Ghanaian Society Research Articles

Wife Battery: A Divine Command from the Garden of Eden or a Gene Disorder in Men? Ethical Perspectives

In the past, women in the Ghanaian traditional societies were mostly not actively involved in issues relating to decision-making, leadership, and public engagement in the company of men. Their place was the kitchen. That is, their responsibilities were to prepare meals, nurture the children, and tidy up the home. Besides, they were regarded as a man’s bought property. In this sense, women could be subjected to any form of inhumane treatments. One of such inhumane treatments that have caught the attention of scholars, human rights activists and some NGOs is wife battery . From an ethical perspective, we raise the question, what are the ethical bases for the reasons why men subject their wives to battery? Could it be a divine command from the Garden of Eden, a gene disorder in men or what? Using the descriptive research design of the qualitative methodology, this paper from an ethical perspective examines the act of wife battery and its effects on the family and the victim (woman). The paper argues, wife battery is neither a dictate from the Garden of Eden nor a gene disorder in men, however it is rather an erroneous socialisation of men towards how they should treat women. Further to note, wife battery in its essence is an unethical behaviour. This is because the act is unjust, maleficent, reduces the worth and dignity of women, dehumanises, and alters the physical and psychological framework of women.

School feeding as a social protection programme or a political largesse: a review

PurposeIn an attempt to tackle the incidence of poverty and social exclusion in the Ghanaian society, a number of social protection programmes including the school feeding programme is introduced. The programme is designed to cater for the extreme poor and as well encourage enrolment and attendance in the country. The purpose of this paper is to assess the intention or objective for which the programme is initiated and the realities on the ground. It looks at whether the current beneficiaries are the extreme poor described in the policy document.Design/methodology/approachThe study explored the incidence of poverty in Ghana using the Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS6) and the Ghana School Feeding Annual Operation Plan (GSFAOP) with the help of the school feeding policy document to draw on actual beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries. The differences between percentages of poverty (2012/2013) and feeding schools was computed using GLSS6 and GSFAOP. The study also conducted a number of open-ended interviews with some stakeholders to validate the nature of recruitment of beneficiary schools.FindingsThe study concluded that there is a mismatch of potential beneficiaries and current beneficiaries using the referred data sources. It was found out that majority of beneficiary schools are located within areas of lesser incidence of poverty. This could be attributed to political interference in view of testimonies from respondents and the computerisation of GLSS6 and GSFAOP. The study therefore proposed that the allocation of feeding schools should be done to reflect the percentage of poverty situation in each region. This could be achieved when the district education office takes control. It will help minimise the level of politicisation and as well improve efficiency.Originality/valueThe study therefore highlighted the relevance of the school feeding programme and the inverse relationship it has with political interference. It again demonstrates the need to restructure the operations of the programme to meet the objective for which it was established.

Rural response system to prevent violence against women: methodology for a community randomised controlled trial in the central region of Ghana

ABSTRACTViolence against women (VAW) is common in Ghana, with nation-wide surveys reporting high prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) (physical, sexual and/or emotional violence). Our trial assesses the community level impact of the Rural Response System which uses Community-Based Action Teams ‘COMBAT’ for preventing VAW in Ghana. This study is a mixed method unmatched cluster randomised controlled trial and includes rural (n = 23), peri-urban (n = 7) and urban (n = 10) communities in four districts of the Central Region, Ghana. The trial will last three years with one baseline survey, one impact assessment and a qualitative baseline, midpoint and endline evaluation. A total of 40 localities were selected to serve as clusters (20 per trial arm) with about 82 households per cluster recruited at baseline. The same number will be recruited post-intervention. Adult women (18 to 49 years) and men (≥ 18 years) were drawn from different localities. Sampling of households within a community was random and done using a computerised system. In each selected household, one female or male resident was invited to participate. Individuals are eligible for inclusion in the study if they usually live (sleep and eat) in the household, have lived in the community for at least a year, and are between the ages of 18-to-49 years old. Our impact assessment component will compare past 12 months incidence of IPV (i.e. IPV experiences for women and perpetration of physical and/or sexual IPV for men) between arms in the trial. The implementation of this community trial comes at an opportune time when evidence on the effectiveness of a targeted VAW intervention in the Ghanaian society is needed to inform the development of national policies for preventing VAW. Our progressive research approach using a mixed method design will further extend knowledge globally on a multifaceted intervention to reduce the incidence of intimate partner violence in a developing country.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03237585.

