This thesis has two main objectives. First, it investigates how social support relationships - embedded within kinship systems, friendship networks and associational groups - contribute to the wellbeing of cash transfer beneficiaries in two urban districts in Ghana. Second, it explores how a formal social protection programme affects the wellbeing of beneficiaries both directly and indirectly via its effect on these other support relationships. The thesis takes the Ghana Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) cash transfer programme as a case study, examining how it is implemented in practice within an urban setting, and how social support relationships influence its effect on the wellbeing of cash recipients. Throughout this thesis wellbeing is used as a discursive space for looking at the often neglected non-material dimensions of wellbeing. In particular, it takes a relational wellbeing approach which emphasises how material, emotional and cognitive dimensions of wellbeing are embedded in social relationships. It uses a Qualitative Longitudinal Research (QLR) approach, complemented by a qualitative social network analysis to map the constellation of relationships on which urban recipients of LEAP transfers rely, and to explore the motivations and rationalities underpinning them. The findings of the thesis add to existing research on social relationships and cash transfers in Africa by extending the analysis to a contemporary urban context. They challenge the assumption that urban residents can draw upon a vibrant support system, by finding that such relationships can be unreliable, provide inadequate support and can be associated with exclusion and marginalization. In addition, the thesis finds that norms underpinning support relationships are constantly being reshaped and challenged. The thesis also highlights the important but diverse effects that formal social protection programmes can have on material, emotional and cognitive wellbeing of recipients, both directly and indirectly via their effect on other significant social relationships of beneficiaries.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Strategic planning is a critical issue for higher education academic libraries, especially in developing countries like Ghana, due to limited financial resources and the rapid change in the information environment during the last several decades. Theory-testing case study methodology was used in this thesis to examine strategy formulation and implementation in building the digital collections of the University of Cape Coast Library (UCCL) in Ghana. The main question the study attempted to answer was how did the DL strategic formulation and implementation processes used by the UCC in building its digital collections compare with the Mintzberg’s strategic formulation and implementation framework? The instruments used for data collection were the key informant interview technique and document reviews. The results showed that, during the formulation phase, two aspects (resources and aspirations of senior management) were emergent. During the implementation phase, five aspects (achieving results, processes and behaviour, standards, motivation, and personal) were emergent. All other elements of building the UCC digital collections were planned during both the formulation and implementation phases. Although the basic technical architecture for the digital library is in place, inconsistency between organizational objectives and the values of the management group was identified as a problem in strategy formulation. Digital library staff reported that cost of using Information Communications Technology (ICT) facilities, frequency of power outage, obsolete digitization equipment, interconnectivity problems, and high cost of internet connectivity inhibited their work and regular student access to digital collections. Although the emphasis on students and learning is laudable and apt, there seems to be lack of focus on research support beyond digital collection building, despite the fact that research excellence is one of the UCC’s key priorities. Opportunities exist for improving feedback mechanisms between the users, digital library staff and the university management; and inclusion of social media tools in the digital library project. / Program: Masterprogram: Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap, Digitala bibliotek och informationstjänster

