ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Assessing the efficacy of school canteen in Ghana A case of Sankore Senior High School

Canteens are an important component of overall planning that affects the quality of life at schools. This contributes to increasing demands, and consequently, competition between canteen operators inside the school and surrounding operators. Canteen operations should give importance to the quality of service to survive in today's competitive market because canteen quality is considered an effective factor in satisfying students. The main objective of the study is to assess the efficacy of school canteen in Senior high schools in Ghana. The study was performed using students of Sankore Senior High School with a total of 282 respondents. The sampling technique used was a probability technique called the Simple Random sampling method. A primary source of data was used for the study. Using a questionnaire to sample the views of respondents. All finished research instruments were gathered, marked, defined, and key into the computer for analysis after the data is assorted, using the Social Science Statistics Suite (SPSS). Descriptive statistics that used include mean, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages. The study found that although challenges are facing the students in access the canteen, it didn’t have an impact on both the satisfaction and perception of the students. Therefore, it is concluded that the food served in Sankore Senior High School was effective and provides the necessary satisfaction to the students as they have a positive perception of their services. It was recommended school management should receive feedback from students expressing their opinions about the performance of the canteen operators, and they should inform the operators about students' opinions to solve any problems promptly. These opinions should be taken into consideration when contracting with cafeteria operators.

Source: UEW
Assessing the factors that contribute to financial distress of financial institutions The case of Ghana

The purpose of the study was to identify factors that contribute to financial distress of some financial institutions in Ghana. The study is a descriptive survey which covered financial institutions in the Effutu Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 42 employees from GCB bank, Emesa Rural Bank, Akyempim Rural Bank, Zenith Bank and CBG Bank. Structured questionnaires were distributed to respondents and results from the study show that factors such as financial stress, inadequate capital, poor succession planning and governance, poor government policies, inadequate managerial skills and accounting systems and competition all leads to financial distress in banks in Ghana and moreover, the study found out that banks in Ghana can review the business plans of banks, cut down costs and also restructure their debts and renegotiate debts to improve liquidity of the banks. Thus, it is highly recommended for organizations to ensure that they budget carefully to avoid financial distress.

Source: UEW
Assessing the financial literacy amongst worker in the telecommunication industry in Ghana

This study sought to assess the financial literacy amongst workers in the telecommunication industry in Ghana through a quantitative approach underpinned by the positivist paradigm which was employed for this study. The population for the study was 205 employees with a sample size of 62 participants. The sampling strategy employed was the purposive sampling strategy with the help of a questionnaire used as the instrument for data collection. Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS v.20. The study revealed that, employees invested towards their retirement, managed personal finances and plan for investment. However, they were not confident making financial decision, lacked understanding on information related to financial products and lacked financial plan for expenditure. Also, their level of financial literacy was determined by their demographic factors such as age, gender, marital status and employment status, among others. The study concluded that participants had low level of knowledge on financial literacy. It is thus recommended that, government through the Ministry of Education and National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) should start educating the national populace about the relevance of financial literacy to individual and national growth and development.

Source: UEW
Assessing the financial performance of GCB bank using accounting ratios, (2006 - 2015)

The study examined the financial performance of GCB Bank Limited from 2006 to 2015 using financial ratios and indicators. Annual data from financial reports and statements were employed from Ghana stock exchange on the internet to compute all performance indicators and ratios. The major financial ratios that was used to assess GCB Bank for the period was profitability and efficiency ratios, portfolio quality ratios, liquidity ratios, capital adequacy ratio. The results showed that GCB Bank was profitable. GCB Bank was more effective and sound in their use of deposits. The results further showed that GCB maintained good books in all activities. However, GCB Bank was sufficient in terms of their minimum capital adequacy ratio of 10% which was far higher than the legal requirement of banking sector. Recommendations offered in the study were that the GCB bank should be creative and innovative in asset and product creation to be able to increase their total income. The bank should also try and reduce the cost of operations whiles increasing the total income. GCB bank should have a strong and well-resourced credit risk department and a loan monitoring and rigorous loan recovery team. Finally, GCB Bank should keep accurate update on the stock exchange to enable them raise enough capital and dilute the percentage of government’s shareholding. Recommendations for further studies and research is to is to use different accounting ratios to conduct detailed research in other area other than what has been discussed.

