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Introduction to Basic Organic Chemistry II

This course is the continuation of CHE 105A.  The basic ideas on nomenclature, structure, physical properties, synthesis and chemical properties of the aliphatic hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes) will treated. The course will also include the treatment of the structure of benzene including simple treatment  of the concept of resonance and aromaticity, nomenclature of benzene, benzene, and  synthesis of simple derivatives of benzene with specific orientation, ortho-, para- and meta–directors. Prerequisite: CHE 105

Course Code: 
CHE 105B
No. of Credits: 
2
Level: 
Level 100
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

Introductory Practical Organic Chemistry

This course is an introductory organic laboratory processes which seeks to enable students acquire basic laboratory skills for the techniques of crystallization,

melting and boiling point determination; simple, fractional and steam distillation; refluxing liquid–liquid extraction; paper, thin-layer and colour chromatography.

Course Code: 
CHE 110
No. of Credits: 
1
Level: 
Level 100
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

Introduction to Basic Organic Chemistry

This course introduces students to the molecular composition of structure, purification of organic compounds, detection of elements like C, H, N, S and the halogens in organic compounds.  It will also cover topics such as calculation and determination of empirical and molecular formulae; structural and geometrical isomerism; pictorial treatment of sp, sp2, and sp3 hybridization in single, double and triple bonds in hydrocarbons.

It further gives the basic ideas on nomenclature, structure, physical properties, synthesis and chemical properties of the aliphatic hydrocarbons (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes) will treated. The course will also include the treatment of the structure of benzene including simple treatment  of the concept of resonance and aromaticity, nomenclature of benzene, benzene, and  synthesis of simple derivatives of benzene with specific orientation, ortho-, para- and meta–directors.

Course Code: 
CHE 108
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 100
Course Semester: 
Second Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

Introductory Practical (General Chemistry)

This course aims at helping students to develop requisite laboratory skills in general chemistry. Laboratory work includes basic techniques of qualitative and quantitative measurements such as gravimetric, colorimetric, thermometric and selected volumetric methods of analysis. Practical exercises undertaken in this course include calibration of analytical balance and volumetric glassware (burette and pipette), conductivity and pH measurements, determination of molecular properties and solubility products, qualitative analysis of mixtures of two or more metallic salts, and thermochemistry.

Course Code: 
CHE 109
No. of Credits: 
1
Level: 
Level 100
Course Semester: 
First Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry

General Chemistry

The main thrust of this course is to assist students to develop an appreciation for the relationship between chemistry and our environment. It is also aimed at providing students with a strong background to those theories and chemical principles that are particularly relevant to chemistry and fundamental understanding of science. This course is designed to provide students with a general overview of the concepts and principles underlying chemical reactions, stoichiometry, bonding, molecular shapes and structures, gas theories, and forces within liquids and solids that are fundamental basis of chemistry.

Course Code: 
CHE 107
No. of Credits: 
3
Level: 
Level 100
Course Semester: 
First Semester
Select Programme(s): 
Chemistry
Presentation of cash to an international student

UCC Supports International Students with GH¢ 57,000

07 Jul, 2020 By louis Mensah

The University, has presented GH ¢1,000 each to 57 international students who could not travel back to their countries as a result of COVID-19 and the subsequent closure of the country’s borders. 
    
The presentation ceremony was held at the conference hall of the Supperanuation Hostel.

Presentation

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Dora Francisca Edu-Buandoh, said the amount was to make life comfortable for them in these difficult times. She indicated that Management was not only concerned about their safety but also their survival. “COVID-19 and the closure of the borders have posed some financial challenges to most of you and this money is intended to help you to cater for some of your needs,” she noted.

Prof. Edu-Buandoh said the cash presentation was another intervention from the University to make their stay on campus relaxing and secured. “We initially presented shopping voucher, nose masks and some cash to you but as I promised the last time Management accepted our proposal to support you with this amount of money to solve some of the financial challenges you are facing,” she added. 

The Pro Vice-Chancellor commended the international students for comporting themselves throughout their stay on campus, especially during the period of the closure of universities. She advised them to adhere to the health and safety protocols the University had put in place to protect them from the virus and spreading it to others. “Do not hesitate to call the University Rapid Response Taskforce in case you suspect that you have signs of COVID-19,” she told them.

CIE's Role

In his remarks, the Dean of the Centre for International Education (CIE), Prof. Kwaku Boakye, said the Centre was in close contact with the students to attend to their needs. “Staff of CIE always check on our international students to ensure their safety and wellbeing,” he explained. He assured that the Centre would continue to engage Management to address challenges facing them on campus. 

Appreciation

On behalf of the students, the President of International Students’ Association of UCC, Ms. Nadine Jaja, thanked Management of the University for putting smiles on their faces. “This is a big surprise never expected from the University. We will forever be grateful for this wonderful gesture to us,” she added. She assured Management that they would continue to comport themselves and also put a lot of effort into their studies. Ms Jaja indicated that executives of the Association continue to sensitise their members to adhere to the health and safety protocols.


