ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Assessing the influence of behavioural factors on employees’ personal financial management decisions. A case study of staff of International Oils and Fats Limited

The study was undertaken to analyze the factors influencing personal financial management decisions of 200 employees of International Oils and Fats Ltd. Specific objectives that motivate the study were to identify the factors that influence financial management decisions, examine the mistakes of employees concerning their personal financial habits and to examine the challenges that employees face in applying their financial knowledge in daily personal financial management decisions. Descriptive research methods were used in this study to assess factors influencing Personal Financial Management Decision. Simple random sampling was used to select 200 participants consisting of employees of International Oil and Fats ltd in Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region. Survey questionnaire was used to generate data for the study. Analysis of data was done using descriptive analysis. Data collected revealed that people financial behaviours such as spending beyond budget influence their financial decisions. Employees are unable to spend as budgeted. Financial knowledge of people such as investments influenced their financial decisions and change in prices, family needs, instability of markets, lack of proper record keeping, nature of expenditure, inflation and spend of money in advance were the challenges people faced in applying financial knowledge in daily personal financial management decisions. The study recommended that all employees should undertake periodic programmes such as seminars, workshops, discussions and reading of books related to personal financial management and so on to enlighten them of their financial issues since the study revealed a shortfall in that area.

Source: UCC
Assessing the Influence of Demographic Factors on the Acceptance and Adoption of Management Information System by the Senior Staff of the University of Cape Coast

ABSTRACT This study investigated the influence of demographic variables on the acceptance and adoption of management information system practices by senior staff members at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The objectives of this study were to: assess the nature of management information system practices among the senior staffs at University of Cape Coast; examine if there is any difference in the acceptance and adoption of MIS between male and female senior staffs; among senior staffs of different age groups; between married and unmarried senior staffs; and among senior staffs with different years of experience. The study employed a descriptive quantitative research approach and descriptive survey and inferential statistics as the study design. The study was on the views of 200 senior staff members at the University of Cape Coast with a self-administered questionnaire as the main research instrument. The results were analysed with the help of the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS 22.0 version) software The major findings of the study revealed that the administrative information is stored in the management information system of the organisation. It was clear from the findings that demographic variables have influence on the acceptance and adoption of MIS. However, the most significant demographic variable which had positive influence on the use of MIS acceptance and adoption among senior staff at the University of Cape Coast was age range. Therefore, it was recommended that senior staff of University of Cape Coast should embrace the management information system practices to ensure its effectiveness, and also professionally trained management information system managers should be employed.

Source: UCC
Assessing the Influence of SME Managers’ Personal Characteristics on the Adoption of Business Development Services in the Cape Coast Metropolis

One important aspect of Small and medium-sized enterprises is that they lack sufficient internal skills and experience to handle the challenges that negatively affect their development, which, therefore, necessitates their adoption of external business development services. In line with this necessity, the present study assessed the influence of SME managers’ personal characteristics on the adoption of business development services in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Employing the quantitative research approach, explanatory research design, and cross-sectional survey design, 125 completed and valid questionnaires were retrieved from a population of 160 SME managers who have accessed business development services from the National Board for Small Scale Industries in the Cape Coast Metropolis. A census was employed in selecting samples for the study. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection and it was self-administered. IBM SPSS Statistics Software for Windows, version 23 was the software employed for data analysis. The analytical tools were mean, standard deviation, one-sample t-test, independent-samples t-test, and regression analysis. Consistent with expectations, the study found that personal characteristics of SME managers, namely age, sex, work experience and education jointly and independently influenced the adoption of business development services, confirming the assumptions of the Upper Echelons Theory.

Source: UCC
Assessing the Influence of Tillage on Maize Performance Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery

Maize is a staple food in Sub-Saharan Africa, and tillage is widely used to boost its yield, though it affects soil and the environment both positively and negatively. To support farmers and policymakers, a data-driven approach using UAV technology was introduced. This study was conducted for two seasons in a randomized complete block design with four treatments (Harrowing only, Ploughing only, Ploughing and Harrowing, and No-tillage). The results showed that No-tillage had the lowest growth parameters, while Ploughing and Harrowing recorded the highest in terms of LAI (1.50–1.75), stem diameter (20–22.5 mm), plant height (165–175 cm), and yield (7.20–10.93 t/ha biomass, 4.619–5.67 t/ha grain yield). Despite its lower yields, No-tillage showed the highest yield improvement (+1.11 t/ha). UAVs imagery with Yolov8-small achieved high germination rate detection (mAP50: 0.89–0.95) and accurate plant height estimation (RMSE < 7 cm, R²: 0.98–0.99). For LAI estimation, UAV technology coupled with Huber regression model achieved R² scores of 0.80– 0.94 and RMSE as low as 0.14, and coupled with Gradient Boosting Machines reached R² of 0.87 and RMSE of 0.281 t/ha at the vegetative stage for Yield prediction. Ploughing and Harrowing is recommended for short-term tillage, while No-tillage is better for the long term. UAV imagery with machine learning reliably monitors maize and predicts yield. Future research should explore the long-term effects of No-tillage, UAV-based stem girth estimation, and the cost-benefit of UAV adoption in small-scale farming. Keywords: Tillage, UAV technology, maize, yield prediction, maize.

Source: UCC
Assessing the integration of ICT resources in teaching and learning in selected Senior Secondary Schools in Cape Coast Metropolis

Despite the effort Government and other stakeholders are making to support Ghanaian senior high schools in information and communication technology (ICT), most of the schools are teaching ICT as an isolated subject rather than integrating the ICT resources into the educational curriculum to improve teaching and learning. The objective of the study was to assess the integration of ICT resources in teaching and learning in senior secondary schools in the Cape Coast metropolis. A total of 270 respondents took part in the survey. Five senior secondary schools were selected. This comprised of teachers and students. Random sampling was used to select the respondents and questionnaires were the instruments used for the survey. The Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 software to produce frequencies and percentages. Result of the analysis indicated that teachers who had background knowledge in ICT were the ones who used it in their lesson delivery, also students were interested in using ICT in their learning but could not so due to lack of access to the facility in their various schools. This was as a result of inadequacy, or absence of the technology. The study recommended to Government and other stake holders to come to the aid of Senior Secondary Schools to provide ICT infrastructure for these schools, and make them available to students. It was also recommended that ICT training should be organized for teachers to facilitate the smooth integration of ICT into the school curriculum.

Source: UCC
Assessing the integration of ICT resources in teaching and learning in selected senior secondary schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis

Despite the effort Government and other stakeholders are making to support Ghanaian senior high schools in ICT, most of the schools are teaching ICT as an isolated subject rather than integrating the ICT resources into the educational curriculum to improve teaching and learning. The objective of the study was to assess the integration of ICT resources in teaching and learning in senior secondary schools in the Cape Coast metropolis. A total of 270 respondents took part in the survey. Five senior secondary schools were selected. This comprised of teachers and students. Random sampling was used to select the respondents and questionnaires were the instruments used for the survey. The Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 software to produce frequencies and percentages. Result of the analysis indicated that teachers who had background knowledge in ICT were the ones who used it in their lesson delivery, also students were interested in using ICT in their learning but could not so due to lack of access to the facility in their various schools. This was as a result of inadequacy, or absence of the technology. The study recommended to Government and other stake holders to come to the aid of Senior Secondary Schools to provide ICT infrastructure for these schools, and make them available to students. It was also recommended that ICT training should be organized for teachers to facilitate the smooth integration of ICT into the school curriculum.

Source: UCC
Assessing the level of hygiene practices among casual and organized restaurant operators in Prampram.

