Hip life music: re-defining Ghanaian culture (1990-2012)

African music is full of life ... we have different ethnic groups, different languages and cultures, moods, shades; it's so dynamic, and we have a message. (Diana Hopeson, p.c. 2006) My research documents the hip life popular music story from 1990 to 2012, from pre-through post-inception, as driven by rapper and dancer Reggie Rockstone. The histories of European colonization in Ghana, and its shaping. By highlife and American hip hop (via globalization) into hip life music are explored through an insider's lens. This is evidenced by the traditional influencing of the popular culture of hip life. In this 22-year development period, I interconnect the domains of ethnomusicology, African/cultural studies, anthropology, popular music studies, and dance ethnography, drawing on relevant theories. The few studies dedicated solely to hip life in the ethnomusicology discipline at this time precipitate this study. Artist apprenticeship, social impacts, formal education and peer transmission are explored against the backdrop of authenticity, reception, transculturation and mimetic models that shape the meanings of the discussions (traditional versus popular musics). The creativity, subgenres, and related agencies are treated here as well. Hip life has come to stay as Ghanaian popular music. It invokes the tradition's transformations into the modem: as evident in the works of artists from Obrafour, Obour, Tinny, King Ayisoba to Rockstone, the message of African storytelling through rap is deeply hinged on the anchors of the ancient court practice of libation ceremonies. Ghana's Adaha traditional music (of circa 1888) was a strong influence on highlife music through the 1920s, and later, on hip life, and can be seen as an encapsulation of Ghana's history. Ghanaian airwaves currently play a broad spectrum of sub genres of hip life music across the country. I explore the connections and collaborations among rap, traditional hip life, hip dia, dancehall hip life, soca hip life, rag life, twi pop, D-style, accapela hip life, gospel hip life. The hip life celebration comes at a juncture where we also mark the homecoming of hip hop- as traditional music from Africa, to America, and back. Hip life thereby invokes the transplantation of millions of enslaved Africans (with their musics) to the Americas over the generations. On the other hand hip life is thriving in an industry previously, dominated by highlife music. Hence a modem day generational shift and critical reception is experienced. The lyrical content and the use of proverbs by hip life artists (including Kwaw Kesse, King of the Street) speak loud and clear on contemporary social issues. This also is seen in the work of A Plus (in his Letter to the West), the Fela Kuti of hip life musical political commentary. Hip life is popular beyond the ten regions of Ghana. It has established roots globally and is distributed around the world to reach the diaspora. This entry of hip life into the world music spectrum has significantly increased the presence of Ghanaian identity to the body of popular culture and music

Jesus with the Face of an Ancestor

This article attempts to work out a conceptual scheme for the appropriation and understanding of Jesus Christ and His work of salvation from the perspective of the status, roles and functions of ancestors. The author contends that Christ does not require Africans to reject their identity and ignore their deep concerns in order to receive a prefabricated image of Jesus Christ from elsewhere, He opts for a Christology of empowerment from a post-colonial African perspective and argues that interweaving the concerns raised by the Christologies of inculturation and liberation can help us to reclaim our identity as God's children who are called into a discipleship that liberates and transforms. The author proposes the methodology of analogical correlation based on the premise that God deals with us in our various cultural contexts in plural forms. He illustrates this point with examples from the Ghanaian context

Impact of Covid-19 on Workers and its Implications on Socioeconomic Inequalities in Ghana: A Narrative Literature Review

The paper analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers and its implications on socioeconomic inequalities in Ghana. Using a qualitative design and data from peer-reviewed journal articles and publications on websites of government and non-governmental organizations, to conduct a narrative literature review, it was revealed that the pandemic had adverse effects on workers in terms of reduction in hours worked, wages, and consumption levels. The review showed that there were heterogeneities in the magnitude of effects of the pandemic across different groups of workers and space. The results show that women workers were more affected by the pandemic than men workers. Further, informal sector workers were more affected than formal sector workers. Also, migrant workers were more afflicted than resident workers. Regarding spatial differences, urban workers in Ghana were more impacted than rural workers in Ghana. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that policymakers target empowerment programs at the vulnerable groups of workers in Ghana. Also, a significant level of infrastructural development is required to bridge the rural-urban divide

