University of Cape Coast Journals
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STRIKING A BALANCE: AI, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND PRIVACY RIGHTS IN NIGERIA
Get PDFNigeria, like many other nations, is increasingly utilising artificial intelligence (AI) for national security purposes. While AI presents opportunities such as enhanced threat detection and cybercrime prevention, its use also raises concerns about individual privacy and potential misuse. This paper investigates the challenges Nigeria faces in balancing national security with privacy rights in deploying AI technologies. The research employs a doctrinal approach, analysing legal frameworks, government policies, and relevant academic literature, complemented by insights from structured interviews from reputable newspapers and credible publications featuring industry experts in national security and technology. It highlights the benefits and risks of AI in national security while offering recommendations for a national AI strategy tailored to Nigeria’s unique context. The proposed strategy emphasizes clear legal frameworks, robust oversight mechanisms, ethical guidelines for data use, and public education on AI and privacy rights. These measures aim to enable Nigeria to leverage AI for national security while safeguarding the rights of its citizens
REPRESENTATION OF TRAUMA IN TSITSI DANGAREMBGA’S THIS MOURNABLE BODY
Get PDFThis article examines the representation of African women in their gender relations in postcolonial Zimbabwe, focusing on their experiences, struggles, and challenges. It examines the oppressive and traumatic experiences of female characters in the Zimbabwean setting of Tsitsi Dangarembga’s This Mournable Body (2018). I choose Dangarembga’s This Mournable Body because it is a narrative text that somewhat captures the reality of trauma at the psychological and physical levels in women\u27s lives during the colonial and postcolonial eras. This article, therefore, is rooted in how traumatic encounters have permeated the narrative texture of the novel. It is this traumatic encounter in gender relations that constitutes women’s experiences in Zimbabwe. The argument is that trauma constitutes Dangarembga’s particular mode of self-apprehension and the representation of women\u27s lived realities in the novel. In evidence of this, the lives of female characters in This Mournable Body are often depicted as profoundly affected by trauma, which, however, leads them to make choices that enable them to thrive and lead meaningful lives both personally and socially. As such, this article examines how the primary text operates in accordance with the poetics of trauma theory, particularly drawing on Cathy Caruth’s framework. A key intention of the paper is to explain the traumatic contextualisation of the novel and to portray how the victims in gender relations constantly manage to negotiate their survival and existence through agency
Employment contracts renewal policy and academic talents in the University of Cape Coast: A critical discourse analysis
Get PDFThe paper evaluates the employment contract policy and how it regulates the employment of academic talents at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. A qualitative research approach, the paper employed the symbolic ethnographic methodology, and the critical discourse analytical tool was employed to analyse the qualitative text produced from two employment contract renewal letters. The analysis revealed that the practice is a problem being sustained by both the authorities of the university and the academics. The analysis further reveals some unfavourable HRM practices, with possible solutions identified and recommended, therefore activating the problem-identification and problem-solving powers of CDA. The study recommends that UCC amend its statutes to discontinue the policy, or a lump sum should be paid at the end of a contract term comparable to some fixed-term office holders in the country. The paper contributes valuable literature and has policy implications for the university authorities and the government on the management of the employment status of PhD-holding university lecturers
LAW, PEACE AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Get PDFAgainst the background of cataclysm to humans and lethality to property, rooted in wars and armed-conflicts, at national, regional and global levels and the truism that, without law and peace, no nation can, possibly, stabilise or prosper, this paper interrogates the interconnectivity and convergence of law and peace and their inevitability in ensuring sustainable socio-economic development. The paper finds that since no individual, institution, community, society, or nation can possibly be an island, interrelationships are inevitable because individuals, institutions, communities, societies, and nations are, naturally, duty-bound to interrelate and that this occasionally brews disputes arising from conflicting interests. The paper further finds that wars and conflicts interrupt economies, displace communities, and worsen poverty and inequality and that law is a potent instrument for attaining peace through the mechanism of conflict prevention (proactiveness) or resolution (reactiveness) as a way of ensuring sustainable socio-economic stability and prosperity. It recommends increased use of law, especially alternative dispute resolution models, for the purpose of ensuring national, regional, and global peace. Furthermore, while acknowledging that global and regional institutions are doing their best to ensure peace worldwide. It advocates that more efforts of these institutions are required to guarantee relative peace that is necessary for continuing national, regional, and global socio-economic stability and progress
