No one seems to understand why National Service Personnel turn down their postimng appointment. Most prefer serving in the region of their choice. This is perhaps, one of the reasons for such behaviours of national service personnel.
Last year in December, workers in various s institutions were given incentives/bonuses to take home for Christmas. As we know is the norm, service personnel are also entitled to the incentives.
Two of my nieces are service personnels with the National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) in the Akyim District of Eastern Region. One is Akim Oda and the other in East Akyim. The one from East Akyim brought home two bags(5kg) of rice plus thirty Ghana cedis.
The other in Birim South came with empty hands. What even astonished me was, I had to give her money for few items because the little money was used for transportation home.
I kept wondering and asking:
Are you both not in the same NHIS institution though different districts?
Are you all not service personnel?
Did you both not paid school fees while in school?
This is not fair should things continue this way. Could it possibly be that management in Birim South have diverted the money intended for the personnel into their individual projects?
I think it’s about time government sits up to monitor officials in positions entrusted to them by the state least things get out of hand.
Mrs Wilhelmina Oware
East Cantonment
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday, April 30, 2010
media reportage
I believe we've come a long way in politics. There are many determinants of development in a country. For us in Ghana we we boast of the fact that we are the first African country to attain independence. The world is running in terms of development while we sit here talk about politics all the time. We could plan on better ways to tap our resources and also make it a commodity for the other parts of the world. The world is now improving on the two forms of society, thus information and knowledge societies .It's about time our agenda changes to reflect the situation of the world
our churches of today
Many churches nowadays have been turned into business avenues.It seems like churches of today are only meant for the rich at the expense of the less privileged.The good Book tells us that God sent his son Jesus Christ to die for mankind and also save the perishing and unbelievers.
This is no more the case with my brethren in most churches.As the days go and Sunday draws nigh,the christian panics because he has to face another challenging day.He is left with the decision: to go church or not.This is because when he gets to church, he is afraid of being embarrassed in the glare of the congregation.It is about money matters and thus whether he has paid his tithe,appeal for fund,fund for special building project among others.
Another onus is about the fact that a minister starts a project and when he being transferred his successor abolishes this very project.Meanwhile, a fixed amount is allocated for the young and old,male or female, employed or unemployed,literate or illiterate to pay towards the project for a year.The following year, a there is a different amount to be paid by everybody irrespective of the age and sex.
Imagine an unemployed person being compelled to pay a particular amount let alone children,what will they do? What anyone of these would think about is either to resort to social vices like prostitution for the lady or robbery for the male just to save themselves the shame.
Is the church then helping to shape society or deform it?My question to such churches is that have they considered the fact that :Giving comes from the heart and as such must be done willingly or wholeheartedly?
This is no more the case with my brethren in most churches.As the days go and Sunday draws nigh,the christian panics because he has to face another challenging day.He is left with the decision: to go church or not.This is because when he gets to church, he is afraid of being embarrassed in the glare of the congregation.It is about money matters and thus whether he has paid his tithe,appeal for fund,fund for special building project among others.
Another onus is about the fact that a minister starts a project and when he being transferred his successor abolishes this very project.Meanwhile, a fixed amount is allocated for the young and old,male or female, employed or unemployed,literate or illiterate to pay towards the project for a year.The following year, a there is a different amount to be paid by everybody irrespective of the age and sex.
Imagine an unemployed person being compelled to pay a particular amount let alone children,what will they do? What anyone of these would think about is either to resort to social vices like prostitution for the lady or robbery for the male just to save themselves the shame.
Is the church then helping to shape society or deform it?My question to such churches is that have they considered the fact that :Giving comes from the heart and as such must be done willingly or wholeheartedly?
