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The emergence of digital media platforms like social media has considerably influenced health information collection and dissemination. Through in-depth interviews, (N=27) health professionals were purposively sampled, to evaluate the effectiveness of social media use for health information collection and dissemination during the peak of COVID-19 in Ghana. The participants sampled for the study include; (n=2) Regional Public Health Officers;(n=10) Directors of Ghana Health Services;(n=10); and (n=5) Disease Control officers. The responses from the participants were analyzed using the qualitative condensed thematic approach. The findings of the study show that social media for public health information facilitates the retrieval of official information, disease detection, timely estimation, and prediction of disease incidence and severity. Regarding the challenges and constraints facing Ghana’s use of social media for COVID-19 public health information collection, this study identified the high cost of internet data and smartphones, and low budgetary allocation as the three critical limitations. Other challenges are fake news in the form of misinformation, and disinformation on social media platforms. The study recommends an increase in budgetary allocation and required infrastructural development, to enhance the application of social media in public health information collection and dissemination for public health management.

This paper explores the history of free zones in Ghana and Ghanaian policy makers’ related strategy. It looks at the “role of China” in these zones: both in terms of Chinese companies’ presence there, and in terms of reference to a “Chinese model” to develop free zones. On the one hand, the domestic success of special economic zones in China has validated this model and justified the creation of “Chinese SEZs” in a few African countries. On the other hand, despite a significant presence of Chinese investors and companies in Ghana - including one newly established Chinese industrial park - we find that China’s role in Ghanaian free zones is negligible. We attribute this finding, together with the absence of “Chinese SEZs” in Ghana, to a host of variables, including: Ghanaian leaders’ and policy-makers’ strategies, the country’s framework and trajectory with regard to free zones, the business environment, and some missed political opportunities.

The impact of women judges in addressing gender-based issues, particularly in Africa, is largely under-researched both at the regional and country-specific levels. This paper researches on the impact of women judges in selected gender-based cases in Ghana – that is spousal property rights cases. The paper seeks to answer the primary question: in addressing spousal property rights in Ghana, have women at the bench made a difference? In answering this question, a doctrinal analysis of purposively selected cases was conducted which led to a finding that women judges did not make a difference in the development of the law on spousal property rights in Ghana. The findings and recommendations made in this paper are expected to contribute to the understanding of how female participation in judging gender-based cases have influenced and could potentially influence the interests and rights of women as well as to inform the policy choice of women judges. Se ha investigado demasiado poco, tanto a nivel regional como nacional, sobre el efecto de que haya juezas que se ocupen de temas de género, sobre todo en África. Este artículo investiga el impacto de juezas en casos seleccionados, basados en género, de Ghana –es decir, casos de derecho de propiedad conyugal. El artículo busca responder a esta pregunta: ¿han marcado la diferencia las mujeres de la judicatura en cuanto a derechos de propiedad conyugal en Ghana? Se realizó un análisis doctrinal de casos seleccionados intencionalmente, y ello llevó a descubrir que no hubo tal diferencia. Esperamos que los hallazgos y recomendaciones recogidos en este artículo ayuden a comprender mejor cómo la participación de las mujeres en el enjuiciamiento de casos basados en género ha podido influir y puede influir potencialmente en los intereses y derechos de las mujeres; y, por otro lado, a informar la elección de políticas de las juezas.

