ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Junior High School Students’ Awareness of Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Central Region, Ghana

The study investigated the extent to which students of 13 Junior High Schools (JHS) in Twifu Praso district and Cape Coast metropolis in the Central Region of Ghana were aware of issues related to climate change and sustainable development. It adopted the descriptive survey design and employed the purposive sampling technique to select 400 final year research participants to respond to questionnaire items based on their school curriculum. The analysis was however based on valid responses of 367 respondents. There was a statistical significant difference in the awareness of climate change between students in rural and urban schools. However, students’ awareness of climate change and sustainable development was generally low. Also, there was no difference found in the students’ awareness of sustainable development. The age of students had no significant influence on their performance in climate change and sustainable development test. Implications of these findings were discussed and it was suggested that climate change units be included in the teaching syllabuses/curricular and teachers should give more attention to the prescribed units of the text books.

Source: UCC
Assessment of junior high school students’ awareness of climate change and sustainable development in central region, Ghana

The study investigated the extent to which students of 13 Junior High Schools (JHS) in Twifu Praso district and Cape Coast metropolis in the Central Region of Ghana were aware of issues related to climate change and sustainable development. It adopted the descriptive survey design and employed the purposive sampling technique to select 400 final year research participants to respond to questionnaire items based on their school curriculum. The analysis was however based on valid responses of 367 respondents. There was a statistical significant difference in the awareness of climate change between students in rural and urban schools. However, students’ awareness of climate change and sustainable development was generally low. Also, there was no difference found in the students’ awareness of sustainable development. The age of students had no significant influence on their performance in climate change and sustainable development test. Implications of these findings were discussed and it was suggested that climate change units be included in the teaching syllabuses/curricular and teachers should give more attention to the prescribed units of the text books

Source: UCC
Assessment of Knowledge and Attitudes of Expectant Mothers towards HIV Screening and Counselling at Jachie-Pramso in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Background: The prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is paramount in safeguarding the lives of unborn children and young babies. The study sought to examine the knowledge and attitudes of expectant mothers towards HIV screening and testing in the Jachie Pramso Community of the Ashanti Region. Methods: The study adopted a descriptive survey approach as its research design. The population of the study comprised 158 expectant mothers who were registered and attended regular antenatal care sessions at the community hospital. The census approach to sampling was adopted for the study. A structured questionnaire was used as the tool for data collection. Chi-square and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Results: The findings from the study indicated that awareness level of HIV and its related issues were high among expectant mothers. It was also found that attitude of healthcare workers, community members and sexual partners are the main factors that prevent expectant mothers from patronising voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services. It was generally, recommended that intensive educational programmes be instituted to sensitize both healthcare workers and the general public on discriminative behaviours. Conclusion: Most of the expectant mothers have knowledge of HIV and attitudes of the expectant mothers towards VCT of HIV were positive. The healthcare facility and its professionals may consider training the expectant mothers so they can act as snow-ballers in the dissemination of relevant health education and coerce other expectant mothers in the community to participate in the VCT and HIV programmes.

Source: UCC
Assessment of Knowledge and Attitudes of Expectant Mothers towards HIV Screening and Counselling at Jachie-Pramso in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

The prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is paramount in safeguarding the lives of unborn children and young babies. The study sought to examine the knowledge and attitudes of expectant mothers towards HIV screening and testing in the Jachie-Pramso Community of the Ashanti Region. Methods: The study adopted a descriptive survey approach as its research design. The population of the study comprised 158 expectant mothers who were registered and attended regular antenatal care sessions at the community hospital. The census approach to sampling was adopted for the study. A structured questionnaire was used as the tool for data collection. Chi-square and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Results: The findings from the study indicated that awareness level of HIV and its related issues were high among expectant mothers. It was also found that attitude of healthcare workers, community members and sexual partners are the main factors that prevent expectant mothers from patronising voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services. It was generally, recommended that intensive educational programmes be instituted to sensitize both healthcare workers and the general public on discriminative behaviours. Conclusion: Most of the expectant mothers have knowledge of HIV and attitudes of the expectant mothers towards VCT of HIV were positive. The healthcare facility and its professionals may consider training the expectant mothers so they can act as snow-ballers in the dissemination of relevant health education and coerce other expectant mothers in the community to participate in the VCT and HIV programmes.

