ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Concentrations of heavy metals in two Ghanaian Lagoons

The study was conducated in Benya and Nakwa lagoons in the Central Region of Ghana, to assess the level of heavy metal pollution of the water and its sediment, as well as in two species of fish: the black chin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) and oyster (Crassostrea tulipa) both of which constitute one of the major sources of protein for the local people of Elmina and Nakwa. It was also to find out the effect of cooking and depuration (of oysters) on the heavy metal content of the biota. The method involves collection of samples of the species with cast net, scaled and gutted. But the oyster samples were hand–picked. Each sample was divided into two, weighing 500 g. each. One portion was boiled and the other part was dried to a constant weight. The oyster sample was similarly treated. The oyster sample was divided into two, one depurated and the other half not depurated. Water and sediment samples from the lagoons were also collected for analysis at WRI of CSIR.. The results indicated that cooking significantly reduced the concentration of Pb in Crassostrea tulipa from Nakwa but increased concentration of Cd, Pb. As and Hg in S. melanotheron, significantly. Depuration significantly reduced As and Cd concentration in C. tulipa from Benya, but raised the concentration of Pb and Hg in C. tulipa from Benya.

Source: UCC
The concept of autism spectrum disorder: a study on knowledge sharing protocol among parents with autistic children in Ghana

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify knowledge sharing practices used among parents with children diagnosed with autismspectrum disorder (ASD). Design/methodology/approach – The study was based on qualitative philosophical foundations, where phenomenological case study design was used to make an in-depth understanding of how parents whose children are diagnosed with ASD shared knowledge among themselves. The population for this research consists of parents whose children have been diagnosed with ASD in Ghana. The study sampled for the study was 12 parents and was selected from 4 autism awareness centres in Ghana to obtain data through the use of focus group discussion and analysed with the aid of thematic analysis. Findings – The study showed that the dimensions of knowledge sharing practices used by parents with autistic children were after-action review/lesson learnt, brainstorming, mentoring, coaching system, discussion forum, face-to-face meeting, documentation, peer assistance and storytelling. Finally, the study also revealed that knowledge sharing practices used by parents with autistic children help them in their daily engagement. Social implications – An aspect of the training of social workers should focus on how to assist parents, family and neighbours of children with ASD. The government through the needed ministries and agencies should create a social support system to assist parents and families with children with ASD. Counsellors should avail their services to parents with children with ASD as early as possible to avoid or ameliorate some of the emotional and psychological challenges of these parents. Originality/value – The paper offers a comprehensive overview on how knowledge sharing transforms the individual to learn and accept autistic condition in Ghana.

Source: UCC
The concept of environmental management systems

The “greening” of the hospitality industry is currently a topic receiving a high amount of attention in the accommodation sector of the tourism industry due to research, in academia and industry alike, identifying “green” as a profit-center. Hotels are profit-focused entities, and with consumers willing to pay additional fees to support environmentally sound practices the focus on “green” is warranted. The implementation of “greening” is worrisome though. Past studies have identified green-washing as more commonplace than “greening”. A majority of hotels have identified “green-washing” as paying more dividends than sustainability. There are opportunities for improvement though. One such opportunity warranting investigation but lacking research is Environmental Management Systems (EMS). EMS is formal indicators of “greening” practices. EMS certification programs such as ISO 14.000 limit green-washing possibilities. Currently, EMS certification programs are not popular in the hotel industry though. This is due to power relations amongst trend-setters in the hotel industry, perceived costs associated with going “green”, a lack of succinct Best Practices for hoteliers to go “green”, a general laissez-faire attitude towards “greening”, and other factors. Furthermore, “greening” programs are only a component of sustainability. Sustainability is a goal of “greening” practices, but there is a general misconception amongst industry practitioners as to what CSR, sustainability, “greening”, and EMS are. I am writing this research note to discuss the current status of EMS, the application of EMS to the global hotel industry, and provide recommendations for improving the application of EMS in the hotel industry. I am proposing a methodology specific to hospitality in hopes researchers will investigate potential new opportunities

Source: UCC
The concept of quality in education: A review of the ‘international’ literature on the concept of quality in education