Does Culture Play a Role at Work? Examining the Relationships Among Sociocultural Values, Job Satisfaction, and Social Support as a Mediator

Current literature on employees’ work attitudes often fails to examine how employees’ specific sociocultural values influence work attitudes. This study of 211 bank managers examined specifically the cardinal sociocultural values (moral values, religious values, communal values, attitude toward others, and family values) within the Ghanaian society and how they influence job satisfaction. The study further tested the mediating role of social support on the relationship between sociocultural values and job satisfaction. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM)/partial least squares (PLS) to test for the relationships between sociocultural values (as the endogenous variable) and job satisfaction (as the exogenous variable) and the mediating role of social support. Based on the results, it is concluded that there exist a significant positive relationship between sociocultural values and job satisfaction. The strongest relationship observed is between moral values, religious values, and job satisfaction. Social support mediated the sociocultural values and job satisfaction relationships, sometimes fully and sometimes partially, depending on which specific sociocultural value was being examined. Theoretical and practical implications of the proposed research are discussed.

Cross-Cultural Ties between Ghana and Egypt: The Agency of the Egyptian Community in Accra, Ghana

Ghana is recognized as an important destination of international migrants. In spite of the socio-economic and political upheavals that the country experienced during the early post-independence era leading to the (forced) return of several of its migrant groups, some have still remained and formed permanent communities and integrated into the Ghanaian society. This paper focuses on the Egyptian diaspora in Ghana. It examines: (1) the type of cross-border and transnational ties that Egyptian migrants in Ghana have established between Ghana and Egypt; (2) how these ties generate cross-cultural relations between Ghana and Egypt; and (3) the extent to which these ties provide a privileged economic and political position to the Egyptian community in Ghana. The work is based on the socio-cultural transnationalism theory. A socio-historical method was adopted for the research and apart from the analysis of historical data, eight key informants were interviewed. The paper shows that due to high-profile intermarriages between Ghanaians and Egyptians, coupled with the Nkrumah factor, the Egyptian community in Ghana occupies a privileged economic and political position in Ghana.

Pre-Marital Counselling and Sustainability of Marriages in Contemporary Ghanaian Society

Marriages in Ghana are usually preceded by counseling. It is believed that premarital counseling helps to sustain marriages because it gives couples the initial skills needed to enable them to start their marriage and solve minor problems that may be encountered in the relationship. This study was aimed at assessing the significance of premarital counseling to the sustenance of marriage. The study adopted a mixed methodological approach in gathering the data. Data was gathered from 112 individuals from three different suburbs of the capital city of Ghana. The results showed that although pre-marital counseling was observed to be important for would-be couples, it does not help sustain all marriages. Married couples that were given pre-marital counseling were getting separated as well as those who never had pre-marital counseling. It is therefore recommended that although premarital counseling may be necessary, it is not sufficient to sustain marriages. Therefore, counseling should continue even after marriage.

To Dance or Not to Dance Masculinities in Akan Proverbs and Their Implications for Contemporary Societies

This paper looks at how men are represented in Akan proverbs and the implications of such representations for contemporary Ghanaian men. It assesses the traditional views on what it means to be ‘a man’ among the Akan and how Ghanaian men perceive these in contemporary times. This is particularly relevant in an age when the demands of the modern world (high living standards, economic hardships, high unemployment rates etc.) put undue pressure on both men and women. More so, it is an age when women are increasingly being empowered to take up traditionally masculine roles. Such an enterprise aligns with the call on feminist and gender researchers to consider studying how men experience and enact gender. Thus, we explore the dilemmas of the contemporary Ghanaian man as he negotiates the expectations of traditional Ghanaian societies and the demands of contemporary families. We analyse 44 Akan proverbs on men, collected from texts and oral sources, as well as responses from focus group discussions on these proverbs. The results show that men are expected to be brave, providers, protectors, and action or results-oriented. Men who are unable to live up to expectation are considered not men enough; they are often perceived as women’s puppets. Reponses from our focus group discussions suggest that such representations put undue pressure on men to fulfil societal expectations; and as research has shown (for example, Ratele 2008), failure to fulfil such expectations can find expression in violence.