Source: UCC
Assessment of lead, copper and zinc contamination of soil from University of Cape Coast School of Agricultural farmland, Ghana

The extent of heavy metal contamination viz. lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) in the soil of the University of Cape Coast School of Agricultural farmland, Ghana, were assessed. Thirty soil samples were taken from six demarcated areas in the farm. The mean metal concentrations (mean ± cv) and ranges of the metals were (5.37 ± 45.44) 1.93- 11.88 for (Pb); (2.52 ± 118.9) 0.04-24.63 for (Cu); (475.87 ± 26.54), 135.6- 887.01 and for Al, (393.83 ± 33.38) 138.32-1051.56. The results showed that the metal concentrations in the soil at six sites decreased in the order: Zn > Pb >Cu. The variation in the distribution of the metals in the soil was found to be in the order Cu > Pb > Zn. The enrichment factor indicated that the soil was enriched with the metals, and the extent of enrichment was in the order, Zn > Pb > Cu. The geoaccumation index and the mean enrichment quotient indicated that the soil was polluted. This contaminated soil sediments could act as a source of pollutant for crops grown in the farm

Source: UCC
Assessment of legal framework for corporate environmental behavior and perceptions of residents in mining communities in Ghana

The paper examines the laws and policies that regulate corporate environmental practices in Ghana, with an emphasis on mining. In particular, the analysis of the legal and regulatory framework examines the extent to which it meets international best practices and standards of corporate conduct and the extent to which self-regulatory mechanisms are accommodated under the framework. This was accomplished through reviews of mining and water related Acts, laws and relevant Statutes on corporate environmental practices in Ghana. Ethnographic qualitative research was carried out and key tools utilized included participant observations, focus group discussions and interviews. Interview data captured community members’ perceptions on impacts of mining in 12 host communities. Key ﬁndings indicate that most respondents have negative perceptions about the socio-economic and environmental impacts of mining and where corporate environmental governance codes exist, enforcement mechanisms are not very well laid out, a situation which reﬂects weak regulatory institutions in the mining sector. Further, the legal and regulatory regime for environmental governance has failed to come up to international best practices. While government has an important role to play in the area of providing the legal framework for enhancing best practice standards in corporate environmental governance, it appears that the ultimate responsibility for sound environmental behavior still lies with corporations themselves

Source: UCC
Assessment of Level of Noise From Some Selected Churches in Southern Shana

A hand-held Sound level Meter (SLM) calibrated at 114 decibels (dBA) and frequency of 1000Hz was used for the real-time measurement of noise levels from 10 churches at La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal District and Adenta Municipal District. Day time and night time noise level measurements were conducted during the dry and wet seasons for the two Municipal Districts. At Madina the average mean values for day time and night time noise levels measurement recorded from the 5 churches during the dry season were 74.5 decibels whiles, at the wet season were 67.7 decibels respectively. At Adenta the average mean values for day time and night noise levels measured from 5 churches during the dry season were 70.6 decibels and in the wet season were 71.0 decibels respectively. All noise levels measured and recorded at the 10 churches at Madina and Adenta municipal districts were higher than the recommended noise standards of 55 day and 48 night set by EPA Ghana. This specified that the risk factors for inhabitants living in these areas were high due to extended continuous exposure of noise. A questionnaire was administered to 100 respondents in the environs of Madina and Adenta Municipalities. Assessment conducted on gender showed that females were 60% while males were 40%. Majority was citizens, educated and was being disturbed by the exposure of noise emanating from the churches. Forty-nine percent (49%), of the respondents were of the opinion that, diseases associated with noise exposure were high blood pressure while 37% of the respondents were unable to sleep. Other respondents (28%) were of the view that anxiety and annoyance were ailments related to noise exposure to achieve any success with noise pollution control, it is incumbent for authorities responsible to enforce the existing regulations.

Source: UCC
Assessment of life-approach method of teaching Christian Religious Studies: a survey of selected senior high schools in Brong Ahafo region

The study assessed the use of Life-Approach method of teaching Christian Religious Studies in Senior High Schools in the Brong Ahafo Region. To be specific, the study looked at the use of the method, problems associated with its use, instructional resources available to support its use and how teachers’ instructional practices conform to the Life-Approach method. The descriptive survey design was employed to carry out the study. The purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 36 teachers and 319 students of Christian Religious Studies (CRS). Questionnaire and observation guide were the instruments used in collecting the data. The data were analysed through the computation of frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation. CRS teachers use the Life-Approach method to a large extent and their instructional practices conform to the method. The only problem they faced in using the method is inadequate instructional resources to support the use of the method. Though Christian Religious Studies teachers have the requisite professional qualification, their efforts would not yield good results if the Ghana Education Service fails to provide them with the necessary instructional resources.