Education Policy Reform in Ghana and the Role of Avatime Traditional Leaders

AbstractWith declining academic standards in Ghana, public attention has been focused on education policies. In 1992, the amended constitution excluded traditional village leaders from being involved in formulating education policies in Ghana. The exclusion of grassroots leaders from education policy reform resulted in low expectations and poor student outcomes in the towns and villages of Ghana’s Avatime Traditional Area. This case study was an investigation into how traditional chiefs in the Avatime Traditional Area participate in democratic governance to improve education in the region. Joshee and Goldberg’s social justice theory in policy making was used to ground the study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with a purposive sample of 13 chieftains in the Avatime Traditional Area of Ghana. Interview questions sought participants’ beliefs on how they can support education to improve educational outcomes in local schools. NVivo qualitative data analysis software was used to analyze the data based on the six-phase thematic method. Results indicate that chieftains performed nonstatutory roles, including giving education advice to clan members, parents, and students; disseminating information to the public; mobilizing resources; improving staff welfare; and supporting education policy. The results of this study have potential implications for positive social change by expanding understanding of the issue so that education leaders and policy makers may implement policies to include chieftains in expanding support for education in their communities. Ghana’s national policymakers may find new ways to engage chieftains in education policy development as a result of this study’s findings

Long-Term Potentiation and Long-Term Depression in the Corticostriatal Motor System of the Non-Anesthetized Rat

Long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) are activity dependent long-lasting changes in synaptic efficacy and have been proposed as mechanisms for learning and memory. Although the exact relationship of LTP and LTD to memory is not known, they do share some properties and mechanisms that relate to memory, such as the strengthening and weakening of synapses. LTP and LTD have been studied extensively in hippocampal brain-slice preparations, due to its relatively organized structure, ease of induction, and its critical function in memory storage. Less work has been done in the neocortex despite the belief that it is heavily involved in the storage of long-term memories. Activity dependent plasticity has also been demonstrated in the basal ganglia in vivo and in vitro, but the results have been somewhat inconsistent. The experiments presented in this thesis explore a novel form of neural plasticity in two excitatory pathways (corticostriatal and thalamocortical) of the basal ganglia motor loop in the intact brain in awake, freely behaving rats. In thalamocortical slice preparations, simultaneous presynaptic stimulation and postsynaptic depolarization can induce L TP in animals prior to the critical period. However the results presented in this thesis show that applied stimulation to the thalamocortical pathway failed to produce either LTP or LTD in the awake freely moving animal.Corticostriatal LTD has been shown in slice preparations following direct tetanic stimulation of the striatum. In the current experiment, cortical stimulation failed to induce LTD although there was an observable decrease in the evoked potential following low-frequency stimulation. Corticostriatal L TP has been shown to depend on the type of stimulation applied. High-frequency and theta burst stimulation produced long-lasting changes in response amplitude in the corticostriatal pathway, with theta burst stimulation appearing to be the more effective stimulation protocol for inducing LTP in both the early and late components. Paired stimulation of the substantia nigra pars compacta and cortex indicated a modulatory action of dopamine on corticostriatal synaptic plasticity. Pairing led to a stable increase in the amplitude of LTP of both early and late components. We also report that a temporal relationship exists in the striatum with respect to the release of nigral dopamine and cortical glutamate. Simultaneous stimulation produced a more robust L TP compared to the two other conditions in which there was an applied stimulation delay to either the corticostriatal or nigrostriatal pathway. The results demonstrate the mechanistic differences, not only between the thalamocortical and corticostriatal pathways, but also slice and anesthetized preparations. The results also emphasize the need for further study on mechanisms of L TP and LTD in the various excitatory and inhibitory pathways of the basal ganglia motor loop.ThesisDoctor of Philosophy (PhD

Physicochemical influence on the spatial distribution of faecal bacteria and polychaetes in the Densu Estuary, Ghana

