College of Humanities and Social Sciences

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Assessment of Three Problematic Texts in the Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament of the Dangme Bible
(KNUST, 2018-02) Kuwornu-Adjaottor, Jonathan Edward Tetteh
Three texts in the Dangme Bible (BSG/UBS 1999) generated a lot of discussions during a field survey of the eight Dangme speaking areas. The texts are: Ngôô wa tômi ômâ kâ pa wô... [Lend us our wrong-doings…] (Matt 6:12); … Mumi Klôuklôu ô tsε e yi se …[ the Holy Spirit pushed the head from behind…] (Mark 1:12); and Kεkε nε Yesu de mε ke, “Kuasiahi …” [Then Jesus said to them, “Fools…] (Luke 24:25). Exegesis of the Greek texts; and semantic analysis of the texts in Dangme, found out that: An alternative translation of Matt 6:12 in the Dangme as Ne o kâ wa tômi ômâ nâ ke wô [And let go our wrong-doings] will help readers understand forgiveness as “letting go” the offence of an offender, without keeping any record of the offence. The rendering of Mark 1:12 as Mumi Klôuklôu ha nε e ho nga a nô ya [The Holy Spirit permitted him to go to the wilderness], will clear the confusion in the minds of Dangme Bible readers who do not understand how the Holy Spirit could “push” Jesus into the wilderness. The alternative translation of Luke 24:25 with the phrase Oo nyâ juâmi he jô, (your mind has become cold) reduces the degrading tone of kuasia which etymology means “a good for nothing person”, “an un respected person”, “a worthless person.” The significance of the research is that it has evolved alternative translations and interpretations of Matt 6:12, Mark 1:12, and Luke 24:25 for the Dangme Bible reading communities; the researcher has thus started a discussion that other scholars will join.
Attention-based drivers, operational resilience, and operational efficiency: model development and empirical analysis
(KNUST, 2019-09) Essuman, Dominic
Developing knowledge of drivers and outcomes of operational resilience is important for building resilient societies as societal welfare depends on the sustenance of business operations. However, such knowledge will not only be incomplete but also misleading if the operational resilience construct remains ambiguous. This study first develops the conceptual domain of operational resilience, and second combines insights from the attention-based view of the firm, the contingency theory, and the resource-based view to propose a model to investigate how attention to threats, uniquely, and in interaction with strategic mission rigidity and disruption orientation, affect operational resilience and how operational resilience affects operational efficiency. The proposed conceptual model is tested on survey data from 259 firms in a major Sub-Sahara African economy - Ghana. The measurement and the structural parts of the model are analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and three-stage least squares estimator respectively. Results support the arguments that operational resilience consists of two distinct theoretical components: disruption absorption and recoverability; and that attention to threats positively relates to operational resilience. Additional analysis, however, shows that there is a limit to the operational resilience benefit of attention to threats: extreme levels of attention to threats are associated with low levels of operational resilience. Further results support the arguments that strategic mission rigidity and disruption orientation negatively and positively moderate the attention to threats-operational resilience relationship respectively and that operational resilience is positively related to operational efficiency. The study demonstrates that contingency-based models can be useful for investigating the drivers and outcomes of operational resilience. A key practical implication from the study is that managers' ability to match emphasis on attention to threats with relevant attention structures may boost operational resilience, and accordingly operational efficiency.
Effect of religious orientation on supply chain performance: the roles of resource deployment capability and socio-cultural orientation
(KNUST, 2018-06) Abdul Samed Muntaka
Religion is deemed to have a potency to influence personal conducts and the policies of business organisations. However, research on how religious orientation influences the performance of these organisations is limited. Additionally, the conditions under which religious orientation impacts business performance remain under-researched. The study, therefore, aimed to examine how and under what conditions religious orientation influences supply chain performance (SCP). To this end, the study investigates how the resource deployment capability (RDC) of the firm mediates the effect of religious orientation on supply chain performance under varying conditions of socio-cultural orientation. The study relies on the upper echelon and resource based theories to conceptualize religious orientation as a firm resource that may impact on the RDC of the firm to influence supply chain performance. The effect of religious orientation on performance is thus posited to be channeled through development of the firm’s RDC. The study also draws on Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions’ model to conceptualize socio-cultural orientation as a complementary firm resource that increases in its magnitude strengthens the effect of religious orientation via RDC on SCP. Using primary data from 233 owner-managers of MSMEs operating in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African society, the study finds that higher levels of religious orientation is associated with increases in supply chain performance. The study further finds that RDC mediates the relationship between religious orientation and SCP. The study also finds that variability in the levels of socio-cultural orientation dimensions moderates the effect of religious orientation on RDC as well as the effect of RDC on SCP. Specifically, the study finds that the relationship between religious orientation and RDC is strengthened when risk aversion is high and ambiguity intolerance is low. Also, the effect of RDC on SCP is weakened when individualism is high, but is strengthened when collectivism is high. Theoretically, this study contributes to existing knowledge by showing that the nexus between religious orientation and supply chain performance is a function of the mediating effect of RDC and the moderating effect of socio-cultural orientation. The managerial implication is that religious orientation is an important firm resource whose economic value is attained when it is developed to build a firm’s resource deployment capability under differing conditions of socio-cultural orientation.
