ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Broadening the narratives of ecosystem services: Assessing the perceived services from nature and services to nature

Ecosystem services are often conceptualised as a unidirectional flow of services from nature (SfN) to societies, neglecting services provided by societies to nature (StN). Using respondents from four Ga/Dangme communities in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, this study sought to develop a scale for measuring the dimensions of perceived StN and SfN, assess the interactional effects between them and determine the changes they have undergone over time. Results showed that from 1987 to 2018, the services provided by the Ga/Dangme to nature were predominantly restoring services (through nature-rejuvenating activities like planting and pruning) and protecting services (via safeguarding measures such as taboos and prohibitions) while they received provisioning (food, water, fuel) and cultural services (which satisfy non-material needs including identity and spirituality) from nature. The study found a symbiotic relationship between StN and SfN as provisioning services had a positive interactional effect on cultural and restoring services and a negative effect on protecting services. Cultural services, as well, positively influenced protecting and restoring services. The main determinants of StN and SfN were the level of vegetation cover, the land cover type and the belief that nature is an abode for numinous beings. The effects of the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents on StN and SfN and were marginal. We recommend that to ensure environmental sustainability, environmentalists should concentrate on cultural services that improve restoring and protecting services. Thus, traditional beliefs need to be contextualised and organised for transfer to younger generations through cultural channels. � 2022 Elsevier GmbH

Source: UEW
Bullying Victimisation Among Deaf Adolescents: A School-Based Self-Report Survey in Ghana

Regional and national level data on bullying victimisation and its associated factors among deaf adolescents are still lacking, particularly, in Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional self-report anonymous survey involving a nationally representative random sample of 450 school-going deaf adolescents in Ghana. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of the data showed the overall 12-month prevalence estimate of bullying victimisation to be 55���1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 50%�60%), but the estimates were comparable between females (52���0%) and males (57���0%). Whereas deaf adolescents with schoolwork problems were likely to report bullying victimisation, most of the key factors associated with bullying victimisation were adverse social events�break-up, conflict with friends, and parental divorce. These findings underscore the need for further studies, and school-based intervention and prevention efforts. � 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Source: UEW
Bullying – A human rights abuse in selected Senior High Schools in the Birim Central Municipality

In this study, the researcher examined bullying as a human right abuse in selected second cycle institutions in the Birim Central Municipality. To achieve this goal, the following questions guided the study. That is, what are the lived experiences of victims of bullying in Secondary Schools in the Birim Central Municipality? What are the effects of bullying experiences in Senior High Schools? and to what extent does bullying constitutes a violation of the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the affected students? Relevant literature was reviewed on the definition, types, and causes of bullying. Also, the effects of bullying as well as the extent to which bullying constituted a violation of human rights were also looked at. The study made use of the descriptive survey research design. Personal interviews and questionnaires were used as the data collection instruments. Furthermore, the descriptive statistical methods were used to summarize the data and get a description of the responses to questions. The findings of the study revealed that the lived experiences of bully victims fell mainly in the category of, Physical forms of bullying such as pushing, hitting, shoving, slapping and kicking. Verbal, Social or Electronic forms/categories of bulling were few. Male bully victims mainly go through physical forms of bullying as compared to their female counterparts who experienced verbal forms of bullying. Also, school absenteeism was discovered as a major effect of bullying, while minority of the bully victims contemplated on committing suicide after being bullied. Furthermore, it came out that one of the effective tools that can be used to promote the rights of bully victims is to dissolve student gangs and make Human Right Education part of the school curriculum. In order for Senior High Schools to control bullying and promote the fundamental human rights of bully victims, it was v recommended that Bullying Prevention Programmes should be established, monitored and evaluated; a multi-layered approach should be used in the implementation of bullying prevention programmes; student involvement should form a major part of bullying prevention programmes, and also, Human Rights education should be made part of the school curriculum.