Since the turn of the millennium, the appointment of women judges has increased markedly in Africa and the Middle East, along with the social and political influence of courts. The expansion of judicial power worldwide raises important questions about who the judges are and what their role should be. The appointment of women to positions of judicial authority has increased, but this increase is only beginning to be reflected in socio-legal studies. The articles collected in this special issue contribute to the burgeoning empirical comparative literature by approaching the subject matter from two analytical angles: (i) Gendered patterns in judicial selection processes that focus mainly on judicial selection processes and subsequent legal careers; and (ii) Gendered aspects of court practices that shed light on whether and how gender plays into judging practices and experiences at court. The authors in this special volume elaborate on the theme of gender and judging predominantly through one of these two analytical entries with case studies on Tunisia, Ghana, Syria, Kuwait, and the other five oil-rich Gulf monarchies. Desde el cambio de milenio, el nombramiento de juezas ha aumentado notablemente en África y Oriente Medio, junto con la influencia social y política de los tribunales. La expansión del poder judicial en todo el mundo plantea importantes cuestiones sobre quiénes son los jueces y cuál debe ser su papel. El nombramiento de mujeres para puestos de autoridad judicial ha aumentado, pero este incremento sólo está empezando a reflejarse en los estudios socio-jurídicos. Los artículos recogidos en este número especial contribuyen a la floreciente literatura empírica comparativa abordando el tema desde dos ángulos analíticos: (i) Patrones de género en los procesos de selección judicial, que se centran principalmente en los procesos de selección judicial y en las carreras jurídicas posteriores; y (ii) Aspectos de género de las prácticas judiciales, que arrojan luz sobre si el género influye en las prácticas judiciales y en las experiencias en los tribunales, y cómo lo hace. Los autores de este volumen especial desarrollan el tema del género y la judicatura predominantemente a través de una de estas dos entradas analíticas con estudios de caso sobre Túnez, Ghana, Siria, Kuwait y las otras cinco monarquías ricas en petróleo del Golfo.

Cuando en 2007 se descubrió petróleo en las costas de Ghana, las elecciones ya habían demostrado su capacidad de promover la alternancia de los dos principales partidos políticos en el Gobierno. El objetivo de este artículo es investigar los términos en que se han desarrollado los debates en torno a la relación entre los recursos naturales y la democracia en Ghana. Tres han sido las principales cuestiones abordadas: la capacidad de las instituciones democráticas para condicionar y configurar los efectos sociales y políticos de la industria petrolífera en el país; los potenciales efectos perversos de la extracción petrolífera sobre las instituciones democráticas; y el papel de la arena y los actores internacionales en la constitución de la economía política del petróleo en Ghana.

Salespeople are crucial piece of the puzzle in micro business retailing environments of developing countries. With no formal training and education in salesmanship, they practice the modern version of the customer relationship management to achieve success. However, empirical studies regarding the salesperson’s performance in such environments in developing countries are scarce. We contribute to the existing literature by extending the application of the behaviour-based salesperson self-evaluation into micro enterprise environments of under-researched countries in Central America and Western Africa. Using an empirical data collected from two developing nations, we examined the importance ratings of the Bush et al. (1990) behaviour-based scale dimension in micro enterprise retail shops in Ghana and Guatemala. Our results indicate that the dimensionality of the behaviour-based salesperson performance evaluation scale holds in both countries. In addition, the importance of some of the performance evaluation dimensions differed in the countries studied.

The paper beams its searchlights on the ethnographic mode of narration in the crafting of the narrative fiction — Ordained by the Oracle (1969) by Asare Konadu. The novel is scrutinized as an inventory of Asante’s customs, and moral, social, and religious philosophy. It is an art of thick descriptions, the intricate interweaving of plots and counterplots. Asare Konadu is labeled here as a journalist-novelist and ethnographer-novelist who has adhered strictly to social ethnographic facts as he pertained to the etched culture. Konadu has selected some Asante ethnographic data (funeral ritual performances, mythology, divination, chieftainship, etc. and woven them into a plot around an imaginary Asante hero and heroine through a hybrid writing genre—ethnographic fiction encompassing compelling events and useful ethnographic detail which advance the reader’s ability to understand the constrictions of circumstance on characters. The objective of this research paper is to ferret out the Asante ethnographic data, and their cultural experience and appreciate how they are crafted into this creative writing’s narrative framework.

In this article, it is explored the conditioning elements of the economic and political dynamics surrounding the extraction of hydrocarbons in two countries in the Gulf of Guinea: Ghana and Equatorial Guinea. We will address the similarities and differences between both cases, based on the theoretical elements pointed out by the resource curse paradigm, a perspective that we will use critically. The differences in relation to the quantitative importance of oil resources with respect to total national income, regulatory development, transparency in the management of oil revenues and institutional quality are some of the most important divergences. However, these cases also present important similarities: in relation to the scarce role played by oil specialization in favouring regional insertion, as well as the great challenge of articulating productive linkages between the extractive industry and the local business network.