THE ROLE OF PERFORMING ARTS IN GHANAIAN SOCIETY AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR FORMAL EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

The Performing Arts play a pivotal role in the traditional and contemporary life of the Ghanaian. Among its numerous importance and benefits are academic development, career development, transmission and preservation of cultural values, and promotion of tourism. In spite of some knowledge that has been created about these benefits and importance, the significance of the Performing Arts in the Ghanaian society is downplayed. The aim of this paper is to re-emphasise the role as well as the benefits and importance of the Performing Arts in Ghana and its implication for formal education. Article visualizations:

Applying Classical Theory in a Comparative Study of the Information Revolution in the Less Developed World

This article evaluates the salience of classical theory in explaining societal transformation in the digital era. Functionalism, Marxism, and Weberian traditions are first summarized and then applied to a better understanding of how new information and communication technologies (ICTs) are shaping cultural spaces outside the advanced nations of the north. The nation of Ghana and the Indian state of Kerala are ideal social settings to assess the authority of these perspectives. The historical similarities of these two less developed world regions are persuasive, yet their present differences are telling. Although a Weberian perspective may best explain Ghana’s cultural proclivity for hierarchical domination, Marxist and functionalist theories may best explain how it will experience the diffusion of new ICTs within a globally dependent setting. Ghana’s entrenched local and global interests, rationalized along material lines, could be displaced temporarily by new ICTs; but then Ghanaian society may reequilibrate through a reestablishment of historical patterns of exploitation. On the other hand, functionalist and Weberian perspectives best frame the advantages that Kerala is experiencing in the information age. Its proximity to indigenous technological and media centers, its political safety net in greater India, its aging, yet dense population and its reformist tradition of equality and stability all support the wide diffusion of new ICTs for development. This suggests that Kerala could better accrue the predicted collective benefits of these new technologies compared with Ghana.

The Sunyani-Domase (Ghana) Chieftaincy Dispute in Retrospect

This paper interrogates the historical background to the diarchy system of rule in the Odomase traditional area in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Relying on archival documents complemented by interviews, the research reveals that unlike chieftaincy forms in other traditional Ghanaian societies, the people of Odomase have a completely different practice in electing chiefs. The two royal houses have the endorsement of central government to elect two candidates to be installed concurrently as chiefs for the traditional area. The authors argue that the dual chieftaincy arrangement in Odomase, despite its seeming challenges, is the best solution to address the intractable conflict in the traditional polity of the area.

Positioning strategies for branding services in an emerging economy

ABSTRACTThe concept paper adopts a positioning type for the purpose of branding services in a transitioning economy. The consumer-based typology is deemed appropriate and relevant as it represents consumer expectations, reflecting the paper’s key argument that consumer-based positioning strategies are appropriate for branding purposes. Consequently, the paper adopts a positioning type for illustrative purpose. The three positioning strategies adopted were—‘service reliability’, ‘social responsibility’, and ‘branding’ apply to the Ghanaian context. The ‘service reliability’ strategy has a ‘universal’ appeal and is the most prevalent in application. The ‘social responsibility’ to a large extent reflects the caring and community-based nature of the Ghanaian society, whilst the ‘branding’ strategy appears more applicable to international than local firms. The paper contributes to theoretical knowledge in its key assertion that the application of consumer-based positioning strategies for branding is appropriate and beneficial. Practically, the derived propositions will guide the manager in decision making on branding.

Mental health reportage in Ghanaian newspapers between 2000 and 2015: A qualitative analysis

Print media plays an important role in the circulation of information in contemporary Ghanaian society. We thematically examined the content of 164 mental health-related articles published between 2000 and 2015 in six widely circulating Ghanaian newspapers. The articles included investigative reports related to specific public events and incidents; advice columns; editorials; and didactic pieces. The articles covered the following four major topics: (1) Mental health awareness and advocacy; (2) Suicide; (3) Donations; and (4) Religion. Our findings demonstrate that Ghanaian newspapers promote awareness about mental disorders; advocate for those with mental disorders; provide mostly accurate basic knowledge about the nature and management of specific disorders; and inform the public about the state of mental health care in Ghana. We also observed that newspapers serve as a medium through which social representations of mental disorder in society are circulated, and in which tensions between common sense views and evidence-based information on mental health are expressed.

