Generacijska perspektiva digitalne pismenosti u Gani u 21. stoljeću: već zaostali?

This paper investigates the nexus between generations and digital literacy. For the study, simple random sampling was undertaken in selecting 361 respondents, while ten participants were selected through purposive sampling. The authors made use of mixed methods, including the intervju survey method. The data were subjected to bivariate, correlation and thematic analysis. Concerning theresults, younger people turn out to be comparatively more digitally active and more digitally skilled than older people, which is indicative of the fact that there is a generational gap between the two distinct generations in terms of being in a technologically savvy position. This was influenced significantly by the era in which they were born, as each generation comes with its own technological innovations, the phenomena of socialization and social interaction with self-organization as the focus. It is concluded that digital literacy, expositions and exploits are significant in relation to how they shape generational interactions, including the adaptation to digital device utilization in later life.Rad istražuje vezu između različitih generacija i digitalne pismenosti. Za potrebe istraživanja jednostavnim slučajnim uzorkovanjem odabran je 361 ispitanik, dok je 10 ispitanika odabrano namjernim uzorkovanjem. Autori su koristili mješovite metode, uključujući i metodu ankete. Podaci su podvrgnuti bivarijatnim, korelacijskim i tematskim analizama. Rezultati pokazuju da su mlađe osobe digitalno aktivnije i digitalno vještije u usporedbi sa starijima, što ukazuje na postojanje digitalnog jaza između dvije distinktivne generacije kada je riječ o tehnološkim sposobnostima. Na to značajno utječe razdoblje kada su ispitanici rođeni, s obzirom na to da se svaka generacija susreće sa specifičnim tehnološkim inovacijama, socijalizacijskim obrascima i obrascima samoorganizirajuće socijalne interakcije. Zaključuje se da su digitalno opismenjavanje i prakticiranje digitalne pismenosti značajni za oblikovanje generacijskih interakcija, uključujući i prilagodbu na korištenje digitalnih uređaja u starijoj dobi

Community perceptions of a malaria vaccine in the Kintampo districts of Ghana.

BACKGROUND: Malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa despite tools currently available for its control. Making malaria vaccine available for routine use will be a major hallmark, but its acceptance by community members and health professionals within the health system could pose considerable challenge as has been found with the introduction of polio vaccinations in parts of West Africa. Some of these challenges may not be expected since decisions people make are many a time driven by a complex myriad of perceptions. This paper reports knowledge and perceptions of community members in the Kintampo area of Ghana where malaria vaccine trials have been ongoing as part of the drive for the first-ever licensed malaria vaccine in the near future. METHODS: Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the data collection processes. Women and men whose children were or were not involved in the malaria vaccine trial were invited to participate in focus group discussions (FGDs). Respondents, made up of heads of religious groupings in the study area, health care providers, traditional healers and traditional birth attendants, were also invited to participate in in-depth interviews (IDIs). A cross-sectional survey was conducted in communities where the malaria vaccine trial (Mal 047RTS,S) was carried out. In total, 12 FGDs, 15 IDIs and 466 household head interviews were conducted. RESULTS: Knowledge about vaccines was widespread among participants. Respondents would like their children to be vaccinated against all childhood illnesses including malaria. Knowledge of the long existing routine vaccines was relatively high among respondents compared to hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B vaccines that were introduced more recently in 2002. There was no clear religious belief or sociocultural practice that will serve as a possible barrier to the acceptance of a malaria vaccine. CONCLUSION: With the assumption that a malaria vaccine will be as efficacious as other EPI vaccines, community members in Central Ghana will accept and prefer malaria vaccine to malaria drugs as a malaria control tool. Beliefs and cultural practices as barriers to the acceptance of malaria vaccine were virtually unknown in the communities surveyed

Exploratory study of the current status of the rights and welfare of Ghanaian women: taking stock and mapping gaps for new actions

