Journal of Science and Technology (Ghana)

Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Risk Perception in Ghana: Insights from A Study on Tertiary-Level Students and Surrounding Residents in Kumasi

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The introduction of COVID-19 vaccines in sub-Saharan Africa has been met with mixed feelings. In Ghana, several concerns were raised about the potency and side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. We investigated the acceptance and risk perception of students on the KNUST campus and the residents of the surrounding communities to assess the risk factors that will influence their willingness or unwillingness to be vaccinated in the government’s quest to get its citizens vaccinated. A well-structured questionnaire was administered online and through face-to- face interviews to survey 3332 respondents between the periods of March 15 and May 28, 2021. Chi-square analysis was used to show the association between the sociodemographic characteristics and, the acceptance and risk perception of the COVID-19 vaccine. Logistic regression analysis was used to explain the relationship between the acceptance and risk perception of the COVID-19 vaccine and the various socio-demographic characteristics. Out of 3323 respondents, 1,703 (45.23%) were hesitant whiles 64.39% of 3311 indicated they would accept being vaccinated. In a multivariate analysis, the age range of 31 to 40 years, being male, having secondary level education, and having a previous vaccination post-childhood immunization increased the likelihood of vaccine acceptance. More than half of the students of KNUST and inhabitants around the campus are likely to acceptant the COVID-19 vaccine. However, adequate and timely information is needed to educate prospective vaccine recipients with tertiary level education to better the level of acceptance and address misinformation about vaccines and promote individual and population-level benefits of vaccination.

Assessing Food Insecurity Among Families During the Covid-19 Pandemic in The Oforikrom Municipality, Ashanti Region of Ghana

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified food insecurity globally, and if this trend continues unchecked, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 with a focus on the zero-hunger target by 2030 will likely be affected. This study aimed to compare food insecurity among two communities (Ayeduase and Kotei), family types and gender during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. A longitudinal study was conducted at baseline and end-line among 160 respondents. A semi-structured questionnaire and a 2-stage sampling technique were employed in collecting data in December 2020 for baseline and June 2021 for end-line. The overall prevalence of food insecurity was 49.4%, 29.4% and 21.2% for mild, moderate and severe food insecurity respectively at baseline. At end-line, moderate and severe food insecurity reduced (13.1% and 10%) respectively among the respondents. Severe food insecurity was higher among respondents in Kotei (22%) than in Ayeduase (20%) at baseline. However, at end-line severe food insecurity among respondents in Ayeduase was higher (11.2%) than Kotei (8.7%). There was a significant association between food insecurity and no formal education at baseline and end-line (p= 0.005 and p= 0.003 respectively), and easy access to water at baseline and end-line (p= 0.015 and p= 0.045 respectively), whiles at end-line, there was a significant associated between food insecurity and extended families (p= 0.022). As income levels increased, food insecurity rate reduced. Relief support plans and policies for families during pandemics should be focused on the implementation of sustainable food security strategies to prevent hunger and malnutrition

Stegovideo: An Efficient Mechanism for Securing Video Data Using Steganography and Cryptography Techniques

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic episodes have rapidly expanded multimedia systems utilization across the globe. Nowadays, practically all companies and educational systems rely predominantly on streaming platforms. Owing to the popularity of online streaming; it is crucial to secure video. Although, a few techniques have been deployed to guarantee secured video transmission. Nonetheless, the recent usage of video applications due to the pandemic poses more security risks such as losing sensitive video content to intruders. In this paper, a hybrid framework (named Stego Video) is proposed for securing video information by consolidating the best components of RSA encryption and LSB steganography procedures. This strategy guarantees that videos with sensitive information are imperceptible by intruders because the encoded video is introduced in the form of images and is converted back to videos when decrypted. Our experimental results revealed that Stego Video is a proficient method for securing video content on the Internet.

Proximate Composition and Relative Preference Mapping of Milk Chocolate Emulsified with Okra Pectin.