The Public Role of Religion in Modern Ghanaian Society

Abstract This article lends its voice to the discussion on Charles Taylor’s Varieties of Religion Today: William James Revisited, which critiques William James’s view that the public dimensions of religion will be less real and less necessary and, therefore, will decrease in modern societies. The article uses Ghana as a case study to show that religion is still a public phenomenon in modern African societies. Religion has always been a crucial part of Ghanaian public life, including politics, although today it finds expression in the context of pentecostal Christianity. As the religious phenomenon with the strongest presence in contemporary Ghana, Pentecostalism informs the lives of many. Nowadays, during political elections, voters would consider whether or not a candidate exhibits pentecostal religious qualities in deciding to vote him or her into office. Likewise, politicians use religious communities and leaders for the purposes of mobilizing voters or organizing constituencies. Furthermore, religious language has come to dominate political discourse and debates with politicians casting their messages and visions in religious (mostly biblical) imagery and allusions to appeal to worshipping populations both imaginatively and emotionally. In demonstrating the increasing public quality of religion in modern societies, this article identifies some of the strategies Ghanaian politicians use to play on the pentecostal imaginations of the Ghanaian populace, all in a bid to secure political power. This article argues that while religion is a private experience in modern Western societies, it is public and mainstream and influences almost all facets of life in modern Africa, particularly Ghanaian politics.

Who Made You a Judge over Us?

This paper examines the Ghanaian church’s political involvement amidst political diatribe in search of a meaningful and sanitized political life for citizens. It focuses on the church’s actions in the Fourth Republic, and what it can do to help ensure that all citizens are granted meaningful existence in the Ghanaian republic. The paper recognizes the often touted claim by a section of the Ghanaian society that the country is Christian, while at the same time the church’s political attempts are perceived as suspect. There are many things the church and its leadership can do to prepare its Christians to fulfill their mandate as missionaries of salt and light to the nation. This means it can no longer be apolitical since like all others the Christian’s life is wrapped in social-political robes. To resolve the tension of being Christian and political is a task of the church.

Funding Self-Employed Businesses in Ghana: The Short and the Long Run Models

Unemployment has been a problem for both developed and developing countries and efforts are made by governments to find solution to the problem. In Ghana for example, the following measures have been taken by previous governments to tackle the situation in their attempts to solve it. First, the workers brigade was set up by Dr Nkrumah in the 1960s to employ some of the teeming youth who were unemployed. The Youth Employment Scheme started by the Kuffour regime was continued by the Mill's and Mahama' s administrations between 2009 and 2016 and currently the Nana Addoh's regime (2017) have tried to create employment opportunities for the unemployed in the Ghanaian society. All these governments advocate for private sector participation in the employment sector to help solve the unemployment situation in Ghana. Many of such businesses are found in the informal sector and throughout the decades, instead of the informal sector disappearing as the modern economy expands, the informal sector has actually grown in the rural and urban areas of Ghana. The size of Ghana's informal sector is placed at 80 per cent of the total labour force. The large-scale retrenchment of labour as overriding consequences of Structural Adjustment Programme in Ghana in the mid-1980s, coupled with the inability of the government to provide employment for the emerging labour force has created a large pool of unemployed persons who have naturally gravitated towards the informal sector. According to studies the size of the informal sector employment in the 1980s was twice that of the formal sector. By the 1990s, the informal sector employment had increased by five and half (5½) times than that of the formal sector. One of the teething problems which is a thorn in the fresh of the informal sector is funding which most researchers agree but how do the self-employed overcome this social canker? Both short and long run models for raising self-funding of businesses have been provided in this study to help the self-employed tackle their financial problems. It is hoped that if prospective self-employed owners/managers go by the tenets of the models the financial constraints of the self-employed could be reduced if not eradicated.

Moral Education and the Curriculum: the Ghanaian Experience

Moral Education is provided by major institutions within the civil society. The social institutions include the family, religious bodies, the mass media and the school. This paper examined the nature of Moral Education that has been provided in the Ghanaian basic schools during the pre-colonial period (1820 up to 1850), the colonial period (1851-1956) and the post-colonial period (1957-2017). A theoretical framework was provided for the study based on three approaches to moral education, namely: Indoctrinative approach, Romanticist approach and Cognitive-Structural approach. A content analysis of educational policy documents and interviews were used for the collection of data. The findings of the research revealed that one of the colonial policies that promoted Moral Education in Ghana was the teaching of morality in public schools based on Christianity, using the Indoctrinative approach. However, this religious approach to morality changed to secular approach during the post-colonial period in Ghana, due to the pluralistic nature of the Ghanaian society. This led to the introduction of “Moral Teaching”, “Civics” and later “Citizenship Education”. The study welcomed the current policy of separating Religious Education from Moral Education by introducing the teaching of “Civic and Moral Education” and “Religious Studies” at the Colleges of Education, as proposed by the National Council for Tertiary Education. It finally recommended that the Department of Arts Education of the University of Cape Coast began to train teachers who will teach these two courses at the Colleges of Education level. This will equip the teacher trainees with the pedagogical knowledge and skills required for the effective implementation of this new Moral Education programme in Ghanaian basic schools.

