ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Causes and consequences of informal settlement planning in Ghana: A case study of Aboabo, a suburb of Kumasi metropolis

Inadequate attention to urban land-use planning and practices could result in the proliferation of unauthorised structures which could destroy the health, beauty and convenience of cities. This thesis sought to investigate the causes and consequences of unauthorised structures at Aboabo, a suburb of Kumasi Metropolis. A total of 244 respondents comprising 119 house-owners, 119 household heads, and 6 key informants (the chief of Aboabo and five heads of Land Planning and Management Institutions in Kumasi) were selected for the study. Mixed method technique involving the use of interview schedule, in-depth interview, and observation were used to collect data from the field. Factor analysis technique was used to establish the causes that have led to the growth of unauthorised structures at Aboabo. The main findings of the study are that, the presence of many unauthorised structures at Aboabo is the result of socio-economic, cultural, institutional, physical, political and historical factors. House-owners at Aboabo have low level knowledge on building regulations of Ghana, and the perception of house-owners and household heads on land-use planning at Aboabo is negative. Flooding, poor sanitation conditions and over-crowding are the main problems that confront the dwellers of Aboabo due to the construction of unauthorised structures. It is recommended that there should be regular public education on building regulations of Ghana and the enforcement of land planning regulations by the Land Planning and Management Institutions in the Kumasi Metropolis.

Source: UCC
Causes and Consequences of Intimate Partner Rape and Violence: Experiences of Victims in Lagos, Nigeria

Intimate Partner Rape (IPR) is a pervasive form of gender-based violence and a topical human rights issue. This study investigated the causes and consequences of Intimate Partner Rape and violence as reported by selected married women in Nigeria. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 22 purposively selected married women aged, 22 to 40 years from two Save Our Soul (SOS) Shelters for Abused Women who have been victims of Intimate Partner Rape/Violence. Qualitative data on Intimate Partner Rape/violence experiences and associated factors was collected through eight Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Descriptive analysis was used for the demographic characteristics of the participants. The transcription of the recorded audio cassettes, together with the recorded field notes, provided data for the thematic analysis. The discussions revealed that the principal causes of Intimate Partner Rape/Violence were unequal power relations; alcohol and drug dependence and jealousy. Selfreported consequences of Intimate Partner Rape/Violence by victims included amongst others: physical injury (31.87%) constant headaches (27.27%); sleep disturbances (18.18%); excessive fear and anxiety (9.09%); suicidal ideation (9.09%) and hatred for men (4.55%). These findings confirm that Intimate Partner Rape/Violence may be playing significant but salient role in the poor state of health of Nigerian women. Accordingly, effective intervention strategies at all levels are needed to address it.

Source: UCC
Causes and effects of employee turnover in the commission on human rights and administrative justice in the upper east region of Ghana.

Employee turnover has been one high-handed problem that the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice has been grappling with. This problem affected all calibre of staff, thereby giving rise to staff shortages, resulting in the overburdening of the remaining staff and poor work delivery. The study set out to examine the causes of employee turnover, its effects on the operational mandates of the CHRAJ and to explore opportunities for attaining staff retention in the CHRAJ. The study designs that were adopted were explorative and descriptive. Respondents were selected through simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. Questionnaire and an interview schedule were the main data collection instruments used for the study. Data were gathered from both primary and secondary sources while the analyses were done using descriptive statistical tools. The study found that, the commonest reasons that triggered employees to leave the CHRAJ were work related factors such as poor conditions of services; employee personal characteristics such as job dissatisfaction and external factors such as better remuneration and conditions of work elsewhere. Recommendations were made to management of the CHRAJ to stimulate and sustain favourable working conditions in the CHRAJ to stem the tide of employee turnover and also for the institution of employees’ career progress and development schemes in the CHRAJ to encourage workers to update and develop their skills while on the job.

