ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
University Students’ Preferences for and Consumption Patterns of fruits and Vegetables: Implication for Nutrition Education Interventions

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), there has been a drastic reduction in the consumption of fruits and vegetables (FVs) in Ghana. However, not much empirical studies on FVs consumption pattern among university students have been undertaken. This cross-sectional study was therefore conducted to examine FVs consumption among 903 randomly sampled university students. The result revealed that although approximately 49.9% and 48.4% asserted that it is important to consume FVs because of its nutritional value and health benefits, it was not translated into their consumption practices. Out of a list of 14 fruits provided, for 8 fruits, less than 10% indicated that they consumed them at least thrice in the past one week prior to the study. Green leafy vegetables like spinach and amaranthus were preferred by less than 50% of the surveyed students. Generally, a higher proportion of the female students that were enrolled in the study consumed more vegetables than their male counterparts. The three major challenges reported by students which prevented them from eating FVs everyday were seasonal availability, cost/high prices of FVs and fear of chemical contamination. The findings suggest the need for interventions that focus on growing organic FVs on a large scale without the application of any chemicals and ensuring all-year availability. Perhaps, University Teaching Farms can take up this challenge and supply organic grown FVs at reduced prices to students at their various halls and hostels of residence in order to encourage students to consume them.

Source: UCC
University Students’ Preparation towards Building Knowledge Economy in Africa: A Case of Universities in Ghana

For a country to develop, universities need to prepare students to be confident in facing the demands of the contemporary world of work. This paper focuses on examining how well universities are preparing students in Ghana in building a knowledge economy. The paper further explored the relationships among university preparation, students’ preparation, and confidence of students. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data was gathered from 690 students from three public universities in Ghana, through a multi-stage sampling technique. A closed-ended questionnaire was used as the main data collection instrument. It was found that students prepared themselves towards a knowledge economy. Although the universities made efforts in preparing students, there were still lapses in preparing students towards a knowledge economy. Further analysis revealed that students were not confident enough to face the demands of a knowledge economy. Analysis from the mediation analysis using bootstrapping approach (5000 bootstrap samples), revealed that university preparation of students significantly mediated the relationship between students’ personal preparation and confidence level of students, b=.0798, CI [.0427-.1189]. The authors, by their findings, called for innovative and practical teaching and learning in various universities in Ghana by lecturers and students.

Source: UCC
Unmasking complexities involved in operationalising UPE policy initiatives: Using the ‘fCUBE’ policy implementation in Ghana as an exemplar

In most parts of the world today, the goal of providing all children with free and Universal Primary Education (UPE) has received broad national and international support and some educational systems have evolved from predominantly ‘fee-charging’ towards ‘fee-free’ status in recent times. In Ghana, for example, the endorsement of Education for All (EFA) and millennium development goals (MDGs) agreements coupled with commitment to internal constitutional reforms have resulted in the initiation of the Free Compulsory Universal, Basic Education (fCUBE) policy. Dishearteningly however, in many low-income countries (including Ghana), verbal commitments to these laudable social goals do not appear to be translated into the needed changes in policy and practice. This article draws on a case study of the fCUBE policy implementation to provide insights into the complexities involved in operationalising UPE policy initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. The methodological approach involved the critical discourse analysis of interviews with Ghanaian education officials who mediate policy at the ‘mesolevel’. Owing to the commitments of the fCUBE policy to enhancing the educational opportunities and outcomes for the socially and economically disadvantaged, the paper sees it (i.e. the fCUBE policy) as deeply rooted in social democracy. However, it is argued that as long as there is a blurring in meaning of the intentions encapsulated in its title, primary education in Ghana cannot be said to be ‘free’, ‘compulsory’ and ‘universal’. It is concluded that accentuating policy purposes in low-income countries is not inherently problematic but that the challenges lie with how the intentions and provisions of policy are conceptualised and operationalised in context.

Source: UCC
Unmet need for family planning among young women in Ghana

Meeting the unmet need for family planning is on the agenda of the international community as well as national governments because of its importance in reducing the incidences of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and associated maternal mortality. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey aimed at investigating the determinants of unmet need for family planning among young women (15-24 years) in Ghana. Utilising secondary data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS), both bivariate and multivariate analyses were done to examine the associations between demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and unmet need for family planning among young women (15-24 years). The results show that parity increased the likelihood of unmet need for family planning among young women. Similarly, young women who desire either more or fewer children than their husbands/partners have higher likelihood of having unmet need. On the other hand, the likelihood of unmet need for family planning decreased with age and living in rural areas. The major reasons for young women’s non-use of family planning were the fear of side effects of family planning methods, infrequent engagement in sexual activity, postpartum amenorrhea and breastfeeding. The study recommended that Ghana Health Service should intensify education on the possible side effects of family planning methods to enable young women make informed choices. Also, it is recommended that Ghana Health Service and Civil Society Organisations must embark on advocacy to inform and empower husbands/partners to accept family planning.