The paper specifically beams its searchlights on the incident of the ethnographic mode of narration in the crafting of the narrative fiction — Ordained by the Oracle (1969) by the Asare Konadu. The novel is scrutinized as an inventory of Asante customs, moral, social and religious philosophy. It becomes the art of thick descriptions, the intricate interweaving of plots and counterplots. Asare Konadu is labelled here as a journalist-novelist and ethnographer-novelist who has adhered strictly to social ethnographic facts as he pertained to the etched culture. Konadu has selected some Asante ethnographic data (funeral ritual performances, mythology, divination, chieftainship, etc. and woven them into a plot around imaginary Asante hero and heroine through a blurred writing genre—ethnographic fiction encompassing compelling events and useful ethnographic detail which advance the reader’s ability to understand the constrictions of circumstance on characters.

Abstract This paper focuses on the policy responses of Ghana’s government with a focus on three areas: health, economic, and social. Ghana had made several policy interventions in these three areas. The study highlighted the adoption of the 3T-approach in health, CAP-20 in economics, and free water and subsidized electricity for citizens as social interventions. The study concludes that the measures undertaken by the Government of Ghana have yielded significant results even though some challenges with delivery mechanisms are identified. The available statistics as of October 25, 2020 on the COVID-19 situation in Ghana further affirm the gains.

(1) Background: The last few decades have seen researchers giving considerable attention to the physical context of early childhood care and development (ECCD) centers because many of the underlying processes that link physical context are quite similar to psychosocial environmental factors regarding child development. However, research on the physical environments, and the employees’ understanding of the importance of physical environments, is often underestimated. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of the physical environments of ECCD centers in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana, and ascertain whether being a private or public center (center auspices) would be associated with the quality of its physical environment. A further inquiry into the educators’ understanding of the importance of physical environment on children’s developmental outcomes was made. (2) Methods: Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design, all 160 ECCD centers in the Cape Coast Metropolis were assessed using a modified version of the Children’s Physical Environment Rating Scale (CPERS) and a semi-structured interview guide. (3) Results: Descriptive statistics indicated that more than half of the ECCD centers, 56%, rated “fair” on the quality of their physical environment. Although the locations and sites of these centers were of good quality, other physical environmental characteristics (i.e., “Planning of the Centre”, “Building as a Whole” and “Outdoor Space”) of ECCD centers were also rated to be fair. A Chi-square test showed that center auspices (i.e., being private or public) were not significantly associated with the quality of the physical environments of the centers [χ2(2) = 2.490, p > 0.05], suggesting no significant difference between private and public ECCD centers in terms of the quality of their physical environment. A follow-up qualitative inquiry identified two themes as reasons why play yards in early years’ schools were not good: a ‘‘lack of funding” and “governmental support”. (4) Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the physical environments of ECCD centers are, to some extent, compromised. Stakeholders (e.g., Ghana Education Service, non-governmental/religious organizations, and private entrepreneurs) should help improve the quality of physical environments and also provide financial assistance for the provision of basic equipment (e.g., learning materials) for private and public ECCD centers in the Cape Coast Metropolis. Educators require in-service training to boost their in-depth understanding of the importance of physical environments on children’s developmental outcomes. Future studies could target children’s perceptions of their preschools’ physical environments as useful empirical information to help guide appropriate policy interventions.

