UNIVERSITY OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES, ACCRA (UPSA)
DEGREE PROGRAMME
Take-Home Examination Cover Sheet
END OF SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS- 2019/2020 ACADEMIC YEAR
FACULTY OF INFORAMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES
LEVEL 100
BGEC 106: LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING
Start Date: Sunday, June 7, 2020
End Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2020
COURSE EMAIL:
BGEC106@upsamail.edu.gh
EXAMINATION INSTRUCTION(S):
ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS
SECTION A (25marks)
Read the extract carefully and answer the questions below.
Indeed, all that Government is doing is intended to achieve five (5) key objectives – limit and stop the
importation of the virus; contain its spread; provide adequate care for the sick; limit the impact of the virus on
social and economic life; and inspire the expansion of our domestic capability and deepen our self-reliance. It
is important to state, at the very onset, that scientists at the University of Ghana have successfully sequenced
genomes of the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, obtaining important information about the
genetic composition of viral strains in fifteen (15) of the confirmed cases in Ghana. This is a significant
milestone in Ghana’s response to the pandemic, as it will strengthen surveillance for tracking mutations of the
virus, and aid in the tracing of the sources of community infections in people with no known contact with
confirmed cases.
Government has also introduced the use of drones to expedite the transportation of samples to laboratory
centres. On Friday, 17th April, for example, fifty-one (51) samples were delivered from the Omenako Drone
Distribution Centre to Noguchi. Furthermore, we are introducing rapid results testing to augment our
surveillance and enhanced contact tracing efforts, so that we can quickly isolate and treat confirmed cases.
From the sixty-eight thousand, five hundred and ninety-one (68,591) samples tested, we have been able to
understand better the dynamism of the virus, map out its geographic footprint, and establish current and
potential hotspots. We have also been able to isolate and educate asymptomatic carriers, and, thereby, help
minimise the spread of the virus.
So far, it has been established that the virus was imported into our midst from foreign shores, and is being
spread through person to person contact. The majority of persons infected in Ghana have mild to no symptoms
at all, whilst a very small number have required hospital treatment, out of which nine (9) persons, with
underlying ailments, have died.
Towards treatment, we have expanded and added to our network of COVID-19 treatment centres, with the Ga
East and Bank of Ghana Hospitals being one hundred percent (100%) dedicated to the fight. In addition, we
have set aside separate COVID-19 treatment centres at the University of Ghana Medical School Hospital, the
Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi South Hospital, and in other
designated Regional and District Hospitals. Last Friday, I was honoured to do the virtual sod-cutting
ceremony for the construction of a 100-bed Infectious Disease and Isolation Facility at the Ga East Municipal
Hospital, which is being funded through a public-private partnership, under the leadership of the Ghana
COVID-19 Private Sector Fund., and whose construction, with the assistance of the 48-Engineer Regiment of
the Ghana Armed Forces, will be completed in six (6) weeks. Members of the Private Sector Fund have,
indeed, acted like citizens, and not spectators, in these testing times for our country, and their patriotism is to
be loudly praised.
We have also scaled up the domestic production of personal protective equipment, and our health care
facilities, so far, have taken delivery of fourteen thousand, five hundred and fifty (14,550) scrubs, eleven
thousand, nine hundred (11,900) gowns, nineteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty (19,980) head covers,
two hundred and sixty-three thousand, two hundred and eighty-one (263,281) nose masks, thirteen thousand,
and two (13,002) N-95 nose masks. Forty-one thousand, one hundred and seventeen (41,117) varying sizes of
sanitizers have also been produced locally and delivered to our health facilities.
The enhancement of our capacity to test has been made possible by the dedication of the expanded teams at
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research, and the
National Public Health Reference Laboratory. Further, we are making significant investments in the
laboratories at the Veterinary Laboratory, Accra, the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research Laboratory,
Accra, the Police Hospital, the 37 Military Hospitals, the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho, the
Veterinary Services Department in Sekondi-Takoradi, the Public Health Laboratory in Tamale, the War
Memorial Hospital in Navrongo and the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, so they can also use PCR
Technology. We are recalibrating one hundred (100) Regional and District Tuberculosis Gene Expert
Laboratories across the country, to help ensure that we have a minimum situation of one testing centre per
region.
Fellow Ghanaians, in view of our ability to undertake aggressive contact tracing of infected persons, the
enhancement of our capacity to test, the expansion in the numbers of our treatment and isolation centres, our
better understanding of the dynamism of the virus, the ramping up of our domestic capacity to produce our
own personal protective equipment, sanitisers and medicines, the modest successes chalked at containing the
spread of the virus in Accra and Kumasi, and the severe impact on the poor and vulnerable, I have taken the
decision to lift the three (3) week old restriction on movements in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and
Kasoa, and the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area and its contiguous districts, with effect from 1am on
Monday, 20th April. In effect, tomorrow will see the partial lockdown in Accra and Kumasi being lifted.
(Excerpt of the Speech delivered by the President of Ghana on the 19th April, 2020)
The President made several arguments to support his reasons to end the Partial lockdown;
a) Couch THREE of these arguments from the speech each to reflect deductive argument and inductive
argument. (12marks)
b) Identify and explain THREE functions of language employed by the President in his speech. (6marks)
c) Provide TWO reasons why you think the President speech contains or does not contain fallacies. (7marks)
SECTION B (20marks)
Read the preamble below and answer the question below.