Source: UCC
Causes and effects of indiscriminate waste disposal: The case of Tema metropolis

Causes and effects of indiscriminate waste disposal within the Tema Metropolitan Assembly area is the topic of study. What prompted the study has been the realization of generally poor state of sanitation within the municipality. The objective of the study therefore was to examine the causes and effects of indiscriminate waste disposal in the Tema Metropolis. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study with its population being all residents of Tema aged 15 years and above including males and females. A sample of 403 subjects comprising 396 residents and seven (7) key informants were used for the study. The quota, systematic and convenience sampling techniques were employed in selecting the respondents. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Product and Service Solution (SPSS) version 16 and presented on Tables and Charts. It became evident that the reasons for indiscriminate disposal of refuse in the study area include inadequate dumping sites or collection containers coupled with irregular removal of filled refuse containers by the Tema Municipal Assembly. It also became evident that the TMA is constrained by inadequate funds and equipment which further compound the problem. The study recommended that research to find efficient and affordable latrine technologies for adoption by all residents; reviewing of TMA bye-laws to make them more deterring; the institution of a sanitation fund into which all companies operating within the Metropolis should contribute; and the establishment of public education unit within the Assembly.

Source: UCC
Causes and effects of political violence in Berekum municipality

The dissertation, which was a cross-sectional descriptive survey, aimed at investigating the causes and effects of political violence in Berekum Municipality. The study was informed by deepening intensity with which violence germinates and multiples before, during and after presidential and parliamentary electioneering campaigns in the Municipality. A sample of 226 respondents madeup of 84 party members and 142 members of the public were selected for the study. The sample also consisted of 67 females and 159 males. Purposive sampling, proportional random sampling and quota sampling procedures were used to identify the sample. Respondents answered one set of hand-delivered questionnaire. The main statistical tools used in the data analysis were frequency distribution and percentages. The study revealed among other things that inciting comments from politicians, the use of alcoholic drinks, collision of opposing political party members during political rallies and processions, unemployment and poverty are some of the main predominant factors that trigger political violence in the Municipality. It also revealed that the people of Berekum through the political violence have experienced physical injuries, voter apathy, trauma, loss of relatives as well as loss of businesses. It was recommended that the Municipal Assembly should identify the unemployed in the Municipality and assistthose with employable skills to find employment while those with no employable skills should be trained by the Assembly in collaboration with the central government to get some employable skills

Source: UCC
Causes and Impact of Non-Performing Loans: The Case of Ut Bank

Loans form a chunk of a bank’s assets as a financial institution. This comes about as a result of granting loans to individuals, companies and other institutions in a way of making income. The loans granted by these banks constitute their loan portfolios and assets. However, a loan granted can go bad and this goes a long way to affect the financial health and profitability of the bank in the future through huge provisions for bad and doubtful debts in its books. This research was carried out to establish the causes and impacts of non-performing loans on the financial performance of banks, focusing on UT Bank. This study covered the past five year’s performance of the loans of UT Bank. The data used for this study were primary and secondary data. Questionnaires were the main tools used for the gathering of primary data and I also relied mainly on various forms of published and unpublished information including annual financial reports and other management reports of UT Bank. Some of the causes of these non-performing loans are borrower’s orientation/culture, risk appetite of the bank, high loan interest rate, rapid loan portfolio growth, weak credit monitoring, poor risk assessment, compromised integrity of credit officers, size of the bank, high inflation, poor training of staff, lack of security/collateral, diversion of funds by borrowers, and unfavourable economic changes. It is recommended that effective loan monitoring, staff training, adequate and liquid collaterals, customer orientation and training, use of credit reference bureau and effective monitoring of business cycle of industries are used to improve on the quality of their loans portfolio.

Source: UCC
CAUSES AND MANAGEMENT OF STRESS AMONG STUDENT TEACHERS: A CASE OF UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST, DISTANCE EDUCATION CENTRES IN THE CENTRAL REGION OF GHANA

The Researchers investigated into the causes, effects and management strategies of stress among University of Cape Coast Distance Education student teachers in the Central of Ghana. The study employed the Phenomenology approach to provide insights into the sources of stress and how it can be managed to reduce its negative effects on student teachers and their performance in the classroom. Purposive sampling technique was used to select Twentyeight (28) participants for the study. It emerged from the study that stress is caused by personal/individual factors, interpersonal factors, leadership/management factors as well as professional factors. It was, also, found out that individuals adopt various ways and means such as seeking counselling services, involving in political arguments to while away time to reduce tension and talking to friends. The study recommends that the management of CoDE organize regular orientation programme for teachers on how to deal with stress professionally. It is also recommended that the government through the Ministry of Education trains more teachers to reduce workload on teachers. Lastly, GES should encourage teachers to engage in extra-curricular activities to reduce stress

Source: UCC
Causes of labour agitation or unrest among industrial and commercial workers in Ghana