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY
According to Daniel Bell,the post industrial era refers to the knowledge society.He says a knowledge society become intimately related because technology is driven by theoretic as opposed to practical knowledge and shares of employment of GDP in the knowledge field become relatively large.t
Wikipedia.com
Broadly speaking, the term Knowledge Society refers to any society where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. It may also refer to the use a certain society gives to information. A Knowledge society "creates, shares and uses knowledge for the prosperity and well-being of its people".[1]
Source:http.//wikipedia.com
In Sally Burch’s book on Enjeux De Mots Abdul Waheed Khan (general sub-director of UNESCO for ¬Communication and Information) says“Information society is the building block for knowledge societies. Whereas I see the concept of ‘information society’ as linked to the idea of ‘technological innovation’, the concept of ‘knowledge societies’ includes a dimension of social, cultural, economical, political and institutional transformation, and a more pluralistic and developmental perspective. In my view, the concept of ‘knowledge societies’ is preferable to that of the ‘information society’ because it better captures the complexity and dynamism of the changes taking place. (...) the knowledge in question is important not only for economic growth but also for empowering and developing all sectors of society.
http://vecam.org/article517.html
Wikipedia.com
Broadly speaking, the term Knowledge Society refers to any society where knowledge is the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. It may also refer to the use a certain society gives to information. A Knowledge society "creates, shares and uses knowledge for the prosperity and well-being of its people".[1]
Source:http.//wikipedia.com
In Sally Burch’s book on Enjeux De Mots Abdul Waheed Khan (general sub-director of UNESCO for ¬Communication and Information) says“Information society is the building block for knowledge societies. Whereas I see the concept of ‘information society’ as linked to the idea of ‘technological innovation’, the concept of ‘knowledge societies’ includes a dimension of social, cultural, economical, political and institutional transformation, and a more pluralistic and developmental perspective. In my view, the concept of ‘knowledge societies’ is preferable to that of the ‘information society’ because it better captures the complexity and dynamism of the changes taking place. (...) the knowledge in question is important not only for economic growth but also for empowering and developing all sectors of society.
http://vecam.org/article517.html
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
INFORMATIOIN SOCIETY
Give three definitions of information society
1) Bell Peter Otto and Philipp Sonntag (1985) define an information society as a society where the majority of employees work in information jobs, i.e. they have to deal more with information, signals, symbols, and images than with energy and matter
2) According to Fritz Machlup an information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity. The knowledge economy is its economic counterpart whereby wealth is created through the economic exploitation of understanding. People that have the means to partake in this form of society are sometimes called digital citizens.
3)
the geography dictionary 1992,1997 and 2004 says an information society is a term put forward by Castells (1993 1-2) to describe a society built on technologies of information storage, retrieval, and transmission, time-space compression, post-Fordism, flexible accumulation, and the advance of finance capital, which is characterized by networking, globalization, and the flexibility, individuality, and instability of work. Castells holds that such a society induces poverty, spurs ‘greed, innovation, and hope, while simultaneously imposing hardship, and installing despair’, while Donert (Geography 85), noting that ‘no place on earth is immune to the new information society’, calls for a legislative framework to recognize and protect the users of cyberspace, and a body responsible for financial issues, especially for taxation.
1) Bell Peter Otto and Philipp Sonntag (1985) define an information society as a society where the majority of employees work in information jobs, i.e. they have to deal more with information, signals, symbols, and images than with energy and matter
2) According to Fritz Machlup an information society is a society in which the creation, distribution, diffusion, use, integration and manipulation of information is a significant economic, political, and cultural activity. The knowledge economy is its economic counterpart whereby wealth is created through the economic exploitation of understanding. People that have the means to partake in this form of society are sometimes called digital citizens.