The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of physical activity, BMI, sociodemographic and life-style factors on the risk of diabetes in Ghana. We analyzed data from 9,511 Ghanaian adults that had participated in Waves 0 and 1 of the World Health Organization Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. To assess diabetes participants were asked: “Have you ever been diagnosed with diabetes (high blood sugar)?”. The impact of nine exposure variables (physical activity, BMI, sex, age, marital status, education, smoking, alcohol intake, and fruit and vegetables consumption) on the risk of diabetes was analyzed with chi-square tests and multivariate regression analyses, separately in each wave to observe the evolution of diabetes risk factors in Ghana. In both adjusted and unadjusted analyses, the exposure characteristics significantly associated (p

Questo articolo affronta il tema della morte dell’eroe nella cultura kassena dell’Africa occidentale (Ghana e Burkina Faso). La mancanza di dettagli sulla morte dell’individuo eccellente nella mitologia kassena può essere messa in connessione con una cosmologia che concepisce il mondo e la vita come processi sempre in corso e l’azione creatrice degli antenati come perdurante. Se le narrazioni kassena esplorano o incorporano il tema del non finito, questo va inteso non come fatto episodico o accidentale, ma come tratto estetico coerente con un quadro culturale.

While there is scholarship focused on the nexus between resource extraction and development, further examination is needed of how the harms and benefits of extraction are differentiated among different stakeholders based on factors such as their access to power, authority over decision-making, social status,and gender. This article combines theoretical insights from assemblage thinking and political ecology to unpack the intertwined range of actors, networks, and structures of power that inform the differentiated benefits and harms of hydrocarbon extraction in Ghana. The study shows that power serves as a crucial ingredient in understanding relations among social groups, including purported beneficiaries of extractive activities, and other actors that constitute the networked hydrocarbon industry. The different levels (i.e. global, national, sub-national,local) at which the socio-ecological 'goods' and 'bads' of hydrocarbon extraction become manifest are relational. The article contributes to ongoing scholarly and policy discussions around extractivism by showing how a multi-scalar analysis reveals a more complex picture of the distributional politics, power asymmetries, and injustices that underpin resource extraction.

As a response to widespread conceptualizations of street childhood in the global South as a state of misery and marginalization, recent studies tend to portray street children as social agents. However, many refer to “tactical” or “thin” agency in order to point out the limited scope of those young people’s practices. Yet, the problem of acknowledging a lower degree of agency is that it separates children and youth living in environments “outside the norm” from those who stay with their parents and attend school. This constellation is particularly inadequate in the realm of street childhood in the global South, as it constructs fixed entities of different life worlds that are indeed fluid since street children frequently move between the various domains of socialization. I propose that the social, spatial and temporal mobilities of street children can best be explored through children’s biographical life stories, focusing here on street children in southern Ghana.

The reaction of growth to trade liberalization has varied considerably across countries, with most countries gaining, but others being adversely affected by trade liberalization. Therefore, this study sought to examine the relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth in Ghana. The study used annual time series data covering the period of 1970-2016. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and Granger causality test, the study found that trade openness (proxied for trade liberalization), inflation, and population growth negatively affect the growth rate of the Ghanaian economy in the long-run, whilst exchange rate has a significant and long-run positive effect on economic growth. Also, investment has no impact on economic growth in the long-run. The study further indicated that only inflation and population growth have significant impacts on economic growth in the short-run. The results of the Granger causality test showed that there exists no complementary relationship between trade openness and economic growth in the short-run in Ghana. RESUMEN La reacción del crecimiento a la liberalización del comercio ha variado considerablemente entre los países, y la mayoría de los países están ganando, pero otros se ven perjudicados por la liberalización del comercio. Por lo tanto, este estudio buscó examinar la relación entre la liberalización del comercio y el crecimiento económico en Ghana. El estudio utilizó datos anuales de la serie de tiempo que cubrían el período de 1970-2016. Usando el modelo de Lag distribuida autoregresiva (ARDL) y el test de causalidad de Granger, el estudio encontró que la apertura comercial (proxy para la liberalización comercial), la inflación y el crecimiento demográfico afectan negativamente la tasa de crecimiento de la economía de Ghana a largo plazo, mientras que el tipo de cambio tiene un efecto positivo significativo y a largo plazo sobre el crecimiento económico. Además, la inversión no tiene ningún impacto en el crecimiento económico a largo plazo. El estudio indicó además que sólo la inflación y el crecimiento demográfico tienen impactos significativos en el crecimiento económico a corto plazo. Los resultados de la prueba de causalidad de Granger mostraron que no existe ninguna relación complementaria entre la apertura comercial y el crecimiento económico en el corto plazo en Ghana.

