ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
When men speak women listen': Gender Socialisation and Young Adolescents' Attitudes to Sexual and Reproductive Issues.

Despite several indications to the contrary, approaches to population and fertility issues continue to assume, either explicitly or implicitly, that women’s sexual and reproductive behaviours are central to bringing about change. While it is true that programme efforts in Family Planning and Reproductive Health are paying greater attention to the “male role”, issues of gender relations (and inequalities) receive much less attention in the conceptualisation of these programmes. The discourse on gender relations in Africa often start by pointing to issues of patriarchy; however, while this helps us to understand the status of women and men it usually neglects to explain how gender is constructed. Where the reproductive health lens is thrown on males, it is usually in the form of exhortations to men to have fewer children, or to be “responsible”, without consideration to why men have as many children as they do, or how and why men are “irresponsible”. There has been little examination of how girls and boys, who grow up into men and women, learn certain behaviours and attitudes. Attitudes to gender roles, formed in growing up years, have implications for later sexual behaviour. This paper discusses findings from separate Focus Group Discussions among boys, girls, and parents, in two communities in Ghana on the kinds of attitudes expressed with regard to specific gender roles and sexual and reproductive behaviour. The FGDs also point to some of the ways adolescents recognise sex-role disparities in their own socialisation and that of other young people. The two communities reflect two lineage types – one matrilineal and the other patrilineal. The data show that with few exceptions patriarchal attitudes essentially prevail across age, sex, and lineage type. The paper concludes by suggesting programmatic implications for strengthening the abilities of young males to be "responsible" in their sexual relations.

Source: UG
When necessity begets ingenuity: E-waste scavenging as a livelihood strategy in accra, Ghana

This paper describes how due to lack of formal job opportunities, e-waste scavenging has emerged as a major livelihood (survival) strategy for a rapidly growing urban population. It documents how the process has been fueled by neo-liberal economic policies adopted since 1983 that not only failed to create a "vibrant urban economy" but also exacerbated the unemployment and under-employment rates and created a general economic crisis. The study relied on both qualitative and quantitative data as well as discussions and interviews with stakeholders, affected, and interested persons to provide data for analysis. The paper explores the various aspects of their work: economic, financial, environmental and social. Since the equipment has both pollution and resource potentials, the need for proper control and monitoring of the informal handling and recycling practice is highlighted. The study calls for the formalization of the informal activity not only to sustain the livelihood for the urban poor but also for efficient e-waste management. © University of Florida Board of Trustees, a public corporation of the State of Florida.

Source: UG
When Necessity Begets Ingenuity: Scavenging for Survival in a Globalizing City

This paper describes how due to lack of formal job opportunities, e-waste scavenging has emerged as a major livelihood (survival) strategy for a rapidly growing urban population. It documents how the process has been fueled by neo-liberal economic policies adopted since 1983 that not only failed to create a “vibrant urban economy” but also exacerbated the unemployment and under-employment rates and created a general economic crisis. The study relied on both qualitative and quantitative data as well as discussions and interviews with stakeholders, affected, and interested persons to provide data for analysis. The paper explores the various aspects of their work: economic, financial, environmental and social. Since the equipment has both pollution and resource potentials, the need for proper control and monitoring of the informal handling and recycling practice is highlighted. The study calls for the formalization of the informal activity not only to sustain the livelihood for the urban poor but also for efficient e-waste management

Source: UG
When refugees don't go home: The situation of liberian refugees in ghana

When conflicts end the expectation is that the refugees generated by the conflict would repatriate home to be part of the postconflict peace building and redevelopment of the country. This does not necessarily happen with all refugee situations. The article looks at the situation of Liberian refugees who have refused to repatriate from Ghana since the conflict in their country ended. There have been United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees-led repatriation efforts which have not succeeded in getting all the Liberian refugees to repatriate. These refugees have however rejected local integration and rather prefer resettlement in a third country of asylum in North America or Europe. This article looks at the politics of what happens when refugees do not repatriate after the end of conflict in their country of origin. The view of this article is that when the international community secures the end of the conflict they ought to go on further to help secure rehabilitation and development of the country concerned. When this fails, some of the refugees would use the dire situation of the country in the postconflict peace-building phase to refuse to repatriate and create all manner of problems for their host country of asylum. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Source: UG
When Rhetoric Meets Reality: Attitudinal Change and Coastal Zone Management in Ghana

