ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Assessment of the ecological and human health implications of heavy metals and microbial load content of the Ankobra River, Ghana

This study focused on heavy metals and microbial pollution assessment of the Ankobra River in Ghana and evaluated their resultant toxic effects on humans and the aquatic environment referring to water and fish species (Clarias gariepinus, Sarotherodon melanotheron and Pseudotolithus brachygnathus). Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry was used for the assessment of Cd, Pb, Ni, Zn, Mn, As, Hg, Co and Cr; while the Pour Plate Count Method was deployed for the study of the microbes E.coli, Coliform, Yeast and Moulds. A total of 240 fish specimens and 60 water samples were analyzed over the period September, 2017 to August, 2018. The recorded concentrations of Mn, Zn, and Hg in the fish species were above the recommended limits for human consumption (WHO, 2008). The levels of Cd, As, Hg, Co and Pb in surface water were also above the recommended limits (WHO, 2008). Human health risk assessment of the heavy metals suggest that the population dependent on the resource are not exposed to Non-carcinogenic risks. However, the consumption of As, Pb, Cd, Ni, Mn and Cr from the fish and water poses carcinogenic risks to humans. Ecological health risk of the heavy metals posed to the river was found to be low. E. coli, coliform, yeast and mould counts in fish species and water were above recommended limits for human consumption (International Organization for Standardization, 2014). The count of bacteria species observed in the fish species and water were all above the ISO (2014) acceptable limits. Bacterial assemblage in this study are of public health significance. This study concludes that anthropogenic activities along the Ankobra River are deteriorating the quality of fish and water and pose significant adverse health risks to consumers.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the Ecological and Socio-economic Implications of Land-use Changes in the Butuah Wetland of the Sekondi-takoradi Metropolis of Ghana

ABSTRACT Coastal ecosystems in urban areas provide critical services that support biodiversity and improve the livelihoods of coastal communities. However, pressures of increasing urbanization and industrialization in urban areas reduce their economic value by limiting their ability to provide needed ecosystem services. The need to underscore the impacts land-use changes in urban coastal wetlands could have on societal and ecological conditions necessitated this study. The Butuah wetland in the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Area (STMA) was selected as the study site following the recent surge in urbanization and industrial activities in the region upon the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in 2007. The study involved the mapping of wetland types using high-resolution satellite images, analysis of changes in landscape pattern using the FragStats software, the estimation of Total Economic Value (TEV) of the resources, stakeholder analysis and a risk assessment of the ecosystems in the wetland using the InVEST HRA model. The study revealed that three-quarters of the Butuah lagoon has been lost over a period of 14 years i.e. between 2007 and 2021. High fragmentation in the various habitats of the wetland had led to a decrease in landscape diversity. Furthermore, the TEV of the wetland was estimated to be $974.54/individual/ha/year although anthropogenic stressors such as refuse dumping, overgrazing and deforestation continue to threaten the resources. The study calls for rapid implementation of conservation plans for the area and an inclusion of stakeholders in management plans to promote sustainable development.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the Ecological Health of Mangrove Forests Along the Kakum and Pra Estuaries in Ghana

Mangrove forests provide a variety of valuable uses and resources for inhabitants of coastal communities. This study was aimed at assessing the health of mangrove forests at the estuaries of Kakum and Pra using multi criteria approach involving social, biological, chemical and physical factors. The study was conducted from March 2017 to August 2018. Socioeconomic data were gathered from 136 respondents through field surveys in ten communities around the two estuaries while remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) were used to characterize mangrove cover change between the period 2005-2017. Species inventory, structural parameters, litter production and soil analyses were estimated in four study plots of sizes 0.25 ha within each mangrove forest whereas physico-chemical parameters of estuarine water were measured in situ. It was observed that coastal inhabitants harvested fuel wood, timber (poles), crabs, periwinkles and tilapia from these mangrove forests. Mangrove area at Kakum reduced by 41.58 % while that of Pra increased by 12.54 %, from 2005 to 2017. A total of 23 and 20 plants species, including five and three true mangroves were encountered at the Kakum and Pra mangrove forests, respectively. The mangrove species had low structural developments in terms of size and height. Annual litter production rate was lower at the Kakum mangrove forest (9.60 t ha-1 y-1) than at the Pra mangrove forest (10.72 t ha-1 y-1). The estuaries and mangrove sediments were of moderate quality. On the basis of computed mangrove health indices (MHI), the overall health of the Kakum mangrove forest was bad, whereas the Pra mangrove forest was moderately healthy. There is the pressing need for stakeholders to institute stringent management measures for sustainable conservation of both forests.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the ecological health status of river pra estuary (ghana) and adjoining wetland using physico-chemical conditions and macroinvertebrate bioindicators