Developing countries do not have legal regulations and adequate infrastructure to safely store and dispose of rubbish therefore in those places waste disposal usually involves burrying or burning. A particular problem in West Africa is the burning of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in the e-waste dumping located in Agbogbloshie in the suburbs of the capital of Ghana. As a result of the combustion process, chemical substances hazardous to human health are released into the atmosphere, mosty heavy metals, acid gases, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins. The paper addresses the problem of health hazards due to the combustion of WEEE in the illegal e-dumping site in Agbogbloshie, Ghana.

The paper addresses the problem of the lack of access to medical services and qualified medical staff in developing countries on the example of Kenya and Ghana. The paper presents possibilities of using telemedicine in Kenya and Ghana. It was proposed to appoint the function of a medical coordinator. The project of implementing telemedicine in Kenya was described and the possibility of implementing the system for Ghana was indicated. The benefits of using telemedicine for both medical personnel and the patient are presented.

Combustion of electro-waste is one of the basic methods of e-waste processing in developing countries. When burning mobile phones, computers, TVs, cables and household appliances, toxic fumes containing acid gases, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins and heavy metals are released into the atmosphere and the soil. Personal air samples collected from workers and the environment air samples in Agbogbloshie indicated elevated levels for aluminum, copper, iron, zinc and lead. The article discusses the negative effects of exposure to the some indicated most dangerous heavy metals for human health.

Rapid economic growth, an increasing urbanization and globalization caused increasing of consumption and production of e-waste. The biggest e-waste yards are located in developing countries, most of them nearby of big cities with a large population. Most of them are located nearby markets and water sources. Burning of e-waste at e-waste sites initially results in extreme localised contamination followed by migration of the heavy metals into waters and subsequent links of food chains by contaminated water, vegetables, fish, milk and meat consumption. E-waste workers suffer negative health effects through toxic smoke inhalation and skin contact, while the wider community are exposed to the heavy metals contaminants through smoke, dust, drinking water and food.

This research aims to investigate how tourist experience elicits satisfaction and contributes to loyalty and willingness to pay more for a museum destination. More specifically, this study also investigates the significant moderating role of visiting frequency on the relationship between satisfaction and willingness to pay more. Museums offer unique collections for tourists’ education and recreation while providing a better understanding of the cross-cultural diversity of societies. The research was conducted with 285 tourists visiting the National Museum in Ghana, with questions relating to experience, satisfaction, loyalty and willingness to pay more. Structural equation modelling was used to test the effects of the museum experience, satisfaction and loyalty on willingness to pay more. Responses emanating from the questionnaire on the National Museum of Ghana was analysed and the study findings suggest the significant effects of tourist experience on satisfaction as well as the significant effects of satisfaction on loyalty and willingness to pay more. In addition, the significant moderating effect of visiting frequency was reported on the relationship between satisfaction and tourist willingness to pay more. In this regard managers should develop marketing strategies that promote museum tourism in the travelling experience and that guarantee greater satisgfaction on site.