3)
the geography dictionary 1992,1997 and 2004 says an information society is a term put forward by Castells (1993 1-2) to describe a society built on technologies of information storage, retrieval, and transmission, time-space compression, post-Fordism, flexible accumulation, and the advance of finance capital, which is characterized by networking, globalization, and the flexibility, individuality, and instability of work. Castells holds that such a society induces poverty, spurs ‘greed, innovation, and hope, while simultaneously imposing hardship, and installing despair’, while Donert (Geography 85), noting that ‘no place on earth is immune to the new information society’, calls for a legislative framework to recognize and protect the users of cyberspace, and a body responsible for financial issues, especially for taxation.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The libertarian and social responsibility theories
The Social Responsibility Theory (SRT) and Libertarian theory are the two theories which thrive well in A democratic society. These two theories are the foundation of which the media operates in the light of democracy. The Hutchins commission of 1947 brought into being the principles of freedom with a sense of social responsibility. The SRT is an outgrowth of the Libertarian theory since the Libertarian found many lapses in its operation. Social Responsibility therefore is an ethical or ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, cooperation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society. Libertarian theory
The Libertarian theory asserts that man is unique as compared to other creatures since he is endowed with the ability to rationalize and learn and to discover the truth. The theory has many similarities and differs from that of the SRT.
Firstly the Libertarian theory ensures that the media operates well in a democratic system where there is absolute freedom for all. This freedom gives all the ability to access information. According to John Locke, any government which tries in its effort to deny citizens of these right faces the challenge of being voted out of power. This gives the reason that power is in the hands of the people. This very freedom leads to the (free market of ideas).
Another assumption of the Libertarian theory is that there should be free market of ideas. As a tool for democracy it is in the correct sense to allow citizens to air their views on the state of the nation. Currently as than in Ghana this right is vested in the citizens to have a say in the administration of the country through the use of the media. This helps the government and the media as well to know their short falls and adjust measures to suit the society in that democracy is about being for the people, by the people and of the people as you find by Abraham Lincoln.
Libertarian theory hammers on the free marketplace of ideas since expert of this theory have the notion that “the government should exist solely to serve the people”. John Locke again proposed that since man is a rational being the power or the right should be given so he can think and give out his views; this led to the creation of public opinion which is an important characteristic of democracy. Also the free market place should pave way for a competing atmosphere where there will be many media where people can have access to information, exchange ideas and arrive at the truth. Should one medium operate, there will be no democracy let alone freedom. In the absent of competing press or media one will not be objective enough to bring out the truth. This breeds authoritarianism. J.S. Mill wrote “to suppress any idea, no matter how unlikely it may be would mean that one is potentially suppressing the truth”.
Social Responsibility Theorist believes that there is the need for the media to operate in a free and fair atmosphere but ought to do so alongside being accountable to society. The press must exist alright but it important for the press to perform their functions as well as roles.
Accountability in the SRT is done on a larger base while that of the Libertarian is on individual bases. The SRT advocates that the press should be responsible to the society for their publications and not take advantage of the freedom given to all for absolute freedom leads to anarchy. As Stuart Mill said “the freedom of individuals is constraint by the freedom of other individuals”.
Like the Libertarian theory, the SRT also thinks that man should have freedom. The freedom given to man should be positive and not negative. SRT thinks that the freedom should not be such that the business class in the society can influence editorial principles whereby objectivity will be undermined.
Though the SRT also believes in freedom for all, it cautions man to take responsibilities. It is not in favour of abolishing the censorship of the press. For the institution of regulations such as the censorship defines the boundaries within which the press ought to operate. Press laws have rather been enforced and seeks to check the activities of journalist to operate in a more ethical and professional way. As a result the National Media Commission exists in Ghana to ensure that journalists are objective in their reportage.
Unlike the Libertarian theory which believes in self-righting process, the SRT sees man as passive and lethargic and unwilling to use his reason. Rather SRT advocates that man chooses acceptance of what he has been told. The SRT critiques the Libertarian theory for the self-righting process on the basis that this theory operates well in places where freedom reigns and democracy thrives. Again the SRT thinks the theory is solely private, capitalist system of mass media, hence provides no assurance of moral obligation t the public it serves and rejects all ideas geared towards achieving this self-righting process.
Reference
www.wikipedia.com
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