Source: UCC
Unpacking Activities-Based Learning in Kindergarten Classrooms: Insights from Teachers’ Perspectives

Even though previous research points to the significance of kindergarten teachers’ practices which consider the nature of children and how they learn, there is still limited research regarding how learning activities impact children’s development. To address this gap in literature, a qualitative multi-case study into teachers’ perceptions of classrooms practices of four kindergarten teachers’ in two Ghanaian schools, Tata and Kariba, were carried out over a six-months period. One research question guided the study, namely, ‘what kinds of learning activities do teachers engage kindergarten children. The sources of data comprised transcripts of audiotaped semi-structured individual interviews, pair-based interviews and field notes of classroom observations. Both within the case and across case interpretive analyses were constructed. The study revealed that teachers in both rural and urban settings described child-initiated and teacher-initiated activities they believed impacted children’s development in diverse ways.

Source: UCC
Unpacking Instructional Strategies of Early Childhood Teachers: Insights from Teachers’ Perspectives

Even though previous research points to the significance of early childhood teachers’ practices that take into consideration the nature of children and how they learn, there is limited research regarding how instructional strategies impact children’s development in diverse ways. To close this gap in literature, a qualitative multi-case study into the perceptions and classroom practices of four kindergarten teachers in two Ghanaian schools, Tata and Kariba, was carried out over a six-month period. One research question guided the study, namely, which instructional strategies do teachers use in a kindergarten classroom? Data used were semi-structured individual interviews and pair-based interviews and fieldnotes of classroom observations. Both within and across case interpretative analysis, as was used. The findings of this study revealed these teachers believed that instructional strategies impacted children’s development in different ways; they pointed to play-based instruction and integration as well as specific strategies such as picture-walk and think-pair-share that they believed promoted effective teaching and learnng in kindergarten classrooms which in turn, enhanced and promoted children’s multiple intelligencies in terms of socio-emotional, physical, cognitive and language development.

Source: UCC
Unraveling the Influence of Compensation, Benefits, Gender, and years of Service on Employee Performance and Job Satisfaction: A Comprehensive Study

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to ascertain how employee performance at the Western Regional Coordinating Council was affected by compensation, benefits, gender, and years of service. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted at the Western Regional Coordinating Council in Sekondi in the western region of Ghana. A quantitative approach and an empirical study design were utilized for the data collecting and analysis, along with a convenience sampling technique to sample 110 employees, an interview schedule, multiple linear regression, and STATA version 14 for the analysis. Findings: Employee years of service and work satisfaction had no association, according to the study, Pr = 0.335 and P ≤ 0.05). Once more, the results showed that in the Western Regional Coordinating Council, benefits and salary have a big bearing on employee performance. The study's outcomes also discovered that, although employee years of service and gender are both shown to affect performance, their effects were most pronounced in the male gender and 25 years and older age groups, respectively. Therefore, the study suggests that management of Western Regional Coordinating Council consider providing remuneration and benefits packages that give employees the competitive advantage they require to be hired, retained, and motivated.

Source: UCC
Unreactive phosphorus-Organophosphonates (mini review)

Phosphonates comprise a very large group of organophosphonates including aminophosphonates. Their main chemical feature leads to complexation of earth alkaline metals and transition metals (under stoichiometric). Therefore they are very often applied as complexing agents of detergents, as compounds of industrial cleaning products, or as antiscalants in cooling water systems and desalination processes. The high consumption of phosphonates within the past two decades leads to an increased discharge into the aquatic environment, of which the environmental risk is still uncertain. To date, there are several analytical methods published to determine phosphonates from environmental samples. However, no standard method has been defined until now. Different treatment technologies to break down phosphonates have been studied extensively such as photochemical degradation, chemical degradation and other advanced oxidation processes. The results obtained from those studies gained our chemical understanding with respect to possible implementation of such pre-treatment approaches in wastewater treatment, cooling water treatment and desalination process. The biological degradation of phosphonates has been studied for more than forty years. It was demonstrated that microorganisms are capable to breakdown the C-P bond with at least three different degradation pathways

