ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Analysis of concord errors mong SDA Senior High

The poor performance of students of Bekwai SDA Senior High School in English language has been a source of worry to many people because other subjects they study have also been affected too. The most disturbing aspect of the problem is the students‟ inability to use the language to communicate effectively both in speaking and in writing. Their sentences are full of concord errors. This has been attributed to their negative attitudes towards the L2 as most of the students feel comfortable using the L1. This study focused on concord errors among the students, and the sources/causes of the problems. Information gathered was from the primary sources. Students were given questionnaire to elicit information on their attitudes towards the English language. Written scripts, test items as well as interviews were used to extract information on students‟ knowledge and use of concord. Corder‟s (1974) model of error analysis was adapted to analyze errors identified from the corpus. Finally, the results of the study were analyzed and discussed, and suggestions and recommendations were given for the necessary actions to be taken to help students become proficient in the use of the L2.

Source: UEW
Analysis of construction worker’s perception on safety outcomes of construction sites a study of building projects in the Ashanti Region

Health and safety performance of construction sites is of great importance to many construction companies because of the social and economic implications of accidents. Many construction companies have safety culture that has positive impact on safety outcomes. Strengthening the safety culture of construction firms will go a long way to improve safety performance of construction sites. The aim of the study was to assess construction sites worker’s unsafe behaviour and safety outcomes of construction sites in Ghana using selected building projects in the Kumasi Metropolis. The study adopted a quantitative research design involving the development and administration of survey questionnaires to a sample of 438 construction workers of 12 construction sites. The findings of the study revealed that the key determinants of safety climate on the construction sites studied were; safety management systems, commitment to health and safety, availability of health and safety information, health and safety awareness, effective communication of health and safety issues and safety performance. Also, the critical factors that influenced unsafe behaviours included; lack of management commitment, absence of rules and regulation, poor health and safety education, economic conditions and inadequate personal protective equipment. Furthermore, the findings of the study suggested that the dominant unsafe behaviours on the construction sites studied were; poor workers attitude, workers’ non-compliance with safety procedures, bad practices of workers, wrong use/handling of equipment and tools and lack of rest causing fatigue, burnout or drowsiness. Additionally, the findings of the study revealed that unsafe behaviours that strongly correlate with safety outcomes of the construction sites studied included; lack of rest causing fatigue, burnout or drowsiness had significant negative correlation with best work practices; Secondly bad practices of workers had significant negative correlation with safety policies, procedures and training, thirdly lack of rest causing fatigue, burnout or drowsiness had significant negative correlation with safe practices at workplace and fourthly wrong use/handling of equipment and tools was significantly negatively correlated with top management involvement. It was concluded that unsafe behaviour negatively influences safety outcome of workers on construction sites in Ghana. Therefore, the study has recommended the strengthening of safety interventions such as safety inductions, training and toolbox aimed at addressing the aforementioned unsafe behaviours.

Source: UEW
An analysis of discourse markers in talk shows in the Ghanaian media

The main objective of this study was to explore the use of discourse markers (DMs) in talk shows in Ghanaian media. Particular attention was given to the frequencies, functions and meaning of DMs in discussants‟ expressions.Three-pronged objectives and research questions guided the study. Qualitative research method was employed for the study and five talk shows were purposively selected for analysis. Clark‟s Theory of Conversation as Collaboration formed the theoretical framework for the study. The theory revealed that discussants‟ effort to collaborate with other participants and logically present their submission often induce extensive use of discourse markers.The study revealed that out of the 1358 occurrences of DMs employed by discussants for the study, the elaborative/conjunctive discourse markers was used extensively 531 times (39.2%). The study revealed that usage of the following DMs “Anyway”, “So”, “You know”, “Oh” and “Ok” ranges from communicative to interpersonal purposes. Discussants overused and misused “and” and sparingly used complex DMs which lend credence to findings of previous studies on speakers of English as second language. Findings also showed that gender influences the use of DMs. Whilst men assert their position and authority using “you know” and “well”, women employed these DMs as hedge to maintain social relationship, as well as reduce or minimize assertiveness. It was recommended that stakeholders of education, especially at the second cycle schools, should acquaint students with complex DMs. To heighten proficient use of DMs, societal stereotypes limiting girl-child education should be forestalled, as underscored in the following African proverb: “if you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family [nation]” (Suen, 2013, p. 61).