Source: UEW
Buyer supplier relationship and firm performance, a mediated analysis of customer satisfaction survey of the hospitality industry in Ghana

The hospitality industry in Ghana has experienced substantial growth as a result of tourism and investments. However, there is limited research on buyer-supplier relationships in this sector, with most studies focused on other sectors and disregarding the impact of customer satisfaction. Given the importance of this industry and the role played by customer satisfaction in firm performance, this study investigated the relationship between the dynamics of buyer-supplier relationships, consumer satisfaction, and the performance of firms operating in Ghana's hospitality industry. The study employed a quantitative research approach and explanatory design to investigate the buyer-supplier relationships in Ghana’s hospitality sector. A stratified random sampling method was employed to collect data from a sample size of 120 individuals. The data was gathered using a structured questionnaire. By utilising regression analysis and mediation analysis, the findings indicated a positive link between Buyer-Supplier Relationship and Firm Performance, demonstrating that collaborative supplier associations have a significant impact on company performance. Additionally, the study found that a strong Buyer-Supplier Relationship has a positive impact on Customer Satisfaction, leading to enhanced service quality and increased customer satisfaction. The study also found that Customer Satisfaction improved Firm Performance by increasing customer loyalty, revenue, and overall organisational success. Finally, the study found that Customer Satisfaction partially mediated the impact of Buyer- Supplier Relationships on Firm Performance in the hospitality industry in Ghana. This highlights the important role of Customer Satisfaction in translating the strengths of these relationships into tangible outcomes. Given the significant impact of buyer-supplier relationships on firm performance, it is recommended that hospitality firms prioritise the cultivation of collaborative relationships with suppliers. This involves promoting open communication and collaborative solutions to improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. It is crucial to exceed customer expectations by tailoring offerings through strong buyer-supplier connections, thus emphasising customer-centred service delivery. Furthermore, it is crucial to establish reliable systems for ongoing measurement and monitoring of customer satisfaction. This includes collecting feedback, analysing preferences, and promptly resolving any issues. These measures are necessary to ensure long-term satisfaction and enhance the performance of the industry.

Source: UEW
Bɔnkutu music in Okyir festival at Anomabu.

Research on festivals and their inherent musical practices in Ghana has primarily focused on few ones that have been popularised, leaving the others unrecognised. One of such music festivals deemed to have not been recognised is the Bɔnkutu Music of the Anomabu people of Ghana. This thesis, therefore, was a study to bring to fore the Bɔnkutu Music in Okyir Festival at the Anomabu Traditional Area and the musical practices embedded in it. It sought to highlight its origin, nature, of the inherent musical practices as well as the effect it has had on the indigenous people of Anomabu. The study employed the ethnography research design in qualitative research and made use of purposive sampling procedure to select thirteen (13) respondents who were the main participants for the study. Interview and observation were the main instruments used in collecting the data. It was revealed that the Bɔnkutu music with its ideals and the musical heritage came into existence as a result of acculturation. The ceremony is characterised with unique musical performance of an ensemble, couples with ritual activities. The music performed is so exclusive to the people that the performance cannot be dispensed, as seen differently from other musical performances in the vicinity. It is, therefore, envisaged that ethnomusicologists, composers, music educationist and other professionals in the cognate disciplines make the frantic effort to document the sonic aspect of the music for posterity.

Source: UEW
Bɩrfor personal names

This study sought to investigate the factors that affect acquisition of skills among the welding students of St. John‟s Vocational Technical of the Nandom District of the Upper West Region. It intends to seek the opinion of students‟ attitude towards welding programmed regarding the Vocational/Technical Skills offered to them. To see whether or not how the qualification of the teachers can influence the learners/students‟ acquisition of skills? That is to say if the teacher is qualified and knows the subject matter, he/she will be able to deliver and influence the student. For that matter, he/she could even simplified the learning procedures for students to grasp the essence of the skills been taught. On the other hand, lf the teacher has a very little knowledge in a particular training concept would make the training boring and will not be able to arose the interest of the students. Through the findings of this study, the poor attitude of some students and the general public attitude towards practical skills training may be addressed. The researcher adopted a descriptive survey design which involved two sets of questionnaires with closed ended, forty questionnaires items for welding students and thirty-six questionnaires items for the technical teachers. The target population includes seventy (70) students and twenty-two (22) teachers, all of St. John‟s Vocational technical institute-Nandom. Finally, the major findings were found on four (4) Tables and three (3) figures in chapter 4. On the Table 4.2 51(73%) of the respondents endorsed the statement that, many people do not really respect technical men and women. Ghana government has not been able to supply enough tools and equipment to Technical and Vocational Institution. Students‟ should put pride aside and learn the skills. This testified that some students had negative attitude towards practical skills training and as such reluctant to take the practical training very seriously for their own good.