The Pra River Estuary, which is the second largest estuary in Ghana, has been under severe threat of siltation from illegal alluvial gold mining activities over a decade. To advocate the need for its conservation, the study assessed the ecological health status of the estuary and its connecting wetland using inhabitant benthic macroinvertebrates and prevailing physicochemical conditions as indicators. Physicochemical factors and macrozoobenthic fauna were sampled February 2012 to December 2013, and the macrozoobenthos were analysed for composition, richness, diversity and density. Results indicated low densities (<300 individuals/m2 ) of pollution tolerant benthic macroinvertebrates such as Capitella spp., Nereis spp., Tubifex spp. and Chironomus spp. in the estuary and wetland, suggesting a possibly low organic pollution. However, high water turbidities close to 1000 NTU remains an environmental stressor of serious concern in the estuary with possible multiplicity of repercussions on the system and its biota. A broader rehabilitation program that incorporates efforts to combat upstream illegal mining activities is therefore crucially needed to decrease turbidity levels and facilitate restoration of the estuarine ecosystem.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the Ecological, Growth and Mortality Parameters of Crassostrea Tulipa in Selected Water Bodies in Ghana and the Gambia

This study carried out a comparative assessment of the shellfish fishery in six water bodies; three in Ghana (Densu, Narkwa and Whin) and three in The Gambia (Allahein, Bullock and Tanbi). It assessed the ecological, growth and mortality parameters of Crassostrea tulipa in these waterbodies for 12 months from March 2021 to March 2022. Findings revealed that, the water bodies in The Gambia were generally deeper, less turbid and with better salinity ranges that enhanced the survival of the oysters than the Ghanaian waterbodies. This contributed to better condition indices and bigger sized oysters at the sites in The Gambia. Crassostrea tulipa at all the six sites significantly deviated from isometric growth. They were short-lived species with higher growth rate (K/yr) values and higher natural mortality (M/yr) values. Z/K ratios showed that the populations were mortality induced (natural mortality) although Bullock and Narkwa showed fishing induced mortality. The Ecurrent at these two sites also showed an overfished population. Lc50/L∞ ratio suggested growth overfishing in Ghana while those in The Gambia were of appropriate sizes. All the populations significantly deviated from a 1:1 sex ratio except Allahein in The Gambia and Densu in Ghana. The estimated maturity size indicated that the species in both countries all attained maturity before they were harvested except Densu in Ghana. All the harvesting sites in The Gambia were running some form of co-management structure in conjunction with the Gambian government where restrictions such as seasonal closures, size restrictions, were in place. In Ghana, Densu also has co-management modalities led mainly by the women shellfishers and supported by the Government, Densu and Tanbi have co management plans and have been granted exclusive use rights. The fishers in these jurisdictions were better off in income than oyster fishers in Ghana.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the effect of Job rotation on employee performance at Accra Technical University

This study was conducted to assess the impact of job rotation on employee performance in a public tertiary institution in Ghana. Organizational success largely depends on efficiency of employees and this makes it compelling for organization to strive to continuously adopt methods to update the skills, abilities and build on the competencies of existing staff to increase their performances for the firm to achieve its goals and objective and to gain competitive advantage. The concept of performance covers what has been achieved and how it has been achieved. The study focused on how job rotation enhances the capabilities and competencies of administrators in the university to deliver high performance. The population of the study covered full time non-teaching staff in the university with sample size of fifty (50). The data was collected using self-administered questionnaire and the responses analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics. The results shows that introducing employees to different level of jobs does not lead to high performances and due to logistical challenge employee’s output are hindered anytime their job are rotated. The research findings reflects that the aggregate developmental needs of employees in the university can be achieved through job rotation also through the practice of job rotation employees are moved on a lateral role which helps them to acquire useful work experiences and puts them in competitive position to occupy temporary managerial position within the university.

Source: UCC
An assessment of the effect of occupational health and safety practices at the Tarkwa government hospital.