Source: UEW
An analysis of distribution losses in electric power system in Ghana, a case study of the Brong Ahafo Region

Market-driven economies and deregulated electricity industry environments have stimulated minimization of the distribution losses even though they do not constitute major operational or quality of supply problems. This research discusses a method for evaluation of distribution losses and an effective management approach to loss minimization and revenue collection. In this research the contribution of other authors was sought on the distribution losses, their analysis and the various ways of minimizing them was discussed. To get the opinion of the public and the workers on the situation of the distribution losses in the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) of Brong Ahafo region simple random sampling was used to get respondents. Interviews conducted with some workers and management revealed that distribution losses have categorized into two thus technical and non-technical losses. An analysis of the distribution losses in Brong Ahafo region revealed that about 30% constitute 94.25 GWh of the power is lost from monthly power purchase from VRA. The study recommends the introduction of prudent measures including electricity theft, monitoring device and private partnership in the management of distribution system.

Source: UEW
Analysis of ecosystem services of the Atewa range forest reserve in the Eastern Region, Ghana

The study sought to analysed ecosystem functioning and services of the Atewa Range Forest Reserve (ARFR). Land cover change analysis was done to assess the change in state of vegetative cover of the reserve. Remotely sensed images for the period of 1990- 2018 were used. A mixed method approach to research was employed, using the descriptive and explanatory case study designs. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select six communities from the three ranges and convenient sampling was also used to select 278 respondents who answered the questionnaires. 23 key informants were interviewed in the communities using purposive sampling technique. The study found that there have been reductions in the provision of ecosystem services by the ARFR over the past thirty years. Provision of ecosystem services is mainly influenced by anthropogenic factors which include illegal mining, logging, hunting, farming and activities of chainsaw operators. It was again revealed that the reserve is endowed with numerous fascinating sites that can be developed into tourist’s sites. The forestry commission manages the reserve and has employed methods such as tree planting, weeding of forest line, arresting of offenders to ensure continuous ecosystem functioning of the reserve. Fringe communities have less hand in the management process. The study concluded that, the forestry commission has not succeeded in managing the reserve single handedly. The study recommended that the government together with the local assembly and traditional authorities should collaborate to ensure effective management schemes. Fringe communities should be highly involved in the management processes to ensure effective ecosystem services provisioning.

Source: UEW
Analysis of errors in student’s essays the case of form two students of Ghana senior high school Tamale

This is a qualitative study that analyzed errors in the written essays of form two students of Ghana Senior High School in Tamale. The study sought to find out the types and causes of errors in the written essays of students in the Senior High Schools. The data used for the analysis of the errors comprised written essays of the students in form two. From this, a total of 2,128 errors were identified from two essay topics. seven error types were identified and they include concord errors, punctuation errors, spelling errors, tense errors, article errors, and errors of preposition. From the study, concord errors had the highest frequency with errors on punctuation being the lowest. Based on the findings of the study, causes of errors in learners‟ writings were identified as interlingual transfer, intralingual transfer, context of instruction as well as L1 interference. The pedagogical implications of the errors in the students‟ essays have also been discussed in the study. Finally in the study, some suggestions are made to various stakeholders to ensure effective teaching and learning of the English Language in the senior High Schools in Ghana.

Source: UEW
An analysis of errors in the writing of J. H. S. students in Odumase-Amanfrom M/A Basic School “4” J. H. S.

This study attempts to explore the major sources of errors occur in the writing of Odumase-Amanfrom M/A Basic School “4” J. H. S. learners in the Ga West Municipality of Ghana in the Greater Accra region. It also investigates the types of errors and the linguistic level that presents the most errors in their writing. The study limited itself to the analysis of Error in the writing of the learners from J. H. S. one (1) to J. H. S. three (3) as this would enhance effective teaching and learning. The study used the case study method. A simple of thirty (30) respondents were randomly selected, ten (10) from each form with gender equality. The quantitative data collection instrument was used to conduct a composition test to the respondents. The nature of the essay topic given was descriptive which allowed room for the learners to share what they have experienced and witnessed. The five most common errors committed by the learners were: error of concord, error of spelling, error of tense, error of punctuation and vocabulary error. These five common errors would help the researcher to find out the difficult areas of learners and to achieve fuller understanding of errors committed in writing and to use the appropriate teaching and learning materials as well as effective pedagogies in teaching and learning. It is also important to educators and curriculum developers who should become aware of the kind of errors that their target learners make, so that they are in a better position to put appropriate intervention strategies into place. Learners can also improve on their writing skills for better performances. Among the key recommendations made by this study is the difference for the subject area instructors who are trained or specialised in the subject he or she is teaching and between instructors who are not trained or specialised in the subject they he or she is teaching. Also, the comparison of learners in the urban areas and those in the rural areas notwithstanding the investigation on writing errors in the upper primary learners and the J.H.S learners..

