Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Cape Coast Castle (Cape Coast, Ghana)'

The full abstract for this thesis is available in the body of the thesis, and will be available when the embargo expires.
Education, Faculty of
Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of
Graduate

Cape Coast once a national capital of Ghana and its environs in recent years have constantly suffered perennial acute water shortage. The Brimsu dam which takes its supplies from the Kakum River with current production capacity of 1.4 × 104 m3/day cannot meet the water needs of the study area. The operating levels of the dam during crisis have reduced from 7.3 meters to 4.7 meters over the years with subsequent reduction in water production by 35%. Recently, the operating level has reduced further to about 3.5 meters with 60% reduction in water supply. This study evaluated alternative water resources to augment water supply and mitigate the impact of perennial water shortage. Among the alternatives considered are surface water from Twifo Prasso on the Pra River, groundwater supplies, and the desalination technology. Mean annual streamflow of Pra River at Twifo Prasso was used to evaluate the continuous availability and reliance on surface water. Hydrogeological assessment of geology underlying the study area vis-à-vis the existing borehole and their yields was used to evaluate groundwater potential. Desalination technology which is not currently in existence in the study area was considered based on available literature. Since the implementation of projects of this magnitude are the responsibilities of the central government through grants and loans, the study focuses on the cost implications of water from these alternatives to the final consumer in terms of affordability. In considering the cost of water from the various alternatives to per capita per day consumption in rural and urban settlements within the study area for a household of five, the cost of surface water remains the most affordable means of water supply, followed by groundwater. Borehole yields indicate that intensive exploitation of groundwater even though more expensive than surface water sources could minimize the effect of perennial water shortage and over dependence on surface water. The cost comparison analyses have shown that the cost of desalination using reverse osmosis is still expensive and could not compare favorably with the existing water supply alternatives. The analyses have thus confirmed the long held perception that "desalination is expensive and cannot be used in study area".
M.S.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Engineering and Computer Science
Civil Engineering

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of female participation in leadership activities in the University of Cape Coast (UCC). Leadership is experienced at various levels within the university - student, staff, committee and management levels in the university. However, the positions are mainly held by men. This study examined the institutional structures and cultural factors responsible for the dearth of women in leadership and why it is necessary to have more women vigorously involved in the decision-making in the university. Few women reaching the top have managed it successfully because of the exposure to various forms of institutional and cultural barriers. This state of affairs works against the effective utilization of human resources in the university. Ensuring that all individuals irrespective of their gender are equally motivated to participate in the decision-making process holds the potential for maximising the human resources within the university. In this study, the barriers to female participation in leadership have been explored. A qualitative research design guided the study. Twenty semi-structured interviews, participant observation and the use of unobtrusive observation were the main data collection techniques adopted. For data analysis, 'open and axial' coding approaches based on the inductive and deductive reasoning were utilised. A significant outcome of the study includes the fact that very few women are in head of departments and deanship positions. Women are almost absent in the top administrative echelon. Females occupy only designated 'vice/deputy' positions in students and staff unions. However, few academic women who have reached the top have managed successfully. The study concludes by expressing the view that women in UCC face several challenges which impede their progress towards leadership aspirations. These include institutional structures and culturally entrenched norms. Based on these findings and conclusions, a number of recommendations have been made to improve the chances of women in both academic and administrative departments to break the glass-ceiling and advance into leadership positions. These include the following: (1) the need for professional development opportunities for women to enable them to pursue postgraduate programmes after which they could be employed as administrators or academics, and (2) the institutionalization of policies in support of the reservation of quotas for women in some leadership positions, including chairing some of the sub-committees of the Governing Council and the Academic Board to ensure fair participation of women in critical decision-making levels in the university.

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

The existence of indigenous slavery in the Gold Coast’s British settlements and the Fante wives of British officials were inconvenient truths of mid-nineteenth century Cape Coast. As such, they were marginalised within contemporary documents in favour of heroic narratives of thwarting the efforts of pirate slavers and outlawing the custom of human sacrifice. However, evidence reached London in 1839 that forced the British government to respond to rumours that merchants tasked to enforce British law were continuing to aid the slave trade. In 1841 Dr Madden was sent to the Gold Coast as Commissioner of Inquiry to investigate the claims. He found merchant magistrates engaging in domestic slavery and wrote a report to expose them in the hope of bringing about its abolition. In the absence of sufficient documentary evidence and with the aim of offering a voice to the marginalised historical residents of Cape Coast’s Anglo-Fante households, an interdisciplinary approach incorporating literary, historical and anthropological research has been developed. Previously undocumented family histories have been recorded and interpreted in the context provided by historiography, archival documents and literary works including plays, poetry, novels, and nineteenth-century memoirs. Having critically evaluated these sources in terms of the authorial motive, verifiable data and historical instability that are identifiable within oral and written memory, the accumulated evidence is employed to create an imaginative representation of Madden’s time on the Gold Coast. Within the narrative Madden visits the Fante wives of British officials - collectively referred to as the Principal Mulatto Females of the Gold Coast - to explore the existence of domestic slavery. This creative piece forms part of a wider historical and theoretical consideration of a slave-holding community that is publicly forgotten and privately remembered in Cape Coast society, and of the function of memory within the relationship between history and literature.

