Abuse of disabled children in Ghana

Even though disabled children are targets of various forms of abuse, such issues remain mostly undocumented open secrets in many countries including Ghana. The article is based on a qualitative data provided by three key informants. Six stories emerged from the data and are discussed in terms of four main forms of abuse. Labelling theories are employed to strengthen the discussions. The article is aimed at increasing awareness on the various forms of abuse experienced by disabled children in Ghana. The study is also meant to capture the attentions of stakeholders that have the responsibility to end abusive practices against disabled children in Ghana.     

Begging as work: a study of people with mobility difficulties in Accra, Ghana

Even though begging is illegal in Ghana, an increasing number of disabled people engage in it. Begging is not only abhorred by the law, but also regarded by many Ghanaians as stigmatizing and devaluing. Successive governments of the country and some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have made efforts either to reduce or eliminate begging. The attempts made have, however, been unsuccessful and the disabled beggars involved have returned to the streets of Accra. The question is why is it difficult to reduce begging in the research area. While poverty, mobility needs, lack of education and employable skills and employment avenues are factors that explain the decision to start begging, it also seems that the ways in which beggars justify their activities contribute to its perseverance. The study aims at sensitizing policy-makers and other stakeholders in attempts to find empowering alternatives to begging.     

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of two scales of work–family conflict among Ghanaian employees

This study examines the psychometric properties of Carlson, Kacmar, and Williams’ (2000) multidimensional scale of work–family conflict and Matthews, Kath, and Barnes-Farrell’s (2010) abbreviated version of the instrument in Ghana. Five hundred and forty-one (541) employees selected from different organizations responded to structured questionnaires administered in English. Results from confirmatory factor analysis supported the six-dimensional factor structure of Carlson et al.’s (2000) measure. The instrument was found to have good internal consistency, adequate convergent validity and discriminant validity, as well as invariance of factor structure across gender. The results also supported the two-dimensional factor structure of Matthews et al.’s (2010) abbreviated version of the work–family conflict scale. The dimensions of work–family conflict on the abbreviated measure correlated strongly with respective dimensions of the original multidimensional version. Latent mean comparisons suggested that men reported more work–family conflict than women on both measures. The study demonstrates the applicability of both the six-dimensional work–family conflict scale and the abbreviated work–family conflict measure for research in Ghana.     

Life at Trastad Gård: on the experiences of the former inmates of a large institution for people with learning difficulties in northern Norway

In Norway, institutionalised care for people with learning disabilities ended in the 1990s. The aim of this article is to discuss the living conditions at Trastad Gård as described by some of its former inmates. The biographical approach was adopted to capture and discuss the experiences of six former inmates at the institution. Four main but interconnected issues evolving from the stories of our informants were discussed. These include their experiences on coming to the institution, feelings of homesickness, loneliness and lessons of everyday life. The findings were primarily discussed with reference to theoretical perspectives of power and power relations.