The study sought to assess occupational health and safety practices at the Tarkwa Government Hospital. Case study research design was adopted for the study. Through the use of stratified and simple random sampling procedures, 144 hospital employees were selected to participate in the study. The mixed method was used to gather the requisite data for the study. The data were analysed through the computation of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and mean of distributions. The study among other things found out that, one remarkable general safety and health precaution that has been put in place by the hospital authorities and which cuts across all departments is the policy that every employee of the hospital is to report to the authorities if he or she suspects his/her health has been compromised in any way in the discharge of his/her duties for immediate action to be taken. Again, both employers and employees have respective responsibilities and rights if occupational health and safety is to be effective. However, the respondents indicated that, the occupational health and safety measures put in place at the hospital were not sufficient, and most of the staff were also dissatisfied with the current occupational health and safety measures. The study recommended that hospital administration should organize regular training and workshop for staff on health and safety. Hospital administration should also institute a safety committee which would be constituted with the task of dealing with all occupational health and safety issues for the hospital and should also have a documented manual or policy on its occupational health and safety practices.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the effectiveness of guidance and counselling services in second cycle schools in the Kwaebibrem District in the Eastern Region of Ghana

The underlying objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the School Guidance and Counselling services in second cycle schools in the Kwaebibirem District of the Eastern Region of Ghana. Data for the study was obtained through a survey using a questionnaire designed to elicit information on variables of interest. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the student respondents while purposive sampling technique was used to select the counsellors and teachers. In all, 172 respondents were selected, comprising 129 students from all the forms and 43 school counsellors. The analysis was conducted using both descriptive and inferential, particularly chi-square analysis. The empirical estimation of the chi-square regression model revealed that although the SGC services were viewed as beneficial and rated as fair and the school counsellors were effectively playing their role, the services did not match the international benchmark. In addition, the quality of the SGC services in senior high schools is hindered by the lack of both human and material resources. The study suggests there is the need for training and retraining of school teachers and counsellors in SGC services planning needs assessment and evaluation to improve services delivery. This should also be complimented with the provision of adequate resources by the government through the Ministry of Education.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the effectiveness of in-service training programmes for basic school teachers in the Atiwa District

The study set out to assess the effectiveness of in-service training programmes of the Atiwa District Directorate of Education. A descriptive design was adopted to study 168 teachers who were participants of the teacher training programmes conducted by the Ghana Education Service for teachers in the Atiwa District. Questionnaires were used to collect data from teachers and statistical tools used to analyse the data collected included means, medians, frequencies, and percentages. The study revealed that there were adequate processes to inform participants of the objectives of the programme and the techniques adopted by the programme design were relevant to the performance needs of the participants. The influence of training programmes on teachers’ performance included improvement in teaching styles, classroom delivery, discipline maintenance, assessment methods, and teacher-student relations. Also, the overall performance of teachers was evaluated as improved due to the training programme. The major challenge of the programme had to do with timing. The study recommended that the Atiwa District Directorate of Education needs to schedule training programmes appropriately and to provide the necessary equipment and materials for the training sessions. Providing further incentives to sustain teacher’s interest in the programmes and linking training to direct outcomes, such as promotions were also recommended.

Source: UCC
An Assessment of the Effects of Economic Factors on Non-Performing Loans: A Case of Selected Universal Banks in Ghana

The main objective of the study was to assess the effect of economic factors (inflation, lending rate, budget deficit, exchange rate, GDP growth, credit growth, savings) on non- performing loans of selected universal banks in Ghana. Its specific objectives were to identify why firms in the banking industry are not able to recover debts; to investigate the influence of economic factors on NPLs of selected universal banks in Ghana: to examine the relationship between bank related factors. The empirical results revealed that non-performing loans was statistically significant at 1% (0.01) including gross domestic product, lending rate, exchange rate, savings, budget deficit and domestic credit growth. The result of the correlation analysis showed that lending rate has a significant influence on savings. The result indicated that there is a significant relationship between exchange rate and savings. In addition, the correlation analysis shows that exchange rate has a significant influence on budget deficit in the country. The result further indicates that savings has a positive and significant relationship on domestic credit growth to private. This study employed regression model to examine the influence of one variable on another variable. The regression analysis examined the relationship between non-performing loans and lending rate. The result shows that there is a positive and significant relationship between non-performing loans and lending rate. The implication is that, most loans will be defaulted on if the lending rate is very high and vice versa. The relationship between inflation and non-performing loan also shows that inflation rate has a positive significant effect on non-performing loan. High inflation rate results in an increase the standard of living in the country and causes a reduction in peoples’ spending power. This affects the economic growth of the country and can result in non-performing loans. The result further indicated that there is significant relationship between credit growth and non-performing loans.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the Effects of Illegal Small- Scale Mining on Cocoa Farming and Livelihood Birim North District