ABSTRACT: By most standards, Ghana can, prudently enough, be defined as one of the most politically stable nations on the African continent, which in itself is, a prerequisite for economic prosperity. On the one hand, this West African country possesses mineral resources, gold and diamonds in particular, hence its former name of Gold Coast, and on the other, it succeeded to establish a democratic tradition after long years of political upheavals. There is an expectation, then, that a momentous time like the one of oil discovery in 2007 would mean a quicker and steady economic growth and a better quality of life for Ghanaians. But this hydrocarbon potential does not produce wealth in itself, good economic management does. The present paper sets out to examine the impact the black gold had on national economy in Ghana, and by extension, the effect on its social life. It endeavours to inquire into the extent to which oil discovery responded to Ghanaian expectations and whether the administrations of Atta Mills and later Mahama exploited this new energy in a way that benefited more than just a small elite. Findings tend to suggest that weak economic management in oil industry, predominantly characterized by a lack of transparency over oil revenues, in addition to a lack of discernment as to prioritized sectors, agriculture in particular, the cornerstone of national economy in Ghana, led to public disillusion. RÉSUMÉ : Selon la plupart des normes, le Ghana peut, assez prudemment, être défini comme l'un des pays les plus politiquement stables du continent Africain, ce qui en soi est une condition préalable à la prospérité économique. D'une part, ce pays de l’Afrique de l’ouest possède des ressources minérales, en particulier l'or et les diamants, d'où son ancien nom de Côte de l'Or, et d'autre part, il a réussi à établir une tradition démocratique après de longues années de bouleversements politiques. On s'attend donc à ce qu'un moment aussi important que celui de la découverte du pétrole en 2007 se traduise par une croissance économique plus rapide et régulière ainsi qu’une meilleure qualité de vie pour les Ghanéens. Mais ce potentiel d'hydrocarbures ne produit pas de richesse en soi, c’est sa bonne gestion économique qui le fait. Le présent travail vise à examiner l'impact de l'or noir sur l'économie nationale du Ghana et, par extension, son effet sur sa vie sociale. Il s'efforce de déterminer dans quelle mesure la découverte du pétrole a répondu aux attentes du pays et si les administrations d'Atta Mills et, plus tard, de Mahama ont exploité cette nouvelle énergie d'une manière qui a profité à plus qu'une petite élite. Les résultats tendent à suggérer que la mauvaise gestion économique de l'industrie pétrolière, caractérisée principalement par un manque de transparence sur les revenus pétroliers, en plus d'un manque de discernement quant aux secteurs prioritaires, l'agriculture en particulier, pierre angulaire de l'économie nationale au Ghana, a conduit à une désillusion de la population.

During the numerous trips to African countries and during the implementation of education and prevention programs in Ghana, the problem of lack of knowledge and skills in providing premedical help and handling of medical equipment among Medical Emergency Teams was noticed. The Paramedics for Africa project was created. It was realized in 2017 in the capital of Ghana in Accra and the city of Dormaa. One of the goals of the project was medical training and equipment retrofitting of emergency ambulance teams. 81 paramedics were trained. The work describes own experience from the implementation of an educational project.

The diversity of behaviors, including pro-health ones, in developing countries is a major health, social and economic problem. Especially it affects the developing countries of Africa. In every culture, health is perceived differently. Inhabitants of different continents use different patterns of behavior, values, norms and cultural habits. The approach to health in individual cultures and social groups is the result of separate views and aspirations and from belief systems. Health indicators in Ghana are systematically improving. For example, the estimated life expectancy for people borned in 2015 was 61 years for men and 64 years for women. These indicators have been systematically growing for several dozen years thanks to the reduction of mortality caused by the medical development, improvement of hygienic and sanitary conditions, increase in the living standard, improvement of nutritional status and common protective vaccinations used in order to reduce the epidemic. Optimistic is the fact that life expectancy in health is 54 years. This is one of the best results in the sub-Saharan Africa region [1]. Despite a significant improvement in the majority of health indicators, Ghana continues to face numerous prevention and health care problems. During the research projects carried out in Ghana, numerous observations have been made in this area. For example, the state of knowledge about pro-health behaviors among the residents of Ghana has been assessed. Even the preliminary observation before the preparation of the publication indicated the problem of inadequate pro-health behaviors preferred among the inhabitants of Ghana.

This paper assesses the features of the emerging donors in Africa and the challenges they face. The case study explores how Brazil positioned itself as a development partner in Africa by focusing on Ghana, a country often described as a “donor darling”. Based on qualitative research on the bilateral relationship since the turn of century, the study describes a range of difficulties Brazil encounters in the competition with other aid providers. Faced with the financial advantages of both China and Western donors, Brazil established its cooperation within the niche of agricultural programmes. However, the normative and technical stance of this approach was unable to bridge divergent expectations and Brazil ultimately refocused its Africa engagement to its competitive advantage in Portuguese-speaking Africa.

