THE ascertainment of contemporary customary law in Africa poses formidable problems to the jurist who refuses to be contained by the orthodox "authorities." There is indeed no lack of textbook assertions or judicial pronouncements on the content of customary law. However, in a country like Ghana where changing social and economic forces have progressively eroded the traditional social mechanism, even the most "authoritative" formulation of customary doctrine by the courts still leaves one yearning for what Cohen calls the "hard coin of social fact in place of paper legalities."' The very nature of customary law makes reference to contemporary practice and usage in society an integral part of the legal process. Customary law defies the Kelsenite dichotomy between the realm of "ought" and the domain of "is." There can be no retreat to a remote and unsullied haven of logically coherent juristic norms, and certainly the framers of the Ghanaian Constitution had no such illusion when they defined the corpus of the customary law as comprising "rules of law which by custom are applicable to particular communities in Ghana." 2 This definition postulates an empirical reference for the content of the law, reaffirming the truism that customary law is grounded on the customs actually prevailing in the community. Yet a study of the decisions of Ghanaian courts discloses a disconcerting conflict between judicial enunciation of customary doctrine and contemporary practice in the social process. This conflict is hardly surprising. In Ghana, the reception of English common law meant the adoption of English legal traditions and attitudes. For some ninety years, 3 the customary law has been administered in the upper levels of the judicial hierarchy by British or British trained judges, whose jurisprudential "take-off" is analytical positivism, 4 and tLecturer in Law, University of Ghana; Sterling Fellow, Yale Law School. The author gratefully acknowledges the encouragement and assistance of Professor Elias Clark of the Yale Law School, and Mr. Justice N. A. Ollennu of the Supreme Court of Ghana. 27. The more land a Chief gave away to others in olden times "to look after for him" or "to eat upon," the greater became the number and wealth of his subjects, All this wealth. .. the head stool rightly regarded as eventually accruing to it.
This study examined the extent to which dimensions of social connectedness and perceived social support have distinct associations with the physical and mental health of older adults. This study utilized data from the Utah Fertility, Longevity, and Aging (FLAG) study. Participants included 259 older adults, aged 60 or older (mean age: 67.75 ± 4.8). Connectedness (networks and satisfaction with networks) was measured with the Duke Social Support Index. Social support (affective, confidant, instrumental) was measured with the Duke–UNC Functional Support Scale. Physical and mental health were measured with the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The results showed significant differences in the mean physical and mental health scores between participants with high scores on satisfaction with networks, affective, confidant, and instrumental support, and those with low scores on these dimensions. After controlling for covariates, affective support significantly predicted physical health, while satisfaction with networks, and affective and instrumental support significantly predicted mental health. The findings suggest that social support may be relatively more important to the health and wellbeing of older adults than social connectedness. This underscores the relative importance older adults attach to the quality rather than quantity of social ties.
Background and Aim The COVID‐19 booster dose has been cited as an important supplement for the control of the COVID‐19 pandemic due to reports of waning immunity among fully vaccinated persons. Determining factors that would affect its acceptability is necessary for initiating successful vaccination programs. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the factors associated with the acceptability of the COVID‐19 booster dose in Ghana. Methods We conducted an online cross‐sectional survey among the public. A self‐administered questionnaire was used to collect information on demographic characteristics, willingness to vaccinate, perceptions toward COVID‐19 vaccines, and trust in the government. Participants provided reasons and sources of advice that may affect their willingness to accept a booster dose. Using IBM SPSS and R Statistic; descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analyses were performed. Results Out of 812 respondents, 375 (46.2%) intended to accept the booster dose. Individuals who were males (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07−2.48), had previously received other forms of vaccination twice (aOR 1.96, 95% CI 1.07−3.57) or in most years (aOR 2.51, 95% CI 1.38−4.57), tested positive for COVID‐19 (aOR 3.46, 95% CI 1.23−10.52), have high trust in government (aOR=1.77, 95% CI: 1.15‐2.74) and had positive perceptions regarding COVID‐19 vaccines (OR = 14.24, 95% CI: 9.28−22.44) were more likely to accept a booster dose. Experiencing side effects from the primer dose (aOR 0.12, 95% CI 0.08−0.18) was associated with reduced acceptance. Concerns about vaccine safety and efficacy were the common reasons impeding willingness, while advice from health professionals would be the most considered. Conclusion Low intention to accept the booster dose which is associated with a range of factors including the perception of vaccines and trust in the government, is a cause for concern. Thus, more effort would have to be taken through education and policy interventions to increase booster vaccine acceptability.
Within our own generation no less than 70 countries have attained political independence and joined the international community of nation states. Third World countries now command a preponderant majority in the United Nations and other world bodies, yet it is trite knowledge that the attainment of political independence and the proliferation of nation states in the Third World have had little impact on the world economic power structure. Access to the corridors of the United Nations and other international bodies has not necessarily assured effective participation in the shaping and restructuring of the world economic system. After the first flush of exhilaration over political independence, developing countries have now grasped the sobering fact that sovereignty is not synonymous with economic self-sufficiency or development and that the rich industrialized countries still substantially control the production and distribution of the world’s resources. An analysis of European direct investment in Africa shows that by the end of 1967 the former metropolitan powers still dominated investments in their former colonies. (The percentage of the total foreign investments in these African countries held by the former imperial powers is illustrated in table 1.)
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