ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
Climate-induced range shifts of invasive species (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama)

BACKGROUND: The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) is a destructive, invasive species that poses a serious threat to the citrus industry wherever it occurs. The psyllid vectors the phloem-limited bacteria �Candidatus Liberibacter americanus� and �Ca. L. asiaticus�, causal agents of the incurable citrus greening disease or huanglongbing (HLB). It is essential to understand which regions and areas are suitable for colonization by ACP to formulate appropriate policy and preventive measures. Considering its biology and ecology, we used a machine learning algorithm based on the MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy) principle, to predict the potential global distribution of ACP using bioclimatic variables and elevation. RESULTS: The model predictions are consistent with the known distribution of ACP and also highlight the potential occurrence outside its current ecological range, that is, primarily in Africa, Asia and the Americas. The most important abiotic variables driving the global distribution of ACP were annual mean temperature, seasonality of temperature and annual precipitation. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the need for international collaboration in slowing the spread of invasive pests like D. citri. � 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. � 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Source: UEW
Clothing and textiles course as a foundation for the fashion design and textiles programme in Accra Technical University

The study was conducted in Accra Technical University. It determined whether Clothing and Textiles graduates from the Senior High School have a foundation for Fashion Design and Textiles programme in Accra Technical University. The objectives of the study were to; ascertain the contents learnt in Clothing and Textiles at the S.H.S level; identify teaching methods used to deliver the contents of the Clothing and Textiles subjects at the S.H.S level; examine students’ views on the usefulness of contents learnt in S.H.S Clothing and Textiles and Fashion Design and Textiles at the University level; find out from students’their performance in Fashion Design and Textiles in the Technical University. The cross-sectional design was used for the study. Two hundred and sixty (260) Fashion students were sampled through stratified and simple random sampling techniques for the study. Questionnaire with Crobanch’s alpha reliability coefficient (𝛼) of 0.77 was used as a research instrument to collect data. Frequency count, percentage and mean, generated through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 software, were used to describe and analyse the data. Pearson’s correlation test was used to test a hypothesis on a significance level of p<0.05. The study revealed that the Clothing and Textiles syllabus for Ghanaian Senior High Schools (S.H.S) is content-rich and to equips students with appropriate vocational knowledge and practical skills. The study found out that Clothing and Textiles lessons were taught mainly via, lecture, brainstorming, discussion, demonstration, projects and practical work. The study also revealed that the students had acquired foundation knowledge and skills in Textiles production. The findings indicated that students performance assessment scores were generally high. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education and Ghana Education Service should institute and incorporate internship or apprenticeship programmes into the curriculum of Senior High Schools to expose Clothing and Textiles students to operations in the garment industry. Again, Clothing and Textile teachers in Ghanaian SHS should design and use practical activities and interactive lessons that engage students in active learning and experimentation to boost student interest in Clothing and Textiles and entrepreneurship. The study recommended that Clothing and Textiles teachers should organise field trip to enable effective and practical teaching and learning. Again policy makers should include Clothing and Textiles programme to be selected at the Senior High School and teachers on that field should encourage students to offer Clothing and Textiles especially in selecting subject in the pre tertiary level

Source: UEW
Clothing care practices of students in Dabokpa Technical Institute and Vitin Senior High School in Tamale

The study was conducted at Dabokpa Technical Institute and Vitin Senior High School in Tamale Metropolis. The purpose of the study was to investigate the clothing care and maintenance practices of Dabokpa Technical Institute in Tamale and to assess their awareness of appropriate clothing care and maintenance methods. The descriptive research design was used for the study. One hundred (100) students were sampled from Dabokpa Technical and another one hundred (100) from Vitin Senior High School. The technique used in selecting the samples was the lottery method from both schools and they were analyzed and compared. The instrument used in collecting data was the questionnaire and this was made up in five sections. The study found that students did not have knowledge, and they were not familiar with clothing care label information and that students used inappropriate clothing care methods. Also, it was discovered that students did not know the correct procedure for laundry of clothes. Based on the findings it was therefore recommended that the Clothing and Textiles teachers should organize workshops and seminars for students in order to educate them on skills involved in proper procedures for the laundry of clothes (washing and ironing) procedures, and storage practices. Leaflet which provides information on clothing care label, laundry and storage procedures should be provided alongside with periodic education for all the students. Demonstration lessons on proper clothing care practices and how to repair damage clothes should be organised periodically. Teachers and parents should periodically monitor clothing storage practices of their wards at school and at home and if possible, support them with functional clothing care facilities or devices in the boarding houses for laundry (washing and ironing), drying and storage of clothing.