This study set out to assess food vending hygiene practices among food vendors in the casual restaurants and the organized restaurants in Prampram Township. The objectives of the study were to assess food hygiene practices among food vendors in handling, preparing and serving food, analyse the level of knowledge and training of food vendors on hygiene practices and examine the knowledge of food vendors on activities of institutional set ups that governs the hygiene practices among food vendors. A total of 40 respondents were interviewed from selected organized restaurants and casual restaurant with 20 respondents from each set up for the study. The findings showed that the respondents interviewed at both had 52.5% of them within the youthful age. Both restaurants had 37.5% of the respondents attaining secondary education and 15% attaining tertiary education. 55% of the respondents were engaged in food vending to earn a living and not necessarily because they learnt the profession.40% of the respondents look out for rotten parts on food stuffs, 5% look out for tender parts and 15% look at the appearance of the food stuffs before buying them for food preparation. 75% of the food vendors buy their meat products from meat shops, 15% buy from buy from abattoir and 10% buy from the open market. Majority (75%) of the respondents are connected to the national for their water supply and 25% buy water from water tankers for food preparation and serving. 20% of the respondents in the casual restaurants do not have hand washing facilities at the premises whiles at the organized restaurant 42.5% of them have between one to four hand washing facilities in the premises. 85% of the respondents have never had any training on food hygiene practices and a majority of 95% have an idea of the food vendors’ certification and have undergone the medical screening as at the time of interview. Also the respondents at the organized restaurant (10%) said they do have officers from both the Food and Drugs Authority visiting and 12.5% said Environmental Health Department of the Ningo-Prampram District Assembly visit their premises to inspect the place but at the casual restaurants it is only the Environmental Health Officers who visit their premises for inspection. The study recommended that institutional set ups (Food and Drugs Authority and Environmental Health Officers of the District) in charge of ensuring safety at food premises should live up to their responsibilities and also conduct training for all food vendors if possible or at a cost that can be patronized by all to ensure and promote food safety and good hygiene practices at all food premises.

Source: UCC
Assessing the level of internet use among senior high school students in the Atwima Nwabiagya district of the Ashanti region

The study sought to find out three main things. First, the general knowledge level of the students and whether or not there is any significant relationship between one’s gender and the knowledge of the internet. Second, the level of internet use among the students and finally, to find out whether students use the internet in a manner that will enhance their studies. Data were gathered from 370 students from four (4) senior high schools in the Atwima Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti Region out of a total accessible population of 11,729 students. These students were selected through stratified and random sampling. The sample composed male and female students, day and boarding students from all the levels (forms 1, 2, 3 and 4). Questionnaire was the only instrument used for gathering the data. The study found out that students have very high general knowledge of the Internet. It was also found that there is a significant relationship between the students’ gender and their knowledge of the Internet with male students demonstrating higher knowledge of the Internet than their female students. The level of internet use among the students in the district was equally very high. At least 80% of the students use the internet. But what engages the attention of students was more of things that had little or no direct positive impact on their academic work. Majority of the students indicated that they spend more time on watching movies, chatting, surfing, playing games, among others, rather than on academic related issues.

Source: UCC
Assessing The Level Of Patronage Of Estate Houses: A Case Study In Cape Coast Ghana

Policy debates have established that urbanization is an irreversible phenomenon with more than undesirable externalities. The largest issue with urbanization, though is that it has not kept up with the housing demands of city residents, which has led to complaints about the lack of housing options in metropolitan regions. The study aimed at examining the level of patronage of estate housing development in Cape Coast, Ghana. The study used a cross-sectional design and a mixed-method approach with both quantitative and qualitative data collected. Simple random, convenient, and purposive sampling techniques were employed in the study. In all, 444 participants comprising 312 household heads, and 132 of those who have expressed interest in the estate houses for the past five years as well as 13 key informants were involved in the study. Rental apartment patronage theoretical framework underpinned the study. The study’s key findings are that, the institutional arrangement for estate house development in Cape Coast is not the best. Inadequate support on the part of the Government to both financial institutions and developers are among the challenges that prevent proper estate housing development, thereby leading to the low patronage of estate houses in Cape Coast, Ghana. Furthermore, the interest of lenders in estate housing development is low due to factors such as the unawareness of estate residents of the existence of mortgages in Cape Coast and how it works, high-interest rates, and higher terms of conditions. It is recommended that developers, lenders, and the Government should collaborate to regulate the estate market in Cape Coast to ensure high patronage of estate houses in the area. The study has however, increased our knowledge of the variables that can influence consumers decision regarding estate home deliveries (residential or office).

