorships were, however, lower when compared to university–university research co-authorships. The university–industry research co-authorships occurred mostly with Europe, Asia-Pacific and North American-based institutions as opposed to African-based institutions. In Ghana, four industry-based institutions were engaged in intensive research with the selected universities.
Originality/value
This study demonstrates that, for each selected university, it is possible to measure the performance of individual universities in both intra-regional and international collaboration. Such results may be useful in informing policy as well as merit-based public funding of universities in Ghana.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between corporate governance and records management in private and public hospitals in Ghana, with the aim of finding out…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between corporate governance and records management in private and public hospitals in Ghana, with the aim of finding out how the effective and efficient management of a hospital's records can facilitate its governance obligations, which includes but not limited to accountability, transparency and information security.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was informed by the triangulation of the Stakeholders' and Records Continuum Theories. Data used for analysis were drawn from 90 respondents from four hospitals with the use of questionnaires and personal observations. A total of 82 questionaries' were returned in their complete forms and used for the analysis. Linear regressions were performed to establish the relationship between corporate governance and records management.
Findings
The key finding of the study was that, the hospitals generated different types of records in the course of their business activities but existing records management standards, practices and systems were inadequate and undermined the contribution records could make in support of the governance function in the hospitals. Results of a linear regression also revealed that positive and significant relationships exist between corporate governance and records management. Furthermore, all variables used as predictors of corporate governance had positive and significant relationships with records management except information security.
Research limitations/implications
Participants were from four hospitals in only one Region in Ghana, and as such the results could not be generalised to the whole country.
Practical implications
The study has established the recognition of the essential but often ignored conditions necessary for an effective and efficient governance system for hospitals.
Originality/value
The study has demonstrated that the effective management of hospital records is a critical factor in providing capacity for hospitals' efficiency, accountability, transparency, information security and indeed good governance. This research has also contributed towards bridging the theoretical gap identified in the study.
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Charles Hanu, Hayford Amegbe, Monica Dede Tekyi Ansah Yawson and Philip Mensah
This study aims to examine the moderating effect of supportive organisational culture (SOC) on the differential impact of work-based learning (WBL) on employee agility…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the moderating effect of supportive organisational culture (SOC) on the differential impact of work-based learning (WBL) on employee agility, ambidexterity and proactive goal generation.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was conducted using an online structured questionnaire with 443 respondents in Ghana. The data set was analysed using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The outcomes of the study show that WBL has a significant and positive impact on employee agility, ambidexterity and proactive goal generation. However, the effect on employee agility was higher, followed by proactive goal generation and employee ambidexterity. The moderating effect of SOC on H1, H3a and H3b was found to have a decreasing effect.
Originality/value
This study augments knowledge by examining how different approaches to WBL collectively affect proactive goal generation, agility and ambidexterity. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to examine the differential impact of summative WBL approaches on employee outcomes.
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Monica Gallant and Pranab Kumar Pani
The aim of this paper is to explore the behavior pattern, perceptions, and motivations of students towards academic misconduct in a Business School with a view to mitigating its…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore the behavior pattern, perceptions, and motivations of students towards academic misconduct in a Business School with a view to mitigating its occurrence.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey was conducted among a batch of undergraduate students who responded to various dimensions of plagiarism through a structured questionnaire. Responses were measured on a Likert scale. Some non-parametric tests were done for statistical analysis.
Findings
From the perception of the prevalence of plagiarism committed by others, the authors found that the majority tend to believe that it happens in spite of the existence of preventive policies. Based on the findings, the authors conclude that the students who are more prone to cheating/plagiarism are male, with low grade point average, and are not on scholarship. Parental disapproval is found to be one of the dominant deterrent factors that have the potential to restrain unethical behavior.
Practical implications
The findings demonstrate that the managers of graduate programs should include parental roles in the deterrent mechanism to improve the quality of education.
