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- ItemThe effects of large scale land acquisition on the livelihoods of smallholder farming households in the PRU district of Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana-perspective of tenants farmers.(KNUST, 2018-06) Quansah, CharlesIn recent times, Ghana has become one of the destinations for large scale land acquisition in Africa, attracting more foreign investors in the agricultural sector. It is expected that large scale lands acquired will improve the socio-economic conditions of smallholder farmers in deprived rural economies. The study is underpinned by the critical agrarian political economy theory and the modern world system theory. This study assessed the effects of large scale land acquisition on the livelihoods of smallholder farming households in the Pru District Assembly of Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Primary data were collected from 332 randomly selected smallholder farming households using structured questionnaires and were complemented with data from focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The empirical findings revealed a six-step procedure in acquiring large tracts of land for investment starting from the identification of reserved lands by the District Assembly through to the transfer of ownership to investors. The study also found that large scale land acquisition has a significant positive effect on employment, healthcare and food security, but significant negative effect on income levels of smallholder farming households. Reducing the number of days of visit to farms, leaving very early to farms, and depending on rain water are the coping strategies employed by the smallholder farmers. Also, the farmers adapt to the effects of large scale land acquisition by keeping backyard gardens, planting hybrid seeds and buying of motor bikes and bicycles to facilitate long distance farming. Based on the findings, the study recommends that farming households should be given opportunity to participate in decision making, leading to acquisition of lands by large scale land investors. Also, lands of defunct companies should be returned to the initial occupants for their needs and cultivation. Finally, District Assemblies must formulate policies and enforce the existing by-laws that will ensure that large scale land investors employ workers from the host communities for the intended projects.
- ItemEtude thematique et esthetique de quelques contes Dagara : Entre continuite et prolongement des recits traditionnels.(KNUST, 2018-06) Braimah, BalicaSince the beginning of civilisation, folktales have been a rich treasure trove from which most societies derive their moral codes and values. To the Dagaaba people of Ghana and some of their neighboring countries, the narrating and listening processes based on both the physical and the socio-cultural environmement of their communities, offer them the opportunity to discern the outcome of their actions in order to promote societal values. Quite apart from promoting their special interest in stereotypes and the different aspects of human behaviour, folktales are rapidly responding to their changing environment as evidenced by recent publications on folklore and their contemporary usage in songs, digital games, urban legend, the film industry and fantasy novels. In the wake of current globalization and its spill-over effects, however, what the young generation of Dagaaba and indeed other cultures need, is not just formal education stricto sensu but also, cultural literacy that grounds and portrays them in their own identity and tradition. As Folktales have continued to be an important genre of folklore that sustains and promotes our cultural heritage, what ought to be done to encourage the young Ghanaian to show interest in them? Having explored the importance of folktales all over the world and in Africa in particular, this study focuses on dagara folktales with the view to bringing to the fore their literary and aesthetic values, as well as juxtaposing them with contemporary and functional values of folktales in general. As the youth explore their own folktales from a pragmatic and pedagogical point of view, they will acquire a broader perspective of their people as well as their environment.
- ItemAssessment of three problematic texts in the synoptic Gospels of the New Testament of the Dangme Bible.(KNUST, 2018-02) Kuwornu-Adjaottor, Jonathan Edward TettehThree texts in the Dangme Bible (BSG/UBS 1999) generated a lot of discussions during a field survey of the eight Dangme speaking areas. The texts are: Ngôô wa tômi ômâ kâ pa wô... [Lend us our wrong-doings…] (Matt 6:12); … Mumi Klôuklôu ô tsε e yi se …[ the Holy Spirit pushed the head from behind…] (Mark 1:12); and Kεkε nε Yesu de mε ke, “Kuasiahi …” [Then Jesus said to them, “Fools…] (Luke 24:25). Exegesis of the Greek texts; and semantic analysis of the texts in Dangme, found out that: An alternative translation of Matt 6:12 in the Dangme as Ne o kâ wa tômi ômâ nâ ke wô [And let go our wrong-doings] will help readers understand forgiveness as “letting go” the offence of an offender, without keeping any record of the offence. The rendering of Mark 1:12 as Mumi Klôuklôu ha nε e ho nga a nô ya [The Holy Spirit permitted him to go to the wilderness], will clear the confusion in the minds of Dangme Bible readers who do not understand how the Holy Spirit could “push” Jesus into the wilderness. The alternative translation of Luke 24:25 with the phrase Oo nyâ juâmi he jô, (your mind has become cold) reduces the degrading tone of kuasia which etymology means “a good for nothing person”, “an unrespected person”, “a worthless person.” The significance of the research is that it has evolved alternative translations and interpretations of Matt 6:12, Mark 1:12, and Luke 24:25 for the Dangme Bible reading communities; the researcher has thus started a discussion that other scholars will join.