Source: UCC
Assessment of Lindane pesticide residue in Cocoa beans in the Twifo Praso district of Ghana

In this study samples of Cocoa Beans were analyzed for concentrations of lindane (organochlorine pesticide) residue. Samples were gathered from five communities within the Twifo Praso district in the Central Region. Quantitative determination of the lindane was performed by using the Gas Chromatography Thermal-Capture Detection (GC-TCD) at the Tema Oil Refiner (TOR). Samples from all five communities contained no detectable concentrations of lindane hence concentrations below the standard value (Acceptable Daily Intake of 0.001 mg/lg and the Maximum Residual Limit in cocoa beans which is 1.0 mg/kg) provided by Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)

Source: UCC
Assessment of macronutrients and mineral element contents in lunch meals of some selected preschools in the Cape Coast Metropolis

The purpose of the study was to assess macro nutrients and mineral element contents in lunch meals of some selected preschools in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Simple random sampling technique was used to select eight schools from the 21 private preschools that serve lunch meals to the children. The descriptive survey was used for the study and a content validated questionnaire and observation guide were used to seek the needed information from 51 cooks, 8 head teachers in 8 preschools. Food samples were collected on daily basis for five school days of a week and chemically analyzed using the procedures of Association of Official Analytical Chemist and Stewart, Grimshaw, Parkinson and Quarmby. The nutrient contents figures obtained were then compared with WHO Recommended Daily Intake (RDI). Frequencies, percentages and one sample t-test were used to analyze the data and presented in tables. The main findings of the study indicated that children were not receiving adequate essential nutrients from the meals served at school. The mean intake for Carbohydrates was 45.22, 19.78 below RDI. Proteins mean was 9.10, 2.9 less RDI. Calcium also had a mean intake of 90.10 and this was 309.90 below the RDI. Virtually all the nutrients could not meet the 50% WHO recommendation for lunch. None of the schools studied served fresh fruits. It was also realized that funding of meals was the sole responsibility of parents and cooks did not have adequate knowledge on nutrition. The important recommendations are that protein sources like meat and fish whose cost per unit weight is high could be supplemented with legumes and pulses that are relatively cheaper in order to improve the protein quality. Finally government should extend the school feeding programme to the preschool level to reduce cost and also relieve parents’ of solely funding their children’s school meals.

Source: UCC
Assessment of management attitudes on corporate social responsibility in Ghana: a case of some selected companies in the Tema metropolis

his explorative study examines how managers and executive directors regard the ethical and social responsibility reputations of some selected companies and how this in turn influences their attitudes and behaviors towards corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Sixty (60) respondents were surveyed to evaluate how ethical and socially responsible they believed their companies to be, and their attitudes and ethics that shapes these practices. The results of this survey indicates that many managers and executive directors have clear understanding on the reputation and benefit corporate social responsibility brings to their respective companies. This company ethics overrides their personal ethics and intended behavior towards CSR. The findings support the view in other research studies that the most important factor that influences a managers’ attitude towards CSR is the company’s ethical values. That notwithstanding, this outcome deviates from government institutional guidelines for CSR practices in Ghana. The nature of CSR practices amongst the companies have been dominated by environmental dimensions with less emphasis on human resource development, and product safety within the past five years. It is recommended that firms establish measurable objectives and, where appropriate, targets for improved corporate social responsibility, including periodically reviewing the continuing relevance of these objectives. These are so general that it would be hard to show that any firm was not abiding by them

Source: UCC
Assessment of management practices of micro finance for women's groups in the Sissala West district

Over the years, NGOs have emerged as a key player in the field of microcredit. They have played the role of intermediary in starting and participating in micro-credit programmes by creating awareness of the importance of microcredit within the community. They have also created opportunities to learn about the principles and practices of microcredit. One of such NGOs is Plan Ghana, which has since 2005 been promoting access to credit among women’s groups in the Sissala West District through village savings and loan associations. The study assessed the management practices of micro finance to women’s groups. A sample size of 20 was used and data were collected through structured interviews and questionnaires. The study revealed that members had knowledge on the leadership responsibilities and participation in decision making was high. Furthermore, the perceptions of people about the management practices revealed that village savings and loans can motivate, support and empower women. Therefore, Government agencies, District Assemblies and other NGOs that aim at reducing the incidence of poverty among women should support village savings loans Associations in the communities. Lastly, Sustainability of the Associations depends on performance of the Executives and members. Therefore, learning by experience, group discussions, “role model” and evaluation of activities at the end of every cycle or share-out are necessary for the Associations.