This paper reviews key documents that have influenced understandings of educational quality in low income countries amongst international agencies concerned with and researchers based in Anglophone countries. There is a particular focus on quality as defined with reference to formal primary education. The paper identifies five dimensions of quality that are recurring themes of debate on quality. The literature review remains „work in progress‟ that will take on board more of the literature and thus develop over a period of time, both feeding into our research programme and being informed by it. The paper starts by differentiating education from schools and argues that any framework to conceptualize educational quality is necessarily value-based. Two broad approaches to understanding quality are then outlined in Part 2 and a selection of key texts reviewed that falls into each approach. The humanist/progressive approach is characterised by a broad concern for the development of the whole child and human development or social change. The second broad approach, the economist approach, is largely concerned with efficiency and effectiveness, and the achievement of learning outcomes at reasonable cost. Learning outcomes tend to be narrowly defined in terms of cognitive achievement. This approach is identified with the World Bank and two key Bank publications are reviewed. Part 3 summarises the conceptualisation of quality implied in three Education for All documents: the World Declaration on Education for All, the Dakar Framework for Action and the Global Monitoring Report 2005: the Quality Imperative. These are found to take a broad approach to understanding quality that emphasises learning for social development, through the promotion of Life Skills. However, despite setting goals of quality education in terms that embrace a broad range of personal and social learning outcomes, assessment of progress in achieving quality is mainly restricted to those cognitive learning outcomes that are easy to measure using pen and paper tests. Part 4 complicates the dichotomous schema used to categorise understandings of educational quality by drawing on Chitty‟s three concepts of schooling. These are schooling for human fulfilment, schooling as preparation for the world of work and schooling for social progress or change. In part 5, the authors present five key dimensions to education quality that have emerged from their reading of the literature. The conclusion poses questions raised by these five dimensions for the development of the EdQual programme of research.

Source: UCC
The concept, state, roles and management of protected areas in Ghana: a review

Protected areas have greatly improved the conservation of biological diversities worldwide. The main objective of this short review was to discuss the concept of protected areas, their categorization as well as their state and important roles they play in Ghana. Desk survey and Document Analysis under the qualitative research approach guided every facet of the review. The Interpretative Document Analysis was used in thoroughly analyzing the papers before the extensive review was written. The short review focuses on the state of three main protected areas namely wildlife sanctuaries, forest reserves and sacred grove systems in Ghana, their management and the roles they play in biodiversity conservation. The paper reveals that the protected areas must be enhanced and preserved to promote the conservation of biodiversity that pivots life. It argues that if protected areas are managed effectively with the support of local communities where many of these gazette sites are stepped, they would positively improve the ecology and enhance the conservation of biodiversity. Governments must ensure that strong legal frameworks are put in place to facilitate the smooth implementation of the principles for the establishment and management of protected areas

Source: UCC
Conceptual framework for effective e-collaboration and didactic enhancement

E-collaboration environment through social media technologies is a promising pedagogical approach for teaching, learning and research. It will support student-to-student, student-to-lecturer, and student-to-content interaction and collaboration in a higher educational institution. Despite these benefits, many educators are still reluctant to start experimenting or using it. Drawing on current developments in social media software, a literature review on online collaborative teaching and learning, theories of learning, basic concepts, as well as action research using social media technologies, this paper reviewed and described eight existing frameworks for e-collaboration and five learning theories using nine and four criteria respectively. Following an analysis of the frameworks and learning theories, a conceptual framework for effective e-collaboration and the didactic enhancement is proposed for higher educational institutions with support for planning, design, development, implementation and evaluation of such an environment. The findings, conclusions and implications for future research in this area are further provided

Source: UCC
A conceptual framework for forecasting noisy multivariate financial time series data

Financial prediction is the manner in which businesses anticipate future projections, by making risky decisions based on the anticipated historical stock market. An example of financial time-series forecasting is stock market prices, nevertheless the process of forecasting is met with numerous difficulties which are obtained by the continuous fluctuations in the daily trading market. Financial data are characterized by nonlinearity, noise, chaotic in nature and volatile thus making the process of prediction cumbersome. The biggest impediment is due to the colossal nature of the capacity of transmitted data from the trading market. Hence, the main aim of forecasters is to develop an approach of forecasting that focuses on increasing profit by being able to predict future stock prices based on current stock data. However the intricacy of stock market prices, there is the need of intelligent forecasting techniques that will reduce decision making risks and predicting future stock market trends