Stadterneuerung in Ghana ist seit Jahren auch durch den Widerstand von Bürgerinnen und Bürgern geprägt. Auf der Grundlage einer qualitativen Analyse und Fallstudie zur Sanierung von Marktinfrastrukturen in Kumasi und Cape Coast zeigt diese kumulative Dissertation, dass es zum besseren Verständnis der Ursachen von zivilem Widerstand insbesondere Aufmerksamkeit für die Qualität der Governance-Prozesse selbst bedarf. Marktsanierungsprojekte in Ghana sind durch fünf Prozessphasen geprägt: Scoping, Planung, Finanzierung, Standortverlagerung und -zuweisung. In allen Phasen lassen sich jeweils anders gelagerte Kombinationen aus staatlichen Praktiken des Klientelismus und Neoliberalismus, des Aktivismus nichtstaatlicher Akteure sowie externer, globale und entwicklungsorientierter Investitionspraktiken internationaler und bilateraler Agenturen beobachten. In jeder Phase der Stadterneuerung spiegeln sich städtische Governance-Politiken, auf die wiederum stadt-politische Akteure mit Interventionen reagieren, um diesen Politiken entgegen zu wirken. Konzeptionell trägt die vorliegende Studie zu verschiedenen Diskursen bei: eine multidimensionale analytische Rahmung der geographischen Handelsforschung mit Fokus auf Märkte; eine Betrachtung von Aktivismus als zusätzlicher Dimension der städtischen Governance; die Auseinandersetzung mit politisch induzierter Verdrängung durch staatliche Handlungsweisen als alternativem Konstrukt zur Analyse von marktinduzierten Verdrängungsprozessen; und einen Beitrag zu Debatten um städtische Effekte ausländischer Direktinvestitionen. Die Ergebnisse können integrative Stadtentwicklung und eine nachhaltige Existenzgrundlage urbanen Zusammenlebens im anglophonen Westafrika fördern. Weitere Forschung wird empfohlen, um ein Verständnis für die Governance-Prozesse und die Dynamiken städtischer Infrastrukturentwicklung in der Subregion zu generieren.
Citizen resistance has characterized urban regeneration in Ghana for many years. Previous studies have indicated that resistance against urban regeneration is caused by non-payment of compensation, lack of participation and the failure of the state to provide relocation sites. Through a qualitative analysis of market redevelopment in Kumasi and Cape Coast, this dissertation argues that we should pay more attention to the politics and activism rooted in the urban governance processes, if we are to understand citizen resistance against urban regeneration in Ghana. Market infrastructural redevelopment in Ghana are implemented through the process of scoping, planning, financing, relocation and allocation. This process is shaped by an interplay of internal state practices of clientelism and neoliberalism and activism of non-state actors, as well as external practices of globalization and development funding by international and bilateral agencies. Every stage of the redevelopment process mirrors the politicized nature of urban governance and citizen intervention by way of activism for changing urban governance. Theoretically, this dissertation contributes a multidimensional analytical framework to marketplace research; activism as an additional dimension of urban governance; politically-induced displacement as an alternative construct for analyzing displacement processes; and to the urban debates around Chinese infrastructure finance. The wider implications of the findings of the study for market redevelopment and urban governance in Anglophone West Africa are discussed. Further research is recommended to provide an understanding of the governance processes and dynamics of other forms of urban infrastructural development taking place in the sub-region.

