DSpace Community: This Community features research findings from postgraduate students. These findings are submitted as theses or dissertationsThis Community features research findings from postgraduate students. These findings are submitted as theses or dissertationshttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/52026-06-03T20:00:42Z2026-06-03T20:00:42ZCIVIC CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN GHANA: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENTABDUL-RAZAK, I.http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/46452026-05-21T11:14:30Z2025-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: CIVIC CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN GHANA: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Authors: ABDUL-RAZAK, I.
Abstract: Ghana's three decades of competitive democracy present a paradox where high political participation coexists with persistent developmental failures. More than half the population remains in or near poverty despite peaceful electoral transitions. This study investigated the relationship between political communication practices and citizens' civic cultural competence in Ghana. Using Tamale Metropolitan Area as the primary data collection site, the research examined why democratic participation fails to generate accountability in human development outcomes. These outcomes include infrastructure provision, service delivery, poverty reduction, and equitable resource distribution. The research employed an integrated conceptual framework combining Political Communication Culture Theory, civic cultural competence dimensions (knowledge, awareness, understanding, and resistance), and Sen's human development approach. Qualitative methods included 4 focus group discussions (6-8 participants each), 16 in-depth interviews with citizens (45-60 minutes), and 10 key
informant interviews with media personnel and political actors (60-90 minutes). The findings reveal a sophistication-constraint paradox. Political elites employ sophisticated communication tactics—emotional appeals, symbolic gestures, recycled promises, and strategic ambiguity—to mobilize votes without delivering tangible development. Hierarchical digital networks and partisan media amplify these tactics. Citizens demonstrate remarkably high civic cultural competence across knowledge, awareness, and understanding dimensions. They accurately identify manipulation patterns and comprehend underlying political motives. However, structural barriers prevent citizens from translating sophisticated individual message-decoding capacity into collective resistance and counter-messaging. These barriers include fragmented organizing infrastructure, partisan divisions, meeting access constraints, patronage targeting potential organizers, and captured media. The study makes three interconnected contributions. Theoretically, it develops the civic cultural
competence framework and introduces the K-A-U-R (Knowledge-Awareness-Understanding Resistance) analytical model for assessing democratic citizenship. Empirically, it provides first systematic evidence of the sophistication-constraint paradox in Ghanaian democracy, demonstrating that institutional barriers—not citizen ignorance—cause the democracy-development disconnect. Practically, it recommends structural reforms including campaign finance regulation, cross-partisan coalition-building, independent media support, and alternative communication platforms that enable sustained citizen counter-messaging to impose accountability costs on political elites.
Description: MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN SOCIAL CHANGE COMMUNICATION2025-01-01T00:00:00ZINFLUENCE OF “ACCESSION” TYPE AND CONSEQUENT “TOPPING” ON PRODUCTIVITY AND PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) FRUIT IN A GHANAIAN OXISOLMOHAMMED, K.http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/46322026-05-07T14:22:56Z2025-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: INFLUENCE OF “ACCESSION” TYPE AND CONSEQUENT “TOPPING” ON PRODUCTIVITY AND PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF OKRA (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) FRUIT IN A GHANAIAN OXISOL
Authors: MOHAMMED, K.