A lot of researches have been conducted to find out the causes of labour unrest in many organisations in Ghana. However, little has been explored in the area of Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union in Ghana. It is for this purpose that the research was conducted to investigate the main causes of labour unrest among members of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union. The descriptive survey designed was employed for the study. The multi-sampling procedures (simple random, purposive and convenience) were used to sample 31 management staff and 48 workers/factory hands from four manufacturing companies in the Tema Metropolis. These sampling techniques were used in order to elicit specific information from respondents who have in-depth knowledge on the issue under study. The questionnaire and the structured interview guide were the instruments used in the collection of the primary data. The descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. The study from both management and employees’ perspectives found that the main causes leading to labour unrest in their organisations are wage increment, delay in negotiation of collective bargaining agreement, unfair dismissal of worker/union official, and inflexible working arrangement. Also, as part of the effects of labour unrest on employees who lose income, they are also faced with strong stigmatisation. It was concluded that, the causes take the form of lack of both tangible and intangible materials that play critical roles on the welfare of employees. The study recommended that management should therefore be proactive in dealing with matters related to causing labour agitations.

Source: UCC
Causes of school dropout in basic schools: A case study of Seyere South district

The study sought to find out the causes of school dropout in the Sekyere South District of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The researcher used descriptive survey as the research design and questionnaires were used as the data collection instrument. A total number of two hundred and forty (240) respondents were sampled for the study: One hundred (100) pupils, ninety (90) parents, thirty (30) dropouts and twenty (20) teachers. Parents and dropouts were selected on snowballing sampling technique; teachers were sampled through purposive sampling method; and the simple random sampling method was used to select the pupils. The methods adopted for analyzing the results of the study were simple frequency and percentage tables. It was found from the study that pupils in the Sekyere South District perceive the school or learning environment in which they learn as not being conducive or friendly and thereby discourage them from attending school. The findings also revealed that many factors influence school dropout in the Sekyere South District prominent among them are: parents not being able to provide pupils’ educational needs, teasing or stigmatization resulting from poor performance, pregnancy on the part of pupils, hunger, and too much punishment by teachers. It was also found from this study that parents and teachers do not play any active roles in ensuring the retention of pupils in school. The findings of this study show that majority of pupils would be influenced to drop out of school due to the teasing or stigma they suffer as a result of disease (HIV/AIDS) of their parents. The study recommended among others that there should be seminars and workshops to educate the pupils, parents and the entire community about the dropout menace.

Source: UCC
Causes, effects and management of examination anxiety among senior high school students in the Jomoro Municipality, Ghana

This research examined the causes, effects and ways of managing examination anxiety of senior high school students in Jomoro Municipality of Ghana. The research was carried out using a descriptive cross-sectional design with a quantitative approach. All of the 2,400 students enrolled in public senior high schools in the Jomoro Municipality made up the study's population. The respondents for the study were selected using a multi-stage sampling method through which a sample of 331 seniors from two senior high schools received close ended questionnaires. Means and standard deviations, independent samples t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data gathered. The findings indicated that senior high school students within the Jomoro Municipality generally experienced high levels of examination anxiety. The study further discovered that examination anxiety was caused by poor time management on the part of students, inadequate preparation for examination as well as adoption of rote learning approach by students. The investigation concluded that examination anxiety interfered with students’ ability to perform excellently in examinations. Teachers, school counsellors, as well as academic advisors are therefore encouraged to sensitise students on the importance of adopting effective time management practices such as timetable, regular revision, elimination of distraction and positive attitude before examines.

Source: UCC
Causes, Effects and Management of Science Anxiety Among Senior High School Students in Old Tafo Municipality of Ghana

The study investigated causes, effects and management of science anxiety among senior high school students in the Old Tafo Municipality of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey research design was adopted. The sample was made up of 337 students selected from a population of 2700 students from Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School and Al Azhariya Islamic Senior High School, using stratified random sampling procedure. Data were collected through Science Anxiety Scale (Güzeller & Doğru, 2012) and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the respondents had moderate level of science anxiety in relation to doing science homework, getting low position in class, the attitude of the science teacher, entering science class and solving problems related to science. The study also revealed that the causes of science anxiety revolve around the demands of the content and the lack of infrastructure and teaching materials to make the content practical and easy to understand. The study showed that science anxiety affects performance negatively, reduces interest of students in science, prevents students from pursuing science subjects in future and affects school attendance. Finally, the strategies which can help reduce science anxiety included providing facilities and infrastructure and teachers making the study of science easier and interesting. From the findings, it was recommended that school counsellors in various schools should conduct science anxiety assessments for their students to identify the level of science anxiety of individual students so that measures can be taken to assist individual students