The purpose of this study was to determine faculty perceptions about factors impacting the adoption and diffusion of Web-Based Educational Technologies (WBETs) at the University of Cape Coast and the University of Ghana, Legon. This study, based on Rogers’ theory of adoption and diffusion, is a modified replication of a study by Li (2004), in the context of Ghana. Data were collected with a modified instrument created by Li (2004), from 61 teaching faculty out of a target accessible population of 200. The instrument comprised of four sections: The first, was used to collect data about faculty stage in the innovation development process. The second was used to collect data describing five attributes (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability) impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. The third was used to collect data about ten barriers (concerns about time, concerns about incentives, program credibility, financial concerns, planning issues, conflict with traditional education, fear of technology, technical expertise, administrative support, and infrastructure) impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. The fourth section was used to collect data on personal characteristics of the faculty. Descriptive, correlational and regression analyses were used to examine relationships between faculty personal characteristics, stage in the innovation-decision process, and perceptions of attributes and barriers impacting the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. From the descriptive results, respondents perceived ‘relative advantage’ and ‘observability’ as the two most important attributes that impact the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. Infrastructure, financial concerns, and technical expertise were perceived as posing moderate to strong barriers to the adoption and diffusion of WBETs. Only compatibility (attribute) and technical expertise (barrier) had statistically significant correlations with faculty stage in the innovation decision process. The attributes and barriers altogether explained only 10.6% and 17.3% respectively of faculty stage in the innovation-decision process. Of the eight personal characteristics examined, only ‘experience with WBETs’ had a statistically significant correlation with faculty stage in the innovation-decision process. Recommendations to administrators and policy makers include allocating investments and resources that promote attributes and eliminate barriers, and conduct further research into factors that affect the adoption and diffusion of WBETs.

This study is concerned with aspects of the quality of life of children in three residential child care facilities (Children's Homes) in Accra and Cape Coast Municipality. It is comparative in its nature and aims to investigate how the material and social structures and supplies of the Children’s Homes contribute to similarities and dissimilarities in aspects of the children’s quality of life, both between and within the homes. The theoretical framework of the study is based on a quality of life approach, where quality of life is seen as an all-embracing conception, which includes a basic needs approach (BNA) and is supplemented by a subjective well-being approach (SWB). The theory of structuration is used to understand how material and social structures and supplies at the Children's Homes affect aspects of the children’s quality of life. The theory of structuration is a framework to investigate to what degree the children are able to act as competent social actors. The study was carried out in two different regions; the Greater Accra Region and in the Central Region at three Children's Homes. Osu Children’s Home (governmental) is located in Accra, the capital of Ghana, Ahotokurom (private) in a peri-urban area outside the city of Cape Coast and Lighthouse Children’s Home (private) is located just outside the Cape Coast city centre. Methodologically this study applies a qualitative approach and includes the triangulation of a variety of qualitative instruments of data collection. The data has been collected through 14 interviews with children from the ages of twelve to nineteen and eight key-informant interviews with the staff at the Children's Homes, two interviews with additional informants, as well as observations and some quantitative data. The thesis concludes that the material and social structures and supplies available at the Children’s Homes have strong bearings on the children’s lives and aspects of their quality of life. The Children’s Homes represents sets of structures that both enable and restrict the children to act as competent social actors. Even though the material and social structures and supplies at the homes determine much of the children’s lives, the children have some degree of freedom to act within these structures and are able to influence their own lives. The degree of freedom to act as competent social actors varies between the homes. At Osu there exists a stronger accumulation of conditions creating poorer aspects of quality of life, such as poor food, shelter, clothing, education, safety, leisure, love and belonging and social networks. The children at Ahotokurom and Lighthouse generally enjoy conditions creating better aspects of quality of life, the only exception being perhaps healthcare. This difference seems to be connected to the type of ownership, gatekeeping,  finances, location and contact with the local community.

This study explored the current levels and challenges/barriers facing teacher participation in school decision-making in the Cape Coast Metropolitan area and Mfantseman Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. The study employed the explanatory sequential mixed method design involving semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers, 4 head teachers and 4 circuit supervisors. Furthermore, questionnaires were administered to 209 teachers, 26 head teachers and 11 circuit supervisors. The SPSS version 20 and the Nvivo software version 10 were used to analyse the questionnaire survey and the semi-structured interview. In a micro ethnographic study, teachers and head teachers from 2 schools that recorded the highest and lowest teacher participation in school decision-making were subsequently observed during staff and Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings. In addition, their documents such as staff and PTA minutes books were also analysed. Classroom, committee/group and school levels emerged as the levels of teacher participation in school decision-making. However, few teachers were found participating at the school level, while the majority participated at the classroom level, with some at the committee/group level. The study found that unilateral decisions by head teachers, unimplemented decisions and insufficient funds were the challenges/barriers to teacher participation in school decision-making. Nevertheless, almost all the teachers, head teachers and circuit supervisors agreed that there should be regular training for head teachers with regard to the tenets of school decision-making and leadership to enable them fully involve teachers in all issues concerning the school. The study concludes that for teachers to participate fully in all school decision-making and for schools to improve, head teachers need to motivate teachers, consult them, trust and be transparent to them in all school related issues. Furthermore, the researcher recommends a nationwide training of head teachers and decentralisation of power in schools. At the school level, teacher empowerment, creating instruction-oriented structures and teacher motivation are the key to effective teacher in PSDM.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2006. Graduate Programme in Social Anthropology.
Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 564-614). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR19768

