College of Humanities
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://197.255.125.131:4000/handle/123456789/4913
Browse
397 results
Search Results
Item Salvage Archaeology at the Marine Drive Project Site: Documenting the Legacies of the Indigenous-European Encounters at Osu- Ghana.(University of Ghana, 2022) Darko-Yeboah, B.This research investigates the legacies of trade along the coast of the Christiansborg Castle, Osu as a result of Indigenous-European interactions from the late sixteenth century to the present. Salvage archaeology being one of the main methods used, was conducted at the beachfront of Osu to rescue the material legacies associated with the early Osu people, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and the interactions that were on the verge of being destroyed due to the Marine Drive Tourism Investment Project. Historical sources, oral traditions and archival data were also used to complement the archaeological data to derive as much information on the subject as possible. The Marine Drive Project is a beachfront project intended by the Ghanaian government to plan and develop 241 acres of land, stretching from the Osu Klottey Lagoon (behind the Christiansburg Castle) to the Accra Community Centre. Osu became a fountainhead of Dutch mercantile interest and a major point of embarkation and disembarkation of cargo. This partly boosted the coastal trade and added a wide array of mainly European trade goods. The trade boom also attracted many ethnolinguistic groups to relocate to Osu. After the abolition of slavery in 1807 by the Danes, Osu’s commercial viability depreciated significantly. Despite this, it became the seat of government after independence and was used by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Archaeological and historical evidence also indicated that interaction between the Africans and Europeans at Osu impacted subsistence and several aspects of traditional cultural lifeways. This is evident in the areas of indigenous dress codes and cuisine while the Europeans embraced local cuisine and cultural ties. Western formal education and the use of European construction designs/materials such as glass windows superimposed on metal frames, asbestos, red bricks and metal hinges constituted technologies incorporated in traditional architecture. This paper therefore assesses the findings from three excavated trenches that were characterized by midden deposits of pre-European, early Osu materials and those of Dutch, Danish and British Trans-Atlantic trade and colonial interactions.Item The Effect of Mobile Payment Technology Fraud Perception on Customer Intention to Continously Use the Service: A Study Moderated by Generation X, Y, and Z from a Developing Economy(University of Ghana, 2023) Gyaisey, A. P.The issue of mobile payment technology fraud or mobile money (MM) Fraud is relatively new in the context of the general concept of traditional fraud, as it is almost two decades old. Although fairly new, the subject of MM Fraud is of particular interest to the MM service as the service has been a revolutionary tool in transforming financial service delivery on the African continent and in developing economies (DE) across the globe. However, the subject of fraud, although is of interest to service providers, is yet to gain much traction in information systems (IS) research due to a number of reasons. The following has been ranked among the possible reasons: first, researchers’ constant preoccupation with the success story of MM service in enabling financial inclusion regardless of geographical location, second, the persistent focus on making MM service technology adoption easy and to gain wider reach and then third, the general lack of focus from investment into research to understand the subject matter. This neglect has possible ramifications on customer trust and future sustainability and viability of the service. This thesis, hence, examines the possible effect of the perception of mobile payment technology fraud on customer intention to continuously use the service in the context of a developing economy and moderated by customer’s or user’s generation. In this thesis, four key objectives were therefore spelt out to be achieved. The first objective was to “undertake an empirical examination of the current perceptual state of MM service users” in the face of incessant fraud attackers. Second, the researcher sought to “examine how this current perceptual state of users affect their possible avoidance behaviour” due to fraud attacks. The third objective was to further “examine the effect of user’s possible avoidance behaviour on their future continuous use of the service”. Then finally, the possible “moderating effect of MM service users’ generation group on the relationship between their threat perception and avoidance behaviour”. The purpose is to provide both practical and theoretical understanding of the issue of MM fraud and its potential effect on the sustainability of the service. Three main theories were used as a basis in order to achieve the purpose, the Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT), the Generational Theory, and the Theory of Intention to Continuously Use a Technology. By adopting a positivist paradigm, a quantitative research approach through a survey method was adopted to test 21 hypotheses using data collected from 384 mobile payment technology or mobile money users in Ghana. In achieving the first objective, data from respondents were empirically examined based on concepts of rate of subscription or registration, specificity of use, and frequency of use. Ownership of social media account served as prelude to familiarity with modern technology. The research found ownership of social media account to be eighty-two per cent [82%] depicting high rate of technology familiarity among respondents. The rate of subscription or registration was found to be above ninety six percent [96.4%], and the rate of specificity of use