Source: UCC
Assessment Of Market Waste As Feedstock For Biogas Digester In Cape Coast – Ghana

With an expanding growth in the world’s population, there is an urgency to continually find alternative strategies to foster resourceful and sustainable waste treatment options. The availability and variety of potential feedstocks for biogas generation require reliable knowledge of the waste characteristics and evaluation of specific feedstock types. Even so, not all waste products are suitable for biotransformation. Also, an extensive range of market organic waste is underutilized, resulting in resource waste and other detrimental environmental issues. Consequently, there is an increasing focus on better feedstock utilization and reliability for improved biogas. This research seeks to assess market waste as a potential feedstock for biogas digesters. Using the purposive sampling technique, suitable organic wastes (eleven samples from each market) were weighed from three selected markets (based on proximity and the abundance of food and vegetable vendors) in Cape Coast to determine their abundance and reliability. The findings revealed the average total waste generation per week for each market to be 436.29 kg (Abura), 362.46 kg (Kotokuraba), and 140.64 kg (UCC Science) indicating the abundance of waste for bioconversion in Cape Coast. The waste characteristics showed considerable moisture content ranging from 57.44 % to 91.27 %. The TS with VS concentrations in the waste ranged from 8.73 % - 42.56 % and 0.17 % - 35.06 % respectively. The pH ranged from 3.19 - 6.13 Even though the waste had significant NPK Variation, it was ascertained that the organic fraction of municipal solid waste is typically poor in nutrients. The Cu and Zn determined in the study were 0.98 μg/g to 57.13 μg/g and 25.56 μg/g to 245.07 μg/g respectively. The waste had higher levels of BOD₅ (155.73 mg O₂/L to 731.89 mg O₂/L) and COD (2680 mg O₂/L to 28128) indicating high levels of pollutants in waste. It also had high pathogen contamination in waste samples highlighting a potential environmental and public health risk.

Source: UCC
Assessment of Mathematics Teachers’ Practice of Achievemnet Testing in Secondary Education Improvement Project Schools

The general purpose of the study was to assess Mathematics teacher’s practice of achievement testing in Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP) schools in Upper West Region of Ghana. The study employed a quantitative approach where data was collected using adopted questionnaire. The quantitative data were analyzed using inferential statistics - ANOVA - and descriptive statistics - means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages. It became clear that mathematics teachers of Secondary Education improvement project schools hold positive view about achievement testing. For instance, most of them held the view that achievement testing establishes what students have learned, most believed that achievement test measures students’ higher order thinking, again, majority held the view that achievement test results are trustworthy, also mathematics teachers in SEIP schools used various kinds of test strategies to assess students’ outcome in schools. The results gave statistical evidence that there were significant differences in mean scores of the years of teaching experiences and the challenges encounter in practicing achievement testing. The study also established that there was no statistically significant difference in the influence of gender with regard to practicing of achievement testing. To strengthen teachers’ knowledge on achievement testing, I recommend that more effective and efficient workshops and in-service training should be organized to teachers’ secondary education improvement project schools with regard to achievement test practices.

Source: UCC
Assessment Of Medication Administration Errors Among Nurses And Midwives At Holy Family Hospital, Nkawkaw-Ghana

Background: Medication administration errors affect patients' health and increase mortality among patients. This study assessed medication administration errors among nurses and midwives at the Holy Family Hospital, Nkawkaw. Methods: Using census 231 nurses and midwives were selected. Descriptive statistics using frequencies and percentages, chi-square test and logistic regression analyses were conducted at p-value of 0.05 and at 95% confidence interval. The greater proportion of participants had experienced medication errors in their professional practice. Nurses and midwives’ contribution to medication errors was more than that of other health professionals. Being despondent about nursing/midwifery, unfamiliar with drugs, high volume of work, and department’s style of supervision and control were causes of medication errors. Unfavourable institutional protocols to reporting errors was a barrier to reporting medication errors. Also, males were 0.349 times less likely to report medication errors than females. Also, participants who had worked for 6-10 years were 24.0 times more likely to report medication errors than those who had worked for less than six years at a health facility. Further, the likelihood of reporting medication errors was high among those who work at the theatre (AOR=7.519), female ward (AOR=19.721) and those who work at the maternity ward (AOR=15.930) than those who work at the emergency ward. Conclusion: Medication error prevention and reporting interventions should be implemented in all facilities especially the emergency wards to reduce medication errors and increase medication error reporting.

Source: UCC