University of Cape Coast Journals
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Moral economy and the sustainability of the arttisanal marine fishing industry in Shama, Ghana: Moral economy and the sustainability of the arttisanal marine fishing industry in Shama, Ghana
No full textFishing plays an important role in the Ghanaian economy and about 10% of Ghanaians directly or indirectly make their living from the fishery sub-sector. This, notwithstanding, artisanal fishing is characterised by seasonality, rising costs of operation and diminishing catches resulting from pirate fishing by foreign trawlers, use of illegal fishing techniques and, lately, the drilling of light crude oil offshore. The main objective of this paper was to examine traditional institutional arrangements within the artisanal fishing industry in Shama, a community along the west coast of Ghana. Emphasis was placed on social relations within the context of a moral economy that ensures that the fishing activities and livelihoods are sustained in the face of dwindling fish stocks and high expedition costs. The sustainable livelihood approach was reviewed to high-light the vulnerability context within which community livelihoods are obtained and the risk management and coping strategiesindividuals employ to deal with such vulnerabilities. Those risk coping strategies were carried out within the context of a community moral economy. A total of 33 respondents were selected by accidental and purposive sampling for the study. Interviewing, focus group discussions and non-participant observation were used for data collection and analysis. The study revealed that stakeholders in the artisanal marine fishing industry in Shama draw on family, social networks and social claims to ensure the sustainability of their livelihoods. It is through social networks and claims that the people were able to access financial capital to support their fishing businesses and cope with vulnerabilities
Internet use among tour operators in Ghana: An exploratory study: Internet use among tour operators in Ghana: An exploratory study
No full textThe introduction of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) in the early 1990’s brought in a new era in communications and transformed the promotion and sales of tourism products. Established web sites by companies have put them in position to carry out productive marketing activities. The current study presents the findings of an exploratory work on the current stage of Internet use among tour operators in Ghana. The study shows that despite the increase in the use of the Internet, Ghanaian tour operators only use it as an additional mode of communication. Currently, the emphasis is still on traditional marketing communication channels such as the print media and telephone. Their websites simply do not possess the interactive features required for Internet marketing. It is recommended that tour operators in Ghana engage in social interactions by creating virtual communities
Infant feeding practices in Cape Coast, Ghana: A sociological perspective: Infant feeding practices in Cape Coast, Ghana: A sociological perspective
No full textInfant feeding has not always been seen as a social behaviour by health professionals and this has contributed substantiallyto infant mortality among various communities. This paper describes infant feeding practices among mothers in Cape Coast from a sociological perspective. A Symbolic interactionist perspective guided the study, and a descriptive crosssectional survey design methodology was used. The study targeted women, 20 years and above, with not more than six month old babies. A total of 138 mothers were selected at the Central Regional Hospital. Mother’s marital and employment status, their friends’ way of feeding their babies, social support and baby’s age influenced mothers’ infant feeding practices. Culturally, water, as a welcome drink, was also found to be an important part of infant feeding practices. It is recommended that the Ghana Health Service should fashion infant feeding education taking into consideration socioculturalfactors
Poverty and Inequality in Ghana: Analysis of the Dimensions, Trends and Spatial Perspectives: Poverty and Inequality in Ghana: Analysis of the Dimensions, Trends and Spatial Perspectives
No full textThis study assesses the poverty and inequality situation in Ghana using the last four rounds of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (1991–2013). The FGT poverty incidence, Gini and Generalized Entropy inequality measures and regression analysis are used to examine trends, spatial distribution and correlation between poverty inequality and poverty. e ndings suggest that the proportion of population dened as income-poor but non-poor in consumption have increased overtime. Also, a decline in wealth inequality is observed, but rural inequality overtime has increased to outpace urban inequality. Minimizing wealth inequality especially, in rural areas, has the potential of accelerating poverty reduction in Ghana
Access to nancial support and business success: A study of small and medium enterprises in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana: Access to nancial support and business success: A study of small and medium enterprises in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana
No full textThis paper discusses access to financial support and business success of small and medium enterprises in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, Ghana, given the current emphasis on local content in the oil and gas sector. Using a descriptive survey design, interview schedules were adopted to collect data from 303 enterprises that were selected from a list of 1547 provided by the Business Advisory Centre of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI). Checklists were also used to elicit qualitative information from 21 support institutions. Descriptive statistics, supported with chi-square analysis were used to examine the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were mostly categorized. The evidence showed that enterprises that had accessed financial support also received training from the support institutions were relatively more successful than those who had not accessed support. Those businesses that could not access support and were not successful were advised to open business accounts separate from owners’ accounts with banks and learn about the support systems. It was suggested that the NBSSI should create a database of support institutions, which in turn, should make it easier for the enterprises to access their services
Gender disparity in anthropometric and fitness characteristics of university students: Gender disparity in anthropometric and fitness characteristics of university students
No full textStatus of anthropometric and fitness characteristics are usually considered as vital tools for health assessment. Although studies have reported that university students exhibit different health related lifestyles, gender comparative information on anthropometric and fitness characteristics in Ghana is scarce. The study examined gender disparity in anthropometric and fitness characteristics of apparently healthy university students. A cross sectional descriptive design approach was utilized. 120 randomly recruited university students (mean age 22.01 ± 2.29years, male, 67 and female, 53) participated in the study. Body weight, height, body mass index, waist and hip circumferences, trunk flexibility and static body balance were measured in a laboratory setting. Results showed that male had higher age (P < 0.05), height (P < 0.05), waist circumference (P < 0.05), waist-hip ratio (P < 0.05) and static balance (P < 0.05) significantly. Weight (P < 0.05) and body mass index (P < 0.05) were significantly higher in female. The proportion of anthropometric and static balance characteristics of male university students was higher than female while trunk flexibility of male compared favourably with their female counterparts. To encourage healthy living of female in this study, flexibly modified and friendly physical activity programmes are recommended
