Browsing by Author "Awedoba, A.K."

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Assessing Language Vitality and Language Endangerment of Lete (Larteh)
(University of Ghana, 2013-07) Bello, M.; Awedoba, A.K.; Ansah, M.A.
The need to protect languages from extinction cannot be overemphasized. Language is an essential element of culture, and a means of communication. Through language, people build and express their emotions, intentions, values, norms, notions, practices, and this helps build understanding among them, and strengthen their relationship. Language is therefore the underlying factor for determining the identity of individuals and groups. Language is strategically important for the attainment of several development goals and for progress towards sustainable development. African languages in particular can give us vital clues about history (Childs 2003). According to Tsunoda (2005: 162) a people‘s language contains ―knowledge of ceremonies, mythology, environment, technology, language skills, songs, and linguistic artifacts‖. Therefore, we can say that language embodies the totality of a people‘s past, present and future. Any interference with the language of a people leads to a loss of some important aspects of the knowledge base of these people. Harrison (2007:7) also believes that languages are ―repositories for cultural knowledge‖ which implies that the loss of languages means the loss of ―treasures‖ within these languages (Crystal 2000:32). Presently the threat posed to language vitality is now recognized as a worldwide crisis. There is no precise number of languages that are threatened in the world. It has been observed that the location of Larteh, the study area, is a potential breeding ground for language assimilation. Since Larteh is located within an area where Akuapem Twi is widely spoken, there exists a kind of competition between these two languages; the Lɛtɛ language (minority language) and Akuapem Twi (regional lingua franca). This situation is exactly what Wurm (1991) describes as stronger language communities exerting their influence over minority language communities which to him, leads to language endangerment. Again, the relative utility of the Akuapem Twi is accelerating the process of language shift and Lɛtɛ is gradually losing its speakers. It is a fact that government, through its policies on language, is encouraging the use of selected languages as a means of communication and medium of instruction in schools. Children with limited proficiency in these languages of instruction are strongly disadvantaged. These children are ―unable to develop their cognitive, in-depth and creatively independent skills and techniques‖ (Batibo, 2005) in these educational language mediums. They are disadvantaged culturally, politically, socio- economically, educationally, and are unable to contribute to national development. The study will investigate language use in Larteh town, the study area. The study will also attempt to assess the vitality and the extent of endangerment in Larteh with reference to the criteria suggested by UNESCO (2003).
Cultural Sensitivity and Programming. The Case of Government of Ghana-UNFPA 5th Country Programme
(UNFPA, pp. 2006-210, 2008) Awedoba, A.K.
An Ethnographic Study of Northern Ghanaian Conflicts. Towards Sustainable Peace Initiatives
(Sub-Saharan Publishers, pp, 2009) Awedoba, A.K.
Eye health knowledge and health-seeking behaviours in Ghana
(African Vision and Eye Health, 2018-10) Ofosu, A.; Osei, I.; Hagan, M.; Biekro, L.; Awedoba, A.K.
Background: To improve access to comprehensive eye health services within the community, an intervention study that sought to integrate primary eye care (PEC) into existing primary health care (PHC) services, namely Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS), was conducted. Aim: To improve access to eye health at community level. Setting: The study was conducted in Northern, Eastern and Western Regions of Ghana. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional exploratory study, which employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. It used multistage cluster randomised sample design. The study involved a household survey, observation, focus group discussions (FGDs), in-depth interviews (IDIs) and informal discussions and case narratives. Results: The findings of the baseline survey covered information on the eye health knowledge, and health-seeking behaviours at community level. Out of the total 1760 people interviewed, 52.5% were women. The educational level of the respondents was low, 35.7% had no education and only 3% had tertiary education. All the study communities, including 67% of survey respondents, said eye disease was the third most common health problem. Overall knowledge about specific diseases was low. Only 3% and 5% of respondents mentioned trachoma and glaucoma, respectively, as a cause of blindness. All community members tended to either seek help from the practitioner closest to them or else alternate between different practitioners. Conclusion: The study showed that eye disease was a common health problem in all the communities. The community members desired eye care services manned by trained personnel close to them. Using CHPS appeared to be an option that can greatly improve access to eye care services in Ghana.
