Readability of HIV/AIDS information manuals in Ghana

his paper examined the readability of some medical information documents for HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana. The SMOG readability formula was used to determine the reading levels of the documents which were obtained through convenience sampling technique. One sample T-test was used to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in the readability of the sampled HIV/AIDS literature compared to a standard 8th grade recommended for public documents. The bootstrapping technique was employed in this evaluation to ensure robust estimates of significant or p-value, standard errors and the confident intervals. The study revealed that the leaflets were generally difficult to comprehend when compared to the standard readability score of public reading materials. The study concluded that it is prudent such documents are written in plane language in order that the target readers would benefit from the information carried by these documents.Key Words: readability, healthcare, HIV/AIDS, SMOG, patients, leaflet

Taylor and Francis Journals under the critical lens of readability analysis

Academic journals are channels through which research findings are presented. They are said to be the most potent means of communication in the academic community; hence, they must be as readable as possible. This paper evaluated the readability of the topmost 11 journals published by the Taylor and Francis group. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the 11 journals used for the study. Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) indexes were used to compute the readability scores. Measures of central tendencies, one sample (with bootstrapping) T-test, and bar graph (with standard error bars) were used for data analysis. The results showed that they are practically unreadable when compared to the standard readability score.Keywords: Readability, Research Article, Academic Communication, Taylor & Francis, Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Leve

Readability of HIV/AIDS Information Manuals in Ghana

This paper examined the readability of some medical information documents for HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana. The SMOG readability formula was used to determine the reading levels of the documents which were obtained through convenience sampling technique. One sample Ttest was used to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in the readability of the sampled HIV/AIDS literature compared to a standard 8th grade recommended for public documents. The bootstrapping technique was employed in this evaluation to ensure robust estimates of significant or p-value, standard errors and the confident intervals. The study revealed that the leaflets were generally difficult to comprehend when compared to the standard readability score of public reading materials. The study concluded that it is prudent such documents are written in plane language in order that the target readers would benefit from the information carried by these documents.Key Words: readability, healthcare, HIV/AIDS, SMOG, patients, leaflet

Use of rhetorical strategies in counselling at the Counselling Centre, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

The study explored the rhetorical strategies used by counsellors during counselling sessions. The idea was to discover what rhetorical strategies are employed by counselors to elicit relevant information from their counsellees and how effective the use of these rhetorical strategies are in communication between counsellors and their counsellees. Using Aristotle’s theory of rhetoric and a qualitative approach, the researchers studied selected counsellors and counsellees at the University of Cape Coast. The data were gathered through interviews and observation. The data were analysed thematically, and the results showed that assurance of confidentiality is a strong rhetorical strategy used during counselling. Other rhetorical strategies such as giving counsellees unconditional positive comments and empathy are very essential for a successful counselling process. Regarding the benefits of rhetorical strategies, the results indicated that counsellors’ use of rhetorical strategies helps counsellees to disclose sensitive information. Also, rhetorical strategies help counsellors determine if counsellees are benefitting from the counselling interaction. These strategies include observation, learning situation, follow-up and evaluation during counseling process. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that counsellors at the Counselling Centre of the University of Cape Coast should attach more relevance to the rhetorical strategies they use in communicating with their counsellees

Non-verbal Communication: Anger and Dissatisfaction in Ghanaian Marriages

Problems and challenges are part of matrimony. This study focuses on how nonverbal cues express anger and dissatisfaction in Ghanaian marriages. Data from 30 married couples were thematically analyzed, resulting in three outcomes. One, married couples use various forms of nonverbal communication such as proxemics, occulesics or eye movements, chronemics, kinesics, and behavioral cues to communicate anger. The married couples also use nonverbal cues such as frowning, mean face, eye contact, fisting of hand, denial of sex, and refusal to eat to express their anger and dissatisfaction. Two, married couples encounter difficulties such as misinterpretation of cues by partners, suspicion, and ineffective communication in their use of nonverbal cues to express their anger. Third, there are essentialdifficulties among couples regarding interpreting nonverbal cuesthat express anger.These findings prove that the need strongly exists to educate couples on how tointerpret nonverbal cues as a vital component of the strategy to improvematrimonial communication