Source: UCC
Conceptualizing farm product overmaturity in the Mfantse dialect of Akan

Within the framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory by Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M., the present paper analyzes the expressions in the Mfantse dialect of Akan, which communicate the state of overmaturity in farm products, more precisely farm product + adjectives forms (e.g. kube werpee ‘coconut dry’). This study is a case study which uses a qualitative research approach. The analysis is based on data collected from six (6) farmers purposively sampled from Gomoa Asebu, Ajumako and Mfantse Nyankomase in the Central Region of Ghana. The data collection tool was a semi- structured interview. It is realized that among the Mfantse people, the presence of a given feature like dryness or overripe is conceptualized to communicate the overmaturity of farm products. The results of our discussion may add to further research into the factors that contribute to figurative expressions and coinage relating to crop farming vocabulary among the Mfantse people

Source: UCC
Conceptualizing sustainability in the real estate development process

Operationalizing sustainability within the real estate development is a challenge as such development process is complex, multidisciplinary in nature and involves multiple agencies. The paper, therefore, aims at strengthening the conceptualization of sustainability within the real estate development process (REDP) to address this challenge effectively. Adopting the systematic review, 127 publications focused on sustainability and REDP were appraised. Focusing on the institutionalist viewpoints, sustainability was found to be a problem driven notion which is socially constructed. Therefore, it requires to be viewed within the larger picture of agency, structure and power in the context of economic, social and environmental uncertainties. These are found to be applied in the same way in the contemporary REDP literature too. On account of this, the paper suggests, conceptualizing sustainability within REDP needs the latter to take into account the agency dynamics of actors in the development process such as agency motivation (values) to offer a meaningful operationalization of the concept. In other words, this paper calls for significant stakeholder participation in the REDP which allows significant levels of economic, social and environmental values of actors to be brought forward to build consensus to determine as to what is sustainability within it

Source: UCC
Conceptualizing teacher knowledge in domain specific and Measurable terms: validation of the expanded kat Framework

This study contributes to discussions on teacher knowledge by providing evidence that teacher knowledge can be conceptualized in domain specific and measurable terms instead of theorizing it in general terms and using proxy measures for it. The groundbreaking attempt at this type of conceptualization was done by the KAT project in the US when they put up a framework that hypothesized three types of knowledge whose intersections were considered blurry. Arguing that the intersections of the three hypothesized knowledge rather produce some form of complex blends of knowledge that cannot be ignored, an expanded form of this original KAT framework has recently been suggested. It is this expanded framework that guided the current study. Using an instrument developed through adaptation of the KAT project’s instruments, exploratory factor analysis conducted on data from 252 mathematics teachers in 40 senior high schools in Ghana validated the expanded framework Recommendations for further research in different domains of mathematics and the use of the framework to develop measures of teacher knowledge have been made.

Source: UCC
Conceptualizing Teacher Knowledge in Domain Specific and Measurable Terms: Validation of the Expanded KAT Framework

: This study contributes to discussions on teacher knowledge by providing evidence that teacher knowledge can be conceptualized in domain specific and measurable terms instead of theorizing it in general terms and using proxy measures for it. The groundbreaking attempt at this type of conceptualization was done by the KAT project in the US when they put up a framework that hypothesized three types of knowledge whose intersections were considered blurry. Arguing that the intersections of the three hypothesized knowledge rather produce some form of complex blends of knowledge that cannot be ignored, an expanded form of this original KAT framework has recently been suggested. It is this expanded framework that guided the current study. Using an instrument developed through adaptation of the KAT project’s instruments, exploratory factor analysis conducted on data from 252 mathematics teachers in 40 senior high schools in Ghana validated the expanded framework Recommendations for further research in different domains of mathematics and the use of the framework to develop measures of teacher knowledge have been made.