The study examines how illegal small-scale mining has affected income generation of cocoa farmers, environment and land for cocoa farming and availability of labour for cocoa farming. Probability sampling was used to select four communities out of ten communities engaged in illegal mining. Purposive sampling and Simple random sampling were used to determine the sampling units and the target population of the study. The primary data for the study were sourced from site/farm visitation and questionnaires and interviews for selected cocoa farmers. A total of 120 respondents who were all farmers were randomly selected and structural questionnaires were administered to them in four selected communities namely, Noyem, Amenam, Nyafuman and Sakapiah. The data collected were subjected to descriptive analysis with the use of bar charts, pie charts and frequency distribution tables. Statistical software’s including SPSS and excel sheets were also used to produce graphs and frequency distribution tables with all the data pre-coded before the analysis. The study revealed that 70% of males and 30% of females are engaged in cocoa farming with an age class of 36 – 50, representing 57% as majority actively involved in cocoa farming. From the study, it was observed that 93% were not willing to release their cocoa farms for small scale mining operations with only 7% willing to do so. Effective and efficient collaboration and policies between the government and the fringe mining communities should be formulated to eradicate illegal small-scale mining activities. The Ghana Cocoa Board should increase the price of a cocoa bag to discourage farmers releasing their cocoa farms for illegal mining and also to drive energetic and exuberant youth into the cocoa industry.

Source: UCC
Assessment of the effects of microfinance on rural communities in Agona district in the central region of Ghana

This study assesses the impact of Microfinance on Rural communities in Agona District in the Central Region of Ghana. The specific objectives of the study were to assess customers’ level of awareness of microfinance programmes in place, the effect of microfinance on poverty reduction, challenges faced by residents in acquiring loans from MFIs, constraints associated with the operation of MFIs and strategies to improve the services of MFIs. A survey was conducted and one hundred (100) customers and twenty-five (25) employees of selected microfinance institutions in Agona Districts in the Central Region of Ghana were selected using purposive sampling technique to collect primary data via questionnaires. The study revealed that the respondents did not understand the condition attached to the loan application process of the selected microfinance institutions. Again, the customers disagreed to microfinance programmes or institutions causing an increase in their personal assets aside providing them better and good standard of living thus, enhancing their quality of life. Once more, the study revealed that, difficulty in hiring and keeping well-trained staff willing to work in a rural community and high additional costs for ensuring security and managing liquidity were the most challenging issues facing MFIs in reaching the poor in rural areas. The study recommended the following to the management of the selected microfinance institutions; decrease in interest rates, increasing motivational incentives and encouraging formal and informal education

Source: UCC
An assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of internal audit function of Ghana Water Company,Cape Coast

This research assesses the effectiveness of the internal auditors by assessing the factors which determine the Ghana Water Company internal audit effectiveness. The research design selected for this study was exploratorydescriptive and Cross-sectional design. This design was selected because it is flexible and a lot of information could be gathered in the course of the research. The purpose of this study was to carry out an investigation the efficiency and effectiveness of audit unit of the Ghana Water Company. The researcher used exploratory study design to describe the independent and dependent variable at the Ghana Water Company offices in Central Region. The researcher administered questionnaire to 25 purposively selected respondents’ which included accountants, internal auditors, and other category of staff working in various branches of Ghana Water Company in Central Region. The findings showed audit committee existed in the organisation the overall rating on Improvement of control system, risk management and corporate governance was high meaning that they tend to agree that Improvement of control system, risk management and corporate governance was done based on internal auditors recommendations. We can conclude that both stakeholders and internal auditors themselves recognize the critical focus of management under internal audit is analyzed, which require the fundamental rethinking of the internal audit strategy. Therefore internal audit unit of the Ghana Water Company functions effectively and efficiently.

Source: UCC