Exploring Citizens' Constitution Readability Profile in Selected Anglophone African Countries

A country's constitution describes the basic principles of the state, structures, and processes of government as well as fundamental rights of citizens. All of these make imperative the ability of the citizens to read and understand the document. This paper evaluates the readability profile of citizens of the English speaking African countries concerning their constitution. A descriptive research design was adopted while the stratified random sampling was implemented to select the chapters of the constitutions for analysis. The SMOG and FOG indexes were used to compute the readability scores. Measures of central tendencies, one-sample T-test, and one-way analysis of variance, with bootstrapping, were carried out with the results showing that the citizens found it difficult reading their constitutions when compared to the standard scores for public documents

Exploring the Readability of Terms of Service of Social Networking Sites

Terms of service of social networking sites provides relevant information for end-users to make inform decision regarding their use of social networking site. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the readability of the top five social networking sites namely Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, YouTube, and WeChat. Using Flesch reading ease and grade level indexes, the authors measured the readability of the selected terms of service. Measures of central tendencies, and one-way analysis of variance, with bootstrapping, were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the ToS were difficult to read when compared to the standard score of public documents. Moreover, the readability levels of the ToS required end users to have attained at least 13 years of formal education, which is equivalent to first year college student, in order for the users to find the ToS readable. In addition, no statistical difference existed among ToS of the five social networking sites meaning all the ToS of the five networks were unilaterally difficult for the average reader (end user). It is recommended that the ToS of these networks be revised to make them more readable since substantial number of their audience are young with low number of years of education

Exploring Citizens' Constitution Readability Profile in Selected Anglophone African Countries

A country's constitution describes the basic principles of the state, structures, and processes of government as well as fundamental rights of citizens. All of these make imperative the ability of the citizens to read and understand the document. This paper evaluates the readability profile of citizens of the English speaking African countries concerning their constitution. A descriptive research design was adopted while the stratified random sampling was implemented to select the chapters of the constitutions for analysis. The SMOG and FOG indexes were used to compute the readability scores. Measures of central tendencies, one-sample T-test, and one-way analysis of variance, with bootstrapping, were carried out with the results showing that the citizens found it difficult reading their constitutions when compared to the standard scores for public documents

Social security and national insurance trust of Ghana annual reports: a readability analysis

The aim of annual reports is to give shareholders and other interested people information about a company’s activities and financial performance. The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) of Ghana churns out annual reports on yearly basis. But some of the annual reports are likely to be more difficult to understand than others and may not be effective if the reader is unable to completely comprehend the contents. Yet, nothing is known about the readability of annual reports produced by SSNIT. Hence, this paper attempts to evaluate the readability of annual reports of SSNIT and establish the trend in readability, covering a period of years (from 2011 to 2015). SMOG readability index was used to compute readability scores and descriptive statistics and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that the annual reports of SSNIT were generally very difficult to comprehend. In addition, the study showed that the readability level of all annual reports was similar. The trend indicates a deterioration in readability of the annual reports over the five-year period. The researcher recommends that authors of the report use plain language to enhance ease in the understanding of the reports.KEYWORDS: SSNIT, annual report, readability, Ghana, SMO

A preliminary report on first year university students’ knowledge of basic grammar: the case of the

Abstract: Although current research in English for Specific Purposes places premium on sharpening learners' skills in order to enable them to maximally function in the academic world and beyond, it is still felt that students are bereft of basic language concepts. This paper, therefore, reports a preliminary investigation of first year Communicative Skills students' knowledge of parts of speech at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana in November, 2010. Three hundred and fifty (350) students were selected based on a multi-staged sampling method and were asked to respond to a two-pronged instrument. Using an action-driven research design, we examined whether students' gender and programmes of study have an influence on their performance in parts of speech. Key results showed that students who offer Communicative Skills have an abysmal knowledge of parts of speech, and that there was no significant difference among students' programmes of study and their performance in identifying parts of speech. We also found that there was no statistically significant difference between students' gender and their performance on the test. Given these findings, we recommend that a second look be given to the Communicative Skills curriculum of the University of Cape Coast, while encouraging similar studies in other universities