Source: UEW
Assessing the food and beverage control management practices of selected catering establishments in Kumasi

Effective food and beverage control management has been a major phenomenon that the Ghanaian catering and hospitality industries have overlooked throughout time. The study seeks to assess the food and beverage control management practices of selected catering establishments in Kumasi by examining the effectiveness of food and beverage control management practices, the challenges of control management practices and impact of challenges on effectiveness. The study employed the descriptive research design using the quantitative approach of data collection and analysis. Research questionnaire was the primary research instrumentation used in collecting data from a sampled size of 81 respondents which were randomly selected from different catering establishment in Kumasi. The study findings showed that the level of effectiveness of control management practices among catering establishments in Kumasi is on the average, especially at the storage stage, service stage, production stage and sales control stage. There are some factors that adversely affects the implementation of control management practices in catering establishments in Kumasi and the findings of this study identified some of these challenges to be perishability of products, business volume unpredictability, and then Operation Short Cycle. Although other factors such as menu mix unpredictability and departmentalization are present at catering establishments, they are not a major setback to control management practices. The last conclusion drawn is that, although rise in challenges leads to less effectiveness in food and beverage control management practices; in Kumasi particularly, the challenges besetting control management practices do not significantly affect or determine the effectiveness of the food and beverage sector’s control management practices. The study recommends that managers and other key staff improve their knowledge and skills on control management practices.

Source: UEW
Assessing the food habits of expectant mothers and the impact on the mothers and their babies- case of Mampong Municipal of Ashanti region – Ghana

The study assessed the various food habits of expectant mothers, the factors that influence the formation of food habits and the impact on the mothers and the babies in Mampong Municipality in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Simple random sampling was used to select seven health centers in the municipality. A total of 100 randomly selected expectant mothers served as the subjects for the study. The major instrument used was questionnaire while observation schedule served as supplementary instrument. For the analysis of data, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.0 and analysis toolpak for Microsoft excel were used. These included simple percentages, frequency counts, and charts. The key finding of the study were that expectant mothers have various food habits in which 15 (15%) said they have good food habits and eight five (85) (85%) said they have bad food habit that influence the food they eat. There are factors that influence the formation of the food habits of the expectant mothers which are Religious/Cultural twenty-six (26) (26%), Socio-economic thirty-two (32) (32%), Education and mass media twenty-three (23) (23%) and Peer influence nineteen (19) (19%). Most of these mothers’ meals for the day do not have all the food nutrients in their right proportions. This is because the type of food habits they have do not allow them to get all the food nutrients in the meals they take during the day. These habits result in some nutritional impacts on the mothers which are; Loss of appetite twenty-two (22) (22%), Complications thirty-three (35) (35%), Diseases twentyfour (24) (24%) and Death nineteen (19) (19%); Deformity twenty (20) (20%), low birth weight twenty-two (22) (22%), heart diseases thirty (30) (30%), and mental retardation in the babies. These nutritional impacts can be avoided when the mothers are taught how to include all the food nutrients in their meals. All stakeholders of health, the government, nongovernmental organisations and private firms should come to the aid of the health centers with grants and donations to provide computers, relevant books and other materials to enhance effective teaching of food nutrition and health to the expectant mothers.

Source: UEW
Assessing the food safety practices among homemakers in Tema Newtown, a suburb of Tema in the Greater Accra region

This study was conducted in Tema Newtown, a suburb of Tema Metropolis in Ghana to investigate the food safety practices and hygiene among homemakers. The study sought to assess the knowledge level of homemakers in food safety and hygiene, investigate the practices of homemakers in handling food and identify the measures that can lead to improved food safety practices. The study used quantitative descriptive survey and selected 70 homemakers using systematic random sampling. Data collection was done using questionnaire which was later fed into SPSS software for analysis. The study revealed that with an overall mean value of 3.28, respondents were sufficiently knowledgeable in food safety and hygiene. With the exception of three items, that is, experiencing food borne illness, knowledge of potentially dangerous nature of foodborne illness and receiving education on food safety and hygiene, respondents showed appreciable knowledge of food safety and hygiene. Further, it was found that respondents observed good personal and kitchen hygiene by washing utensils, working surfaces before and after cooking and separating raw food from ready to eat food during storage. It was seen however that, 84.3% of respondents used the same cutting board for both raw and cooked food, 72.8% left cooked food at room temperature for more than 4 hours and 77% cooked or handled food during illness. In general, the study concludes that the overall food safety practices of homemakers was fairly below accepted standards. The study recommends that stakeholders invest in food safety education for homemakers since they are the ‘last line’ of defense against food borne diseases. Homemakers should also take personal responsibility for the food they prepare in their household and pay attention to practices like proper hand washing with soap under running water and cooking to the right temperature.