One of the key issues surrounding participation in basic schooling is the phenomenon of school dropout. Dropout is known not as a single event but a process that is not well understood. The rationale for this thesis argues that unless the dropout process is understood, there will be no meaningful intervention to curb it. This study therefore explores the dropout experience of basic school children in Ghana. In the context of this exploratory study, informed by the concerns of achieving education for all children by the year 2015, I sought to gain insight into the processes that lead children to drop out of school, how dropout occurs, the manifestation of dropout and the policy implications of dropout for free compulsory universal basic education in Ghana. The research inquiry is guided by two main research questions: what are the experiences of dropout children? And how is school dropout manifested? Specifically, the research questions sought to explore children‘s understanding and interpretation of dropout, how dropout occurred; what conditions within and outside school do children regard as responsible for their dropping out, and what the implications of the findings are for universalising universal basic education in Ghana. In exploring the experience of dropout children, I tracked 18 children who had initial access to basic education but stopped schooling at some point for their stories. I used multiple methods of data collection, viz. in-depth interviews, observations, photographs and school records. From the data gathered, the following are the main findings of the study: Concerning the dropout process, children experience dropout first as temporary—sporadic, event and cohort based on their economic survival needs and later permanently—unsettled and settled as a result of becoming significantly overage and the diminished value of schooling. Conditions both within school – teacher factor, school practices and processes, and outside – poverty, opportunity cost of schooling, networks among children to encourage dropout by pushing and/or pulling children out of school. As a process, pupils go through three phases – disadvantage, disaffection and disappearance to become school dropouts. It is argued that, to prevent pupils from dropping out of school and to encourage children who already dropped out to return to school. Education policy would have to focus more on addressing the peculiar needs of children who show sights of entering the dropout process. Also, it is necessary to differentiate out of school children – dropouts from out of school children –never enrolled when designing and implementing interventions for universalising basic education.

Currently there is a resurgence of the role of traditional chiefs in the development of sub-Saharan African countries. It has been proposed that African countries need to adopt more effective and pragmatic approaches, which are rooted in local societies and cultures and can therefore provide developmental outcomes. This thesis examines whether traditional chieftaincy in Ghana, which is a highly respected institution compared to other African countries can be effective and legitimate providers of public goods. This is done by analysing the way chiefs' exercise authority over community land and the revenue it produces. The study analysed land management practices under chiefs' authority and the dynamics of the politics of negotiating compensation for land and public goods. The main finding of the thesis is that investment in public goods might be facilitated by the development of multi-institutional arrangement that ensures collaboration among state and non-state institutions at the local level as a form of co-production for development. The implications of this arrangement on the political authority of chiefs at the local level are examined. The thesis questions the notion that it is custom and tradition that makes leadership provided by chiefs effective, and argues that what matters for development is how legitimate traditional authority is exercised in practice. The main conclusions of the thesis are that: firstly, although chiefs' are important traditional authorities in Ghana, they do not exercise political authority that is effective, as expected, for the development of local communities. There should therefore be caution in elevating traditional authority as the most effective legitimate form of locally rooted authority in Africa, given that Ghana is a country where chiefly authority is still extremely strong and respected. Attention should rather be focussed on the use of local cultural repertoires and multi-institutional collaborations, which have local problem-solving characteristics for development. Secondly, the thesis also provides evidence that shows how activities of mining companies potentially contribute to development of local communities. As a result there is the need to take a more nuanced view of how mining companies operate in Africa.