Abstract: Studies on the influence of “accession” type and consequent “topping” on productivity and
proximate composition of okra was conducted at the orchard and Spanish Laboratory Complex,
University for Development Studies (UDS), Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Sciences,
Department of Horticulture, Tamale, Ghana. There is a significant knowledge gap regarding the
impact of “topping” on the proximate composition of okra fruits. Lack of standardized “topping”
practice among farmers, coupled with limited data on proximate composition hinders the
optimization of okra productivity, hence the study. The study was a two-factor experiment in a
Randomized Complete Block Design with five replications. The two factors considered were
“accession” type {“Choochoo (C)”; “Jengbunjira” (J); “Maanpielli” (M); “Sheinmana” (S); and
“Wuunmana” (W)} and “topping” stages {control, no “topping” (T0); “topping” at apical flower
bud emergence (Ta); “topping” at one week after apical flower bud emergence (T1); and “topping”
at two weeks after apical flower bud emergence (T2)}. These two factors were combined to make
twenty treatment combinations {“Choochoo” not “topped” (CT0), “Choochoo” “topped” at apical
flower bud emergence (CTa), “Choochoo” “topped” at one week after apical flower bud
emergence (CT1), “Choochoo” “topped” at two weeks after apical flower bud emergence (CT2),
“Jangbunjira” not “topped” (JT0), “Jangbunjira” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence (JTa),
“Jangbunjira” “topped” at one week after apical flower bud emergence (JT1), “Jangbunjira”
“topped” at two weeks after apical flower bud emergence (JT2), “Maanpielli” not “topped” (MT0),
“Maanpielli” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence (MTa), “Maanpielli” “topped” at one week
after apical flower bud emergence (MT1), “Maanpielli” “topped” at two weeks after apical flower
bud emergence (MT2), “Sheinmana” not “topped” (ST0), “Sheinmana” “topped” at apical flower
bud emergence (STa), “Sheinmana” “topped” at one week after apical flower bud emergence (ST1), “Sheinmana” “topped” at two weeks after apical flower bud emergence (ST2),
“Wuunmana” not “topped” (WT0), “Wuunmana” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence (WTa),
“Wuunmana” “topped” at one week after apical flower bud emergence (WT1), “Wuunmana”
“topped” at two weeks after apical flower bud emergence (WT2)}. Five healthy plants per
treatment were randomly selected and tagged for the study. Choochoo” plants with “topping” at
apical flower bud emergence (CTa) recorded a significantly higher number of flower buds and
number of flowers. “Choochoo” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence (CTa) plants recorded
the highest fresh fruit weight (414.7 g) produced per plant. Fresh fruit girth recorded significant
interaction effects, where JTa plants recorded significantly higher fruit girth (36.47 mm).
“Sheinmana” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence (STa) plants recorded the highest fruit
length (9.12 cm) per plant. There were no interaction effects among the treatment combinations
for the percentage moisture content of okra but “Choochoo” “topped” at apical flower bud
emergence (CTa) plants recorded the highest (71.88 %) percentage moisture content, the highest
percentage crude fat content (0.88 %), and the highest (70.6 %) percentage carbohydrate content.
“Jangbunjira” not “topped” (JT0) plants recorded significantly higher percentage dry matter
content (26.42 %). The highest (25.93 %) percentage crude protein was recorded by “Maanpielli”
“topped” at apical flower bud emergence (MTa), and the highest (9.364 %) percentage crude ash
content by “Wuunmana” “topped” at two weeks after apical flower bud emergence (WT2).
“Choochoo” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence (CTa) was highly recommended for
optimizing productivity with particular reference to the number of fruits and fruit weight critical
to the fresh market. For processing goals, “Jangbunjira” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence
(JTa) was recommended for optimum fruit girth, and “Sheinmana” “topped” at apical flower bud
emergence (STa) for optimizing fruit length. For the determination of proximate composition,“Choochoo” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence (CTa) was prioritised for bulk consumption
and enhanced digestion due to its high moisture, fat, and carbohydrate levels. “Jangbunjira” not
topped, “Maanpielli” “topped” at apical flower bud emergence (MTa), “Choochoo” “topped” at
two weeks after apical flower bud emergence (CT2), and “Wuunmana” “topped” at two weeks
after apical flower bud emergence (WT2) enhanced: optimum dry matter content, protein content,
and ash content respectively. The study found “topping” at apical flower bud emergence (Ta) a
worthy technical agronomic practice for improved productivity and proximate composition in each
case of the five “accessions” evaluated.
Description: REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN HORTICULTURE2025-01-01T00:00:00ZMODELLING THE EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION DEPTHS AND DRAINAGE SYSTEMS ON RICE PERFORMANCE IN THE GUINEA SAVANNAH AGRO ECOLOGICAL ZONE OF GHANASESAY, M. Jhttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/46312026-05-07T14:21:00Z2026-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: MODELLING THE EFFECTS OF IRRIGATION DEPTHS AND DRAINAGE SYSTEMS ON RICE PERFORMANCE IN THE GUINEA SAVANNAH AGRO ECOLOGICAL ZONE OF GHANA
Authors: SESAY, M. J
Abstract: The study modelled the effects of irrigation depths and drainage systems on the performance of
rice in the Guinea Savannah agro-ecological zone of Ghana. The study specifically evaluated the
effect of different irrigation application depths and drainage systems on growth and yield of rice,
assessed the effects of irrigation application depths and drainage systems on changes in soil
electrical conductivity, soil temperature and nitrogen balance in irrigated ecology, estimated Crop
Water Stress Index (CWSI) for rice culture in an irrigated ecology and modelled the effects of
irrigation application depths and drainage systems on LAI and yield of rice. The irrigation
application depths were continuous flooding at 5 cm, 10 cm and 15 cm and alternate wetting and
drying (AWD) at – 5 cm, - 10 cm and – 15 cm while the drainage systems were no drainage as
control, surface drainage and sub-surface drainage systems. Micro plots with concrete blocks were
constructed measuring 1 m × 1 m × 1 m and laid in a Randomized Complete Block Design in a 6
× 3 factorial treatment arrangement replicated three (3) times in 2023 and 2024 growing seasons.