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In chocolate, the primary emulsifier used is soy lecithin. However, soy lecithin is a major allergen to some people and also considered expensive as it is imported. In this study, three different genotypes of okra pectin were extracted and used to replace lecithin in chocolate production as an emulsifier. The okra pectin samples were combined in different ratios and used in different chocolate formulations. The new formulations were evaluated by means proximate analysis and relative preference mapping (RPM). Results showed that there were no significant differences between the moisture content (1.85-2.25 %) and the ash content (2.54-2.82%) for all formulations (p > 0.05). However, there were slight differences among the formulations regarding the fat (30.34-30.99%) and sugar (22.12-31.61%) contents. The RPM results indicated that product F8, F9, F10, F13, F14 and F16 were considered to be similar to the control and liked as much as the control. All these products contain some ratio of Balabi pectin in their formulation except product F10. Product F8 which was the most liked product had fat and sugar contents lower than the control. The study showed that none of the products containing a single pectin variety was found in the area of interest suggesting that combining the pectin varieties gives a better result in the formulation of chocolate compared to using pectin from a single okra genotype.

An Exploration of Factors Affecting Students’ Choice of Career Paths in Communication Design

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Some students make wrong choices in specialisations once enrolled in Communication Design programmes, which affects them while they are studying and goes a long way to affect them negatively in their careers in the future. It is based on this choice-making challenge that this study was conducted to explore the factors that affect students in making career path choices in Universities. The study used a quantitative approach and used questionnaires to collect data from 348 former students of the Communication Design Department of one University of Technology. The gathered data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). It was discovered that personal interest, personal skills and competencies, personal values and mentorship/work experience were the four most influential factors that affect the career path and choices of the students. Social and cultural factors and educational institutions, do affect the career choices of students, but not much. The major challenges to career choices identified by this study was a lack of guidance and counselling. This was followed by a lack of self-awareness, social expectations, lack of, or limited information and financial constraints.

Residents’ Awareness and Attitude Towards Urban Wetlands in Accra, Ghana: Implications for Sustainable Urban Development

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The paper assesses the awareness and attitudes of residents on the value of urban wetlands and existing policies and regulations on wetland protection. Using the Densu Delta and Sakumo Ramsar sites in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana as a study area, data was collected through field observation, a survey of household heads, and key informant interviews with wetland managers. The findings revealed that although none of the surveyed residents knew about wetland benefits such as water purification and ground water recharge and discharge, most of them were aware of other benefits such as serving as sources of livelihood, water for domestic and agricultural use, habitats for wildlife, and flood control. They also demonstrated positive attitudes towards wetland protection. However, their awareness and positive attitudes did not necessarily translate into environmentally-responsible behaviour that would promote sustainable development. This was evident in the rampancy of undesirable human activities that had degraded the wetlands, which was partly attributed to ineffective governance and poor enforcement of wetland protection measures. Therefore, there is the need to strengthen the governance dimension of sustainability through the enforcement of existing wetland protection measures, fostering closer engagements with local communities and sensitising residents on the collective benefits of personal-level pro-environmental behaviour. There is also the need to sensitise the political class and resource the administrative set-ups of municipal authorities and other relevant state agencies towards pro- environmental policymaking and implementation.

Parents’ And Students’ Perceptions About Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Ghana

Ms. Mabel Baffour Gyau, Prof. Dr. (Mrs.). Mavis Osei, Ms. Naomi Baffour Gyau — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is an effective tool for industrialisation. However, literature exposes several setbacks in TVET; mainly an unfavourable reputation and inadequate financial support. With a sample size of 383 (parents and student), this survey was conducted to investigate parents’ and students’ perceptions of TVET in the Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana. The study revealed that parents perceive TVET to be for "weak" students. The students on the other hand believe that TVET will limit their academic achievements. The source of these perceptions were known to be parents, teachers, and graduates from TVET institutions. The effect of the perception of TVET is a vicious cycle of poor TVET perception which will continue to hinder the development of TVET. Retooling of the Ghanaian TVET sector is thus suggested with specific emphasis on reorientation leading to positive attitudinal change to do away with the negative tag about TVET in Ghana.