Improving school feeding through participation: should the teacher be actively involved?

PurposeMaintaining the success of educational institutions largely depends on the teacher. It is the teacher whose main efforts and contribution help in achieving the goals in education. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of the programme delivery and how involving the active participation of the teacher will help enhance effective and efficient delivery of the school feeding programme at the school level.Design/methodology/approachA total of ten basic schools were purposefully selected for the study with the use of the case study method. Interviews and observations were made in all the selected schools using a semi-structured interview guide. It was also done for some selected stakeholders within the study area under the school feeding programme.FindingsThere is an indication that teachers as managers and administrators of the school system are not actively involved in the feeding programme leading to an ineffective and efficient delivery. The school children do not get the best from the programme. There is a need to put teachers in charge of operations at the school level. This will improve trust and cooperation between caterers, students and opinion leaders. The structure at the school level should be redesigned making caterers answerable to the teacher. Teachers as implementers in the case of the capitation grant will enhance efficiency leading to the achievement of the goal of the programme.Originality/valueThe study underlines the importance, efficiency and influence of the teacher within the school system, in the operations of the school feeding programme and in the Ghanaian society.

Strategic Thinking And Strategic Leadership For Change: Lessons For Technical Universities In Ghana

Global competition is forcing tertiary institutions to excel in knowledge-creation that are relevant and innovative. Innovations bring solutions to societal problems. Perhaps a new system of thinking will enhance the relevance and sustainability of Ghana’s new Technical Universities (TU) that were established by PNDC Law 321 to provide technical leadership, entrepreneurial solutions, and support of industries for its national development. For strategic thinking, the TUs are advised to avoid the Polytechnic traditions and be transformed by ‘lessons’ from other institutions such as Germany’s University of Applied Research. The purpose of this study was to examine institutional leadership and policy practices of an African institution, (herein referred to as PaceSetter Institute or PSI) to serve as lessons for Ghana’s Technical Universities towards sustainable development. Qualitative data came from field notes during interviews, interactions, observations, and desk reviews. Using an act of serendipity approach to case study, data revealed lessons such as: (i) Strategic thinking and leadership, (ii) Excellence in scholarship of engagement, (iii) Change in professionalism and specialization, and (iv) Entrepreneurship. The researchers urged TUs to consider strategic thinking for sustainable development of their institutions to bring social enterprise to academic pursuits, making profit by applied research, and consider scholarship of engagement with the Ghanaian society and change. The recommendations also focused on each TU envisioning on how to become a “Centre of Excellence” in Ghana by showcasing faculty and students’ work, setting high standards of scholarship and professionalism, and entrepreneurship that brings solution to social problems

Orality in Ghanaian Newspaper Narratives: An Analysis of Yankah’s Woes of a Kwatriot.

The study explores the influence of orality on Ghanaian prose by explicating the verbal art strategies utilized by Yankah (1990) in his newspaper writing, Woes of a Kwatriot, and, by so doing, illustrating how the interaction between literature and journalism help in bringing about a vector of expression that reveals indigenous literary values. Yankah foregrounds tensions in the Ghanaian society using the medium of orality in a newspaper format, showcasing how indigenous literary modes can facilitate and enhance the quality of the journalism prose. In other words, Yankah saw the emergence of experimental writing as crucial in bringing Ghana, at the margin, to the centre of not only literary production but to the global arena where the writer can play a big role in shaping the fortunes of the people. Yankah is making the case that the African writer should not only mimic what obtains in the established Western canons. Rather, he or she must consciously facilitate the creation of new forms, an example being combining African elements with the Western long form such as lodging orality in journalism prose in a bid to mediate “the forces of modernity”.

Unmasking the Sociocultural Constraints to Career Growth of Married Women in Ghanaian Organizations

This study investigated the question of how culture and activity can be explored towards understanding the professional career development of married women and the relative constraints associated with such development in the Ghanaian environment. Guided by the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) framework, data was collected from a sample of 141 married Ghanaian women professionals engaged in white collar jobs in the public and private institutions located in Accra. It is established that the acceptance by the Ghanaian traditional society of the married professional woman as a capable person who can equally perform in an organization and thus need to be trusted, supported and recognized is of relevance to her career development. This observation provides learning on the impact of the inflow of socio-cultural dynamics into a gender-oriented organizational life and the complexities that it generates in understanding the constraints to the professional career development of married women.