Soil electrical conductivity (EC) was used to determine the salinity index of the soil. Monitoring
of temperature within the root zone of the crop was done throughout the crop growth cycle
depicting each of the six stages in the paddy rice. To compute the baselines, the air temperature,
leaf canopy temperature and the vapour pressure deficit (VPD) were used. Results indicated that
sub-surface drainage with 5 cm irrigation depth produced the tallest plants (80 – 94 cm), high LAI
(2.39 – 3.89), high leaf chlorophyll content (16.24 – 19.93 CCI) and a high yield (6.77 – 9.55 t/ha).
No drainage under AWD 15 recorded the shortest plant (65 – 79 cm), lower LAI (0.85 – 2.16),
lower Leaf Chlorophyll Content (LCC) (5.37 – 9.50) and lower yield (0.41 – 1.27 t/ha) in both
seasons. The salinity level of the soil was high (347.8 µS/cm) in treatments with no drainage and
low (186 µS/cm) in sub-surface drainage. Soil temperature results indicated that surface drainage
under AWD 15 recorded the highest (37 – 43 oC) while the lowest (20 – 26 0C) was recorded in
treatments with no drainage under continuous flooding. AWD with sub-surface drainage resulted
in higher nitrogen content (0.064 – 0.095 %) while the lowest was recorded in continuous flooding
with no drainage (0.038 %) and continuous flooding with surface drainage (0.031 %). Results
indicated that CWSI was lower (0.075) in CF 5-10 in 2023 and 0.143 in 2024 due to temperature
differences while the highest CWSI (0.831 and 0.857) were recorded in AWD – 15. In 2023, CWSI
gave a regression model of y = - 0.1191x + 0.7587 and a coefficient of determination (R2) value
of 0.987 while in 2024, a regression model of y = - 0.0969x + 0.8673 where (x) represents the
irrigation application depths. Observed simulation showed more accurate results for CF 5 with no
drainage (d-stat = 0.92 and R2 = 0.93). The regression analysis of the yield produced a regression
equation y = - 0.242x + 6182.2 with a coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.654. During the
evaluation, R2 for no-drainage condition ranged from 0.81 – 0.97, RMSE ranged from 0.11 – 1.72
and D-index ranged from 0.31 – 0.98. The continuous flooding at irrigation water depth of 5 cm
(CF 5) gave the highest Willmot’s d-index of agreement of 0.98 while the lowest d-index was
recorded on treatment AWD -15. In conclusion, sub-surface drainage system under 5 cm irrigation
depth proved to be more efficient in terms improving the growth and yield parameters of rice while
at the same time conserving water. The values derived for CWSI in this study can be used to
understand the stress dynamics of rice in various stages of growth under different irrigation depths
and drainage systems. The performance of rice can be increased greatly by adopting irrigation
application depth of 5 cm with drainage management being put in place. CWSI estimation offers
a practical tool for drought mitigation and irrigation scheduling in both irrigated and rainfed rice
systems.
Description: REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE ENGINEERING2026-01-01T00:00:00ZEFFECTS OF SEED SOURCE, VARIETY, PACKAGING MATERIALS, STORAGE CONDITIONS AND STORAGE DURATION ON VIABILITY AND PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF CERTIFIED SOYBEAN SEEDS FROM THREE REGIONS IN NORTHERN GHANADOGOR, M. M. K.http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/46302026-05-07T14:19:19Z2026-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: EFFECTS OF SEED SOURCE, VARIETY, PACKAGING MATERIALS, STORAGE CONDITIONS AND STORAGE DURATION ON VIABILITY AND PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF CERTIFIED SOYBEAN SEEDS FROM THREE REGIONS IN NORTHERN GHANA
Authors: DOGOR, M. M. K.
