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This paper aims to examine whether financial technology is complementing the performance of domestic financial institutions or substituting their performance in Ghana.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This paper aims to examine the ways becoming information literate relates to the material objects in the Kente-weaving landscape.

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.

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.

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.

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.