Browsing by Author "Mensah, E.A."
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Item Improving the establishment and yield of soybean through planting depth and land preparation methods in Northern Ghana(West African Journal of Applied Ecology, 2009-07) Lawson, I.Y.D.; Mensah, E.A.; Yeboah, E.N.Two field experiments, organized in randomized complete block design, were conducted in 2005 and 2006 farming seasons at Nyankpala in the Northern Region of Ghana to investigate the effects of planting depth (1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 cm) and land preparation methods (flat field, mounding and ridging) on crop establishment (percentage number of established plants) and grain yield of soybean (Glycine max cv. Anidaso). In the 2005 farming season results indicated that crop establishment increased from planting depth of 1 cm (97.75%), reached a peak at 4 cm (98.82%) and declined through 6-8 cm (94.15%) under flat field condition. Nodule formation was high between planting depth of 2 and 4 cm. Generally, the number of pods and grain yield decreased with increasing plant depth. The grain yield values for 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 cm depths were 4.25, 4.22, 3.87, 3.26 and 3.12 t/ha, respectively. In the 2006 farming season, at 4 cm planting depth ridging gave the highest crop establishment of 97.77%. The highest number of pods was recorded for mound (197 per plant) followed by ridge (189 per plant) and flat (143 per plant). This pod formation characteristic reflected in the grain yield of 6.14 t/ha, 5.95 t/ha and 4.07 t/ha for mound, ridge and flat, respectively. The study revealed that for good crop establishment and optimum grain yield of soybean in northern Ghana planting could be done on mounds or ridges at planting depth between 1 and 4 cm. Ridging may be preferred because it can easily be prepared mechanically using a tractor to save time and labour.Item Informal settlement and urban development discourse in the Global South: Evidence from Ghana(Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography, 2022) Agyabeng, A.N.; Mensah, J.K.; Peprah, A.A.; Mensah, E.A.The growth of informal settlements across the Global South has generated concomitant empirical research, and research attention has focused on a different aspect of informal settlements. However, despite the plethora of literature in the growing field of informal settlements research, there is a paucity of research concerning the contribution of informal settlement dwellers to the economic development of the urban economy and the perception of informal settlement dwellers and their challenges, particularly in the context of many countries in Africa. The article contributes to filling this gap by examining the contribution of informal dwellers to urban economic development and the challenges they encounter in the process. Based on a case study involving In in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in Accra, Ghana, the authors found that despite the challenges confronting informal dwellers and their characteristics, they contributed to urban development through revenue generation, labour provision, and the creation of employment. Furthermore, the findings uncovered context-specific contributions of informal settlements to urban development that helped both policy actors and practitioners. The authors conclude that the findings imply that urban managers should focus on the settlers and recognize the contributions of informal settlements to urban development.Item Problems and Prospects of Automating Public Libraries: A study of the Accra Central Library(University of Ghana, 2002-06) Mensah, E.A.The explosion in the quantity of information in this era of Information Technology calls calls for new response in public library operations. Public libraries as information centres. must automate their operations in order to meet the challenges of today's information provision. This study was conducted to investigate the prospects of automating public libraries. the problems that hinder automating public libraries with particular reference to the' Accra Central Library. The methodology adopted for the collection of data was the cross-sectional survey. The Results of the study indicate that, among the problems hindering the automation of the Accra Central Library are lack of adequate funds from the central government to mechanize its library operations, attitude of the library staff for a change and shortage of skilled personnel to operate computer systems. The study revealed that prompt and efficient provision of information is among the prospects of library automation. Based on these conclusions, recommendations were made to the central government and to public library administrators on procedures to guide automating public libraries in view of the current information age in which we find ourselves.Item Substance Use among Students of a Second Cycle Institution in Accra(University of Ghana, 2016-07) Mensah, E.A.; Asampong, E.; University of Ghana, College of Health Sciences, School of Public HealthBackground: Adolescent substance use is the largest preventable and most costly public health problem facing mankind today. There is evidence that students start using psychoactive substances at earlier ages than in the past. This study sought to explore substances commonly used by students of Holy Trinity Cathedral Senior High School in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study which employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches in collecting data. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data and analysed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Focus group discussions were used to collect the qualitative data, which was analysed thematically. Results: Substances commonly used by students or people they know were found to be alcohol and tobacco. Majority of the students indicated that friends introduced them to substance use. From the focus group discussions, factors like peer influence, poverty and other emotional issues like depression influenced substance use. Conclusion: Students agreed that substance use make people violent most often, and become an embarrassment and disappointment to the family and the community as a whole.