Gender and the stigma of onchocercal skin disease in Africa
(Social Science and Medicine, 2000-05) Vlassoff, C.; Weiss, M.; Ovuga, E.B.L.; Eneanya, C.; Nwel, P.T.; Babalola, S.S.; Awedoba, A.K.; Theophilus, B.; Cofie, P.; Shetabi, P.
This paper reports results from a multicenter study of gender differences in the stigma associated with onchocercal skin disease (OSD) in five African sites: Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria (Awka and Ibadan) and Uganda. The studies used a common protocol to compare affected and unaffected respondents, that is, men and women with onchodermatitis in highly endemic areas and respondents from communities with low endemicity or no onchocerciasis. The methods were both quantitative and qualitative, allowing for the comparison of stigma scores and people's verbal descriptions of their experiences and attitudes. Questions to the unaffected were asked after providing them with photographs and short descriptions (vignettes) depicting typical cases. We found that stigma was expressed more openly by the unaffected, who perceived OSD as something foreign or removed from themselves, whereas the affected tended to deny that they experienced stigma as a result of the condition. Gender differences in stigma scores were not significantly different for men and women, but qualitative data revealed that stigma was experienced differently by men and women, and that men and women were affected by it in distinctive ways. Men were more concerned about the impact of the disease on sexual performance and economic prospects, whereas women expressed more concern about physical appearance and life chances, especially marriage. Similar trends were found in the different sites in the responses of affected and unaffected respondents, and differences between them, despite geographical and cultural variations. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Men Play, Women Break the Town: Gender and Intergenerational Asymmetry in Sexual and Reproductive Worldview Among the Ga of Ghana
(2017) Atobrah, D.; Awedoba, A.K.
A contemporary critique levelled against sexual and reproductive (SR) behavioral studies in Africa is the dominance of Western theories and perspectives, with the main language through which SR categories and concepts are developed and investigated being Western or colonial, which rarely correspond with local and ethnic conceptualizations. In this paper, we conduct an ethnolinguistic analysis of gender and intergenerational constructions of sexual and reproductive behaviors (SRB) among the Ga of Ghana. Ethnographic approaches were used to collect and analyze two data sources from seventy-two respondents; first, a lexicon of common words, phrases, terminologies and coinages on SR activities and relationships. Second, narratives on respondents’ major SR experiences, through a biography of respondents’ body methodological framework. Respondents reflected a high degree of conceptual baggage, underpinned by their own gendered SR experiences, in their selection and interpretation of the terminologies/words. Younger respondents were more likely to use flippant coinages for risky SRB, which resonate with their narratives on their casual and unrestrained SR behaviours. We discuss the SR health threats and opportunities of our findings.
Nawuri-Gonja Conflict, 1932-1996
(University of Ghana, 2012-12) Mbowura, C.K.; Addo-Fening, R.; Awedoba, A.K.; Baku, D.E.K.
This study examines the causes of the Nawuri-Gonja conflict, which broke out in 1991 over allodial land rights. In Alfai, as is the case of other Ghanaian societies, the modes of measuring allodial land rights are embedded in the historical traditions of the people. By right of autochthony and autonomy, allodial land rights in Alfai in the pre- colonial period resided in the Nawuri. However, Alfai’s encounters with the colonial enterprise led to the evolution of new constructs of allodial rights in land, which challenged established traditions and provided the opportunity for the immigrant Gonja community to appropriate land. In 1913 the Germans issued a warrant to Kanankulaiwura Mahama Karatu, the Gonja head chief in Alfai then, making him the overlord of the area for the sake of political expediency. This began Gonja rule over the Nawuri, which was made irreversible when the British colonial authorities subsumed Alfai into the Gonja kingdom in 1932 following the introduction of indirect rule in the Northern Territories. This led to series of encounters between the autochthonous Nawuri and their Gonja overlords over allodial rights in land, which expressed itself in social, political and economic debate in Alfai in the colonial and post-colonial times. By the dawn of independence, Alfai continued to remain as an integral part of the Gonja Traditional Area, thus strengthening Gonja claim that the land belonged to them. As the Nawuri and the Gonja continued to jostle each other over allodial land rights in Alfai in the post-colonial times, and as the dispute remained unresolved, war between them became a possibility. This study argues that the conflicting claims over allodial land rights in Alfai between the Nawuri and the Gonja served as the nexus that connected the multiplicity of layers of issues that underlay the conflict.