Source: UEW
Clothing preference and purchasing behaviour of undergraduate students of the bluecrest university college

The purpose of this study is to determine the clothing preference and purchasing behaviour of undergraduate students of Blue Crest University College. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study involving 111 undergraduate students from the Blue Crest University College in Accra. A convenience sampling method was used to sample participants for the study using a close ended questionnaire. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. The findings show that the physical factors that influence the clothing preference of the students included the fitting nature of the cloth, the ease with which the cloth can be worn, the climatic conditions in the environment, the colour of the cloth and the fabric which the clothing is made up of the psychological factors influencing the clothing preference of the students included cultural factors, the role of the students in society, the peer influence around the students and the ability of the cloth to boost their self-confidence and the ability of the cloth to enhance the self-image of the students. Majority of the students noted that they vary their clothing preference depending on the amount of money that they receive. The study was conducted among the students of Blue Crest College in Ghana. The targeted population consists of all the undergraduate fashion students. According to the data from the registry of the Blue Crest University College, there were a total of 257 students in the 2021/2022 academic year. The researcher recommends that designers in the clothing industry in Ghana need to consider the factors that influence the clothing preference of students which mainly consists of price as well the perfect blend of practicality and style.

Source: UEW
Code switching and code mixing in peer group communications, selected whatsapp chats in Ghana

A lot of studies have been done on code-switching. Most of the studies are concerned with face to face interactions but less on online communications. This study therefore gives an account of both sociolinguistics and grammatical aspects of code-switching and code-mixing in peer communications on WhatsApp group chats using the matrix language frame model (Myers-Scotton, 1993) and rational choice theory (Elster, 1986). The paper utilized unstructured interview, participant observation and screen captured chats as the basic data collection instruments. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the participants to correspond with what the research questions demand. The study revealed that intra-sentential code-switching was dominantly practised on the platforms. It also unveiled that majority of the embedded language elements adhered to the Morpheme Order Principle and System Morpheme Principle and as such, most of the embedded language morphemes followed the morphosyntactic structure of the matrix language. It was also found that the participants did back and forth switching and the English Language verbs incorporated into Twi constituents, went through some phonological process. Therefore, the study proposes that there should be a study on English embedded language verbs switched into Twi matrix language constituents.

Source: UEW
Code-switching in the English language classroom the case of selected junior high schools in Asikuma- Odoben - Brakwa district

In every aspect of human life, language is an important form of communication and that is one of the skills that the school system seeks to develop. Ghana as multilingual country has a challenge to meet due to the numerous languages that students are exposed to. This makes it difficult to effectively learn the target language. In order to communicate well with students in the English language classroom (L 2), teachers code-switch for several pedagogic reasons. This study sought to find out when codeswitching happens in the English language class, the reasons for which teachers and students code-switch, and the benefits they derive from it. The research design that was adopted for the study is a qualitative descriptive survey. Qualitative approach which involves audio-tape recordings, interviews and observation of the classroom interaction between teachers and pupils were used to gather data. The main purpose of using a descriptive survey is to observe, describe and document aspects of the English language teaching-learning classroomas it naturally occurs. The sample population for this study consisted of J.H.S 1 to JHS 3 students and English teachers of the selected schools. Convenient sampling technique was used to select six JHS teachers from six schools from six towns in the District. The schools selected for the study were Asikuma R/C Boys‟ JHS, Brakwa Presby JHS „A‟, Odoben R/C JHS, Supunso D/A JHS, Asarikwa JHS and Eshiem D/A JHS. Quota sampling technique was used to select the si towns for the study. The analysis revealed that code-switching occurs at various stages of lesson delivery: introduction, content delivery, evaluation, and closure in the classroom. The study also revealed that code-switching was used for academic, socializing and management functions in the English language classroom. Finally, code-switching was found to have significant benefits to the English class, some of which are to help to meet the individual needs of the stuents help build rapport between teacherand students and help the teacher to draw the attention of students. Others are that it is an important communication strategy and instructional tool for both teachers and students, it is used to clarify their understanding of lesson contents, used as a tool to correct students during instruction, and to increase students‟ participation and activeness in class. Based on these findings, it is concluded that teachers and students should judiciously use code-switch in the English language classroom in order to effectively accelerate the learning of English.