Of the many inter- related problems facing humanity in recent times, COVID-19 is the most critical. Many prominent
people have lost the battle to COVID-19. The whole world has come to a halt. Doors to schools and universities have
been locked up with no signs of re-opening soon. As result, all learning institutions including UPSA have resorted to
E-learning in order to continue semester’s work. So many E- learning systems (zoom, google classroom, google
hangout, WhatsApp etc.) are being employed to fulfil learning task. Both learners and instructors are facing various
kinds of challengers with E- learning system (internet instability, inability to get data to access information on Elearning sites, lack of technical know-how etc.).
a) Using the tools and principles you have learnt in logic and critical thinking, write an essay explaining any
FOUR steps that should be followed to make virtual learning interesting and more affordable.
SECTION C (15marks)
a) Compare and contrast the Reference Theory of meaning and the Idea Theory of Meaning and explain how
best each one of them can be used to explain the term Covid-19.
INSTRUCTIONS TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT YOUR TAKE-HOME EXAMS
ANSWER SCRIPT
Students’ Responsibilities and Advice
It is the responsibility of the student to:
1. Comply with the general information and instructions given on the question paper.
2. Ensure that your answers follow the required format.
3. Submit your final document (answers) using the approved template on Student’s Submission Sheet
(coverpage).
4. Provide the required information on the submission coverpage (student number, digital/physical
address, etc.,).
5. Ensure you have activated your official UPSA student email address given after your index number
(e.g. 10033403@upsamail.edu.gh) before the date of your first exam.
6. Use only your UPSA email address for any correspondence regarding the Take-Home Exams.
Students are advised as follows:
1. Because the final submission is based on access to the internet, ensure you start your work early and
finish early enough to follow the online submission procedures.
2. You should expect that in the last hour or minutes to the deadline there will be huge traffic on all
networks (internet service providers) and the platform. Therefore, you are advised not to wait until
the last minute before you submit your script.
3. It is your responsibility to manage your time to submit your answer script within the stipulated 48
hours. No submission shall be accepted after the deadline.
4. The University will not be responsible for any issue caused by power or internet failures during the
preparation of answer scripts and online submission.
5. It is your responsibility to independently write the exams. If it is detected that students engage in
academic dishonesty the appropriate university policy will be activated.
6. Note that all submissions will be subjected to similarity (copying) test.
Guidelines To Prepare Your Answers
1. Provide your student index number and your digital and physical address at required spaces on the
STUDENTS SUBMISSION COVERPAGE
2. Use Microsoft Word or appropriate document processing software to prepare your answers.
3. Your final document (answers) must have the completed STUDENTS SUBMISSION COVERPAGE as the
first or front page.
4. Convert your final document into PDF. The name of the PDF file should be your index number (leave
a space) and the course code (eg. PBBF304 100030102). The system will accept ONLY PDF file format
for submission.
5. Photographed or Scanned handwritten documents will NOT be accepted.
6. In a case where the Faculty grants permission for handwritten documents to be submitted, the
following shall be strictly adhered to:
a. You will find the inscription “Handwritten Submission Allowed” indicated at the bottom of the
Coverpage on the question paper.
b. Write using ONLY white A4 size papers and with a BLACK ink pen
c. Scan the handwritten documents at a resolution between 96 to 120 dpi
d. The scanned handwritten document together with the STUDENTS SUBMISSION COVERPAGE
should be converted into PDF before submission
7. All PDF files must not be more than 5mb. The system will reject any file size bigger than 5mb.
8. To resize your PDF file use any of these free online tools
a. https://smallpdf.com/compress-pdf
b. https://www.ilovepdf.com/compress_pdf
Online Submission Instructions
1. Login to UPSA-Virtual at https://join.upsavirtual.site
2. Locate your course
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the course where you can see examination week
4. Click on “End of 2nd Semester Take-Home Examination”
5. Click on “Add Submission” Button
6. Click on “Save Changes” Button
7. Click on “Submit Assignment”
8. The system will prompt you with the message
“Are you sure you want to submit your work for grading? You will not be able to make any more
changes”
9. Click on “Continue” Button
10. Submit status should read “submitted for grading” That means your submission is 100% complete.
Ensure you see the status before you log out or close your browser.
Email Submission Instructions
1. You must first attempt to submit to UPSAVirtual.
2. USPA-Virtual records all attempts to submit. You cannot do a direct email submission if you have not
attempted to submit to UPSA-Virtual.
3. Any direct attempt to submit through email without any attempt on UPSA-Virtual will be rejected.
4. If you do not follow all the given instructions to submit to UPSA-Virtual and you attempt a direct
email submission your work will be rejected.
5. If you followed all the instructions on submission to UPSA-Virtual and you still are not successful you
are allowed to submit through Email.
6. For email submission:
a. Use only your student email address to send (10303930@upsamail.edu.gh): any other email
address will be rejected by the system.
b. Send to the prescribed email address on the coverpage of the exams paper
(PBBF304@upsamail.edu.gh). Your document cannot be accessed if you send to a wrong
email address.
c. Ensure your file format is PDF and the size is not bigger than 5mb.
d. Your you will receive notification later in the day in your student email address.