Source: UCC
Causes, effects, and prevention of teenage pregnancy among students in senior high schools in the agona west municipality in the central region, Ghana

The main objective of this study was to examine the causes, effects, and prevention of teenage pregnancy among students in Senior High Schools in the Agona West Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. Four research questions guided the study. The study employed cross-sectional descriptive survey design. The target population of the study consisted of all third year Senior High School (SHS) students (1,370) in Agona West Municipality during the 2013/2014 academic year. A sample size of 300 students was selected for the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the research data. It was concluded that teenage pregnancy is mainly caused by lack of education on the causes, effects and prevention of the phenomenon. It was also concluded that negative peer group influence and poverty can lead to teenage pregnancy. It was observed from the study that the main source of education on teenage pregnancy is the parents. Furthermore, it was observed that poverty is one of the effects of teenage pregnancy. It was recommended that parents should ensure proper supervision and monitoring of their children. Parent should give their children appropriate sex education and sanction them when necessary. Sex education should be taught as a stand-alone subject instead of being integrated into other subjects such as religious and moral education as is found in the current curriculum. This will help broaden the scope of teenage pregnancy education and also increase the time allocated for its teaching and creating room for parents and other resource persons to share their rich experiences with the school children.

Source: UCC
Celebration of love: An aspect of Ga women’s discourse on love in Adaawe song- texts

Love is a subject that has received a lot of attention in literature, and poetry especially has seen much on love than any other genre, probably because it is traditionally seen as the creative exploration and expression of an individual’s emotion and passion. A genre of Ga oral poetry that has love as its primary subject is the adaawe songs that are sung by Ga maidens. This paper examines an aspect of Ga women’s discourse on love in the songs, particularly, how love is celebrated. This was done based on the theoretical premise that literary texts, which adaawe songs are considered to be part of, are informed by social, cultural and historical discourses at the place and time they are created. The songs were analysed, paying attention to content and style, and the analysis revealed that where love is celebrated, it usually expresses the personae’s happiness and pride in having their partners as lovers. Two media were identified by which the personae in adaawe songs celebrate their love for their lovers as well as their lovers’ love for them – open declarations and actions

Source: UCC
Celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, lowers plasma cholesterol and attenuates hepatic lipid peroxidation during carbon-tetrachloride–associated hepatotoxicity in rats

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and prostaglandin production are suggested to play important, complex roles in the pathogenesis of various liver diseases. Studies on the effects of COX-2 inhibitors on the progression of liver fibrosis present controversial results, and the proposed therapeutic potential of these agents in chronic liver disease is predicated largely on their effectiveness in modulating hepatic stellate cell activation in vitro. This study investigated the modulatory effect of celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, in CCl4-mediated hepatotoxicity in rats. Thirty Wistar albino rats, weighing 120–180 g, were assigned into five groups of 6 rats/group. Groups 1 and 2 received saline (10 mL/kg) and CCl4 (80 mg/kg), respectively. Group 3 was given celecoxib (5.7 mg/kg), whereas groups 4 and 5 were pretreated with 2.9 and 5.7 mg/kg/day of celecoxib, respectively, 1 hour before CCl4 treatment. Plasma aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase activities increased significantly by 118.5, 150.0, and 51.3%, respectively, with an accompanying decrease (P < 0.05) in total protein and albumin after CCl4 treatment. Hepatotoxicity was associated with a significant increase in plasma cholesterol, hepatic lipid peroxidation (LPO), and severe hepatic necrosis with marked fatty and cellular (i.e., mononuclear cells) infiltration. Although celecoxib neither reduced CCl 4-induced increases in marker enzymes of hepatotoxicity nor significantly attenuated hepatic necrosis, it, however, was effective in reducing elevated cholesterol by 16.5 and 20.8% and LPO by 12.9 and 35.5% at 2.9 and 5.7 mg/kg, respectively. Data suggest that COX-2 inhibitors may be effective in controlling hypercholesterolemia and peroxidative changes associated with liver injury

Source: UCC