 
 

 

Presentation of the items

UCC Credit Union Supports University Health Service to Fight COVID-19

07 Jul, 2020 By louis Mensah

The UCC Co-operative Credit Union has presented some personal protective equipment (PPE) to the University Health Service to fight the spread of COVID-19.
    
The items were 30 gallons of hand sanitizer and 20 packs of tissue papers.

Presentation

Presenting the items, a member of the Board of UCC Co-operative Credit Union, Mr. Emmanuel P. Owusu, indicated that the items were to support the University Hospital to protect both staff and patients. He said the Union was concerned about the safety of staff at the hospital as well as members of the University community, hence, the decision to donate the items. “The Board decided that as part of our social responsibility, we need to also support the hospital in these hard times,” he stated.

The Director of University Health Service, Dr. Evans Ekanem, said though the pandemic was on the rise, the hospital was doing its best to manage the situation. He said the hospital was working closely with the national, regional, and metropolitan COVID-19 Rapid Response Team to tackle the menace.

Gratitude

Dr. Ekanem was grateful to the UCC Co-operative Credit Union for the gesture. “We are always motivated when others take initiative to support us to fight the virus,” he indicated. He used the opportunity to appeal to the Union to assist the hospital with nose masks. “We have spent a lot of our funds to purchase masks so we will be grateful if you can help us in this regard,” he appealed. 

Present at the presentation were Vice-Chairperson of UCC Co-operative Credit Union Board, Mrs. Charity Abraham; Nurse Manager, Mr. Thomas Tamag; Hospital Administrator, Mrs. Rhoda Esther Ababio, and some staff of the University Health Service and Credit Union.

Participants at the workshop

School of Business Holds Multidisciplinary Workshop on BET-Ghana Project

07 Jul, 2020 By louis Mensah

The School of Business in collaboration with the ‘Building Expertise and Training for Growth (BET-Ghana Project), has organised a Multidisciplinary Workshop under the theme: “Approach to Applied Mixed Research in the Multidisciplinary Space: The Case of Food Processing and Consumer Goods.”   


The Dean, School of Business, Prof. John G. Gatsi, indicated in his opening address that the BET Ghana project has benefited both lecturers and students. He said that, through the project, some lecturers have enriched their curriculum vitae (CV) after participating in an international workshop in Germany while others have been trained in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in teaching. He added that “the project is also enhancing our visibility as a Business School and the entire University.” 

Relevance


Explaining the importance of the workshop, the Dean said that, “Multidisciplinary Research as a mode of research, combines the effort of multiple disciplines to bring onboard data, information, perspectives and application of theories to solve a particular problem or to provide a more enhancing understanding of a phenomenon.” Prof. Gatsi also stated that the essence of the workshop was to engage experts from various faculties of disciplines to point out the need for diversity because livelihood is challenged with issues of health, food, water, economy, marketing, and supply chain.

BET-Ghana Project


Briefing participants on the BET-Ghana Project and its objectives to the workshop, the Project Coordinator, Prof. Daniel Agyapong, said that the project was aimed at enhancing employability and self-employment opportunity of students and graduates specifically in the Consumer Goods and Food Processing industry; to increase the competitiveness and growth of the industry and promote innovation, export growth, and job creation, through the transfer of knowledge between UCC and the private sector. He added that the project would also promote online and digital learning; create networks for inter-, trans- and multidisciplinary training and to develop local cases for instruction. Prof. Agyapong gave a breakdown of the Project, as building expertise in the consumer goods and food processing industry, application-oriented learning programme, and the promotion of start-ups and businesses. 

 

Inter-disciplinary Research


Speaking on the need to promote interdisciplinary research for consumer goods and food processing at UCC, Dr. Robert Sarpong Amoah, enlisted some of the benefits as “gaining knowledge from experts in other disciplines; gaining fresh insights and different perspectives; opening new areas of interest; enhancing the significance of research for greater impact and networking among different professionals.” He urged his colleagues to pursue interdisciplinary research. 

Issues of Value Chain

A discussant, Dr. Martin Bosompem, called for urgent consideration to address the issue of the Value Chain in multidisciplinary research. He explained that it was the sequence of steps involved in the process of production to market delivery of a product.  Dr. Bosompem stated that the significance of the Value Chain in interdisciplinary research included understanding relationships between businesses and actors along the value chain; identifying various researchers needed to solve a problem and as a vehicle for linking various researchers to address holistically the research problem along the value chain.

Solving World Problems

The Project Leader, Prof. (Mrs.) Rosemond Boohene hinted that currently, it had been recognised that the problems facing the world were not only from one discipline but had been generated from various disciplines. She, therefore, urged participants to work together to solve common problems with their expertise from different faculties, departments, industries, and centres for the common good of humanity. Prof. Boohene also encouraged participants to be bold enough to take calculated risks to work together and also maintain good networking. She was hopeful that the workshop would encourage multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research among lecturers, students, and industries.