Source: UCC
Unregulated hand dug wells and their quality threat: A case study in Cape Coast Metropolis

In Ghana, using hand-dug wells whose quality has not been scientifically assessed is a common practice. All the hand-dug wells in Abura and its environs where this study took place have not been scientifically assessed; however, they are being used for domestic activities including drinking. In all, 128 water samples were collected from 20 hand-dug wells in the Abura community. Sixteen physical, chemical, and microbial parameters namely pH, turbidity, total suspended solids, conductivity, total dissolved solids, color total hardness, alkalinity, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, potassium, fluoride, phosphate, and E. coliwere assessed in this study. Microbially, all the wells were found to be unsafe for drinking. The parameters total hardness, manganese, fluoride, and, phosphate were found to be within the permissible threshold for all the wells. In all the wells, the total dissolved solids (TDS) measured were above the threshold. Eleven out of the 20 wells recorded pH outside the permissible threshold. Eight of the wells recorded color above the permissible threshold. The wells A, D, E, F, G, H, and D, G, I, J, N, O recorded alkalinity and iron concentration outside the permissible threshold. Apart from wells N and O, all the remaining 18 wells recorded turbidity within the permissible threshold. Only wells D, H, and N recorded potassium concentrations within the threshold. The water quality index computations classify the wells E, K, M, P, R, and S as excellent; A, B, C, F, H, L, Q, and T as good; J and O as poor and very poor; and N, I, G, and D as undesirable for drinking. Of all the parameters analyzed, only TDS polluted all the wells. All the wells were polluted with one type of parameter or another which calls for some level of treatment before use

Source: UCC
Unsafe Abortion: the Experiences of Selected Young Women in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana

Unsafe abortion is considered to be a widely underestimated issue in reproductive health care, and it poses a significant danger to the health of young women. The study sought to explore unsafe abortion: The experiences of young women in the Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The theory of planned behaviour served as foundational guide for the study. The philosophical underpinning was interpretivism. The study employed the qualitative research approach and data was collected from 21 participants with an interview guide or through in-depth interviews. The study revealed, aborters had little knowledge on safe abortion given that the first point of contact were their sexual partners, friends and guardians who ultimately influenced their decision to engage in unsafe abortion. The study discovered that young women chose risky abortion methods because of issues such as the need to further their education, find marriage partners, and avoid being stigmatized by their families and society. Finally, the study revealed that financial losses, psychological traumas continuous bleeding, vaginal infections, infertility and sometimes removal of their foetus were among the challenges of unsafe abortion. The study recommended the need to intensify awareness creation on the negative effects of unsafe abortion by Health professionals at PPAG and interberton.

Source: UCC
The unusual suspects? Perception of underlying causes of anthropogenic climate change in coastal Communities in Cambodia and Tanzania

Public perception of the underlying causes of anthropogenic climate change is a complex and subjective issue that is critical to effective risk communication. This issue is important to scientists and policymakers because of the role of individual perceptions in influencing their protective behavior towards risk (e.g., the adoption of climate risk reduction and mitigation strategies). This cross-sectional study elucidated people’s perceptions of the underlying causes of human-induced climate change in coastal communities in Cambodia and Tanzania. The multinomial logistic regression model was based on a geographically and demographically stratified national sample of 3,706 individuals conducted between March and September 2013.The distribution of the fundamental causes of anthropogenic climate change in the pooled sample was deforestation (29%), overpopulation births and immigration (18%), greenhouse gas emissions (12%), illegal resource extraction (14%), and God’s will and transgressing cultural norms (26%). Few people in other countries believed that, the usual suspect, greenhouse gas emission was the fundamental cause of anthropogenic climate change. The number of poor rural residents who indicated that deforestation was the major underlying cause of climate change was approximately three times more than members of the same sub-group who noted that greenhouse gas emissions were the underlying cause of climate change. People who had tertiary education were less likely to consider God’s will and transgressing cultural norms as the underlying cause of anthropogenic climate change rather than attributing it to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is imperative to mainstream climate change into educational curricula in both countries

Source: UCC
Unveiling the potential nutrients present in fresh and dried makuea poo-ung