Electronic Procurement Assimilation, Procurement Process and Value for Money in the Public Sector: Investigating the Role of Influence Mechanisms and Absorptive Capacity
(KNUST, 2019-06) Manso Frimpong, John
The concept of value for money has become very critical in developing countries where states struggle to raise the needed revenue in-house and must augment with funds from international sources to finance public projects. Given the limited resources available to government, ensuring value for money in procurement is key to attain the optimum utilization of scarce budgetary resources. To realize the objective of value for money in public procurement, several interventions have been employed by developing nations including instilling professionalism in procurement actors, enacting procurement laws and implementing sustainable initiatives. One initiative is the use of electronic procurement systems in the public procurement process. These systems afford public sector organisations to respond rapidly to changes and to pursue technologically innovative strategies. The ability of public institutions to recognize the value of a new information, assimilate and apply it largely depends on the institutions’ prior knowledge, institutional pressures emanating from regulations that govern the practice of procurement in the public sector and government policies and initiatives. However, the relationships among institutional pressures, absorptive capacity, e-procurement assimilation and value for money have not been studied. The study first develops a survey instrument to measure value for money and examines how absorptive capacity and institutional pressures influence e-procurement assimilation and the tendering process to achieve value for money in public procurement. A total of 306 public entities were surveyed and partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the empirical data. Theoretical implications of the study include: 1) institutional pressures and absorptive capacity are key drivers of an efficient and effective tendering process, 2) institutional pressure have direct effect on institutional absorptive capacity, 3) the influence of institutional pressures on e-procurement assimilation is mediated by absorptive capacity, 3) the influence of e-procurement assimilation on value for money is mediated by an efficient tendering process and 4) industry type has marginal statistical significance on the influence of institutional pressures and absorptive capacity on e-procurement assimilation leading to value for money in public procurement. Practical implication of this study include: 1) a legal framework for e-procurement would compel actors to comply and use the application, 2) provision of tools needed to scan, identify and assimilate new information necessary for e-procurement application use would enhance efficient procurement process and 3) the instrument developed could be used to conduct value for money audit prior to the selection of appropriate service providers in public sector tendering.
Etude thematique et esthetique de quelques contes dagara : entre continuite et prolongement des recits traditionnels
(KNUST, 2018) Braimah, Balica
Since the beginning of civilisation, folktales have been a rich treasure trove from which most societies derive their moral codes and values. To the Dagaaba people of Ghana and some of their neighboring countries, the narrating and listening processes based on both the physical and the socio-cultural environment of their communities, offer them the opportunity to discern the outcome of their actions in order to promote societal values. Quite apart from promoting their special interest in stereotypes and the different aspects of human behaviour, folktales are rapidly responding to their changing environment as evidenced by recent publications on folklore and their contemporary usage in songs, digital games, urban legend, the film industry and fantasy novels. In the wake of current globalization and its spill-over effects, however, what the young generation of Dagaaba and indeed other cultures need, is not just formal education stricto sensu but also, cultural literacy that grounds and portrays them in their own identity and tradition. As Folktales have continued to be an important genre of folklore that sustains and promotes our cultural heritage, what ought to be done to encourage the young Ghanaian to show interest in them? Having explored the importance of folktales all over the world and in Africa in particular, this study focuses on dagara folktales with the view to bringing to the fore their literary and aesthetic values, as well as juxtaposing them with contemporary and functional values of folktales in general. As the youth explore their own folktales from a pragmatic and pedagogical point of view, they will acquire a broader perspective of their people as well as their environment.