was i.e., whether a user actually uses mobile payment system or MM for transactions, recorded over ninety six percent [96.6%]. In addition, regularity or frequency of use recorded above six percent [6.3%] for low, thirty percent [30.7%] for moderate, and sixty three percent [63%] for high. It was empirically established that the current perceptual state of MM is a positive one as there is still high patronage of the service. To achieve the second objective, six constructs were used to examine users threat perception: perceived security threat, susceptibility threat, severity threat, perceived effectiveness, and self efficacy. With respect to perceived security threat, the study found that perceived security threat has an effect on the avoidance behaviour of the MM user. The higher the perceived security threat, the more likely a user will avoid using the service. Regarding susceptibility threat, the study established that the more users felt susceptible to MM fraud attacks, the more likely they are to avoid using the service. For severity threat, the study found that there was a negative relationship between the severity of the threat and avoidance behaviour, thus the more severe MM fraud attacks maybe on the user, the less likelihood of they avoiding the service. For self-efficacy, the study established that when self-efficacy among respondents is high the level of avoidance reduces. With regards to perceived effectiveness, it was also established that the higher the perceived effectiveness of MM fraud preventive measures, the lower or less likely the avoidance behaviour. Overall, it was established that based on the stated constructs, perception of MM fraud no matter how much or the nature of it has a consequential effect on avoidance behaviour. For the third objective, the study established that the higher the avoidance behaviour today, the less likely it is that users will continually use or return to use the service in the future. As a predictor to the future patronage of the service, the continuous use of the service provided an insight into the future sustainability or viability of the service in the face of current fraud issues. For the final objective that sought to examine whether there will be differences in the relationship between threat perception and avoidance behaviour among users when put under various generational cohorts. Users were grouped under three generation cohorts i.e., Generation X, Y and Z, and were examined on each of the six constructs. Overall, the study did not find a significant effect of a user’s generation on the relationship between their threat perception and avoidance behaviour. Differences were established through a multi-group analysis among the three generations although findings were not significant In all, the study found that the issue of MM fraud perception, did not significantly affect the behaviour of users to avoid using the service. This was an interesting finding as it was in contradiction to TTAT’s position that the threat associated with a technology will cause avoidance from the user. However, it also partially supports the TTAT’s assertion that in the event where the technology cannot be avoided, the user will adopt a coping strategy or mechanism to minimize the possibly negative effect or pain associated with using the said technology. In the event the technology is avoided by the user, the study found that avoidance today was a good predictor of the user’s intention to continuously avoid using the technology in the future. The findings of this study, makes contribution to research, theory, policy, and practice in the following regard. First, this study makes major contribution to research by expanding the MM research from financial inclusion and economic gain to the issue of fraud and sustainability of the service in the long term. Theoretically, the study introduces and incorporates the concept of generation differences to the TTAT when studying technology adoption and use, as well as establishing whether the TTAT applicability and adaptability to the specific technology of mobile money payment due to it near indispensability. It further contributes to the postulation of that current avoidance behaviours distinct to future continuous use. Regarding policy contributions, this study provides an empirical evidence and confirmation on the level of subscription or patronage and degree of use of the service. With the service experiencing great success, the need for drastic measures to be taken to deal with the constant issue of fraud and its consequential effect in the long term cannot be overemphasized.Item Fiscal Decentralisation, Revenue Performance and Poverty in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2023) Fiagbe, A.K.Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has experienced robust growth since the mid-1990s however, formidable development challenges such as poverty, unemployment, and low revenue, and inefficient public service delivery persist. Poverty particularly has become a major global concern, with its eradication in all forms and dimensions by 2030 constituting the first, and perhaps the most critical goal among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Against this background, SSA countries including Ghana have adopted decentralization policy since the 1980s as an alternative development strategy. The decentralization policy is anchored on grants from the central government and donors. Additionally, the Local Authorities are granted the autonomy to mobilize resources to fund their local development plans. The relationship between decentralization and development outcomes as espoused in the theoretical and empirical literature remains unclear. Whilst a school of thought postulates that the grant system discourages revenue effort and exacerbates poverty, others proffered otherwise. Also, some studies show that intergovernmental transfer arrangements may be susceptible to political manoeuvering that could