Assessment is integral to teaching and learning and external assessment is a logical sequel to the interaction between teachers and their students because it represents an account of this interaction to the public. External assessments, especially those that have high stakes, such as the end-of-cycle examinations, are known to have an influence on teaching and learning in the years that precede them. The effect of external assessments on teaching and learning has been extensively researched. The test items which transmit the influence have also been thoroughly analysed in terms of the kind of thinking that they demand from students. However, the aspect of external assessment that has not received much attention is the test developers who originate the test items and are therefore ultimately responsible for the type of effect the items have on teaching and learning. External assessment in sub-Saharan African countries especially, demand mainly recall of facts with very little demand on the thinking and problem solving abilities of students. This type of question tends to induce teaching and learning mainly for recall. This research aims to throw light on the intentions of test developers for Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Ghana when they write items for this end-of-cycle examination. A broadly qualitative approach was adopted for this research but quantitative data was used in addition. Seven test developers were interviewed extensively on how they perform their test development activities. In order to have a fuller understanding of the external examination, the teachers and students who experience its influence were included in the study. Forty teachers and 120 students completed questionnaires relating to their beliefs about the BECE and eight each of the participating teachers and students were subsequently interviewed. The findings suggest that the test developers were aware that the level of thinking in their questions was low and would prefer questions that demand higher levels of thinking. They were also aware that past questions influence teaching and learning and were of the opinion that the standard of education is low. However, the test developers did not have the intention to change teaching and learning with their tests because they could not see a relation between their test items and the quality of teaching and learning. It was also found that their personal interpretations and concerns about the social impact of the examination are more influential in determining the type of items they write. This is significant because item writing is presumed to be a neutral and objective activity devoid of subjective considerations. The findings further suggest that the examination influences what teachers teach and how they teach it and the teachers' self-worth, prestige and public esteem depend on the performance of their students in the examination. The students believed the BECE prevents them from learning other things and from developing their talents and they saw the examination as the fairest means of competing for selection to senior high school because it is less partial when compared with their teachers' continuous assessment marks. It was also found that past questions serve as an alternative curriculum because they determine the standard of the examination questions and also influence teaching and learning. Through the medium of past questions, the examination is able to influence policy by circumventing it or diverting attention away from it. It was concluded that the influence of social considerations in item writing has created a vicious cycle of low level questions that induce teaching and learning aimed at recall which does not equip students to use knowledge acquired to solve the problems that attract the sympathy of the item writers. It will require awareness creation among stakeholders about the central role of the external assessment in determining the quality of teaching and learning to break the cycle by improving the quality of the test items.

Submitted by admin tede (tede@pucgoias.edu.br) on 2017-10-09T19:30:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MARINA RUBIA MENDONCA LOBO.pdf: 608649 bytes, checksum: a501da4fc2dff1a5ca42bdcb41ba14d0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-09T19:30:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARINA RUBIA MENDONCA LOBO.pdf: 608649 bytes, checksum: a501da4fc2dff1a5ca42bdcb41ba14d0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-01 / This study examined the foreign direct investment in Africa, focusing on the production of an evaluating tool for business opportunities in African markets, specifically in Ghana, a country situated in the western portion of the Black Continent. Aiming to establish an objective reading instrument for the rational selection of Ghana as a prospecting field, the research showed, generally, variables apt to set the country as a fecund market, such as the cultural context; natural and human resources, infrastructure and market size; economic performance and governance, taxation and incentives, operating costs, regulatory frameworks for investment, among others, comprised in four chapters, verified through electronic and bibliographic sources. The current situation seems to lead us to a favourable forecast to capital investments in the region, since Ghana has shaped its legal system so as to make it promising for investors, facilitating access to international capital into local markets by offering general benefits and incentives which resulted in improvement of the business environment / O presente trabalho analisou o investimento estrangeiro direto na África, concentrando-se na produção de uma ferramenta de avaliação de oportunidades de negócios nos mercados africanos, mais especificamente em Gana, país situado na porção ocidental do Continente Negro. Visando estabelecer um instrumento de leitura objetivo para a seleção racional de Gana como campo de prospecção, a pesquisa apontou, genericamente, variáveis aptas a estabelecer o país como mercado fecundo, a exemplo do contexto cultural; recursos naturais e humanos; infraestrutura e dimensão de mercado; desempenho econômico e governança; tributação e incentivos; custos operacionais; quadros regulatórios de investimentos, entre outros, acostados em quatro capítulos, verificados através de fontes bibliográficas e eletrônicas. O quadro atual parece nos levar a previsões favoráveis às aplicações de capital na região, uma vez que Gana moldou seu ordenamento jurídico de forma a torná-lo auspicioso para investidores, facilitando o acesso de capital internacional aos mercados locais, através de benefícios e incentivos gerais, o que culminou na melhoria do ambiente empresarial.