Source: UCC
Assessing the Market Orientation of Cocoa Farmers in Ghana: The Case of the Farmer Business School

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the effect of market orientation on the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in Ghana, using the Farmer Business School (FBS) as a case study. Specifically, the study used the descriptive survey design. The population consisted of all cocoa farmers from the six Cocoa Regions in Ghana. Structured questionnaires were administered to a sample of 600 cocoa farmers (participants and non-participants of the FBS) who were selected through the performed on the data collected. Results of the study showed that the effectiveness of the FBS was significant (p<0.05) in improving sustainability of farm activities. Participants of the FBS were found to be more competent in their perceptions of knowledge, attitude and skills (p<0.05) and more market oriented (p<0.05) than the non-participants. A high level of market orientation of cocoa farmers was found to be influenced by entrepreneurial proclivity, innovation characteristics, gender, age, tribe, religion, farm size, yield, source of labour and training of farm workers (p<0.05). Market orientation indicators (customer emphasis, inter-functional coordination and intelligence dissemination) had an effect on the livelihood (p<0.05) of the cocoa farmers. Participation in the FBS had an effect on the livelihood (p<0.05) of the cocoa farmers. Using the FBS module, the study concludes that the market orientation of cocoa farmers can influence the livelihoods of cocoa farmers in Ghana. The study recommends that the FBS is extended to all cocoa farmers in the country since it improved their competency, market orientation and livelihood.

Source: UCC
Assessing the monitoring and evaluation roles of regional co-ordinating councils in Ghana. A case study of Ashanti region co-ordinating council

The RCC is mandated by the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) Section 188(1) RCCs to monitor, co-ordinate and evaluate the performance of District Assemblies, monitor the use of moneys mobilised by the Assemblies, allocated and released funds from central government and agencies and as well review and co-ordination all public services in the region. In view of the oversigh responsibility of the RCC, the primary aim of this research is to assess the effectiveness and impact of the RCCs activities on local governance performance. The study adopted a quantitative research methods and gathered data using quantitative surveys (questionnaires) administered to officials of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) and to officials from MMDAs under the jurisdiction of the ARCC. Data analysis techniques include statistical analysis using bar charts and tables. The study concluded that the ARCC plays a significant role in the overall performance of MMDAs. However, MMDAs in the Ashanti Region are still faced with several challenges including uncompleted projects, misappropriation of funds and lack of accountability. This can be attributed to challenges such as inadeaqaute M&E personnel, inadequate funds and inadequate logistics for the M&E team of the ARCC

Source: UCC
Assessing the nature and challenges of supervision in the Ablekuma north sub metropolitan education area of Accra

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the nature and challenges of supervision in the Ablekuma North Sub-Metropolis. The study population was 662 teachers, 46 head teachers and 5 circuit supervisors. Simple random, purposive and stratified sampling procedures were used to select 271 respondents comprising 220 teachers, 46 head teachers and five circuit supervisors. The researcher used questionnaires to collect data and the response rate was 92.3%. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with SPSS version 15 software. The study found out that both internal and external supervisions were practiced in the schools but internal supervision was preferred. It was observed that Circuit Supervisors (C/S) visited schools more than other external supervisors and Headteachers and teachers were satisfied with their supervision. The study also showed that Headteachers supervisory activities influenced and facilitated teaching and learning better. A one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed there were statistical significant differences in the level of supervision in the Ablekuma North Sub Metropolis and the Tamhane’s T2 post-hoc test, revealed that differences in supervision existed in Odorkor, Dansoman and Kwashieman circuits. Challenges of supervision identified were lack of logistics, equipment and materials, teacher’s failure to heed to advice, low follow-up visits, teachers problem of underrating the competences of supervisors. It was recommended that adequate logistics, equipment, materials, means of transport, regular in service training and special incentives should be provided for supervisors to enhance effective supervision.

Source: UCC
Assessing the Participation of Women in the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry in Ghana

The disparity in the representation women in oil and gas industry has been found to slow down women development, affects economic growth in resource-rich developing countries and induces poverty as well. Too often however, women are denied their rights to contribute their quota in the Oil and Gas development upstream losing all opportunities associated with it in the quest for a balanced gender development and sustainability. Achieving the gains promised by the industry, in particular for women, depends on understanding, identifying and managing the challenges that militate against these goals. The study used descriptive research design with a cross-sectional survey to assess the participation of women in the Oil and Gas industry in Ghana by examining opportunities for gainful employment by women and the challenges that fight against equal gender representation in the Oil and Gas upstream development in Ghana. The study found that women were not equally represented in all sectors of employment identified within the Oil and Gas operations upstream and do not have any controlling positions and hence cannot influence decision making. The study recommended that support programs be set in place to ensure that women are not discriminated against in the Oil and Gas sector, which has been characterized as "hyper-masculine" and seems to favor male representation at the expense of females, based on the results.

Source: UCC