Source: UEW
Code-switching in the English language classroom, the case of selected junior high schools in Asikuma - Odoben Brakwa district

In every aspect of human life, language is an important form of communication and that is one of the skills that the school system seeks to develop. Ghana as multilingual country has a challenge to meet due to the numerous languages that students are exposed to. This makes it difficult to effectively learn the target language. In order to communicate well with students in the English language classroom (L 2), teachers code-switch for several pedagogic reasons. This study sought to find out when code switching happens in the English language class, the reasons for which teachers and students code-switch, and the benefits they derive from it. The research design that was adopted for the study is a qualitative descriptive survey. Qualitative approach which involves audio-tape recordings, interviews and observation of the classroom interaction between teachers and pupils were used to gather data. The main purpose of using a descriptive survey is to observe, describe and document aspects of the English language teaching-learning classroomas it naturally occurs. The sample population for this study consisted of J.H.S 1 to JHS 3 students and English teachers of the selected schools. Convenient sampling technique was used to select six JHS teachers from six schools from six towns in the District. The schools selected for the study were Asikuma R/C Boys‟ JHS, Brakwa Presby JHS „A‟, Odoben R/C JHS, Supunso D/A JHS, Asarikwa JHS and Eshiem D/A JHS. Quota sampling technique was used to select the si towns for the study. The analysis revealed that code-switching occurs at various stages of lesson delivery: introduction, content delivery, evaluation, and closure in the classroom. The study also revealed that code-switching was used for academic, socializing and management functions in the English language classroom. Finally, code-switching was found to have significant benefits to the English class, some of which are to help to meet the individual needs of the stuents help build rapport between teacherand students and help the teacher to draw the attention of students. Others are that it is an important communication strategy and instructional tool for both teachers and students, it is used to clarify their understanding of lesson contents, used as a tool to correct students during instruction, and to increase students‟ participation and activeness in class. Based on these findings, it is concluded that teachers and students should judiciously use code-switch in the English language classroom in order to effectively accelerate the learning of English.

Source: UEW
Cognitive and technology correlates of graduates’ entrepreneurship career choice in the knowledge economy.

Economists’ prescription of structural transformation and social intervention models for graduate employment are characterised by anecdotes and Westernised views at the neglect of exploring entrepreneurial career choices and indigenous knowledges with multivariate modelling in the Ghanaian setting. Hence, the concern-based adoption model, theory of planned behaviour, and post-modernism theories support the current thesis statement that graduate entrepreneurship career choice could be significant predictors of social-cognitive and technology integration literacy in the knowledge-driven society. The concurrent mixed method design was used with randomised 709 business students from seven Ghanaian public universities. Factor analysed 107- questionnaire items showed an average Cronbach alpha of 0.9 on seven latent variables. Rural Participatory Appraisal was used with 11 discussants. One-way MANCOVA and multiple discriminant analysis in IBM SPSS were applied to four main hypotheses with thematic analysis of narratives in NVivo Version 10. Multivariate and univariate assumptions (normality, homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices, linearity, independence of predictors, multicollinearity, and outliers checks) with several supplementary findings were explored. Statistically significant differences were observed between graduates' entrepreneurship career choices and social-cognitive traits. Practically, the MANCOVA model predicted 85.2% error variances in business students’ ability to develop career self-efficacy, goal-setting, locus of control, reasonable risk-taking, and the need for achievement. Personal and institutional factors had a significant relationship with students’ entrepreneurial decision-making. Students’ critical views on their curriculum’s inability to link theory to indigenous knowledges also emerged. The study concluded that cognitive-based strategies matched with technology integration are superior models for predictor youth entrepreneurial career intentions in today’s knowledge driven society. Implications for vocational guidance, parenting, curriculum design, and strategic employee selection are discussed.