Source: UEW
Capital structure and firm performance the moderating role of corporate governance of firms in Ghana

Capital structure has been proffered to influence the performance of companies whilst the corporate governance measures ensured by companies can also influence the performance of companies. This study sought to investigate the relationship between capital structure and financial performance of companies, to find the relationship between corporate governance and financial performance of companies and to examine whether corporate governance moderate the capital structure-performance relationship. The study used causal research design and quantitative research approach. Population for the study was 38 listed companies on the GSE, purposive sampling technique was used to select 11 companies. Multivariate regression method through ordinary Least square estimation was employed. The result showed that capital structure has positive relationship with financial performance. On the other hand, corporate governance mechanisms such as BS, BC, BGD has positive effect on financial performance. Further, the study observed that corporate governance significantly moderates the capital structure-financial performance nexus and in a negative direction except BCTDTA which moderated the relationship in a positive direction. The study recommends industrial players to ensure appropriate corporate governance measures, ensure right combination of equity and debt in their capital mix since its influences financial performance.

Source: UEW
CARBAP and innovation on the plantain banana in Western and Central Africa

Plantain is considered as a major staple food in Central and Western Africa with a production estimated at approximately 8 million tons (Lescot, 2007). But almost all small producers do not have access yet or do not use the innovations from research, and yields are thus very low. CARBAP (African Research Centre on Banana and Plantain) is a novel example of a regional research partnership for plantains and bananas across Western and Central Africa and particularly Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Coˆ te d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria. It links researchers, creates novel platforms, undertakes training and disseminates materials. It encourages mass propagation by farmers – after training, some 10 million new disease-resistant plants were spread to farms over two years. Keywords: Africa; agriculture; banana; farmer; impact; innovation; participative research; plantain; small holder

Source: UEW
Career progression experiences of female lecturers in the University of Education, Winneba

This study explored the career progression experiences of female lecturers at the Winneba Campus of University of Education. Specifically, the study explored the factors that motivate females to nurture career in tertiary educational institutions in Ghana, challenges faced by female academics in career progression, strategies to success from the lived experiences of female academics and the support systems that female academicians believe their organisation should put in place to facilitate their career progression. The qualitative study employed phenomenological design and interview guide was used to gather the primary data. Maximum variation; a kind of Purposive sampling technique was used to select nine (9) participants for the study. Thematic analysis was employed the in data analysis. The study revealed that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors motivate females to enter into academia and progress in it. It was also found that inadequate policies to ensure gender equity, stereotyping, heavy workload, difficulty in balancing work and family responsibilities, lack of female mentors and role models impede the career progression of female academics. The study concluded among other things that home responsibilities determined by gender roles and patriarchy which are all rooted in culture and perpetuated by early socialisation explain the challenges female academicians face to a larger extent. The study recommended among other things that society and government should make deliberate effort to bring about cultural change which would not disadvantage any sex. Government should vigorously implement affirmative action laws to take care of the challenges facing females.

Source: UEW
Caring for the career exploring the lived experiences of nurses caring for hivaids patients in selected hospitals in Accra, Ghana