The current poor state of coastal natural resources in Ghana has been attributed to pressures largely from anthropogenic sources, as well as to the negative attitudes of resource users. In order to facilitate attitudinal change educational programmes have focused on the linear model of behaviour, where an awareness of environmental problems is thought to lead to positive environmental behaviour. This paper presents the results of a study of the environmental attitudes of some coastal residents and the socio-economic milieu in which these attitudes are expressed. The results indicated that (1) majority of the respondents lacked access to basic infrastructure, (2) their main environmental concerns were linked to their desire for better living conditions, (3) they have generally positive environmental attitudes and (4) their positive environmental attitudes did not translate to good environmental behaviour because of factors mentioned in (1) and (2). The paper recommends the consideration of environmental and socio-economic concerns of resource users, which influence behavioural intentions during the policy-making processes.

Source: UG
When Rhetoric Meets Reality: Attitudinal Change and Coastal Zone Management in Ghana.

The current poor state of coastal natural resources in Ghana has been attributed to pressures largely from anthropogenic sources, as well as to the negative attitudes of resource users. In order to facilitate attitudinal change educational programmes have focused on the linear model of behaviour, where an awareness of environmental problems is thought to lead to positive environmental behaviour. This paper presents the results of a study of the environmental attitudes of some coastal residents and the socio-economic milieu in which these attitudes are expressed. The results indicated that (1) majority of the respondents lacked access to basic infrastructure, (2) their main environmental concerns were linked to their desire for better living conditions, (3) they have generally positive environmental attitudes and (4) their positive environmental attitudes did not translate to good environmental behaviour because of factors mentioned in (1) and (2). The paper recommends the consideration of environmental and socio-economic concerns of resource users, which influence behavioural intentions during the policy-making processes.

Source: UG
When Social Workers Are Given Dual Mandates: Child Maintenance and the Complexities of Family Situations in the Ghanaian Child Protection System.

Custodial parents, often single mothers, face challenges regarding child maintenance, including a lack of financial commitments from non-custodial parents for their children’s welfare. The evidence suggests that there is a strong link between child maintenance and poverty as well as other family violence issues. In addition to their primary child and family protection duties, child protection practitioners in Ghana have a mandate to assess child maintenance concerns. This dual responsibility may have the advantage of promoting holistic child and family practices, but it could also negatively impact families when practitioners overly focus on one responsibility at the expense of the other. We sought to understand and show whether families who reported child maintenance concerns to the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development in Ghana experienced challenges beyond child maintenance and whether practitioners identified these primary protection concerns in their assessments. Findings from qualitative in-depth interviews with seventeen parents show that these families experienced domestic violence, marital conflict and child abuse and neglect beyond the scope of a standard child maintenance case. The findings highlight the importance of child protection workers conducting comprehensive family assessments to resolve ‘hidden’ family difficulties when establishing child maintenance arrangements.

Source: UG
When the Chief is Away: Managing a Leadership Vacuum in a Ghanaian Community

The debate on the relevance of traditional authorities in contemporary societies has been ongoing. However, less emphasis has been given to the effect of the absence of legitimate traditional leaders in some communities. To address this knowledge gap, the current study adopted a qualitative research approach to gather data from 8 participants concerning how the absence of a traditional leader has affected the peace and development of Aburaso in Ghana. Using the applied leadership vacuum concept and the transformational leadership theory as the theoretical underpinnings of the study, the findings revealed that while the absence of a traditional leader has hindered development initiatives, land management, and social cohesion; the leadership succession dispute has also resulted in a continuous conflict and the lack of peace. This study concludes that traditional authorities remain pivotal development actors and recommends establishing robust succession frameworks to prevent prolonged leadership vacuums.

Source: UG
When the Researched Refused Confidentiality: Reflections from Fieldwork Experience in Ghana

Meeting appropriate ethical standards for research involving human participants, mean ensuring confidentiality. It is assumed that the research participant will accept the safeguarding protocols necessary to ensure confidentiality. This assumption however oversimplifies the variation of motivations that goes into participants’ decisions to participate in research. Drawing on reflections from my fieldwork experience in Ghana, I answer the questions: Why do research participants reject confidentiality? What ethical position can one take when the researcher and the researched have conflicting perspectives about confidentiality? I contend that participants with personal stake refuse confidentiality when they want to be acknowledged for their data. Rejecting confidentiality is however, embedded in the individual perspective, cultural, and political context of the study area. The ethical concerns of such refusal can be ameliorated if confidentiality is nuanced to include six categorically distinct but mutually non-exclusive stages: research-planning, ongoing-information, writing-up, reality-after-research, differential-disseminations, and no-confidentiality-clause. The paper further argues that whilst maintaining institutional allegiance in this matter is crucial, employing confidentiality should lie at the intersection of participants’ motivation for taking part in the research, the socio-cultural-specific-context of the study location and the nature of the topic being explored.