Source: UEW
Cohesion in spoken discourse – a study of selected church sermons

This work studies the language of sermons. The work looks into spoken discourse. It investigates cohesion in sermons by examining cohesive devices in the utterances of selected sermons and how these devices contribute to the logic and understanding of non-written texts. It examines cohesive devices that make the utterances of church sermons semantically and logically significant. Five samples of church sermons are selected for this study. The samples are closely analyzed through content analysis based on the utterances of the clergy. The study discloses how utterances are logically organized into meaningful structures due to the usage of cohesive devices in the discourse. Those devices were propounded by Halliday and Hasan (1996) and they include reference, ellipsis, substitution, conjunction, collocation and reiteration. This work finally discloses the fact that every utterance or text, whether written or non-written, consciously or unconsciously, has unique structure and form which could be analyzed.

Source: UEW
Collaborative disciplinary measures between teachers and pupils in improving academic performance: a case study of Mmofraturo girls’ school, Kumasi

Indiscipline in general adversely affects academic work and this has lead to a decline in academic performance of pupils in Junior Secondary Schools in Ghana. This study was conducted to assess the extent of indiscipline in Mmofraturo Girls’ School and its adverse effects on pupils’ academic performance so as to provide solutions. The study sample included pupils and teachers of the Junior Secondary School Department. The study used mixed method of data- observation, interviews, test items, examination records and questionnaires for teachers and pupils. Results showed that pupils’ misbehaviour included talking, lateness to class, absenteeism and rudeness. Others were eating in class, quarrelling, deliberate refusal to answer teachers’ questions, carelessness and inattention. With respect to teachers, laziness, lateness/absenteeism, poor teaching methods and unfriendliness were some common attributes. Other behavioural problems associated with teachers were discrimination, use of abusive language, flirting with pupils, improper dressing and lack of self-discipline. Varieties of interventions were employed to improve the situation. They included guidance and counseling, setting of rules and conduct in class, remedial tuition, adequate preparation by teachers before lessons, self discipline and use of polite words by teachers. There was a need for consistent in-service courses on classroom indiscipline in Junior Secondary Schools. Instituting a vibrant guidance and counseling unit in all Basic schools to deal with disciplinary problems was necessary

Source: UEW
Collections management at Manhyia palace museum

Museums contribute to the socioeconomic development of countries worldwide, and countries such as the United Kingdom (UK), South Africa, Brazil, Kenya, Israel, and Germany have had a boost in their GDP through revenue derived from its museums. Operating a museum effectively involves many tasks, and these are encapsulated in Collections Management, which is accessioning, exhibiting, displaying right up to storage of collections and communicating with visitors. Since the inception of the Manhyia Palace Museum (MPM) in 1995, its mission to promote education on the rich culture and history of Asante, seems not to have been fully achieved and accomplished as indicated by the Head Curator. Thus upon a casual study of the activities of MPM, the Museum‟s inability to operate a Museum of excellence, was attributed to fundamental challenges with its operations as a museum, especially in the area of its Collections Management. In order to unearth the shortfalls in the Collections Management of MPM and identify possible means of overturning them, there was the need to identify internationally accepted Museums and their practices in the area of collections management. The researcher identified a couple of museums out of which the British Museum was chosen for the research into its Collections Management with anticipation of a well-structured Collections Management which to the researcher will be worth emulating for the sustenance of Collections Management at MPM. Investigations into this was guided by in-depth enquiry into the policies and systems in the area of Collections Management in world-class standard museums. The disparities between the practices of Collections Management at Manhyia Palace Museum as against practices in world-class standard museums was carried out. The research design used by the researcher was Case Study by employing qualitative methods achieved through observation and descriptive approaches. Primary data were obtained on the field through observation and participation as an intern at MPM and the BM which was the accessible population and as a visitor (research student) at other museums that fell within the researcher‟s population of study. Examples of such Museums in Kumasi, Accra, Ho, London, Manchester, Salvador (Brazil), Philadelphia (USA), Pretoria (SA) Canada among others. The findings revealed that a documented Collections Management Policy of MPM was non-existent. In conclusion, the researcher drafted a Policy Framework on Collections Management for MPM, based upon its Vision and Mission Statement. The researcher envisages changes at MPM, in the area of Collections Management and anticipates a progressive and notable transformation based on the drafted Policy. The researcher is of the view this framework on Collections Management policy could be replicated, improved and fine-tuned to suit the numerous visions and mission statements in the various museums in Ghana.

Source: UEW