AN EXPLORATION OF CULTURE SHIFT IN THE PORTRAYAL OF LADIES IN YORUBA NOLLYWOOD FILMS
Get PDFThe paper examines Yoruba Nollywood’s construction of moral decadence among Yoruba ladies in Nigeria as represented in Yoruba film-texts. Such decadence is borne out of the concept of culture shift through globalization. This is because these two concepts mean Western hyper-civilization to most modern Yoruba women. This reads post-feminist consciousness in some of the productions of Yoruba film industry. The study is qualitative in nature. Film-texts were selected based on gender and grossing consideration. It is motivated by the principle of Molara Ogundipe-Leslie’s Stiwanist Theory which advocates the inclusion of women in the social scheme of things. The study emphasizes Yoruba Nollywood for depth. In the selected film-texts, Agbere Olosa Meta, Alakada Part 1, and Iyawo Digboluja, women, in the bid to exercise their freedom, exhibit such ills as bickering, deceit, avarice, prostitution, fake life, women rising against women, and commercialization of the marital process. All these moral excesses suggest that modern Yoruba ladies need to undertake intra-gender introspection in order to attain the goal of feminist agitation currently undertaken by concerned gender freedom advocates in the Southwestern part of the country. This is necessary so as to discourage men from continuing to find faults in women’s quest to be heard in society. It is noted in the study that the ladies featured in these films exhibit non-traditional traits such as smart life and independence in their dealings with men. These are non-conformist conceptions which have been more pronounced among many Yoruba ladies in the age of globalization, but which the films lampoon. Such condemnation is targeted towards the revamping of traditional Yoruba ethical values and peaceful gender coexistence, especially in the Yoruba society as a Nigerian (African) society
Is emotional connectedness possible in Tourism? An examination of Residents\u27 Emotional Attitudes and Behaviour Towards Tourists.
Get PDFThis study examines the influence of residents\u27 emotions on their relationships with tourists, focusing on three core constructs: welcoming nature, emotional closeness, and sympathetic understanding. A quantitative research design was employed, drawing responses from 650 residents of the Kwahu Traditional Area. The Discrete Emotion Scales were utilised to assess various emotional states, with data collected through self-reported questionnaires and interview guides. Findings indicate a notably high level of emotional connectedness within the Emotional Solidarity Scale\u27s three-factor structure, with welcoming nature receiving the highest endorsement, followed by emotional closeness and sympathetic understanding. Among these, residents expressed the strongest emotional bond with tourists in the dimension of welcoming nature. The study underscores residents’ emotional attachment to tourists, particularly in their openness and receptiveness, which can significantly enhance efforts to attract and retain visitors. These insights offer valuable implications not only for destination management and branding strategies but also for helping tourists form realistic and informed perceptions of the destination
Socioeconomic Determinants of Entrepreneurship among Older Persons in Ghana
Get PDFDespite the substantial involvement of older persons in entrepreneurial activities in Ghana, limited scholarly attention has been directed towards understanding the motivations behind enterprise creation in later life. Much of the existing research on entrepreneurship in the country has focused on youth, leaving a gap in knowledge regarding the socioeconomic factors that influence entrepreneurial engagement among older adults. This study addresses that gap by examining the determinants of grey entrepreneurship using a probit regression model applied to data from the Seventh Round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey. The analysis reveals that both necessity-driven factors (gender [woman], limited access to pensions and remittances, and low educational attainment) and opportunity-driven factors (wealth, urban residence, and good health status) significantly shape entrepreneurial decisions in old age. Importantly, the study contributes to the evolving discourse on entrepreneurship by challenging the traditional binary classification of entrepreneurial motivation. The evidence suggests that older entrepreneurs in Ghana navigate a continuum of motivations, influenced by both personal agency and structural conditions. This complexity highlights the need for inclusive and context-sensitive policy interventions. Therefore, the study advocates for the establishment of a non-contributory pension scheme to safeguard the economic security of all older adults and calls for collaborative action among state agencies, credit institutions, and other stakeholders to provide a supportive and enabling environment for entrepreneurial activity among Ghana’s ageing population