Correlate of safety measures of oil marketing companies and safety behaviours of fuel station attendants in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis: Correlate of safety measures of oil marketing companies and safety behaviours of fuel station attendants in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis
No full textWorkers of fuel retail industry are exposed to many hazards as result of their job and behaviors. Management’s safety practices are important workplace preventive measures to reducing health and safety hazards. The purpose of this study was to explore the level of safety behaviors among pump attendants and the relationship between attendants’ safety behaviors and safety measures of the companies in the Sekondi-Takoradi. This survey involved 114 pump attendants from four purposively sampled oil marketing companies. Researcher generated questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency reliability of .81 was used to collect data, using SPSS version 16.0 with Pearson correlation as statistical tool. The results indicated that 70% of the respondents disagreed they sometimes ignore safety rules to get their work done quickly, while 86.8% disagreed they sometimes intentionally allow fuel to touch their body. Also, as 60% of the participants agreed they always change into house dresses after work, 78% agreed they always observe safety rules at their stations. Pearson bivariate correlation analysis showed that safety policy enforcement positively correlated moderately (r = 0.6) with attendants’ safety behavior while a low positive relationship was observed between personal protective equipment and safety behaviors of the attendants. The fuel attendants performed their jobs with high sense of safety. Furthermore, provision of appropriate workplace safety measures has positive relationship with the safety behaviors of the participants. Hence, instituting worksite safety policy and enforcing them will positively promote safe work performance among the attendants
Influence of accountability pressure on Science, Mathematics and English Language teachers’ classroom practices in senior high schools in Ghana: Influence of accountability pressure on Science, Mathematics and English Language teachers’ classroom practices in senior high schools in Ghana
No full textIn this study I investigated the sources and influence of accountability pressure on science, mathematics and English language teachers, and suggested ways teachers could better adapt their teaching without yielding to teaching to the test practices with its resultant narrowing of the curriculum. The research was conducted within the midlands of Ghana (Ashanti Region) with a cosmopolitan feature. High schools in the Region attract students from all parts of the nation and nearby regions in West Africa. A large sample of teachers (N = 251), made up of 208 males and 43 females were involved in the study. The distributions of teachers in the three core subjects were 87, 88 and 76 for science, English language and mathematics respectively. In this study, the researcher analysed the sources and effects of accountability threats to the various aspects of science, English language and mathematics teachers’ practices in the classroom with means, standard deviations and ANOVA. In the findings, there was pressure on teachers in the three subject categories to increase the performance of students in WAEC examinations. These pressures often came from school administrators, students and parents. It is recommended that school administrators should focus attention on holistic supervision of teachers to develop a well-informed and educated citizenry instead of leading teachers to achieving students’ gains in performance in external examinations. Also, teachers have to be self-efficacious in their day-to-day practices in the classroom and develop proactive attitudes to learning in students rather than drilling and prepping them on test preparation practices
Relationships among self-knowledge, family influence, career knowledge and senior high school students’ aspirations for entrepreneurial careers in Ghana: Relationships among self-knowledge, family influence, career knowledge and senior high school students’ aspirations for entrepreneurial careers in Ghana
No full textMaking a career choice is a major turning point in the lives of adolescents in senior high schools. For it is in the senior high schools that students are advised or counselled on future worthwhile occupations. The study set to establish the relationship among self-knowledge, family influence, career knowledge level and senior high school students’ aspirations for entrepreneurial careers. Four hypotheses were tested, whilst 1,004 Form 3 senior high school students were selected from 27 senior high schools nationwide using the multi-stage sampling approach. A 71-item questionnaire with an overall reliability of 0.79 was used to collect data. The three dependent variables were found to be significantly related to students’ aspirations for entrepreneurial careers. Again, a positive relationship was found between self-knowledge and aspirations for entrepreneurial careers. It was, therefore, concluded that senior high school students in Ghana rank high regarding their self-knowledge, family influence and career knowledge levels in their aspirations to entrepreneurial careers. It was recommended that students should be equipped with skills or assisted to know and understand themselves well with respect to making career choices, and also entrepreneurship education should be introduced in senior high school curriculum in Ghana. Implications of the study for counsellor education include taking the variables (personal and contextual) into consideration in counselling students on careers.
Reconciling mentor and residence lecturer’s scores in grading students on teaching practice to be true reflection of students\u27 performance: Reconciling mentor and residence lecturer’s scores in grading students on teaching practice to be true reflection of students\u27 performance
No full textWith the increasing number of students who qualify and enroll in universities the world over, and also in the various faculties and colleges of education studies, where students-teachers are trained for the teaching profession, it has become obvious that resident university teachers alone are unable to give ample supervision and monitoring to student-teacher trainees who go out of the campuses to experience real teaching practice. This is often referred to, as external or out of campus teaching practice. In trying to find solution to this vacuum created by insufficient lecturers, not being able to give enough supervisions and assessment scores to grade the practicing teachers, tutors or individuals in the various localities and/or institutions where the student-teachers do the external teaching practice are contracted by the universities as either mentors or internal supervisors to take oversight responsibilities of the student teachers formation, alongside the university lecturers, termed as external supervisors. This paper seek to find out how to reconcile the grading scores of the mentors or internal supervisors which at times, is often on the high side, as against the lecturers or external supervisors scores in order to reflect the true performance levels of the student teachers. This paper also lines up some suggested solutions to the dilemma in order to reflect the real students’ performance scores