The study explored the lived experiences of nurses caring for HIV/AIDS patients in selected hospitals in Accra, Ghana. Objectives of the study included exploring the challenges encountered by nurses caring for HIV/AIDS patients, exploring how the work the nurses do affect their lives in the form of work place hazard, and exploring how the nurses cope with their work-related challenges. The study employed the phenomenological design. The population were nurses working in the isolation wards of the 37 Military and Korle Bu Teaching hospitals in Accra. These hospitals were selected because they have wards specifically designated for HIV/AIDS patients. The sample was purposively selected, and the sample size of 13 was determined by data saturation. Using a semi-structured interview guide, data were generated through indepth face-to-face, audiotaped interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the nurses experienced work-related challenges such as work-related stress, fear of infection, courtesy stigma, witnessing the suffering and death of patients, resource challenges, and lack of motivation. These challenges negatively affect the nurses physical and emotional wellbeing, and have the potential to compromise the quality of care they provide to the patients. The nurses adopted coping strategies such as rationing of care and PPEs, and religious coping, to deal with the work-related challenges. The study concluded that the nurses’ work-related challenges need to be mitigated. This will help maintain the nurses physical and emotional wellbeing, and enable them continue providing the requisite care to the patients. Recommendations aimed at mitigating the work-related challenges were made. These include nurse managers providing adequate resources, and counselling services for the nurses when necessary. It was suggested that similar studies be conducted in other hospitals.

Source: UEW
A case study of how students perceive talking point at University of Education, Winneba

The purpose of this study is to examine how students at the University of Education, Winneba perceive Talking Point, a talk show programme on Ghana Television (GTV). Factors that motivate students at University of Education, Winneba to watch Talking Point; students’ perception of Talking Point host, guests, and topics; and how Talking Point affects the students were all investigated. Participants for the study were twenty-five students who had been selected using the purposive and snowball sampling procedures. Data was gathered through in-depth qualitative interviews and focus group discussions and analysed using thematic analysis. The Perception theory and the Uses and Gratification theory provided a broad framework for the study. This study found that education and information are factors that motivate students at University of Education, Winneba to watch Talking Point. This finding is contrary to assertions in the literature that entertainment is the primary motive for which people watch talk shows. Although it was found that government exerts some level of influence on Talking Point programme, respondents generally considered panelists and host of the programme to be intelligent and objective. Finally, the study revealed that Talking Point has helped in shaping the thoughts, knowledge base and aspects of respondents’ social life.

Source: UEW
A case study of teachers use of allocated time in teaching practical physical education lessons at Riis Presby Model School, Koforidua.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how available time was spent by teachers to engage pupils in teaching the contents of practical physical education lesson in Riis Presby Model School in Koforidua. The population for the study was made up of twelve classroom teachers. Data were collected using a systematic observation duration instrument designed by Siedentop, Tousignant and Parker (2001). Descriptive analysis was used to discuss the data collected. Appropriate tables were used to present data. The amount of allocated time expended on the various phases of practical lessons taught were calculated and presented in percentages. Some analytic conclusions and findings of the study revealed that lower Primary teachers spend more time on class management as compared to upper primary teachers. Therefore upper primary teachers spent more time on teaching content than lower primary teachers. It is imperative that teachers should cut down on time for management in order to maximize academic learning time. The study recommends, among other things, that further research should be conducted on ways of improving the teaching of Physical Education in our Basic Schools to come out with some interventions to remedy the situation

Source: UEW
Categories, generation practices and barriers to solid waste management in Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana

This study examined the generation practices and barriers to solid waste management in the Central Region of Ghana. The case study research design was adopted for the study. Using the simple random sampling procedure, 425 respondents comprising of 380 residents and 45 Zoomlion staff were involved in the study. The data were analysed through the computation of frequencies, percentages, as well as means and standard deviations. The study found out that, rubbish, food waste, and trash were the forms of solid wastes that were generated in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality. Also, it was realized that, both residents and Zoomlion staff observed a number of solid waste management practices. Again, there were a number of barriers to the effective solid waste management practices. These included inadequate environmental education; inadequate logistics and funds; inadequate depots, skips and dustbins; and apathetic attitude/inertia on the part of some of the residents. The study recommended that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Assembly should ensure that, the various households provide separate bins to sort out the types of solid waste (e.g. glass, paper, plastic, and rubber). Also, it is recommended that, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Assembly should organize education/training programmes on solid waste management on the need to reduce, reuse and recycle solid waste so that they can appreciate the need for sustainable development practices. Again, the Assembly should conduct regular monitoring system in order to ensure that residents adhere to the solid waste management practices. The Assembly should also make available a reliable data on solid waste generation for households in the Municipality.

Source: UEW