Exploring the forces behind adoption of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) Practices in an Emerging Economy
(KNUST, 2019-06) Nkrumah, K. Seth
The concept of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is becoming popular in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, empirical academic investigations into GSCM adoption in the region have been largely non-existent. The present study seeks to empirically explore the forces behind GSCM adoption in the region. Specifically, the study proposed that institutional pressures drive firms to develop GSCM capabilities, which enable them to adopt GSCM practices. Additionally, organizational culture is proposed as a moderator of the effect of GSCM Capabilities on GSCM Adoption. The study further proposed an additional dimension to institutional pressures, named Custodial Pressure, which captures the influence exerted by chiefs on organizations operating in Sub-Saharan Africa. Data was collected from a survey of 341 manufacturing and extractive firms operating in Ghana, out of which 146 usable responses were obtained, representing a response rate of 42.8%. The results of the data analysis revealed that firms surveyed had above average to high levels of GSCM adoption and GSCM capabilities. The measurement model was sound, including the proposed new Custodial Pressures construct. The findings indicated that Institutional Pressures positively and significantly impact GSCM Capabilities, with GSCM Capabilities positively impacting GSCM Adoption. GSCM Capabilities mediated the effect of Institutional Pressures on GSCM Adoption. Organizational culture was also found to moderate the effect of GSCM Capabilities on GSCM Adoption. Implications of the study include developing more relevant contextualization of institutional pressures driving GSCM and providing academic and practical guidelines to help drive successful GSCM adoption in Ghana and the sub-region.
Household vulnerability and adaptation to floods: a comparative study of rural and urban Ghana.
(KNUST, 2018-10) Abass, Kabila
The study examined household vulnerability and adaptation to floods involving a comparative study of rural Central Gonja and Kumasi Metropolis using an adapted MOVE (Methods for the Improvement of Vulnerability Assessment in Europe) analytical framework. It employed a concurrent triangulation mixed method design of quantitative and qualitative methods, using both primary and secondary sources of data. A survey of eight communities each from Kumasi Metropolis and rural Central Gonja involving 367 and 400 households respectively were undertaken. Different methods involving one-on-one in-depth interview, focus group discussions and direct observation, were used to collect primary data from households and key informants. Data from household survey was analysed using appropriate statistical tools in IBM SPSS (Version 21) and Microsoft Excel 2010 for household quantitative data and NVivo 9 qualitative data analysis software for the qualitative data. Both descriptive and inferential statistics, including percentages, Pearson‘s Chi-square and logistic regression were used for analysing the quantitative data while the qualitative data has been presented mainly as direct quotations. Satellite images were analysed using ERDAS imagine 13 remote sensing and ArcGIS 10.2 geo-information software. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of the study districts were used to show the relief of the study areas from which the stream networks were derived. The MAKESENS and time series plots were used to detect the monotonic trend of the rainfall data with data analysed using the Mann-Kendall test (Z) and Sen‘s slope (Q) tests. The study found that anthropogenic factors rather than physical-environmental factors are responsible for the past cases of floods in both rural Central Gonja and Kumasi Metropolis urban. The rural households were more vulnerable to floods than the urban households in respect of all the indicators and criteria used for vulnerability assessment. From economic and health effects point of view, a higher proportion of the rural populations suffered negatively than their urban counterparts. The non-structural measures of adapting to floods were limited. Over-reliance on the structural defence mechanisms has not helped to mitigate the sufferings of the rural and urban flood-prone communities. Institutional interventions in flood risk mitigation have not been effective due to mainly financial constraints. It is recommended that there should be sustained public education, institutional strengthening and enforcement of land use regulations as enshrined in the Land use and Spatial Planning Act (Act 925).