A Study of Proverbs in Things Fall Apart and Sundiata; An Epic of Old Mali (Sundiata)
(University of Ghana, 2014-07) Adjandeh, E.A; Awedoba, A.K.; Nanbigne, A.K.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, Institute of African StudieS
Literature in general, just as the other art forms, opens a window into the cultural characteristics of a society. A culture of a particular group is established linguistically through narrative exchange that determines the relevance of belief systems which hold the people together (Finnegan 1970). To understand a culture, particularly one in which orality is still a predominant form of recording history and phenomena, one requires some acquaintance with its oral forms (Nwachuku-Agbada, 1994:194). As a group of people survive in a particular society, they continually foster their own relevant customs through different modes such as proverbs, songs, symbols, folktales and mythologies among others. These literary works express ideas and the concerns of the people at the time. One of such literary types which is well known in literary genre and often used to decode the culture of a people is proverbs. These proverbs often connote (historical) antecedents, customs, as well as the hopes, desires and fears of the people. This thesis therefore analyzed the proverbs in Things Fall Apart1 (henceforth) TFA and Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali2 (Sundiata for short) for an understanding of the Igbo and Mande cultures.
Sustainability of Nhis: The Role of Social Capital and Service Care Providers in the Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly (Lekma)
(University of Ghana, 2015-11) Insaidoo, K.A.; Awedoba, A.K.; Acheampong, S.O.; University of Ghana, College of Humanities, Institute of African Studies
Over the years healthcare has been identified as a major area of concern among the general population in Ghana. For that matter various policies have been put in place to respond to health needs, but to no avail. Using an explorative study within the Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly of Accra, the study sought to ascertain if any elements of social capital could be relevant in the provision of quality healthcare in conjunction with future policies implemented in Ghana. Using a qualitative and quantitative methodology framework, the study established that the inclusion of elements comprising social capital, include norms, networks, trust, reciprocity, and resource pooling is necessary to aid in sustaining the National Health Insurance Scheme and their service care providers. The study also yielded that 44.4% of NHIS subscribers on the whole disagreed with the idea that the scheme is not being managed properly. Although the participants feel that the National Health Insurance Scheme is good, the consensus among the participants was that there needs to be a source of alternative funding for the scheme. It was also found that the members of NHIS have inadequate knowledge as to whether the scheme is being managed well or not, indicating a lack of transparency on the part of the National Health Insurance Scheme. The study therefore suggests several points that contribute to the schemes longevity. A revision in acquisition of funding pertaining specifically to the development of alternative funding methods for the scheme, restructuring the filing and reimbursement of claims, sensitization of the people through mass education, and implementation of monitoring and evaluation strategies. These points unearthed by the study could help the scheme become more efficient and effective in providing quality and sustainable health care for everyone.
Wealth, Consumption and Migration in a West African Society New Lifestyles and New Social Obligations among the Kasena, Northern Ghana
(2014) Awedoba, A.K.; Hans, H.P.
Mobility and global entanglements in consumption are among the key concepts of globalisation. However, in social sciences there is an ongoing dispute about the consequences of human mobility, i.e., migration. Whereas many scholars assume that it has a beneficial effect on wealth in both, the sending and the receiving community, others relativise the economic effects and highlight the cultural patterns as motives for migration. This article sheds more light on these issues in a West African context. As shown through linguistic analyses and ethnographic evidence, migration leads to changing notions of wealth as such, thereby redefining in the sending community what is required to have a good life. The change of these concepts contributes to the increasing reconnaissance of consumption and to the expression of wealth through the possession of consumer goods. As a consequence, the acceptance of the consumerist concept of wealth engenders the desire to migrate: only through migration is it possible to acquire the financial means to participate actively in prestigious consumption. "Owning things" and "owning money" increasingly equals social reputation. This is also expressed through funeral arrangements, which become more and more costly. A proper funeral requires the financial means typically provided by migrants, thereby giving evidence for the deep cultural embedding of the new consumerist notion of wealth.