Coastal ecosystems are increasingly impacted by man-made disturbances including pollution from agriculture, aquaculture and municipal waste. This study employed multiple ecological indicators to assess environmental quality of the Densu Estuary and understanding of environmental controls on the spatial distribution of organisms. Physicochemical parameters were measured in situ. Water and sediment samples were collected from ten stations and analysed for nutrients, total suspended solids and organisms using standard methods. The water quality index for the Densu Estuary ranged from 359.5 to 484.4, suggesting an unhealthy ecosystem. The abundance of indicator species, e.g. faecal bacteria (Escherichia coli, Enterococcus species) and polychaetes (Capitella and Nereis species) varied significantly (p<0.05) among stations. Contaminated sites are located landwards with high human impacts. Faecal bacteria and polychaete abundance correlated significantly (p<0.05) with the respective physicochemical parameters. Canonical analysis (74.11%) showed the physicochemical influence on the spatial distribution of species. The pH significantly (p<0.05) controlled the spatial distribution of faecal bacteria and polychaetes in the Densu Estuary. The results suggest environmental pollution in the Densu Estuary, useful baseline information for effective legislation towards its sustainable management

Makeup Lifestyles of the Female Youths in Ghana. Evidence from Kumasi and Accra Tertiary Institutions

Women would want to appear more attractive and feminine to enjoy the benefits that accompany it. It is against this background that they predominate in makeup usage. The study fundamentally determined the makeup lifestyles of the female youths in selected tertiary institutions in Ghana. Employing descriptive research through cross sectional survey and using convenience sampling techniques, data was collected from female students, mainly in Accra and Kumasi tertiary institutions and 260 questionnaires analysed. Findings revealed that respondents generally used makeup for glamour, attractiveness, supporting their career, creativity, feeling confident and empowerment. More respondents applied makeup only on special occasions and mostly considered the complexion, skin tone, skin type, clothing, occasion and quality of the product before using it. Generally, respondents used makeup whilst going to ‘lectures’, ‘on a date’, ‘to church’, and ‘to work’. Some did not use make on all and more makeup users spent less than 15 minutes on all situations especially to ‘lectures’, ‘job interviews’, ‘church’ and ‘visit to friends’. Greater respondents ‘sometimes’ or ‘once daily’ touched up their makeups and many ‘seldom’ carried makeup item(s) for touch-ups mostly being lipstick, powder, and lip-gloss. More respondents started makeup between 16 and 19 years and more viewed makeup to social situations as ‘important’ and that makeup enhances their self-appearance, and boost their consciousness. Respondents were satisfied without makeup than with makeup and majority were aware of the negative effects of makeup on human skin. The study recommends that makeup users be educated on the negative effects of colour cosmetics so that they would be better informed in their application. This study is the first to have been conducted in Ghana and could be useful for the cosmetic industry, researchers and the academia. Keywords: Attractiveness, makeup cosmetics, female youths, tertiary institutions, makeup lifestyle, Ghana. Definition of Terms In this paper, makeup refers to cosmetic makeup and makeup cosmetics means coloured cosmetics, makeup items, cosmetics and are thus used interchangeably. DOI: 10.7176/ADS/75-01 Publication date: August 31st 201

Microbial Water Quality Assessment of Packaged Drinking Water of Pre-School Children in some Parts of Accra

Episodes of Cholera outbreaks are still common in most developing countries and children usually are at the greatest risk. This study assessed the importance of diarrhoea-related illnesses among children five years of age or less at the University Hospital, Legon and the importance of packaged water handling in the contamination of drinking water of pre-school children. Diarrhea-related diseases (DRD) accounted for 6.3% of cases involving children five years and below reporting at the University Hospital, Legon during the period of the study. Generally, greater number of cases (DRD) were reported among males (6.9%) than among females (5.6%). High counts above recommended levels of either Total Heterotrophic Bacteria, Pseudomonas or Total Coliforms were observed in 88% of the water samples tested. Inadequate cleaning of water bottles and in some instances the use of inappropriate water bottles (reusing PET mineral water containers) contributed to the poor quality of the drinking water of the preschool children. A greater part of the contamination of the drinking water occurred at home and not at the schools. Parents therefore need to be targeted with water, sanitation and hygiene related health education