Source: UEW
Analysis of factors affecting profitability of commercial banks in Ghana the camel approach

The research aimed to analyze the factors that determine the profitability of commercial banks in Ghana using the CAMEL methodology, as well as to differentiate the effects of different types of bank ownership. A 12-year (2010-2021) panel data was collected from 9 listed commercial banks selected using purposeful sampling technique. Using a panel regression technique (pooled least square and random effect), the findings indicated that private banks outperformed their public sector counterparts in terms of capitalization, asset quality, management efficiency, and profitability, likely due to greater investment in cost-reducing strategies. It was also found that the CAMEL framework has statistically significant effect on the banks’ performance. It was concluded that to remain competitive and resilient to economic shocks, efficiency goals should be prioritized, staff should have a solid grasp of CAMEL, and there should be robust engagement between regulators and banks. It was therefore recommended that commercial banks should improve credit risk management and branch out into non-traditional areas to boost profitability and sustain expansion.

Source: UEW
An analysis of form and thematic pre-occupations of Mohammed Ben-Abdallah’s Drama

Drama is artistic when it depicts life. It deals with man's experience which is the raw material for the playwright who is above all else a member of his particular society. He absorbs the culture of his society, takes in the language, observes the environment, discovers its idiosyncrasies and tries to reproduce them in his writings, especially in a format that connects with the aesthetic and social values of his audience. Mohammed ben-Abdallah is one Ghanaian dramatist who has developed a unique theatrical technique that easily addresses both the aesthetic and social yearnings and hiccups of society by re-inventing the history and indigenous knowledge of his society. This thesis examines the form and thematic pre-occupations of Mohammed ben-Abdallah’s drama and its impact towards theatre development in Ghana. The Fall of Kumbi and The Trial of Mallam Ilya were used to explore his dramatic form and how he radically exploits history and indigenous cultural practices by reading meanings into them and re-inventing history to comment on social, religious and political issues. Textual analysis and overlapping methodologies were used in ascertaining the uniqueness of his drama.

Source: UEW
An analysis of form-focused instruction in the ESL classroom a case study of Ga West municipality.

This study aimed at examining how Ghanaian high school English language teachers implement FFI in their teaching practice and as well as how it impacts on their students’ language acquisition. A qualitative textual analysis design was adopted to analyze lesson recordings and focus group discussions from 15 teachers and 862 Form 3 students in three public senior high schools in the Ga West Municipality. The results showed that teachers utilized diverse implicit and explicit FFI techniques including recasts, repetition, elicitation, explicit correction and input-flooding. With this, it found that usage of these techniques was predominantly intuitive rather than planned applications of specific methods. The results also revealed that the FFI episodes focused on lexical/morphological, morphosyntactic, and phonological forms in addition to semantic and pragmatic forms. This suggests that teachers make real-time decisions to address errors or difficulties related to vocabulary and pronunciation; representative of broader intuitive FFI behaviour. Lastly, students reported perceiving positive effects on learning outcomes from FFI techniques, especially on linguistic accuracy. The study also revealed potential drawbacks of form-focused instruction (FFI) techniques. Students felt it discouraged risk-taking and participation, leading to peer mockery. Rapid instruction pace also made it difficult to process and recall target forms, indicating potential ineffectiveness. These results have valuable practical implications for teacher development and optimizing language policy to curriculum implementation in Ghana. The recommendations therefore emphasize teacher education on both reactive and preemptive FFI techniques to consciously embed within lessons to maximize accuracy gains without sacrificing communication.

Source: UEW
An analysis of front-page conflict stories of the Ghanaian Times newspaper

Conflict has remained a shackle that deters the progress of countries, especially developing nations and the media have a role to play in de-escalating conflict situations. The study examines the coverage of conflict by the media, specifically the print media, the frames and tones used to report issues of conflict and the reasons for the publication of such stories in line with the challenges of journalists and editors. Newspaper content analysis and interviews are methods used to collect data for the study. Premised on structural conflict, framing and gatekeeping theories, the contents of the Ghanaian Times, a state-owned newspaper, published from January 2016 to December, 2020 were analysed, and 179 conflict-related stories were identified. The analysis of these stories established that the media in Ghana, particularly newspapers give little attention to the promotion of peace journalism when reporting conflictrelated issues. Four frames-consequence, responsibility, solution and conflict emerged from the data analysed. The newspaper from the data dominantly used neutral tone in reporting conflict related issues. Journalists and editors argued that sources of conflict news, media ideology, resources and logistics, personal values of journalists and the safety and security of journalists are the challenges during their reportage on issues of conflict. The study recommends, therefore, that the media, especially the print media pay more attention to and report issues of conflict with the use of peace journalism due to the devastating effect of conflict, especially in a country surrounded by nations experiencing terrorism and other forms of violence.