Efficacy of the Porter’s generic strategies in achieving competitive advantage: The mediating roles of market ambidexterity and firm performance
Get PDFThis study examines the influence of Porter’s generic strategies on competitive advantage [CA] after controlling for the mediating roles of market ambidexterity [MA] and firm performance [FP] in an emergent developing country in West Africa. The study employed the explanatory research design and supported it with a quantitative research approach to measuring and analysing the primary data gathered through drop-and-pick questionnaire administration. Small and medium enterprises [SMEs] operating in the three major business hubs in Ghana were surveyed. SMEs were conveniently selected. 258 cases were used for data analysis. Reflective-formative structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses in SMART PLS 4.0. Differentiation strategy [DS] and focus strategy [FS] significantly predicted SMEs’ performance, but cost leadership strategy [CLS] failed. Thus, SMEs were ineffective in using CLS to improve their performance in the COVID-19 era. FP mediated the DS and CA relation. A similar result was the case of the FS-CA predictive relation. However, FP failed to mediate the CLS-CA predictive relation. SMEs should focus on implementing FS and DS if they are to improve their performance. SMES should pursue cost-cutting strategies to reduce the cost of operations COVID-19.
Effect of Employee Job Satisfaction on the Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Psychological Well-Being Among Health Workers in a Developing Economy: The Quantitative Approach
Get PDFThis study examined the effects of transformational and servant leadership styles on the employees’ psychological well-being as well as the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between transformational leadership and servant leadership styles and the psychological well-being of the employees. This quantitative and explanatory-based study employed the leader-member exchange theory. Structured questionnaire was employed to gather primary data from 155 out of over 300 health workers in a developing economy through the simple random sampling technique. The data was then processed with the IBM SPSS and Smart-PLS 4.0. Based on the PLS-SEM technique. The study found that transformational and servant leadership styles positively affected the psychological well-being of health workers in a developing economy. Also, job satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between transformational leadership style and the health workers’ psychological well-being. It was also found that job satisfaction significantly mediated the relationship between servant leadership style and employee well-being in the health sector of a developing economy. The study concluded that the presence of employee job satisfaction indirectly improves the relationship between leadership styles and psychological well-being in the health sector. It was recommended that the management of health facilities in developing economies should adopt and/or improve upon the transformational and servant leadership styles to attain employee satisfaction and thereby, strengthen their psychological well-being.
Inclusive Circularity: Empowering Local Communities Through Waste-Based Eco-Enterprises in Kano State, Nigeria
Get PDFThe shift toward a circular economy (CE) offers a significant opportunity to enhance environmental sustainability (ES) while promoting inclusive socioeconomic development (IED). This study investigates the role of waste-based eco-enterprises (WBEEs) as catalysts for environmental transformation (ET) and community development (CD) in Kano, Nigeria, one of West Africa’s largest and most industrialised urban centres. Employing the Inclusive Circularity (IC) framework, it examines how local entrepreneurs and informal waste workers engage in circular business models (CBMs) that transform waste into value-added products (VAPs). Using a qualitative methodology that combines case studies of three successful eco-enterprises with documentary analysis, the study identifies key enablers, challenges, and social impacts, emphasising the contributions of youth, women, and informal actors. It also assesses policy and financing barriers that limit sectoral growth. The findings suggest that with targeted interventions, such as regulatory recognition, capacity-building, and enhanced market access, WBEEs can effectively address urban waste challenges, reduce poverty, and drive grassroots innovation. The paper concludes by proposing a framework for scaling inclusive CE models in similar urban contexts