College of Humanities
http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/4913
2024-03-28T21:37:47ZUrban Sprawl And Its Consequences On The Sustainability Of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Area
http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/41396
Urban Sprawl And Its Consequences On The Sustainability Of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Area
Atakorah, G.B.
Cities worldwide are undergoing significant spatial transformation due to continued urban
growth and sprawl, with forecasts indicating strong growth in the urban fringe well into the
future. Urban sprawl is an ensuing spatial form that has emerged globally due to this spatial
transformation of urbanisation and has consequences on the natural and built environment,
thereby affecting the sustainability of cities. Sekondi-Takoradi has undergone a series of
economic boom and bust years, which has influenced the rate of spatial expansion in the city.
The study, therefore, examines urban sprawl in the city and attempts to fill gaps in knowledge
by examining the drivers of sprawl and the social and environmental issues affecting its
sustainability.
A mixed-method approach was used, which sampled 400 households and 120 commercial
entities, and conducted 25 interviews and 12 focus group discussions. Among the interesting
revelations of the study was the state's role in creating an enabling environment both positive and
negative, which the private sector and individuals have taken advantage of and has led to the
ongoing unplanned and haphazard development of the city. This has resulted in unequal access to essential services, loss of livelihood and inequality in
livelihood options, thereby affecting the social well-being of the inhabitants. Environmentally,
the consumption pattern within the city and its ensuing urban heat island effect among others
threaten its sustainability, both in the short and long term, with broader implications for the city
region. As a result of these threats to the city's sustainability, the study recommends that buffer
zones or green belts be implemented beyond which spatial expansion is not permitted to occur,
thus shifting towards densification and a more sustainable urban development.
PhD. Geography
2022-12-01T00:00:00ZLocal Content Policy And Human Capital Development In Ghana’s Oil And Gas Upstream Sector
http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/41388
Local Content Policy And Human Capital Development In Ghana’s Oil And Gas Upstream Sector
Agyemang, G.
Ghana formulated the Local Content and Participation Policy in petroleum activities in 2010. One of the objectives of the policy is to develop local capability through education and skill development. Skills shortage among Ghanaians persists in the upstream sector, and the issue of human capital development is looked at. This study examined the local content policies on human capital development in Ghana’s upstream sector, with a focus on upstream firms’ local content initiatives and programmes on human capital development, how employees acquire human capital and the challenges faced, and the institutional framework on human capital development in Ghana’s upstream sector. Through a qualitative approach and a case study design, this study made use of a semi-structured interview guide and document sources to collect data. The study made use of data collected from participants in upstream firms, civil society organizations, the Petroleum Commission, the Ministry of Energy, the Local Content Committee, and members of parliament. The findings of the study revealed the facilitation of human capital development through localization and succession planning, the use of competency assessment and development tools, the establishment of a human capital development policy, and infrastructural development. Further, employees were acquiring human capital through internal training, external training, e-learning, and personalized learning initiatives. However, there were several challenges to human capital development, including a perceived deliberate delay in skills transfer, difficulty finding experienced professionals, the limited capacity of stakeholder organizations, a lack of employee motivation, and inadequate information on localization. The study argues that the implementation of the local content policy has enhanced the development of human capital in Ghana’s upstream sector; however, it has not translated into targeted employment outcomes. The institutional arrangements have aided the development of human capital, though there are gaps that need to be addressed. As part of the recommendations, the government of Ghana should facilitate the capacity building of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation to train more Ghanaians, and the local content regulations should specify the maximum number of years that expatriate employees can work in the country while the Petroleum Commission improves the monitoring of the progress of employees’ training and succession through direct communication with them.
PhD. Social Policy Studies
2022-11-01T00:00:00ZQuality Of Maternal Health-Seeking Behaviour And Pregnancy Outcomes Among Young Women In Ghana
http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/41375
Quality Of Maternal Health-Seeking Behaviour And Pregnancy Outcomes Among Young Women In Ghana
Bobo, E.K.
Pregnancy among young women is a concern worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries i(LMICs), as they often have a higher incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The utilization of maternal health care services is imperative to reducing the number of perinatal deaths and postnatal complications iamongst ipregnant iwomen. iAttempts ito iexplain ithis isituation ihave ifocusedioniindividual iandihouseholdilevel ideterminants, ibut itheiroleiofineighbourhoodifactors ihas inot ireceived imuch iattention. iUnderstanding ineighbourhood ifactors iassociated iwith imaternal ihealth-seeking ibehaviour iis iimportant. iThis iis ibecause iindividuals ireside iwithin ineighbourhoods iand itheir ihealth-related ibehaviour ican ibe iinfluenced iby ithe icharacteristics ior iconditions iof ithe ineighbourhoodiin iwhichitheyilive.