Text in English, with abstracts and keywords in English, Zulu and Afrikaans
This qualitative study investigated the information needs and information-seeking behaviour of doctoral students who use smartphones or tablets for learning. Fifteen doctoral students who are registered at the University of Cape Coast were interviewed. Ellis’s (1989) model of information-seeking behaviour guided the study and supported the researcher in developing a model that could be used to acquire an understanding of how mobile technologies influence information needs and information-seeking behaviour. Two contexts influence the participants’ information needs and information-seeking behaviour, namely, the academic context and their everyday life contexts. The interplay between the elements of the context in which participants find themselves and their mental structures appear to influence their information needs and information-seeking behaviour. Most of the participating students do not seem to have the required information literacy skills to seek information in an online environment. The contextual elements that appear to influence the participants’ information needs and searching behaviour include situations in action, academic tasks and information resources. The ability to connect to the Internet and retrieve online sources of information proved to be important. The participants use the mobile devices to retrieve information from the Internet and in some instances from the university library’s resources. Certain device-related characteristics, such as small screens, limited memory space and short battery lifespan, seem to affect the usefulness of mobile devices for information-seeking purposes. The cost of data and an inability to connect to the Internet, due to disruptions in network signals and a lack of Wi-Fi infrastructure, also curb the use of mobile devices. WhatsApp not only provides the participants with the means to share information and discuss their academic tasks, but it also makes collaboration and group work possible. Some of the students lack the required information literacy skills to make optimal use of the library’s resources. Therefore, it would be prudent for the university to include information literacy skills training in the curricula for all levels of study. This requirement should also include doctoral students who have not previously completed an information literacy course.
Lolu cwaningo lohlelo olugxile kwingxoxo beluphenya izidingo zolwazi kanye nezenzo zokucinga ulwazi lwabafundi abakwiziqu zesibili abasebenzisa ama-smartphones noma ama-tablets ukufunda. Abafundi abayishumi nanhlanu abasezingeni leziqu zesibili abazibhalise kwi-University of Cape Coast bebehlolwa ngokwezimvo. Imodeli ka-Ellis (1989) yezenzo ezihlose ukufumana ulwazi ihole ucwaningo futhi yaxhasa umcwaningi ekuthuthukisweni kwemodeli engasetshenziswa ukuthola ulwazi olumayelana nokuthi ngabe izinhlelo zobuchwepheshe be-inthanethi yefowunu zithinta kanjani izidingo zolwazi kanye nezenzo ezihlose ukuthola ulwazi. Izizinda ezimbili zinomthelela phezu kolwazi lwabadlalindima kanye nokuziphatha okuhlose ukuthola ulwazi, zona yilezi yisizinda sezemfundo kanye nezizinda ezimayelana nempilo yabo yansuku zonke. Ukuhlangana phakathi kwezinhlaka ezimayelana nesizinda abadlalindima abazithola ngaphakathi kwaso kanye nokuhleleka kwemiqondo yabo kubonakala kunomthelela phezu kwezidingo zabo zolwazi kanye nokuziphatha okuhlose ukuthola ulwazi. Iningi labafundi abadlala indima alibonakali lifuna amakhono olwazi lokufunda ukuze bacinge ulwazi kwisizinda kwu-inthanethi. Izinhlaka zesizinda ezibonakala zithinta izidingo zolwazi lwabadlalindima kanye nezenzo zokusesha zifaka izimo kwimisebenzi yezenzo zemfundo kanye nemithombo yolwazi. Ikhono lokuxhumanisa i-inthanethi kanye nokuvumbulula imithombo ye-inthanethi