Nana Yaa Asantewaa : dimensions épique et socio-culturelle d’une héroїne traditionnelle Asante
(KNUST, 2017-05) Mensah, Magdalene
Nana Yaa Asantewaa – the epic and sociocultural dimensions of a traditional Asante heroine, is the title of our dissertation. The research focuses on the heroism of Nana Yaa Asantewaa. Our analytical tool was sociocritics. The problem was the ambiguity around the heroism of Nana Yaa Asantewaa. Our aim was to study the heroic role of Nana Yaa Asantewaa in the last resistance war against the English colonial administration; to expose the epic characters of Nana Yaa Asantewaa's narrative, to study the quality of the artistic composition of the narrative and to give some visibility to women in relation to the narrative of Nana Yaa Asantewaa. This goal has pushed us towards the demand of our main questions: How do we define and recognize the epic? Does the narrative of Nana Yaa Asantewaa meet the criteria of the epic? How does the speaker of the epic construct his image and that of the characters in his narrative? - What is the quality of the artistic composition: the effects of style, the variety of the figures of rhetoric, the oratorical performance of the griot / orator in this asante epic? Through interviews with her great-grandchildren, we had information that helped us analyze and establish the truth, in order to restore that value to all women. The value of the research established Nana Yaa Asantewaa’s heroism and revealed that despite this epic dimension of Nana Yaa Asantewaa's narrative there is an ideological / philosophical dimension: - Nana Yaa Asantewaa is a deconstruction of patriarchal conventions; - Nana Yaa Asantewaa is a model of patriotism and nationalism; - Nana Yaa Asantewaa has a stylistic dimension; - The narrative of Nana Yaa Asantewaa has a feminist dimension. We humbly recommend that the narrative must occupy a large part of the Asante memory, and that each family must be able to ensure its transmission.
Problèmes de traduction le cas des étudiants à Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi
(KNUST, 2019-10) Azasu, Cornelius Yaw
The focus of this work was to take an inventory of translation problems through an evaluation of translation skills of undergraduate students learning French at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. Basically, the underlying hypotheses stem from the following: firstly, the translator's translation of an utterance is dependent on relevant choices of information made in the context; secondly, when the translator translates by taking into account only lexical information, the result is literal translation if the meaning of the utterance is left out; thirdly, translation is a hypothetical process where comprehension is important. A model of skills grouped into six sub-skills skills and abilities. subject learnt. was used. These sub-skills constituted the know-how, the body of knowledge, In addition, each touches on the main areas that the translator should master in his work. It has to do with knowledge universally acquired and the Two questionnaires with forty-one variables were coded and entries made into the statistical package for Social Sciences, SPSS 20.0 Then, frequency distribution tables were generated according to levels of study for two consecutive academic years, i.e. the first semester of both the 2015/2016 and the 2016/2017 academic years. Analyses from our findings have enabled us to validate all our hypotheses. We have also discovered that regarding computer assisted translations, computers are not capable of making contextual inferences and this fact marks off the translator from the machine. After completing this study, we are of the opinion that there is still a very wide field in research to be covered in the didactics of translation.
Regulatory institutional environment and operational performance: the roles of inter-firm governance mechanisms and structural network complexity
(KNUST, 2019-09) Anin, Emmanuel Kwabena
The regulatory institutional environment (hereafter regulatory environment) has important implications on a firm’s strategies and operations. Accordingly, several scholarly works, over the years, have focused on investigating its influences on business performance outcomes. Yet, how regulatory environment affects business performance outcomes is still not clear as the emerged evidences have been largely inconsistent and inconclusive. Of interest, knowledge of the conditional processes through which regulatory environment may enhance or undermine operational performance appears limited. Drawing on institutional theory and inter-firm governance literature, this study proposes and tests a model that suggests that regulatory environment drives operational performance, via inter-firm governance mechanisms, but that this indirect effect is conditional upon levels of structural network complexity. The study uses a sample of 331 firms from the service and manufacturing sectors in Ghana—a developing economy in sub-Saharan Africa—to test the proposed relationship. Largely supporting the theoretical predictions, the results from structural equation modelling show that under varying conditions of structural network complexity, different dimensions of governance mechanisms (formal control and social control) play differential mediating roles in the relationship between regulatory environment and firm operational performance. Specifically, the study finds that at low and high levels of structural network complexity, the positive indirect effects of regulatory environment on operational performance, via formal control and social control are strengthened respectively. The significance of the findings is that they provide a possible explanation for the divergent and sometimes conflicting results obtained on the direct regulatory environment-performance relationship. The theoretical implication is that different dimensions of governance mechanisms channel the impact of macro level regulatory conditions to firm level operational performance at different levels of structural network complexity. Practical implications for managers who make strategic and operational decisions about inter-organizational business networks are discussed.