create social conflicts. Whilst extensive empirical studies exist on fiscal federalism and development outcomes such as poverty in developed economies, very little is known about Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study contributes to the literature on SSA, specifically Ghana using the recent Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 7), district and community-level data for the period 2012-2016 to examine the relationship between grants, local revenue mobilization, and poverty in Ghana. It also examines the influence of political manipulation on DACF disbursements in Ghana. The contribution made to the literature in this thesis covers a number of areas. First, we examine the effect of grants on local revenue mobilization by testing the flypaper hypothesis. The system GMM results show that a 10 percent increase in total transfer leads to 2.7 percent reduction in local revenue at 1 percent. However, disaggregated components of grants into unconditional, conditional and sectorial-limited transfers have no effects on revenue. Second, The OLS regression results show that a 10 percent increase in DACF reduces district-level poverty by 6 percentage points whilst local revenue does not affect poverty. Moreover, the Logit and Probit regression results show that local services such as complementary (non formal) and primary education, construction of development projects, and improvement in job opportunities are positively associated with perceived improvement in community welfare. Third, the thesis assesses the extent to which political consideration influences DACF allocation in Ghana. The system GMM result reveals that not only politically-aligned districts are targeted in the distribution of DACF, but also politically-swing districts are well targeted. This study found evidence in support of the argument that grants crowds-out revenue whilst the former reduces poverty. It is recommended that, grants should be directed towards improving local tax administration system whilst innovative strategies are adopted to maximize local revenue. Grants should be invested in technology to ensure that local tax administration processes are digitalized. Additionally, the 5 percent minimum threshold of the DACF allocation should be reviewed to 10 percent of national revenue similar to those in SSA in order to accommodate the rising cost of living in the various localities. Furthermore, apolitical team of experts should be formed to manage the DACF in consultation with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organization (CSOs) and the MMDAs to minimize the occurrence of political manipulationItem “We Sympathise With The Mines For Pilfery That Goes On But . . .” African Interests In Gold Coast Mines, Protecting Gold, And The Politics Of Legislation, 1907–1948(African Economic History, 2020) Sewordor, E.S.K.For decades, the British colonial establishment in the Gold Coast believed that setting its gaze on goldsmiths was pivotal to eliminating the pilfery of gold from the mines. This assumption, commonly without concrete proof, hardened colonial paranoia and was shared with Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. Both entities thought that the continuous access to gold by goldsmiths, coupled with increasing gold theft were enough basis to surveil goldsmiths—the supposed pivotal actors in a fledging illicit trade in stolen mine gold. Yet, the problem remained. As this study shows, there was a paucity of successful prosecutions against persons caught in possession of stolen mine gold and none against a goldsmith. Ultimately, it is argued that from 1907 to 1948, central colonial laws meant to regulate the growing gold mining industry and protect its finds in the Gold Coast revealed negotiations that more than realizing their primary principle(s), increasingly limited access to gold by many indigenes. While the latter sustained an emergent illicit market for pilfered gold from the mines, it simultaneously sparked a misplaced colonial state-led surveillance that targeted goldsmiths.Item Postgraduate Students’ Perceptions of their Academic Reading and Writing: A Case of Teachers Studying at a Ghanaian University(International Journal of Literacies, 2020) Boakye, N.; Adika, G.S.Students’ literacy levels, in particular their academic reading and writing, have been an area of concern in education for many years. Students who have high academic reading and writing proficiency are usually successful, academically. Several tertiary students have shown low literacy levels, which have had an impact on their academic performance. These low literacy levels and consequently poor academic performance have led to high failure and attrition rates. In supporting students to improve their literacy levels and academic performance, a better understanding of their perceptions of their academic reading and writing is important. This is particularly important for postgraduate students, as the literacy demands at this level are more complex. The study aimed to determine how the cohort of postgraduate students at a university in Ghana, who are also teachers at the school level, perceive their academic reading and writing. To assist the postgraduate students in improving their academic literacy, as well as their ability to assist their learners, the Language Unit, which provides academic language support to students at the institution, undertook the current study. A questionnaire on a Likert scale was used to collect data, which were analyzed to determine the students’ perceptions of their academic reading and writing. The results of the descriptive study showed that although the cohort of postgraduate students perceived themselves to be competent in some writing activities, they had rather low perceptions of their academic reading, in particular their reading of academic journal articles. The results indicate the need to revise the literacy support course and to include a reading component. Recommendations