This article explores the bureaucratic leadership which has bedeviled state owned enterprises for many decades and how its efficacy can be in the 21st century business environment where there uncertainty and chaos. In some manufacturing and state owned enterprises, these theories of traditional bureaucratic leadership approach and decision making strategies persist even though technology and innovation supposed to have taken the greater part of the way of thinking and making organizational objectives achieved through modern way of managing business entities. Thus, SOEs are critical to the economic activity in emerging market countries. The creation of SOEs was meant to provide employment, meet social and political needs, and operate in the sectors of the economy that were of strategic importance to the state. The problem is to offer alternatives of bureaucratic structure that has been used in SOEs and how best to use these alternative theories in practical terms. The pace of change confronting organisations today has added complexity to the organisational landscape and now calls for more flexible and adaptive leadership. Adaptive leaders are able to work more effectively in the unstable global business environment and are also able to adopt a proactive approach in order to keep abreast of the increasing stakeholder pressures in the enterprises. However, inadequate applicability of traditional leadership models have indicated the need to develop new leadership models to solve complex organisational challenge. Hence complexity leadership approach seeks to combine these dynamics to the bureaucratic hierarchies in order to explain the way informal organisational dynamics function properly and also to describe how theses valuable adaptive functions can be promoted to better the operations of SOEs in Ghana.

How might an African based knowledge critically cast doubt upon globally hegemonic notions and traditions in understanding and theorizing men and masculinities? This essay examines this question through a critical reading of what it may mean to be ‘an emerging adult man’. The essay privileged a critical understanding of how poverty, poor crop yields, and climate volatility shape constructions of ‘emergent adulthood’. Drawing on interviews with men from northwestern Ghana, findings suggest that emerging adult men are committed to their cultural obligations as heteronormative breadwinners, yet ‘emergent adulthood’ is complicated by status insecurity, vulnerabilities, and powerlessness. To negotiate emergent adulthood, informants combine migrating to Techiman and joining ‘boys boys’ to achieve social respect and recognition. To understand the meanings of emergent adulthood, I argue for analytical sophistication on multiple issues and daily struggles that encapsulate rural life.

Tomando como ponto de partida o paradoxo de que imediatismo não é anterior, mas antes um produto da mediação, esse artigo argumenta que a negociação de tecnologias mediáticas recentes é um elemento-chave para a transformação da religião. Invocada para autorizar a experiência de poderes espirituais como imediatos e reais, a mídia tende a “desaparecer” ou se tornar “hiper-aparente” no ato da mediação. Argumento que entender a mídia como intrínseca à religião exige uma crítica fundamental das abordagens, tanto da religião quanto da mídia, que propõem uma oposição entre mídia e imediatismo.

Memory is a key feature in the study and commemoration of an episode that has deeply structured global history – the slave trade and slavery – a phenomenon that is not only debated by historians but has also inspired the analysis of several other disciplines. This essay investigates the drawbacks of the tourist use of the places of the slave trade in Africa: despite allowing the local residents obtain an economic revenue, it has impacted their being symbols of the collective memory, fundamental for the identity of many tourists-especially Afro-American tourists–who tend, on the contrary, to experience them as sacred places, making them become the destination of pilgrimages in search of their origins. The cultural and tourist use of such places brings about a discussion on the relationship that tourists and residents have with their culture, tradition and identity, while promoting a reflection on this dark episode of global history.

Historically, the lion (Panthera leo) population in Ghana has been little studied and its status is poorly documented. Currently, after recent unsuccessful attempts to find signs of the presence of the species, many authors believe that the Ghanaian lion population is most likely extinct. In an attempt to gather more data, since 2005 we have been carrying out lion surveys in the most important parks and other protected areas of Ghana, mainly focusing on Mole National Park (MNP). We have also been extensively reviewing the literature in an attempt to reconstruct the history of the presence of the lion in the country. Although our research has not provided unequivocal evidence of the presence of the lion, we have collected circumstantial evidence that suggests that a small lion population might still be present in MNP and its surrounding areas.