Studies on strategies to increase national health insurance scheme's enrollment and retention rates; case of Ashanti region, Ghana
(KNUST, 2017-04) Boaheng, Joseph Marfo
The discouraging rates of enrollment and retention on Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) due to non-affordability of the cost of paying premium under the existing payment mode are a persistent source of worry to administrators of the scheme and the nation at large. This study explores a proposed Mobile Phone Payment System (MPPS) that can allow premium payment on pro-rata basis. The study used both qualitative study and quantitative cross-sectional survey to solicit the required information from an ICT specialist, NHIS experts and about 1152 respondents living in Kumasi Metropolis, Atwima Nwabiaya and Sekyere Central Districts of Ghana. The study’s findings indicate that the feasible rate of cost of collecting premiums through the MPPS is between 0-22%. The empirical results have revealed that the insured individual is more than 2 times as likely to remain insured while the uninsured individual is less likely to remain uninsured when payment of NHIS premium is pro-rata. The study findings further reveal that there is a statistically significant relationship between a savings rate of 38% on cost of medical care for outpatient services when insured and enrollment or retention in NHIS (p<0.0001). This finding implies that about 93.98% of individuals who have never enrolled were likely to enroll on the NHIS while 99.53% of those who have ever enrolled were also likely to remain on the NHIS based on the knowledge of the savings rate on medical fee for out-patient services' when insured. It is recommended therefore that the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) consider this payment system that has the potential of increasing the enrollment and retention of uninsured and insured respectively in NHIS especially those in the informal sector.
Studies on taxation and firm productivity in sub-saharan Africa (ssa)
(KNUST, 2018-05) Kamasa, Kofi
Even though governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) seek to drive growth and development, they are hard pressed with funds. This is because their expenditures are always and mostly outweighing their revenues. Tax revenue is one major solution to their quest to finding enough funds. However, tax revenue generation is not only low in SSA but it is also beset with low compliance and large evasion. This study therefore sought to contribute to the literature and policy on tax in SSA by looking at how government can increase its tax revenue from three thematic areas. First, this thesis sought to assess the impact of non-pecuniary factors on tax compliance in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using the Round 5 of the Afrobarometer Survey (2015) across 30 countries, the findings of the paper revealed that perceived tax knowledge limitation reduces the probability of tax compliance in SSA by 5%. Perceived non-compliance by others reduces compliance probability by 2%. Similarly, corruption of tax officials reduces the probability of being tax compliant in SSA by 2%. On the contrary, trust in tax department increase the probability of compliance by 5%, whiles fighting corruption improves compliance by 2%. With respect of fiscal exchange, handling of provision of health, education and road needs, tend to increase the probability of complying with tax laws and obligations in SSA by 2%, 3% and 2% respectively. As far as policy implication is concerned, governments in SSA must complement tax laws which are mainly based on deterrence factors (penalty rate, tax rate and probability of detection) to include non- pecuniary factors.
The effects of formal education on poverty reduction in Ghana: the case of Jirapa District
(KNUST, 2018-05) Alphonsus Beni
There was a paucity of empirical evidence on the effects of formal education on poverty reduction in Ghana, particularly in the Jirapa District of the Upper West Region. This study used the case study design to investigate the extent to which formal education had an effect on poverty reduction among rural households in the Jirapa District. A multi-stage sampling methods were used to select a sample of 701 heads of households who provided data for the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions and non-participant observation. The data were analyzed using percentages and frequency charts, chi-square tests and multivariate binary logistic regression and cross tabulations to explore relationships between poverty and relevant variables in the context of social Darwinism and structural theories using SPSS version 22 software. The results reveal that the causes of poverty in the study area include geographically difficult environment, lack of formal education and governmental policies. The findings of the study raises provocative, startling and challenging conclusions that, the causes of poverty in the study area is endemic in that the people are trapped in a geographically difficult environment which affects their income negatively and creates a vicious cycle of poverty. The findings of the study further show that formal education reduces levels of poverty through educational empowerment that results in human capital formation, skills training and employment generation. The study established a statistically significant relationship between formal education and income, dwelling unit and nutrition. The theories have also been found to hold based on the revealed results. The study shows that the formally educated have greater chances of being part of the social fabric as well as being active participants in the governance of their locality, the district and country. Thus, formal education consolidates the individual‘s position as being a non poor entity. On the bases of these findings, it is recommended that education at secondary level should be freely accessible to all in the country.

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