Makuea poo-ung is a highly nutritious fruity vegetable. The main objective of this study was to compare the nutritional contents of fresh and dried makuea poo-ung, then compare to nutrients presents in general eggplants. Makuea poo-ung was pre-treated before reagents and chemicals were used to identify the specific nutrients present, whilst independent T-Test was used to analyze the significant differences. Results revealed that fresh and dried makuea poo-ung contained the six food nutrients. However, comparison between fresh makuea poo-ung and general nutrients in eggplants revealed very substantial diversions. Apart from Vitamin A which fell within the range of eggplants reviewed, most nutrients present in makuea poo-ung compared to eggplants were either less or more than the range reviewed. Conclusively, fresh and dried makuea poo-ung are nutritious to consume and serve as food supplements. It is recommended that commercial/traditional caterers and home makers should patronize makuea poo-ung

Source: UCC
An update on the “empirical turn” in bioethics: analysis of empirical research in nine bioethics journals

Background: A review of literature published a decade ago noted a significant increase in empirical papers across nine bioethics journals. This study provides an update on the presence of empirical papers in the same nine journals. It first evaluates whether the empirical trend is continuing as noted in the previous study, and second, how it is changing, that is, what are the characteristics of the empirical works published in these nine bioethics journals. Method: A review of the same nine journals (Bioethics; Journal of Medical Ethics; Journal of Clinical Ethics; Nursing Ethics; Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics; Hastings Center Report; Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics; Christian Bioethics; and Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal) was conducted for a 12-year period from 2004 to 2015. Data obtained was analysed descriptively and using a non-parametric Chi-square test. Results: Of the total number of original papers (N = 5567) published in the nine bioethics journals, 18.1% (n = 1007) collected and analysed empirical data. Journal of Medical Ethics and Nursing Ethics led the empirical publications, accounting for 89.4% of all empirical papers. The former published significantly more quantitative papers than qualitative, whereas the latter published more qualitative papers. Our analysis reveals no significant difference (χ2 = 2.857; p = 0.091) between the proportion of empirical papers published in 2004–2009 and 2010–2015. However, the increasing empirical trend has continued in these journals with the proportion of empirical papers increasing from 14.9% in 2004 to 17.8% in 2015. Conclusions: This study presents the current state of affairs regarding empirical research published nine bioethics journals. In the quarter century of data that is available about the nine bioethics journals studied in two reviews, the proportion of empirical publications continues to increase, signifying a trend towards empirical research in bioethics. The growing volume is mainly attributable to two journals: Journal of Medical Ethics and Nursing Ethics. This descriptive study further maps the still developing field of empirical research in bioethics. Additional studies are needed to completely map the nature and extent of empirical research in bioethics to inform the ongoing debate about the value of empirical research for bioethics

Source: UCC
Updating polytechnic teachers’ knowledge and skills through teacher design teams in Ghana

While teachers and administrators in polytechnics in Ghana have categorically expressed the growing need for the former’s knowledge and skills to be updated in the era of polytechnic transformation, little attention has been paid to the subject. This study reports a professional development intervention organised for 16 engineering teachers divided among three teacher design teams (TDT) who planned and undertook industrial attachments to update their knowledge and skills in their subject areas. With relevant knowledge acquired, they updated their courses and subsequently conducted teaching tryouts. Data collected during the study through interviews, questionnaires and a logbook sought teachers’ learning experiences in TDTs. The results indicated teachers’ acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills during the TDT activities. Furthermore, TDT enabled active learning, collaboration as well as dialogue on subject matter among teachers and was a useful means for the professional development process

Source: UCC
Upscaling Community-Arranged Preparedness for Preventing Maternal Mortality in Ghana: A Case Study of Keta and Akatsi Districts of Volta Region

The main objective of the study is to assess maternal health in Ghana using empirical evidence from Akatsi and Keta districts of the Volta Region. Interviews were conducted from a sample size of 6,250 respondents within the reproductive age group of 15-49 years drawn from both districts in 2007. The results show that most of the women had only basic education and were generally petty traders, farmers and fishmongers. Overwhelming majority of the women stated that there was no community-arranged preparedness to aid them in times of emergency obstetric care. A significant proportion of the women (about 30%) relied on relatives/friends/home or traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to deliver their babies, while the road network in both districts was poor. The Government of Ghana should therefore rehabilitate roads or construct new ones that could help the people transport emergency complications to the health facility on time to prevent deaths. These TBAs should be trained to recognize complications and not to manage complications professionally and they should be motivated to make referrals to mainstream health facilities. The Government of Ghana should aim at increasing girls’ participation at all levels of the education system in the country since education is the key to ending poverty.

Source: UCC