Source: UG
When Tricycles Speak: Language Practices and Ideology in Tricycle Texts in Nigeria

This article investigates the sociocultural aspects of street-related linguistic practices on commercial tricycles in Uyo metropolis, south-eastern Nigeria. Marginal urban texts on tricycles reveal a process of identity construction and the quest for ideological distinctiveness of the grassroots in articulating their spatial street wisdom. The study offers contextual analyses of tricycle texts to unpack how they reflect riders’ social conditions, and problematise how riders relate their subjectivities to the audience in the mobile urban space. We conclude that tricycle texts bring to light creative aspects of a local subculture that lends a voice to a marginalised segment of the society.

Source: UG
When Web 2.0 Becomes A Learning Tool - Evaluating Web 2.0 Tools,

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the link between Web 2.0 and organizational learning through a framework that assesses its adaptability as a learning tool. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper using arguments from organizational learning literature. Findings – The authors show that, as learning tools, Web 2.0 tools should be able to create interaction, enable knowledge sharing, access pre‐knowledge, and generate and store new knowledge. Research limitations/implications – The constructs are stepping stones towards a complete learning organization. Practical implications – The proposed framework brings organizations closer to prioritizing and evaluating learning tools and aligning them to dynamic social interactions in the workplace. Social implications – The proposed framework can inform the development of policies and procedures concerning the use of Web 2.0 tools by employees in the workplace. Originality/value – The framework opens a new insight to the evaluation process for learning tools and an area of information systems and organizational development research where a handful have ventured.

Source: UG
“When Will the Tree Grow for Me to Benefit from It?”: Tree Tenure Reform to Counter Mining in Southwestern Ghana

In 2021, Ghana was Africa’s largest gold producer and sixth largest producer worldwide. However, mining wrecks tremendous environmental havoc and poses significant human health risks. Efforts to mitigate these impacts have focused exclusively on regularizing mining, with little recognition of the crucial role farmers play in mining, particularly as agents that lease their land for the same. Ghana’s new tree tenure policy allows cocoa farmers to acquire individualized, allodial rights to commercial timber species on their farms, which permits famers to capture forestry sector payments. We examine farmers’ impressions of tree tenure reform as a potential counter to mining in eleven communities in Western and Western North regions, using focus group and individual interviews. While the concept of tree tenure is enthusiastically embraced, practical difficulties encountered by smallholders attempting to navigate the bureaucratic registration system limit the sway of tree registration and ownership as a means of limiting mining proliferation.

Source: UG
“When You Talk about Virginity it’s about Females”: Views on Virginity among University of Ghana Students

This qualitative article examines views of students at the University of Ghana on the topic of virginity with specific focus on its gendered meaning and relative significance in modern times. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 30 purposively selected research participants with the aid of an interview guide. Through thematic analysis, the results indicated that the majority of the respondents believed that virginity has been stereotyped on women due to the patriarchal cultural systems and the significance of the hymen. It was also found that the participants constructed their perspectives on virginity based on religious obligations, repercussions of sex and sexual health. Reactions to virginity loss also differed on gender. Implications of this study include the need for public conscientization on the repercussions of sexual activities, direct parent–child discourse about sex and the need for counseling centers within social institutions to offer advice and support to the youth on the subject matter.

Source: UG
“When you use tramadol, the sperms will not come out. . .”: Unconventional strategies for avoiding unintended pregnancy among adolescents in Ghana