- ItemEffect of religious orientation on supply chain performance: the roles of resource deployment capability and socio-cultural orientation.(KNUST, 2018-06) Muntaka, Abdul SamedReligion is deemed to have a potency to influence personal conducts and the policies of business organisations. However, research on how religious orientation influences the performance of these organisations is limited. Additionally, the conditions under which religious orientation impacts business performance remain under-researched. The study, therefore, aimed to examine how and under what conditions religious orientation influences supply chain performance (SCP). To this end, the study investigates how the resource deployment capability (RDC) of the firm mediates the effect of religious orientation on supply chain performance under varying conditions of socio-cultural orientation. The study relies on the upper echelon and resource based theories to conceptualize religious orientation as a firm resource that may impact on the RDC of the firm to influence supply chain performance. The effect of religious orientation on performance is thus posited to be channeled through development of the firm’s RDC. The study also draws on Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions’ model to conceptualize socio-cultural orientation as a complementary firm resource that increases in its magnitude strengthens the effect of religious orientation via RDC on SCP. Using primary data from 233 owner-managers of MSMEs operating in Ghana, a sub-Saharan African society, the study finds that higher levels of religious orientation is associated with increases in supply chain performance. The study further finds that RDC mediates the relationship between religious orientation and SCP. The study also finds that variability in the levels of socio-cultural orientation dimensions moderates the effect of religious orientation on RDC as well as the effect of RDC on SCP. Specifically, the study finds that the relationship between religious orientation and RDC is strengthened when risk aversion is high and ambiguity intolerance is low. Also, the effect of RDC on SCP is weakened when individualism is high, but is strengthened when collectivism is high. Theoretically, this study contributes to existing knowledge by showing that the nexus between religious orientation and supply chain performance is a function of the mediating effect of RDC and the moderating effect of socio-cultural orientation. The managerial implication is that religious orientation is an important firm resource whose economic value is attained when it is developed to build a firm’s resource deployment capability under differing conditions of socio-cultural orientation.
- ItemThe effects of formal education on poverty reduction in Ghana: the case of Jirapa District.(KNUST, 2018-05) Beni, AlphonsusThere was a paucity of empirical evidence on the effects of formal education on poverty reduction in Ghana, particularly in the Jirapa District of the Upper West Region. This study used the case study design to investigate the extent to which formal education had an effect on poverty reduction among rural households in the Jirapa District. A multi-stage sampling methods were used to select a sample of 701 heads of households who provided data for the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, focus group discussions and non-participant observation. The data were analyzed using percentages and frequency charts, chi-square tests and multivariate binary logistic regression and cross tabulations to explore relationships between poverty and relevant variables in the context of social Darwinism and structural theories using SPSS version 22 software. The results reveal that the causes of poverty in the study area include geographically difficult environment, lack of formal education and governmental policies. The findings of the study raises provocative, startling and challenging conclusions that, the causes of poverty in the study area is endemic in that the people are trapped in a geographically difficult environment which affects their income negatively and creates a vicious cycle of poverty. The findings of the study further show that formal education reduces levels of poverty through educational empowerment that results in human capital formation, skills training and employment generation. The study established a statistically significant relationship between formal education and income, dwelling unit and nutrition. The theories have also been found to hold based on the revealed results. The study shows that the formally educated have greater chances of being part of the social fabric as well as being active participants in the governance of their locality, the district and country. Thus, formal education consolidates the individual‘s position as being a nonpoor entity. On the bases of these findings, it is recommended that education at secondary level should be freely accessible to all in the country.