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is a global challenge and the situation is worse in urban areas of developing countries due to ineffective disposal systems. In many industrialised countries, waste minimisation and recycling/reuse policies have been introduced to reduce the amount of waste generated, and increasingly, alternative waste management practices to waste disposal on land have been implemented to reduce the environmental impacts of MSWM. Nevertheless, research and MSWM in most developing countries have largely concentrated on waste collection. This doctoral study investigates how planning and decision-making for MSW disposal in developing countries with similar circumstances and MSW problems to Ghana can be improved, using the Wa Municipality as a case study. It established the baseline scenario of MSW disposal and examined MSW disposal management and operational performances. The methodology and research design for the study was a descriptive and interpretive case study that was analysed through both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The key research findings indicate that the current state of MSW disposal management performance in Ghana does not present an enabling environment for effective MSW disposal. Also, the present MSW disposal practices in the case study area and Ghana in general consist of some waste collection, transportation and open dumping, where the entire amount of waste is open dumped without pre-treatment. Evaluation of MSW disposal operational performance through modelling and scenario analysis showed that open dumping/landfilling of waste creates copious health effects (0.0001519 lbs/year on average), whereas, MSW disposal in an integrated solid waste management (ISWM) system optimises the minimisation of health effects (-0.0005812 lbs/year on average). The study developed and validated a framework for the improvement of planning and decision-making for MSW disposal, which can easily be applied in the context of developing countries. Also, the developed framework provides a theoretical standpoint for the concept of MSW disposal in ISWM. Appropriate MSW disposal treatment technologies based on the developed framework could be applied to ameliorate the impacts of MSW disposal in Ghana and other developing countries.

The objectives of the study are to assess the fiscal sustainability and development impacts of Ghana’s fiscal rule for allocating petroleum revenues to the annual budget against alternative fiscal rules - the permanent income and the bird-in-hand rules. Fiscal sustainability is measured by government long-term fiscal space in proportion to non-oil GDP, whilst development impacts are measured through a dynamic CGE model of Ghana. Generally, the study makes four important findings on how fiscal policy triggered by the inflow of new petroleum revenues could affect the long-term fiscal sustainability and growth of the economy. One, Ghana’s fiscal rule is neither fiscally sustainable nor provide higher impacts of petroleum revenues on economic development relative to the permanent income and the bird-in-hand rules. Two, fiscal sustainability does not necessarily lead to greater development outcomes. The bird-in-hand rule is the most fiscally sustainable, but the permanent income rule provides higher development outcomes and can move Ghana’s transformation towards a full middle income status. Three, institutional quality in a country could lead to efficiency gains in government spending. Four, efficiency in government spending could improve on development outcomes. Ghana could therefore benefit from its petroleum revenues by adopting the permanent income rule; and with temporary petroleum revenues, the focus of the country should be on current investment of petroleum revenues in building the country’s asset base to support short-term and long-term growth of the economy. However, this should be complemented with strengthening the quality of institutional arrangements to enhance efficiency in government spending.

A research report submitted to the faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. / The theory of Mine Call Factor (MCF) compares the sum of metal produced in recovery plus residue to the metal called for by the mines evaluation method expressed as a percentage. This MCF concept is well known in underground scenarios and therefore this report highlights the MCF issues and the variable components affecting it from a surface mine perspective. The MCF investigation established the relationship between actual measurements and reporting against measurement protocols. Such measurements include “tonnage, volume, relative density, reconciliation strategy, and truck tonnage determination, sampling and assay standards. This study investigated how these measurements are conducted on Iduapriem Mine according to the mine’s standard operating procedures (SOP). An improvement of documents towards a metal accounting protocol based on the AMIRA protocol is recommended. The mine’s current quality control protocol was further expanded to reflect current practices. The mine to mill reconciliation compared production estimates from various sources (resource model, grade control model, pit design, plant and stockpile, truck tally, stockpile and plant feed, plant feed and plant received) in the period 2009 and 2010. Reconciliation factors expressed as a percentage were statistically analysed for discrepancies for tonnages and grades. It was realised that there is more confidence in mass (tonnage) measurement compared to grade. A generic mine to mill reconciliation path was suggested to be used by the mine.