Source: UEW
An analysis of grammatical errors in students writing. A case study of the 2nd year students of Nkaseim SHS.

Grammar is an important language component to enhance students’ language proficiency. However, many students still make grammatical errors in writing their essays. This research examined the grammatical errors in the writings of students of Nkaseim SHS in the Asutifi South District. It is a qualitative study that sought to identify the types of grammatical errors and the causes of the errors in the writings of students of Nkaseim SHS. Data gathered analysis, total of 1,930 errors were identified as: spelling errors, preposition errors, verb tense form errors, punctuation errors, number errors, article errors, sentence fragment errors and concord errors. From the findings, it came to light that the causes of the learner’s errors in writing were as a result of interlingual transfer, intralingual transfer and L1 interference. And this happens due to the context of teaching and the difference in the structure of the L1 and L2 as well as lack of practice on the part of the students. The study also discussed the role of learner’s errors and the pedagogical implications of the learner’s errors. Finally, the study made some suggestion and recommended that stakeholders should ensure that teachers are abreast of modern methods of teaching to guarantee effective teaching and learning of English language, to minimize the errors learners commit in their written essays.

Source: UEW
An analysis of grammatical errors in the essay writings of 3rd year students. a case study of Wapuli Community Day Senior High School in the Saboba District

This is a qualitative study that sought to analyse the grammatical errors in the essay writings of 3rd year students of Wapuli Community Day SHS. In the Saboba District. The study sought to identify the types of grammatical errors and the causes of the errors in the writings of students of Wapuli Community Day SHS. Data gathered analysis, total of 1,930 errors were identified from the 3rd year students’ essay topics. 8 error categories were identified as: spelling errors, preposition errors, verb tense form errors, punctuation errors, number errors, article errors, sentence fragment errors and concord errors. From the findings, it came to light that the causes of the learner’s errors in writing were as a result of Interlingua transfer, intralingua transfer and L1 interference. And this happens due to the context of teaching and the difference in the structure of the L1 and L2 as well as lack of practice on the part of the students. The study also discussed the role of learner’s errors and the pedagogical implications of the learner’s errors. Finally, the study made some suggestion and recommended that stakeholders should ensure that teachers are abreast of modern methods of teaching to guarantee effective teaching and learning of English language, to minimize the errors learners commit in their written essays.

Source: UEW
An analysis of household cooking fuel choice and expenditure in Ghana

Energy is a critical input in an economy and an increased consumption of it has long been associated with an increase in economic activities and an improvement in wellbeing. Due to its multiple sources and uses in various sectors of the economy, a complex relationship between energy use and human development has evolved. One aspect of this complex relationship is the increased recognition that a wide range of energy sources used in many countries for various purposes is both unclean and inefficient, with significant environmental consequences. Using the seventh round of the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS) and a survey on households in Techiman, this study assesses the factors that influence households‘ choice of cooking energy and expenditure on LPG in Ghana. The study employed the energy ladder theory to undertake the investigations. With respect to factors influencing choice of cooking energy, it was observed that education status, area of residency, household size and age of household head were all statistically significant in explaining the adoption of wood, charcoal and electricity in cooking as opposed to LPG by households. Based on the results obtained from a multinomial logistic model, the study confirmed the validity of the energy ladder theory for Ghana. Thus, an increase in household income was found to decrease the adoption of traditional fuels and increase the adoption of modern fuels for cooking. This implies that, lower income household heads are more likely to opt for wood and charcoal as cooking fuel rather than LPG, which was predominantly used by high-income earners. Finally, the study used the double hurdle model to explore factors that influence participation and expenditure decisions in the LPG market by households in the Techiman municipality. The study revealed that area of residence, income, sector of employment, sensitization, affordability,reliability, accessibility and tertiary education significantly affected household LPG usage, education level (basic & secondary), house ownership and marital status did not have significant impact on LPG usage. The study then recommended enhanced income creating opportunities and LPG use educational programmes among others to improve the use of LPG by households

Source: UEW