Abstract: In Ghana, soybean is largely cultivated in the northern sector accounting for about 90%
of the soybean produced in the country. Despite the crop's high potential to improve
food and economic security, there is very little or insignificant growth in the rate of
production of soybean in Ghana. Major factors contributing to the low level of
production include poor seed quality and poor storage conditions. To date, there is
limited information on the effect of long-term storage of soybean seed on quality,
especially regarding seed viability and seedling vigour. This study was conducted to
assess the effects of seed source, variety, packaging materials, storage room
temperatures and storage durations on three popular certified soybean seed varieties.
Three experiments were conducted from April, 2022 to December, 2023. Experiment
1 was a 4 x 3 x 2 factorial arranged in split-split plot design with three replications. The
four sources of the seeds were three certified seed companies including Antika (Upper
West Region), Heritage (Northern Region), Integrated Water and Agricultural
Development (IWAD) (Upper East Region) and the Savana Agricultural Research
Institute (Foundation seed) which served as a check. The three varieties evaluated were
‘Afayak’, ‘Favour’, and ‘Jenguma’ and the qualities of these seeds were measured at
sampling (zero), and at five (5) and ten (10) months after storage under ambient
temperature (zinc roofed room). Experiment 2 was a 5 x 3 factorial arranged in split
plot design with three replications. The treatments were five storage conditions (cold
room, air-conditioned room, warehouse, thatch house and zinc roofed room) and three
storage durations (0, 5 and 10 months) after storage. For experiment 3, the treatments
were three varieties (‘Afayak’, ‘Favour’, “Jenguma”), seven packaging materials
(Ghana Seed Inspection Division (GSID) branded polypropylene bag, GSID Plastic
bag, paper bag, jute bag, jute bags lined with plastic, polypropylene bag and polypropylene bag lined with plastic) and three storage durations (0, 5 and 10 months)
arranged in a split split plot design with three replications were used to evaluate
treatments. In experiment one, ‘Jenguma’ in the control stored for 10 months
maintained the highest number of normal seeds. Similarly, ‘Jenguma’ seed collected
from UWR had the highest fat content, while that from UER had the highest ash content
at end of the 10 months storage period. ‘Favour’ seeds obtained from UWR and stored
for 10 months had the highest germination perectage and protein content. ‘Afayak’ seed
sourced from UWR and stored for 10 months exhibited significant increase in the dry
matter content, whereas, ‘Jenguma’ seeds from UER showed the highest moisture loss
at the end of the 10 month storage period. Principal component analysis shows a strong
positive correlation between moisture, protein, normal seeds and germination percent
with strong correlation for germination and moisture percentages for seeds obtained
from Upper East Region. Although Seed germination deteriorated with storage duration
across all sources and varieties, the ‘Favour’ variety exhibited the highest germination
percentage irrespective of the sources. Seeds from Upper West Region exhibited best
performance in germination for all three varieties after ten months storage. For
experiment two, there was a positive correlation between germination and normal seeds
(r = 0.669). Cold room, thatch roofed rooms and commercial warehouses significantly
preserved seed viability. ‘Favour’ seeds stored in GICS bag for 10 months had the
highest normal seeds and germination percent. ‘Jenguma’ seeds stored in (PP) bags for
10 months showed the least decline in fat content. Germination % positively correlated
with protein and normal seeds across all soybean varieties. Germination % showed a
positive correlation with carbohydrate for the ‘Favour’ variety. For ‘Afayak’ and
‘Jenguma’, germination % was positively correlated with fat and moisture contents. For
experiment three, hermetic storage and paper bags proved more effective in maintaining seed viability and vigour compared to other conventional packaging options. The
research has therefore demonstrated that, to maintain the viability of certified soybean
seeds for longer period, the ‘Favour’ seed variety should be packaged in GICS
(hermetic) or paper bags and stored in cold rooms, commercialized seed warehouses or
thatch roofed rooms, depending on the availability of these facilities in the soybean
growing areas in Ghana. This study suggests that breeders should pay more attention to
the fat, carbohydrate and ash traits in breeding for high seed viability and seedling
vigour for soybean.
Description: REQUIRMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHYLOSOPHY IN HORTICULTURE2026-01-01T00:00:00Z