Source: UEW
Assessing the health benefits of turkey berries consumption in Ghana case study of community 5 a suburb of Tema metropolis

The main objective of the study was to assess the health benefits turkey berries consumption in Ghana- case study of community 5 a suburb of Tema metropolis. This study used the descriptive research design. Quantitative research approach was used for the study. Questionnaires were used in collecting the data from the field. This research was carried out using selected vegetable sellers, spices and turkey berry consumers in the Tema Metropolis. The entire population of sellers in the selected area was ninety seven (97). The census sampling technique was used to select all the ninety seven (97) participants for the study. The study results indicate that there were significant differences between diseases or sicknesses turkey berries can cure including fever (p < 0.792), epilepsy (p = 0.543), anaemia (p = 0.612), cough and cold (p = 0.517), while the other diseases cured asthma (p = 0.004*), and cancer (p <0.001*) were not significantly different (Table 4.3). There were significant differences between possible side effect of consuming too much of turkey berries diarrhoea (p < 0.529), toxicity/poisoning (p < 0.621), constipation (p < 0.526) and bitterness in mouth (p < 0.742) (Table 4.3). The reasons why turkey berries are not cultivated for commercial purposes were lack of capital for turkey berry farming, and low knowledge on nutritional benefits of consuming turkey berries. Turkey berry were found to be rich sources of micronutrients and fibre. Therefore, the consumption of Turkey berry should be promoted by researchers, non-governmental organizations and other relevant government/non-governmental departments at all levels of the Ghanaian society.

Source: UEW
Assessing the hygienic practices of caterers in the school feeding programme of Basic Schools in the Ahafo-Ano North municipality of Ashanti Region

Maintaining positive hygiene practices among Caterers is a pre-requisite in sustaining healthy population which the school system is no exception. The study sought to examine food hygiene practices among Caterers of School Feeding Programme within the Ahafo-Ano North Municipality. A sample size of 179 14 Caterers, 50 pupils and 115 teachers were selected from using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Questionnaire, interview guide and observation served as the medium of collecting data from respondents. Descriptive statistics in the form of percentages, mean scores and standard deviation were adopted in analyzing the data. The study found that the common personal hygiene practices by most of the Caterers were proper bathing, cutting of nails short and food were mostly served hot. The results showed that most of the Caterers who handle the food had no formal training. Lack of adequate training for Caterers on best practices towards food and personal hygiene practices have been a worrying trend in the Ahafo-Ano North Municipality. The study also found that Poor hygiene practices by Caterers are attitudinal, poor knowledge, ignorance and non-enforcement from health inspectors. It is imperative for health inspectors to ensure that there are regular visits to various food preparation and serving sites in the various schools benefiting from the School Feeding Programme. It is appropriate for Caterers to ensure that the right attitude and lifestyles are adopted to ensure good practices of food hygiene.

Source: UEW
Assessing the hygienic practices of food handlers in selected restaurants in the Accra metropolis

The purpose of the study was to assess the hygienic practices of food handlers in selected restaurants in the Accra Metropolis, to unearth the gap between theory and practice. Descriptive survey research design was used with quantitative approach. The study involved 120 food handlers selected purposively from 10 restaurants to answer the questionnaire. Data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS. It was found that food handlers properly wash their hands before and after performing some tasks, maintain personal hygiene, and clean utensils, work surfaces and equipment used in the restaurant. It was revealed that the major causes of violating hygienic practices were food handlers’ ignorance about the best hygienic practices they have to adopt, and lack of laid down hygienic practices leading to the adoption of inappropriate hygienic practices by food handlers. It was indicated there were of the consequences of not maintaining proper hygienic practices in the restaurant. It was found that some food handlers do not comply with appropriate the food hygiene standards. This was because of the fact that food handlers’ knowledge about the causes of food hygiene violations was limited. The researcher recommends that management ensure compliance with hygienic practices in the restaurant by incorporating hygiene policies and principles in the training of food handlers. Also, there should be monitoring and evaluation of food handlers with respect to their hygienic practices. Again, potential sources of contamination from the environment should be considered