Originality/value
Very little evidence exists about the perception of academic dishonesty among the students of a multicultural academic institution located in a middle-east country. There are not many studies that analyze the effectiveness of deterrents from a student’s perspective. In this paper, the authors have attempted to assess the value of various deterrents and their effectiveness as perceived by the students.
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Russell S. Michalak and Monica D.T. Rysavy
The purpose of this paper is to use Song’s 2004 survey to assess this institution’s international business students’ perceptions and expectations of library services to improve…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to use Song’s 2004 survey to assess this institution’s international business students’ perceptions and expectations of library services to improve the quality of services provided.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors of this study deployed Song’s 2004 survey, with his permission, to 775 international undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the Fall 2016 semester using the online survey tool Qualtrics.
Findings
The current study compared Song’s 2004 survey results (n = 143) with the researchers’ results (n = 149). The response rate of the current survey deployment was 19.2%. This research focused on the comparison of this institution’s Chinese business students’ (n = 71) perceptions of library use and services in 2016 with Song’s Chinese students’ perceptions (n = 24) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne (UIUC) in 2004. The researchers asked the international business students (UG and GR) to rate their perceived importance of five topics of library services: personal study area, public computers, electronic resources, group meeting space and virtual reference. Overall students (n = 149) rated personal study area as being the most important library service (4.34; moderately important) and virtual reference as being the least important library service (3.33; neutral).
Originality/value
Overall the library literature is limited with respect to studies that compare the perceptions and expectations of library services of international students from China, who are studying business at universities or colleges in the USA.
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José Manuel Barrueco and Miquel Termens
This paper aims to carry out a literature review on the implementation of digital preservation policies, strategies and actions by institutional repositories. The objective is to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to carry out a literature review on the implementation of digital preservation policies, strategies and actions by institutional repositories. The objective is to identify, out of the published experiences, at which level they are fulfilling the function of ensuring the long-term availability of the deposited materials.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a systematic literature review methodology, a total of 21 articles from international refereed journals published between 2009 and 2020 are reviewed.
Findings
The research production on this subject is very limited. The scarce number of published articles proves that the interest of repository managers has been focused on issues other than to assure the long-term availability of the assets they store. The literature review has not found clear evidence about how institutional repositories are implementing digital preservation. It is particularly striking the lack of works focused on the situation in European countries. More field studies are needed. They would allow to extract conclusions and produce best practices to help managers to improve preservation strategies.
Originality/value
This study has shown that one of the main functions of repositories is not being dealt with as promised by repository managers. More work in this area is needed. In particular, it is necessary for a study at the European level to gather detailed data that will allow to draw a portrait of the current situation, extract conclusions and produce best practices to help managers to improve or develop preservation strategies.
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Camillus Abawiera Wongnaa, Michael Nyarko, Monica Addison and Dadson Awunyo-Vitor
A key strategy in the policy of saw millers and artisanal millers supplying the domestic market with legal and sustainable lumber is the transformation of chainsaw operators into…
Abstract
Purpose
A key strategy in the policy of saw millers and artisanal millers supplying the domestic market with legal and sustainable lumber is the transformation of chainsaw operators into legal artisanal millers to stop the production of illegal timber and supply only authorized wood to local trade points. The challenge, however, is how to develop the concept of its viability and acceptability to the chainsaw operators. Specifically, existing and potential investors’ knowledge about the possible costs and revenue is non-existent. This study aims to examine the financial and economic viability of the artisanal timber milling (ATM) business in rural Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Using data from three operational artisanal milling companies in Ghana, net present value, internal rate of return, profitability index and payback period were used in analyzing the viability of artisanal timber milling.
Findings
The results showed that the ATM business is financially and economically viable, attractive and profitable.
Social implications
ATM business has the potential to create more jobs in the timber industry, reduce illegalities in the forestry sector and improve the living standard of individuals used by the sector.
Originality/value
As part of ATM’s medium and long-term strategies, the study encourages stakeholders to consider assisting existing and potential actors who have the passion to venture into this business to acquire concessions and financial support from financial institutions.
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