University of Cape Coast Journals
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Analyzing Ghana’s Tourism Operating Environment: A Political Economy Perspective
Get PDFNotwithstanding its importance to the success of businesses and industries, the external operating environment is hardly a subject of interest in the tourism literature. But understanding the operating environment is of major value when assessing the efficacy of tourism and its role as a vehicle for socioeconomic transformation in any country. The present study therefore employs a qualitative design within a political economy framework to assess the current environment within which Ghana‟s tourism operates. Using unstructured in- depth interviews the study collates views from 10 senior tourism sector operatives representing both public and private sectors chosen through the purposive sampling technique. The findings suggest that the political and economic factors of the present operating environment combine to create a difficult operational theatre for both the public and private sector actors in tourism. By implication therefore, the environment disables rather than enables the tourism trade and circumscribes its potential for expansion. To reverse the situation it is recommended that the existing organizational structures must be repositioned and also there must be reorientation of the existing ideological and fiscal policies
Using dramatic and pretend play to promote children’s learning: the case of early childhood education in Ghana: Using dramatic and pretend play to promote children’s learning: the case of early childhood education in Ghana
No full textCommunities and cultures have a way of passing on their legacies to their young ones for preservation in order to keep the generation and lineage going. Many of these practices are passed on through dramatic or pretend play. Providing children opportunity to learn best should be done through a medium that children find to be interesting and child-friendly. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe dramatic and pretend play and their place in the education of children in early childhood care and development settings in Ghana. This will inform practice, to enable teachers use such dramatic and pretend play to enhance children’s learning. This manuscript is important for teachers, policy makers, and Non-Governmental Organizations who are interested in early childhood education in Ghana. Understanding the knowledge that the ecology within which the child lives and grows will be very crucial, to developing a curriculum and pedagogy that are context bound and therefore very appropriate for the children in that ecology
Accessibility to non-bank credit and the growth of micro and small enterprises in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana: Accessibility to non-bank credit and the growth of micro and small enterprises in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana
No full textAccess to credit has been consistently cited as a major constraint to the growth of micro and small-scale enterprises. Research has shown that enterprises that are not able to access credit from banks often rely on non-bank sources. It is based on this that the study set out to examine the accessibility of MSEs to non-bank credit and how non-bank credit affects their growth. In order to achieve the set objectives, 96 MSEs of five non-bank financial institutions were sampled for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data from both the non-bank financial instutions and the MSEs. Data from the study were mainly analysed using the Chi-Square Test of Independence and log linear resgression analysis. Findings show that MSEs’ accessibility to non-bank credit was affected by inadequate information about credit availability, high interest rates and cumbersome procedure for credit acquisition. Most of the non-bank credit advanced to MSEs were inadequate and were often disbursed at wrong times. Credit received by MSEs mainly went to increasing working capital. This was attributed to the high rate of inflation that forces MSEs to demand credit for re-capitalisation. Firms that accessed larger amount of credit experienced increases in profits. Based on the findings the study recommends to non-bank financial institutions to make the procedures for credit acquisition less cumbersome, provide information about credit availability and to grant adequate and timely loans to MSEs. In order to access credit in time, MSEs are to put in timely application of credit as this will give non-bank credit institution amply time to process the application
Stakeholders’ perceptions of service quality in hotels: Stakeholders’ perceptions of service quality in hotels
No full textGhana is said to have the distinctive peculiarity of delivering poor service and anecdotal evidence suggests that hotel customers, both domestic and international guests have in one way or the other experienced shortfalls in the quality of services offered. Guests have expressed varied needs and expectations during their stay but hotels have not responded adequately. This study explored the perceptual interface between guests and service providers. The study gathered cross-sectional data using questionnaires from 172 hotel guests, 197 frontline employees and 125 management staff. The findings of the study reveal that there were significant differences between guests and service providers’ perceptions of service quality. It is therefore recommended that managers of hotels put in extra effort to minimize the gaps between guests and frontline staff’s perceptions by training employees and treating them as internal clients so that they understand and appreciate how the hotel works in order to satisfy and motivate employees to satisfy customers
``Comparative analysis of negative constructions in standard Yorùbá and Egbá dialect: ``Comparative analysis of negative constructions in standard Yorùbá and Egbá dialect
No full textThis paper compares negative constructions in Standard Yorùbá (SY) and Ẹ̀gbá dialect (ẸD) using the Principles and Parameters theory as a theoretical framework. A major finding of this study is that while ‘má’ is attested as a negative marker in SY, it is attested as a progressive marker in ẸD. It is also found that, the negative marker ‘kò’ is the only negative marker in SY that has variants ‘kò’ and ‘ò’; but all negative markers in ẸD except ‘àì’ and ‘tì’ have variants. In terms of behaviour and features of these negative markers in different syntactic positions, a lot of differences exist between those that are attested in SY and ẸD, bringing about differences in their negative constructions. The paper concluded that, despite the fact that Ẹ̀gbá dialect is a dialect of Yorùbá, a lot of differences were seen in their negative constructions as a result of the differences in the syntactic positions and features of the negative markers attested in the two speech forms