Present were Expert Task Force Member, Prof. Ernest Ekow Abano, Project Resource Team Members, Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Agyapong and Dr. (Mrs.) Karen Naa Abekah Arthur, Nurses and Lecturers from various Departments, Faculties and Colleges.

Dr. Dorcas Obiri-Yeboah

Dr. Dorcas Obiri-Yeboah

Dr. Dorcas Obiri-Yeboah wins the 2020 Best Journal Article Prize

The Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Dr. Dorcas Obiri-Yeboah, has been adjudged the winner of the 2020 Taylor & Francis Commonwealth Scholar Best Journal Article Prize.
    
Dr. Obiri-Yeboah’s won the prize for an article on “Epidemiology of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) among a cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected Ghanaian women” which was published in BMC Cancer.

This was announced by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) and Taylor & Francis Group on its website on 3rd July, 2020. 
http://cscuk.dfid.gov.uk/2020/07/dorcas-obiri-yeboah-wins-the-2020-best-journal-article-prize/

Dr. Obiri-Yeboah's research conducted during her Commonwealth Scholarship contributes to the evidence on the impact of HIV infection on the epidemiology of HPV infection and cervical lesions.

HIV Infection

In Ghana and in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, cervical cancer is the second biggest contributor to cancer-related mortality among women, and more than 70% of HIV infections occur among women. Despite this, there has been no national cervical cancer prevention policy and while the National AIDS/STIs Control Program has focused on HIV and other co-infections, such as tuberculosis, limited research has been conducted into HPV related cancers, including cervical. Dorcas’ research compares HIV infected and uninfected women and contributes to the evidence on the impact of HIV infection on the epidemiology of HPV infection and cervical lesions.

Research Findings

Her research findings concluded that HIV-1 infected women bear a significant burden of HPV infection and related disease and that prevention and screening programmes should be developed for this population in Ghana. Following the publication of her research, cervical cancer prevention in Ghana is receiving more attention. Dorcas’ work has contributed to the development of an established cervical cancer screening system at the study site of Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), making screening more accessible and affordable to women seeking care at the facility.
In addition, she has established collaborations with a team of researchers in Burkina Faso at the Pietro Annigoni Biomolecular Research Center (CERBA) and Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Genetics (LABIOGEN) in Ouagadougou. As part of this research group, Dorcas has continued to research and publish on the epidemiology of HPV infection in sub-Saharan Africa and evidenced the need for stronger policies on HPV vaccination and screening. She is currently developing a proposal to seek funding for further research on aspects of the HIV/HPV and oncology among women and men with a team of researchers in southern Africa.

Selection

The winner and highly commended articles were chosen by a panel of experts drawn from multidisciplinary backgrounds: Professor Jonathan Wastling (Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Natural Science at Keele University); Professor Mark Cleary (former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford); Professor Anne Anderson (CSC Commissioner and former Vice Principal, Head of the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow); and Dr. Jonathan Jenkins (CSC Director of Operations).

The Taylor & Francis Commonwealth Scholar Best Journal Article Prize is awarded to a Commonwealth Scholar who submits the most outstanding article published in a peer-reviewed journal. This annual prize, first awarded in 2012, aims to encourage and reward the publication and research achievements of Commonwealth Scholars who are completing or have completed their doctoral studies within the last five years.
 

Staff Spotlight
COURT AWARDS GHc 2.3-MILLION DAMAGES AGAINST NATIONAL TRIBUTE NEWSPAPER FOR DEFAMING UCC VICE-CHANCELLOR AND DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT A Cape Coast High Court, presided by Justice Emmanuel Lodoh on Monday, 29th June, 2020 gave judgment in favour of the Vice-Chancellor, University of Cape Coast, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah and the Director of Physical Development and Estate Management, Mr. Philip Ntim Owusu. This was in a suit brought against the National Tribute Newspaper, its Managing Editor; Mr. John Ackaah Alulbah, publisher; Angenubibi Media Next Work Company Ltd, Editor; Douglas Owusu and its News Editor; Francis Arthur for defamation. The newspaper had made two publications about the Vice Chancellor in its 21st June, 2018 and 12th July, 2018 editions. The publications were titled “UCC VC, Others Hot Over dubious deals as BNI starts investigation” and “VC and others in more troubles”. The stories alleged that the Vice Chancellor had been involved in wrongdoing in the award of ICT related contracts and appointment of staff of the University. The paper also alleged that the appointment of the Director of Development was not based on merit. Counsel for the Defendant, Chris Ackumey in his statement of defence stated that the Defendants had in an earlier proceeding before the National Media Commission offered an apology and retraction and as such any judgment of the Court will constitute double jeopardy. Counsel for Plaintiffs, Solomon Faakye, Esq., however, impressed upon the Court that the apology should be ignored because the defamatory statement was actuated by malice. The learned judge found that the defendants conduct was defamatory and accordingly awarded damages of GHc1.5M in favour of the Vice Chancellor and GHc800,000 in favour of the Director of Physical Development and Estate Management. A cost of GHc20,000 was also awarded to each plaintiff.

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