Effectiveness Of Interactive Multimedia-Based Learning in Teaching Art History as A Component of General Knowledge in Art for Senior High School Students

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The teaching and learning of Art History as a component of General Knowledge in Art is meant to help students to investigate the history of artistic growth. Due to the abstract manner of teaching art history, a lot of students in schools develop aversion to it. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of using an Interactive Multimedia-based learning (IML) platform for the teaching and learning of the Art History section of the General Knowledge in Art subject by students of Kumasi Senior High Technical School (KSHTS). This study presents the findings of a quasi-experimental design assessing the effectiveness of learning with the IML platform. The study compared the learning outcomes of students who participated in a class taught with the IML platform (Experimental group - EG) to those taught with conventional didactic instructions (Control group - CG). A total sample of n = 132 students participated in the study. Independent samples t-test was employed to determine the effect. The findings of this study revealed that the IML platform is a plausible pedagogical agent for increasing students’ performance of Art History t (8.63) p = <.001. The mean scores (m = 80.8, SD = 15.6) of students in the EG were significantly higher than those in the CG (56.3, SD = 17.1). The researcher identified that studies on Interactive Multimedia to teach were largely focused in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This study, however, focused on the use of the IML platform to teach Art History. By continuing to seek new ways to integrate Interactive Multimedia learning into Art History lessons, teachers can design more effective lessons to meet the needs of students offering General Knowledge in Art.

Gamification In Educational Space: A Systematic Review

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The study looked at papers on gamification from 2015, with the main spotlight on Dicheva, Dichev,& Agre. The paper identified 28 papers and special references given to Ryan & Deci, Deterding, et al., and Mora, et al. The review discussed the questions raised by Dicheva et al., Dichev & Dicheva (1) What educational context has gamification been applied to? (2) What game elements have been used to gamify the lessons? and the gap raised by Ofosu-Ampong (3) What is the role of motivation in gamification? The review also discovered that the use of gaming elements in education has a greater impact on academic performance with points, leaderboards, and badges being the most used gaming elements in gamification in education practice. Also, on the subject of motivation which the review sought to understand its role in the process of gamification, it is evident to understand that, the concept of gamification itself in technical wise a motivational design problem. The review concluded that research in education is unending, as such future research should look at specific gaming elements with their efficacy in an educational context.

Prevalence and Correlates of Postpartum Depression Among Nursing Mothers Within the Kumasi Metropolis

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background: Postpartum depression is a mood disorder produced by changes in brain chemistry among women beginning 4-6 weeks postpartum and lasting up to a year. This maternal mental health problem affects 11-42% of postpartum women globally with a reported prevalence of 60.8%, causing severe health implications to both the mother and the baby. In Ghana, maternal mental health during the postpartum period receives little attention. This study estimated the prevalence of postpartum depression and the associated socio-demographic and social support variables.

Methods: A cross-sectional design and a quantitative approach was used in this study. A purposive sampling technique was used in recruiting the respondents involved in the study through the help of the management of the health facilities. Data collection tools were the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and a structured questionnaire. The data were analysed using Binary Logistic Regression tests in STATA (Version 17.0).

Results: A total of 274 mothers participated in the study. Prevalence of Postpartum Depression was estimated at 31.39%, the circumstance surrounding pregnancy (wanted/unwanted, planned/ unplanned, denied by father/abandonment) was the only socio-demographic correlate to Postpartum Depression [p=0.015, OR=0.805, 95% CI 0.675 – 0.959]. Social support variables showing significant association with Postpartum Depression were partner support [p=0.005, OR=1.357 95% CI 1.096 – 1.682], experience of a larger support (from friends and community) [P=0.002, OR=0.713 95% CI 0.575 – 0.884], and ability to maintain a fair life balance in the postpartum period [P=0.011, OR=0.752 95% CI 0.603 – 0.936].

Conclusions: Postpartum depression remains high in prevalence. In-service training of primary health care workers is required to screen and detect early symptoms of PPD. Psychosocial support and education on addressing maternal psychological and emotional needs should be provided to nursing mothers and their partners during the antenatal period. Public health interventions should focus on educating community members on maternal mental health to provide a larger quality social support to mothers during postpartum period towards reducing PPD prevalence and its attended consequences.