This istudy iposits ithat iquality iof icare iand ineighbourhood-level icharacteristics iare ivery icritical ipredictors iof iyoung iwomen’s iutilization iof imaternal ihealth icare iand ipregnancy ioutcomes iamong iyoungiwomeniin iGhana, iin iadditionito iotheriindividual iandihouseholdicharacteristics. iDrawingion itheories iof ibehavioural imodel iof ihealthiservice iuse, ithe ithree idelays, iand iDonabedian’s iqualityiof icare imodel, ithe istudy iused ia imodified iBehavioural iModel iof iHealth iService iUse iand iQuality iof icareimodelitoiunderstandiindividualiandineighbourhood-level ifactorsionitheiutilizationiofimaternal ihealthcare iservices iandipregnancyioutcomes iamongiyoungiwomeniin iGhana. i
Data ifrom ithe i2017 iGhana iMaternal iHealth iSurvey iwas iused ito iconduct ia iquantitative istudy ito iunderstand ithe ieffects iof iindividual iand ineighbourhood-level ifactors ion ithe iquality iof iantenatal icare, iskilled ibirth iattendance, iand ipregnancy ioutcomes. iThe iquantitative istudy iused ia isample iof i2,669 iyoung iwomen ibetween ithe iages iof i15 ito i24 iyears inested iwithin i900 iclusters iacross iGhana. iMultilevel ilogistic iregression imodels iwere iemployed ito iexamine ithe ieffects iof iindividual iand ineighbourhood-level ifactors ion ithe iquality iof iantenatal icare, iskilled ibirth iattendance, iand ipregnancy ioutcomes. iThe iquantitative ianalysis irevealed iboth iindividual iand icommunity-level ifactors ias isignificant ipredictors iof imaternal ihealth ioutcomes iin iGhana. iFor iinstance, iwealthier iwomen iand ithose iwith ihigher ieducation iwere isignificantly imore ilikely ito iutilize ithe iquality iof iantenatal icare iand idelivery iservices. i
The ianalysis ialso irevealed ithat iafter icontrolling ifor iother ifactors, iplace iof iresidence, ia ineighbourhood ivariable ihas ino idirect iassociation iwith ithe iquality iof iANC, ihowever, iit ihas ia idirect icontribution ito iskilled ibirth iattendance iand ipregnancy ioutcomes. iNeighbourhood-level irandom ieffects iwere ialso isignificant iand ithere iwas iconfirmation iof inesting iat ithe ineighbourhood ilevel ieven iafter icontrolling ifor iindividual iand ineighbourhood-level ivariables.
This istudy iprovides ifurther iempirical ievidence ithat, ito iimprove ithe istrides itowards ireducing ithe irisk iof iadverse ipregnancy ioutcomes iamong iwomen iin iGhana, iinterventions ishould ibe itargeted iat iwomen iin ipoor ihouseholds iliving iin ipoor isocioeconomic iconditions iwith ino iaccess ito iquality imaternal icare iservices. iThis iwould ihave ia isignificant iinfluence ion ithe iliving iconditions iof ithe iwomen iand ithus, ireduce itheir irisk iof ihaving ia inegative ioutcome iof ipregnancy.
PhD. Population Studies
2020-07-01T00:00:00ZA Critique Of The Roles Of Indigenous Communicative Acts And The Modern Mass Media In Contemporary Ghana
http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/41374
A Critique Of The Roles Of Indigenous Communicative Acts And The Modern Mass Media In Contemporary Ghana
Gbormittah, F.
This study is located within the growing scholarship on news-sharing in contemporary mass media channels vis-à-vis indigenous communicative acts and protocols in the Global South, using Ghana as a specific geographical entry point. Evidence showed that news and information sharing, particularly on culturally sensitive matters, in the contemporary mass media channels have drawn a critical attention of some Ghanaians in recent times. The critics appear to have misgivings about the lack of concern for the values of communication and ethics of appropriateness of communication in the modern mass media channels. Consequently, this study critiqued the notions and processes involved in news and information sharing in indigenous communicative acts in relation to contemporary mass media channels, and the perceived tensions, focusing on three cases purposively selected to match three themes on, “news about the dead,” “news on divulging of private information and conversation,” and “news concerning deliberate falsehood.” In view of these themes, this study attempts at establishing whether some indigenous communicative acts and protocols of news-sharing could have served as a solution to the phenomenon, or they have outlived their practicality. Furthermore, it explores how the modern mass media could be socio-culturally positioned to adequately meet the needs of society. Regarding methods, multi-dimensional qualitative approaches of data gathering were employed. Primary and secondary sources of data which include in-depth semi-structured interviews and, media texts (audio-visuals, pictures, newspapers, and internet sources), and administrative texts (press releases, letters, and memos) respectively, were used. Textual, together with critical and interpretive analyses were used. The encoding/decoding model of communication was deployed as the central theoretical framework. This model is very significant in elucidating the comprehensibility of how people make meaning through news-sharing in ‘everyday natural settings.’ This study, therefore unearths a theoretical connection between socio-cultural index of encoding/decoding dualism and news- sharing for the purpose of examining new social media driving forces of convergence and interactivity, globalisation and glocalisation, and proliferation and mass media channels’ ownership vis-à-vis the cultural context. The revealing finding of this study is that participants, comprising cultural experts and media practitioners were influenced by diverse protocols such as intertextual cultural knowledge, personal experiences and dispositions, professional orientation, and biases as they decoded the cases/images. Also, very insightful finding is that the media practitioners often displayed their interest in cultural awareness issues and read the cases in the preferred and negotiated modes of the encoding/decoding model. And that they were not pleased with the originators of the publications and those who shared them. Further finding is that the cultural experts, mainly, used the preferred approach to read and were also irritated by the creators of the texts and those who published them. This study concludes that indigenous communicative acts still address the communication needs of people in rural communities. The contemporary mass media channels are considered as high-class in visuals, therefore are unable to address deep-rooted societal and culturally sensitive issues. Finally, it has also been disclosed that so far as the contemporary mass media channels reach huge audiences and can captivate, the useful values of both media should be integrated to provide effective communication to the people of Ghana.
PhD. African Studies
2020-12-01T00:00:00Z