Source: UCC
Concerns about the implementation of the 2010 senior high school social studies curriculum: A survey of teachers in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis Of Ghana

The study investigated the concerns of SHS Social Studies teachers about the implementation of 2010 Social Studies Curriculum in the senior high schools (SHS) in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of the Western Region of Ghana. Data were gathered from 70 Social Studies teachers in 11 public Senior High Secondary/Technical Schools through the use of questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of .75 and interviews. Analysis of academic background of the respondents revealed two groups of Social Studies teachers. The groups consisted of teachers (60%) with and (40%) without degree certificates in Social Studies. Also, teachers’ efforts to implement the 2010 Social Studies curriculum were constrained by inadequate supply of textbooks, syllabus in use, teachers’ handbooks and insufficient teaching periods. Results from teachers’ concerns on organisation of staff training or development indicated that pre and in-service training, workshops and seminars for Social Studies teachers have not been regular in Ghanaian schools.Pearson chi-square revealed that most of Social Studies teachers’ concerns were independent of their level of education, subject specialisation and teaching experience. It is therefore, recommended that the needed logistics should be provided, more Social Studies teachers be trained and periodic in service trainings and workshops should be organized for Social Studies teachers to enhance successful implementation of the 2010 SHS Social Studies Curriculum in Ghana

Source: UCC
Concerns and intentions among young migrants in the shoe-shine business in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana

Concerns and intentions among young migrants in the shoe-shine business in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana Augustine Tanle Abstract In sub-Saharan Africa, studies on young people engaged in the shoe-shine business are scanty and also their future intentions in the business are not known. This paper examines the concerns and intentions among young migrants involved in the shoe-shine business in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Through snowball sampling, 191 responded to a questionnaire while 15 others participated in in-depth interviews. The data were analysed using logistic regression and content analysis. The main concerns were injuries, physical stress, exposure to malaria and thieves. Consequently, some of them intend to quit the job in future due to physical stress, aging, declining earnings, inability to combine the job with farming at their places of origin and the precarious nature of the job. The study concluded that the shoe-shine business could be described as a stepping stone to more lucrative and stable jobs due to the challenges involved. There is the need for the National Board for Small-Scale Industries and other relevant state institutions to build the capacities of young people who have already created their own jobs in the informal sector such as the shoe-shine boys to enable them sustain their businesses.

Source: UCC
Concerns and Responses Toward Travel Vaccination Among International Tourists in Ghana

People's concern toward vaccination is increasingly a major contributor to poor vaccine uptake, coverage and disease outbreaks. Despite poor vaccine uptake among international tourists attributed to concerns, research has rarely empirically investigated what constitutes travel vaccination concerns and its relationship with uptake among tourists. This study sought to propose a scale for measuring travel vaccination concerns; explore the underlying reasons of these concern s; examine the relationship between concerns and vaccine uptake and ; thus, propose a tourist typology based on their vaccination concerns. A mixed method approach was employed. Qualitative data were first collected through online data mining of 1,235 posts and field in-depth interviews of 20 respondents. This was followed by a survey of 1,032 inbound tourists in Ghana, using a questionnaire to collect quantitative data. The qualitative data were analysed thematically while structural equation modelling, ratio and logistic regression, and cluster analysis were used in the analysis of the quantitative data. A six-dimensional travel vaccination concern scale was identified with its facets being efficacy, safety, cost, time, access and ethical c ncerns. These concerns were influenced by respondents' socio-demographic characteristics, tripographics, vaccination information seeking behaviour and vaccination literacy. A significant relationship also existed between concerns and vaccine uptake. Consequently a typology of vaccination concerned tourists, which is made up of Crits. Passives and Fluiders, was identified. In view of this, travel medicine professionals, the World Health Organisation, governments and pharmaceutical companies need proper monitoring and understanding of tourists' travel vaccination concerns and targeted interventions to improve vaccine uptake.

Source: UCC
Concerns of Accounting Teachers in Implementing Ghana’s 2007 Education Reform: Revisited

The purpose of the study was to find out whether time improved the concerns of accounting teachers in the implementation of the senior high school accounting curriculum since the works of Ankomah and Author (2010a) and Author (2009) some 6 years ago. It was a replication of these two studies which drew from the recommendations made by the authors to follow up on their earlier studies. The study drew 159 senior high school accounting teachers from 3 of the 10 administrative regions in Ghana. The 159 participating accounting teachers were surveyed with the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ). Only practicing senior high school accounting teachers were recruited to respond to the SoCQ. The study found that the senior high school accounting teachers were mainly non-users of the accounting curriculum. They had both the primary and secondary concerns at the awareness and informational stages respectively. For that matter, they were not very much involved in the delivery of the curriculum.

Source: UCC