were therefore made for a more tailored approach to improving the student's academic reading and writing.Item Christianity, Citizenship, and Political Engagement among Ghanaian Youth(African Studies Quarterly, 2021) Kuperus, T.; Asante, R.This article focuses on how Christianity impacts youth's understanding of citizenship and political engagement in Ghana. Based on fieldwork carried out in Ghana in 2018 involving focus groups and church elite interviews, Ghanaian youth affiliated with mainline and charismatic traditions can articulate religious messaging regarding political engagement, but their notions of citizenship are informed independently. Second, infrequent churchgoers are more cognizant of their rights and notions of active citizenship compared with frequent churchgoers. Finally, some of the most engrained attitudes toward citizenship among African youth appear to be rooted in class rather than religion.Item What Is Africa to Me? or Maryse Condé’s Love-Hate Relationship with “Ancestral Lands” Struggling with Budding Independence(Cahiers d’études africaines, 2021) Asaah, A.H.The involvement of French-speaking Caribbean intellectuals in the socio political development of their ancestral continent, Africa, has taken diverse literary forms, key among which are René Maran’s novel Batouala (1921), Frantz Fanon’s political testimony Les damnés de la terre (2004 [1961]), Aimé Césaire’s play Une saison au Congo (1966), Myriam Warner-Vieyra’s novel Juletane (1982), and Raoul Peck’s film Sometimes in April (2005). While dialoguing with these authors/works, Maryse Condé’s autobiography, La vie sans fards (2012)/What Is Africa to Me? (2017), prolongs this affiliation with the account of her relocation to four West African postcolonies, namely the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Ghana, and Senegal between 1959 and 1970, with a year’s break in the uk.Item The Utility of Orthographic Design for Different Users: The Case of the Approved Dagbani Orthography(Language Documentation & Conservation, 2021) Hudu, F.A.This paper presents a critical assessment of the utility of the orthography of Dagbani. (a Gur language of Ghana) in the documentation, linguistic research, and literacy acquisition of Dagbani. While written literature on Dagbani dates to over a century, it was only in 1997 that the only known documented orthographic rules of the language, the Approved Dagbani Orthography (ADO), was put together. Its stated goal was to address inconsistencies that existed in the orthographic rules at the time. It has since largely served this goal and has remained a resource for linguists engaged in language documentation and linguistic research as well as adult and young learners acquiring literacy in Dagbani in formal and informal settings. The paper discusses the influence of orthography in the understanding of aspects of Dagbani linguistics and the challenges that remain with its use in modern-day multimodal communication. It shows that while the ADO has impacted literacy, documentation, and research on Dagbani linguistics, aspects of the design of the orthography have limited its potential impact and have given room for the emergence or maintenance of co-orthographic practices used for electronic communication and in the documentation of names in non-native official circles.Item Women, Metaphors and the Legitimisation of Gender Bias in Spanish Proverbs(Journal of International Women's Studies, 2019) Lomotey, B.A.This paper aims to analyze the role of proverbs in the sustenance of gender violence within the Spanish context. As demonstrated by feminist linguistic activities, one of the avenues through which the status quo of both men and women is enacted and sustained is through language. However, given the complex nature of the relationship between gender and language, speakers often overlook the role of discourse on gender relations. The author investigates this interconnection using a multidimensional approach which includes insights from Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) theory of metaphor and Austin’s (1965) Speech Act theory. This study confirms that quite several Spanish proverbs contain violent metaphors that can unconsciously shape speakers’ perceptions and actions. Misogynous ideologies in Spanish proverbs should therefore continue to be exposed, criticized, and eliminated through conscientization to sustain the campaign for gender equality.Item Evidence of Spiritual Capital in the Schooling of Second-Generation Ghanaians in Amsterdam(African Human Mobility Review, 2021) Kyei, J.R.K.O.; Smoczynski, R.; Setrana, M.B.This study investigates how spiritual capital accrued from religiosity influences the educational mobility of second-generation migrants in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We propose that inherently, religiosity possesses resources that have consequences for the socio-economic and cultural life of the adherents. The study adopts ethnographic research methods including in-depth interviews, participant observation, and informal interviews in the religious field of African Initiated Christian Churches (AICCs) in Amsterdam. Fifty second-generation migrants participated in the research out of which thirty-five were women and fifteen were men. Nine representatives of AICCs were interviewed. All the research participants were purposively selected. The study found that although educational attainment is not a driving force for the creation of AICCs, religiosity has consequential effects on the schooling of second-generation Ghanaians. The study also found that spiritual capital accumulated through prayers, reading of Holy Scriptures, participation in religious services, and church commitment may facilitate or deter progress in the schooling of second-generation Ghanaians. The paper concludes that religiosity and schooling are not incompatible; rather, they are complementary in the integration of second-generation migrants into Dutch society.