Background: In spite of adolescents’ high knowledge about modern contraceptives, usage is low especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Little is known about what adolescents use in place of modern contraceptive methods. Objective: This paper discusses lay strategies that adolescents use in their quest to prevent unintended pregnancy. Methods: A qualitative approach was used in the study reported in this paper. The paper draws on focus group data from a larger study looking at adolescent contraceptive needs in Ghana. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 79 adolescents who participated in a focus group discussion. Eight focus group discussions were held with both male and female adolescents aged 15–19. The data were analysed using the inductive thematic analysis method after transcribing the data. Results: We found that after having sex without using condom, adolescent girls ejected sperms by using water, salt solution or ice cubes, while others engaged in pushing with pelvic floor muscles. In their bid to prevent pregnancy, for boys, engaging in masturbation and the intake of Tramadol before sex was observed. When these lay strategies fail, adolescents resorted to unsafe and illegal abortion. Conclusions: Though adolescents girls engaged in unprotected sex, they still tried to avoid pregnancy, and consequently adopted lay strategies of pregnancy prevention that do not expose them to stigma. It is therefore recommended that the Ministry of Health through the Ghana Health Service consider establishing more adolescent-friendly health centres and expanding existing ones where adolescents could easily visit to have their sexual and reproductive health needs addressed in a very confidential and non-judgemental manner

Source: UG
“When You Use Tramadol, The Sperms Will Not Come Out. . .”: Unconventional Strategies For Avoiding Unintended Pregnancy Among Adolescents In Ghana

Background: In spite of adolescents’ high knowledge about modern contraceptives, usage is low, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Africa. Little is known about what adolescents use in place of modern contraceptive methods. Objective: This paper discusses lay strategies that adolescents use in their quest to prevent unintended pregnancy. Methods: A qualitative approach was used in the study reported in this paper. The paper draws on focus group data from a larger study looking at adolescent contraceptive needs in Ghana. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 79 adolescents who participated in a focus group discussion. Eight focus group discussions were held with both male and female adolescents aged 15–19. The data were analysed using the inductive thematic analysis method after transcribing the data. Results: We found that after having sex without using condom, adolescent girls ejected sperms by using water or a salt solution or ice cubes, while others engaged in pushing with pelvic floor muscles. In their bid to prevent pregnancy for boys, engaging in masturbation and the intake of Tramadol before sex was observed. When these lay strategies fail, adolescents resort to unsafe and illegal abortion. Conclusions: Though adolescents engaged in unprotected sex, they still tried to avoid pregnancy, and consequently adopted lay strategies for pregnancy prevention that do not expose them to stigma. It is therefore recommended that the Ministry of Health, through the Ghana Health Service, consider establishing more adolescent-friendly health centres and expanding existing ones where adolescents could easily visit to have their sexual and reproductive health needs addressed in a very confidential and non-judgmental manner.

Source: UG
Where do overweight women in Ghana live? Answers from exploratory spatial data analysis

Contextual influence on health outcomes is increasingly becoming an important area of research. Analytical techniques such as spatial analysis help explain the variations and dynamics in health inequalities across different context and among different population groups. This paper explores spatial clustering in body mass index among Ghanaian women by analysing data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey using exploratory spatial data analysis techniques. Overweight was a more common occurrence in urban areas than in rural areas. Close to a quarter of the clusters in Ghana, mostly those in the southern sector contained women who were overweight. Women who lived in clusters where the women were overweight were more likely to live around other clusters where the women were also overweight. The results suggest that the urban environment could be a potential contributing factor to the high levels of obesity in urban areas of Ghana. There is the need for researchers to include a spatial dimension to obesity research in Ghana paying particular attention the urban environment. © F.A.A. Dake, 2012.

Source: UG
Where do you come from, where do you go? Assessing skills gaps and labour market outcomes for young adults with different immigration backgrounds

Using PISA and PIAAC data from twelve OECD countries, we examine the gap in cognitive skills among immigrants and natives and evaluate how those differences have evolved over time. We also consider how demographics, family background and school quality explain the development of cognitive skills of young people with immigrant backgrounds. The results show, first, that some convergence in skills occurs between secondgeneration immigrants and natives over time. Second, demographics, family background and school quality variables all contribute to the achievement gaps across different groups.

Source: UG
Where is My Name? – Contemporary Funeral Posters as an Arena of Contestation and (Re)negotiation of Chiefly Relations Among the Ewe of Ghana and Togo

In Ghana and other regions of West Africa a funeral poster is an important part of funerary ritual. Examining two funeral posters – one about omission and the other about inclusion of names – printed to commemorate two chiefs in two Ewe communities in Ghana and Togo, this article shows funeral posters as arenas of contestation, negotiation, affirmation, and elaboration of beliefs and conflicting views. The article argues that funeral posters are written with a local audience in mind, which means that they are a very useful source for historical enquiry about how people address the subjects of kinship and relationships among chiefs.

Source: UG