This paper assesses the progress Ghanaian women have made in terms of rights and welfare in the last three decades or more when democratic politics was introduced in the country. It examines the legislative and policy environment that exist to combat all forms of discrimination against women and assesses women‟s rights and welfare on a number of indicators: women's rights to life, marriage, participation and representation in politics, access to justice, right to education, reproductive health, and sustainable development. The study revealed that there is a robust legislative and policy environment for pursuing women's issue in Ghana. There are constitutional and legal provisions and state institutions as well as a number of NGOs acting as duty bearers to combat all forms of discrimination against women. However, the evidence from these indicators, suggests that there is a gap between the legal and policy environment on the one hand and the rights and welfare of women on the other hand. Women in Ghana are still threatened by early and forced marriages, deficit in political participation, limited access to health services, and harmful traditional norms and cultural practices. We conclude that duty bearers such as the policymakers and other stakeholders need to scale-up their activities and programmes that advance the rights and social well-being of Ghanaian women.Keywords: Women, Ghana, women's right, women's welfar

Has the Internet Reduced Friendship? Scientific Relationships in Ghana, Kenya, and India, 1994-2010

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. Has the Internet changed the pattern of social relations? More specifically, have social relations undergone any systematic change during the recent widespread diffusion of new communications technology? This question is addressed using a unique longitudinal survey that bookends the entire period of Internet diffusion in two African nations and one Indian state. We analyze data on nine professional linkages reported by a population of agricultural and environmental scientists in Kenya, Ghana, and Kerala over a sixteen-year period (1994-2010). Factor analysis reveals two clusters of relationships, one interpretable as traditional scientific exchange, the other indicating mediated forms of collaboration. While collaboration increases in frequency, friendship declines. We interpret this shift as a consequence of communications technology that facilitates formal projects, reducing the affective dimension of professional association

Mobile phones andcore network growth in Kenya: Strengthening weak ties

In contrast to recent US studies showing a decrease in core network size, our Kenyan data reveals substantial network growth. We attribute this to the diffusion of mobile telephones. Results from pooled survey data from Nairobi professionals and entrepreneurs in 2002 and 2007 as well as qualitative interviews from 2007 to 2009 show virtual saturation in the diffusion of phones during this period, but no direct effect of technology use. What explains this puzzle is a network effect of mobile telephony: increased technological access to existing networks in a context of resource scarcity leads to a strengthening of weak ties and the enhancement of core networks among Kenyans. Video ethnographic data before and after the 2007 post-election unrest supports this interpretation, showing that mobile phones are a crucial resource in managing interpersonal networks for instrumental purposes. © 2010 Elsevier Inc

Has the Internet Reduced Friendship? Scientific Relationships in Ghana, Kenya, and India, 1994-2010

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. Has the Internet changed the pattern of social relations? More specifically, have social relations undergone any systematic change during the recent widespread diffusion of new communications technology? This question is addressed using a unique longitudinal survey that bookends the entire period of Internet diffusion in two African nations and one Indian state. We analyze data on nine professional linkages reported by a population of agricultural and environmental scientists in Kenya, Ghana, and Kerala over a sixteen-year period (1994-2010). Factor analysis reveals two clusters of relationships, one interpretable as traditional scientific exchange, the other indicating mediated forms of collaboration. While collaboration increases in frequency, friendship declines. We interpret this shift as a consequence of communications technology that facilitates formal projects, reducing the affective dimension of professional association

Access to ICT and Research Output of Agriculture Researchers in Kenya

© 2016, © 2016 SAGE Publications. Agricultural researchers work at universities and research institutes. This paper examines how institutional context has affected Kenyan agricultural scientists’ professional lives along several dimensions: Access and use of emerging ICT technologies, professional activities, and scholarly output. It draws upon a unique longitudinal data set in which scientists were interviewed in 2001, 2005, and 2010. The data allow us to follow changes in technology adoption, professional activities, and publications over this critical period of Internet expansion. We found diminishing institutional differences with ICT expansion