kukhombisa kusemqoka kakhulu. Abadlalindima basebenzisa izixhobo zomakhalekhukhwini ukulandelela ulwazi ku Inthanethi, kanti kwezinye izimo, ukuthola ulwazi kwimithombo eyithala lezincwadi yasenyuvesi. Yize-kunjalo, izimpawu ezithile ezihlobene nezixhobo, ezingamasikirini amancane, isikhala esincane sokugcina ulwazi kanye nempilo emfushane yebhediri, kubonakala kuthinta izinga lokusebenziseka kwezixhobo ezingomakhalekhukhwini ngezinhloso zokucinga ulwazi. Izindleko zedatha kanye nokungakwazi ukuxhumana nge Inthanethi ngenxa yokuphazamiseka kwamasiginali obuxhakaxhaka benediweki kanye nokwentuleka kwengqalasizinda ye Wi-Fi kanti futhi nokuvimbela ukusetshenziswa kwezixhobo ezingomakhalekhukhwini. Uhlelo lwe-WhatsApp aluhlinzeka kuphela abadlalindima ngamasu okuphana ngolwazi kanye nokuxoxa ngemisebenzi yezemfundo, kanti futhi yenza ukuthi kube nokusebenzisana kanye nokuthi iqembu likwazi ukusebenza. Abanye babafundi baswela amakhono wokufunda adingekayo ukuze bakwazi ukusebenzisa ngokusezingeni eliphezulu kwemithombo yethala lezincwadi. Ngakho-ke, bekungaba kuhle kwinyuvesi ukuthi izinhlelo zokuqeqesha mayelana namakhono olwazi lokufunda kwikharikhulamu yawo wonke amazing ocwaningo. Lezi zinhlelo ezifunekayo kufanele futhi zisebenze kubafundi beziqu zesibili abangakaze esikahthini esedlule baphothule isifundo sokuthola ulwazi.
Hierdie kwalitatiewe studie het ondersoek ingestel na die inligtingsbehoeftes en inligtingsoekgedrag van doktorale studente wat slimfone of tablette vir hul studie gebruik. Onderhoude is gevoer met vyftien doktorale studente wat by die University of Cape Coast geregistreer is. Ellis (1989) se model van inligtingsoekgedrag het die studie gerig en het die navorser ondersteun in die ontwikkeling van ’n model wat gebruik kan word om ’n begrip te vorm van hoe mobiele tegnologieë inligtingsbehoeftes en inligtingsoekgedrag beïnvloed. Twee kontekste affekteer die deelnemers se inligtingsbehoeftes en inligtingsoekgedrag, naamlik die akademiese konteks en die konteks van hul daaglikse lewe. Dit wil voorkom of die wisselwerking tussen die elemente van die konteks waarin deelnemers hulself bevind, asook hul verstandelike strukture, hul inligtingsbehoeftes en inligtingsoekgedrag beïnvloed. Die meeste van die deelnemende studente beskik klaarblyklik nie oor die nodige inligtingsgeletterdheidsvaardighede om in ’n aanlyn omgewing vir inligting te soek nie. Die kontekstuele elemente wat skynbaar die deelnemers se inligtingsbehoeftes en -soekgedrag beïnvloed, sluit situasies in aksie- akademiese take en inligtingshulpbronne in. Daar is bevind dat die vermoë om tot die internet te koppel en aanlyn inligtingsbronne te verkry, belangrik is. Die deelnemers gebruik die mobiele apparate om inligting van die internet, en in sommige gevalle, van die universiteit se biblioteekhulpbronne te verkry. Sommige apparaatkenmerke soos klein skerms, beperkte geheuespasie en kort batterylewe blyk ‘n uitwerking op die bruikbaarheid van mobiele apparate vir inligtingsoekdoeleindes te hê. Die koste van data en ’n onvermoë om tot die internet te koppel vanweë onderbrekings in netwerksein en ’n gebrek aan Wi-Fi infrastruktuur belemmer ook die gebruik van mobiele apparate. WhatsApp bied nie net aan die deelnemers ’n manier om inligting te deel en hul akademiese take te bespreek nie; dit maak ook samewerking en groepwerk moontlik. Sommige van die studente beskik nie oor die nodige inligtingsgeletterdheidvaardighede om die biblioteek se hulpbronne optimaal te kan benut nie. Daarom sal dit wys wees as die universiteit opleiding in inligtingsgeletterdheidvaardighede in die kurrikula vir alle studievlakke insluit. Hierdie vereiste moet ook geld vir nagraadse studente wat nie vantevore ’n kursus in inligtingsgeletterdheid voltooi het nie.
Information Science
D. Litt et Phil. (Information Science)