Source: UEW
Assessing the impact of bagre dam spillage in the pru east district of Brong Ahafo region

According to the World Commission on Dams (WCD, 2000) the global debate about dams is overwhelmingly complex and at the same time fundamentally simple. It is complex because the issues on dams are not limited to, design, construction and operation of dams themselves, but give support to a range of social, economic, environmental and political choices on which the human aspiration to development and improved well-being depend on. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of Bagre dam spillage along the on the Volta Basin in the Pru East District. The study identifies environmental, health and economic implications among others on the spillage of Bagre Dam in the Pru East District. The qualitative design of case study was used for the study. Respondents were selected using the purposive sampling technique and sample size of seventy-three (73) was chosen. Data collected for the study were mainly through primary and secondary sources. Statistical tools such as the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to gather and generate data, and data were presented in the form of charts, tables and graphs. Results show that the spillage of dam destroys afforestation in the affected communities, and also has significant impact on the social and economic livelihood of the inhabitants. From the findings, it was observed that ten (10) respondents representing 13% showed that the dam spillage has caused a lot of erosion and has forced the land or the soil to lose its structural of nutrients. It was observed that 23 (31%) respondents have lost their place habitat which threatened the natural existence of inhabitants rest due to the Bagre Dam spillage. It was observed that, the environment suffers most whenever, there is the spillage of the dam.

Source: UEW
Assessing the impact of Covid 19 on food safety practices among food handlers in Kumasi Metropolis

The world is facing an unprecedented food safety threat from the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (referred to as the COVID-19 virus). The COVID- 19 pandemic is a health and humanitarian crisis threatening the food security and nutrition of millions of people around the world. Food safety is a global concern that covers a variety of different areas of everyday life. These process of maintaining food safety has been altered by the advance of COVID 19 pandemic. This pandemic came with a protocol that must be observed to prevent it from spreading among people. The main objective of this study is to assess the impact of COVID 19 on food safety practices among food handlers. The researcher conducted this study using a descriptive research design. The population includes food handlers in the hotels, guest houses, restaurants, and traditional catering services (chop bars) in Kumasi Metropolis. The researcher made use of random sampling method and the sample size was based on the "rule of 5", in all 202 respondents were used for the study. Primary source of data that is questionnaire was used to collect data. All finished research instrument was gathered, marked, defined, and entered into the Social Science Statistics Suite (SPSS) for analysis. The study found that food handlers were following the laid down safety practice in an effort to control the spread of the virus and also it was revealed that the food handlers were exhibiting a good attitude and following the hygienic practices. It was revealed that these food handlers were facing challenges in the effort to help prevent the transmission of the virus. It is recommended that these companies should provide their employee with an electronic system at will regularly.

Source: UEW
Assessing the impact of diamond cement factory Ghana limited on health and safety of workers and the people in Aflao township study of the Aflao diamond cement factory in Volta region

study assessed the impact of Diamond Cement Factory Ghana limited on health and safety of workers and the people in Aflao Township. The researcher used descriptive and interpretive research design for the study. Qualitative and quantitative research approaches were used. The population for this study involved the Management and Workers of Aflao Diamond Cement Limited and nearby residents of the Cement factory in the Volta Region of Ghana. Random sampling technique was used to select 165 respondents for the study (100 workers, 20 Management staff and 45 residents). Questionnaires and interview guide were the main instruments used to gather data. Statistical package for social sciences version 18 was used to analyse data. The study revealed that workers at the factory were provided with personal safety equipment, hoisting equipment, rain gears, ladder scaffold platforms, and safety signs, hearing protection, and first-aid equipment. Moreover, poor working conditions affected the environment in which the workers live in and these have adverse effects on workers and their families and other people around them. The study showed that EPA pays routine visits to the company’s workplace, by advance notice to the management before the visit but they offer little training to employees on health and safety issues. The study results concluded that the workers respected all the rules and regulations governing the factory and that accidents are reported immediately to supervisor/foreman, and prior to leaving the workplace. Furthermore, all workers have a prove of training indicating that they are trained in good health and safety practices, workers wore appropriate protective clothing and equipment when and where required. The study recommended that the Management of the factory should continue to provide safety equipment to enhance employee’s safety.

Source: UEW