Preferred careers of senior high school students in Ghana: a revisit of Holland’s career development theory: Preferred careers of senior high school students in Ghana: a revisit of Holland’s career development theory
No full textThe study investigated the preferred careers of senior high school (S.H.S) students in Ghana using Holland’s classification of work environments. The participants comprised 364 SHS students who were selected from four senior high schools in Koforidua through the use of multi-stage sampling technique. Data were analysed with the use of frequencies, percentages and rank order. The findings of the study showed that Social careers prevailed as the most preferred among SHS students in Ghana. Artistic careers were ranked second, followed by Conventional and Enterprising careers respectively. Investigative careers were the least in rank order. The implications for counselling for these findings were emphasised
Reconceptualising teacher knowledge in domain specific terms: Reconceptualising teacher knowledge in domain specific terms
No full textLiterature is replete with different conceptualizations of teacher knowledge, each with their implications on teaching practices. Pivotal among these are conceptualizations of content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. The paper argues that until now, the various conceptualizations of teacher knowledge have been mostly general and not domain specific enough. In addition, researchers who have relied on these earlier conceptualizations have mainly concerned themselves with teacher knowledge qualitatively. In an attempt to shift from these general conceptualizations and the qualitative measures of teacher knowledge, the study on which this paper is based relied on the Knowledge of Algebra for Teaching (KAT) project’s conceptualization of teacher knowledge for teaching algebra and an adaptation of one of the instruments. Two hundred and nine participants comprising 189 prospective and 20 in-service high school mathematics teachers in Ghana took part in the study. From the findings of the study, this paper argues that effective mathematics teachers do not only use the individual conceptualized knowledge but sometimes also blend these types of knowledge into somewhat new forms of knowledge. Consequently, the paper proposes an elaboration of the KAT project’s domain specific conceptualization of teacher knowledge that recognizes overlapping packages of knowledge and lends itself to being assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively
Handgrip and pinch strength changes of type II diabetes mellitus patients following a 12- week strength training programme: Handgrip and pinch strength changes of type II diabetes mellitus patients following a 12- week strength training programme
No full textThe purpose of this study was to establish the efficacy of a 12-week strength training (ST) programme on handgrip and pinch strength in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients in a tertiary health institution in Benin-City. This study was a pre-test, post-test control group design. A total of 36 T2DM patients participated in the study. Handgrip and pinch strength were measured using electronic hand dynamometer (in kg) and mechanical pinch gauge (in kg) respectively prior to and following a 12-week ST programme. Data generated were analyzed using inferential statistics of one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the statistical significance was accepted for p value of <0.05.The findings of the study showed that ST programme had significant effects on handgrip and pinch strength of T2DM patients. It was concluded that ST programme can substantially optimize handgrip and pinch strength of patients with T2DM. Therefore, ST programme should be considered a key element in the management of T2DM patients
Soyinka’s archetypal triad and the dialectics of terror: Soyinka’s archetypal triad and the dialectics of terror
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There is doubt that the search for global peace in the world today is receiving attention unprecedented in history. Perhaps, the turning point, which opened up fresh security challenges, was the infamous 9/11 attacks on the United States of America by Al-Qaeda. Since this horrific incidence, similar carnage of the Al-Qaeda has continued with the activities of the ISIS in the Middle East, Al-Shabaab in the eastern corridors Africa, and other groups in the western part of Africa. Rightly or wrongly, ‘terrorism’ is always used as label for the activities of these groups. This paper examines the subjective nature of the term, using selected poems from Wole Soyinka’s Idanre and Other Poems (1967), A Shuttle in the Crypt (1972), Ogun Abibiman (1976), Mandela’s Earth and Other Poems (1989) and Samarkand and Other Markets I Have known (2002), as basis of analysis. The writer, drawing a compelling link between terrorist actions and the interventions of Ogun, Atunda, Shaka and Mandela in the selected poems, establishes, from the perspective of Soyinka, the causes of and antidote to terrorist acts. The conclusion of the paper emphasizes that the easiest route to the much needed global peace lies in mutual respect of boundaries by all.
 
A comparison of patterns of sports injury between elite players of beach soccer and association football in Nigeria: A comparison of patterns of sports injury between elite players of beach soccer and association football in Nigeria
No full textIt is the dream of every nation, and its athletes to excel in all sport competitions and tournaments, so as to maximise the benefits of success associated to excellence in performance. However, injury is a major factor militating against success of athletes; it is considered as a potential threat in sports. This study was a retrospective one, designed to compare the patterns of sports injury between a group of elite players of beach soccer and their counterparts of association football in Nigeria. For this purpose, 46 players (23 from each sport) were purposively selected to participate in the study. A self developed questionnaire titled Questionnaire on sports Injury among athletes (QSIA) with 0.78 reliability level was used for data collection, and the data collected were analysed using frequency, simple percentage, mean and independent t-test. Results showed that there are variations in the pattern of sports injuries sustained by beach soccer players and association footballers. These variations are noticeable in the types of sports injuries they sustained, the regions of the body affected by the injuries, the preceding incidents to the injuries, and the levels of intensity of the injuries