The power of the Asantehene

The Ashanti people constitute one of the major tribes in Ghana. Sustainable Development is synergistic with political stability in Africa. Currently, Ghana is trying to bring a balance between traditional leadership which still exists as one of Africa’s richest and oldest monarchy and the modern democracy that has been successfully achieved after the turbulent political past.Most African communities held traditional posts before annexation by the European, but they discarded these roles after independence, adapting instead, the office of a state president. The presence of the Ashanti king also called the Asantehene, is of controversy because Ghana also holds democratic elections and elects a president who is expected to lead the country.The Ashanti king is the symbol of unity for the Ashanti tribes who are the most influential and populous in the country. Past governments have supported the role of the Ashanti king and have supported the revenues and royalties that are given t o him by the different clans. As such, the Ashanti king has remained economically powerful.This thesis will seek to determine the role and the political power of the Ashanti king in Ghana and his influence in the local and regional politics as opposed to the president. The thesis will also evaluate his significance to the Ashanti people and the power and allegiance the people pay to him.I will seek to demonstrate his position in the international community as compared to the elected presidents’ role.Theoretical discussionDuring the fifteenth century, the Europeans were competing for resources to fund their military expansions as well as to take meet the needs of their growing populations. Different empires from Europe explored to different regions including Africa and discovered the vast resources that the continent had to offer. Their interests changed from those of merely exploring the regions to wealth acquisition (Jackson, 154).West Africa had their initial contact with t he Portuguese in 1470 when the first group landed on the shores of the gold coast forming a trading post for the regions timber, gold and ivory and then converting it to the more profitable slave trade.The region became a hot spot with various countries clamoring to secure the unexploited resources for themselves. The French, the British the Swedish and the Danish communities all rushed to the area competing for trade in any of the resources in West Africa.Ghana’s Ashanti people led by Opemsuo Osei Tutu had already established a growing empire before colonization. The origin of the Ashanti monarchical kingdom arose out of a coalition of the people occupying the Pra and Ofin basins. These basins are located in the Twifo and Adanse regions.The specific clans that formed the coalition to come up with the formidable kingdom were the Aduana, the Asene clan, the Oyoko, the Ekoona and the Bretuo clan. The Denkyiras were among the clans that joined the coalition later after being def eated in warfare. The kingdom was established who succeeded in his attempts of forming a unified force of all the Ashanti states (Goldstein, 238).These states were brought together through a common allegiance to the Golden Stool which is also referred to as the Sika Agua Kofi. It is the symbol of a common soul and heritage for the Ashanti people.Social and cultural changes have been evident in many African communities. African communities had established different political systems that were mainly tribal. After colonization and independence, they developed more unifying political positions which were not founded on tribal tenets but were representative of the whole state.Modernization led Ghana to implement a central democratic government after independence in 1957. This was initially led by Kwame Nkrumah and represented the interest of the country at the international arena.Ghana has continued to support and hold its traditional governance roles while it has also adapted modernity trends by implementing a state position for a democratically elected president. Even after independence, Ghana did not dispense with the traditional role of the Ashanti king and though his main role was leading the people into war, his office has remained mainly ornamental, but the royalties and the revenues he collected are still being demanded from the people of Ghana (Ward, 242).The power of the Ashanti kingdom can be traced back to the colonization era when they formed a common empire in their attempts to resist the British. The power and skills that they held allowed them vast dominion over Ghana allowing them expansion in the area.They entered in to endless wrangles with the British who were more interested in amassing the residents’ wealth for themselves and in 1873 Kumasi which was the epicenter of the Ashanti was captured. After unsuccessfully trying to ward of the British, the British managed to exile King Prempeh.They however realized that they still did have cont rol over the Ashanti since the power and authority was symbolized by the stool which was still with the people. The British mandated the people to hand over the golden stool and this was met with a resistance that even the British had not foreseen (Davidson, 182). This led to wide uprisings and the eventual treaty that saw the area being declared as part of the British protectorate, gold coast.The reign of the Asantehene symbolizes a neo-colonial African government which was able to establish itself as an empire within the region and assume control over a lot of populations in Africa (Jackson, 180).It amassed vast masses of wealth and went on to use these resources to establish one of the best military forces in Africa that successfully posed a challenge to the colonization by the British.Though the political system of the Ashanti has been accused of marginalizing its people by leading them into religious sects and exploiting them by dictatorial rule it is still significant in today ’s society and the values and cultures of the kingdom are inculcated in the day to day affairs of the government and the people (Gocking, 163).In the past, the king was mainly responsible for positioning his people in battle and to this end the king established a strong military force which was responsible for the resulting victories at over other governments as well as in ensuring the entire kingdoms security.The continual overthrow of neighboring territories ensured that the kingdom expanded and increased its pool of resources over all other governments in the region. The king also established a national holidays for example the Odwira festival which is celebrated annually.The role of the king has changed with time (Goldstein, 238). The current king of the Ashanti, who is called Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, committed his reign to improving the national unity of the Ghanaian people. He has committed himself to, issues regarding education, improving land reform and enriching the env ironment. The kings’ role is merely that of implementing a seemingly traditional justice within the Ashanti territory.The relationship between the king and the government has been supportive as evidenced by the relationship between the support that the president of Ghana Ignatius Acheampong gave to the Asantehene Opoku Ware in 1970’s after Ghana acquired independence over the disputes which emerged due to the costs of constructing the kings palace.This is mainly because the Ashanti people have amassed great wealth over the years and currently constitute majority of the governments’ opposition wielding a lot of political power and affluence (Ward, 253).The Asantehene has demonstrated support for the democratically elected president, John Kofuor who is the first president to be elected without violence in the country. The king recently warned the former president Mr. Rawlings and his party against uttering derogatory comments aimed at the current president Kofuor and his government (Davidson, 115).

Education Patient with Written Information to Reduce Anxiety and Dissertation

Education Patient with Written Information to Reduce Anxiety and Better Compliance in Undergoing Cadiac Catheterization - Dissertation Example __________________ for their unwavering guidance and direction throughout the course of this dissertation planning, preparing and drafting. The points needed to mention in the acknowledgements as below. I would also like to thank and acknowledge the support of the staff of ____________ Education (U.K.) administrative office. A special thanks and appreciation goes out to my family members, classmates and colleagues for their sincere support and encouragement without which I could not have completed this dissertation. I also want to thank everyone who helped me in anyway whatsoever. Abstract Aims This research study is a critical appraisal of the effectiveness of educational information intervention on patient anxiety in preparing for cardiac catheterization. Methods This is a critical literature review. The critical literature review is conducted using a framework for conducting a critical appraisal of quantitative research as recommended by Coughlan, et. al.,(2007). The critical appr aisal is also conducted using a framework for conducting a critical appraisal of qualitative research as recommended by Ryan, et. al.,(2007). Six journal articles were selected based on the study’s inclusion and exclusion criteria. ... Specifically, this study finds that patient education prior to undergoing cardiac catheterization significantly decreases fear, uncertainty and distress among patients anticipating the experience of undergoing cardiac catheterization. In turn, patients are more willing to comply with pre-cardiac catheterization and post-catheterization instructions. The combined effect of compliance and reduced anxiety helps patients make a more fruitful and time efficient recovery. Discussion Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. The weaknesses and strengths of the research and the underlying research studies critically appraised are revealed. The study makes recommendations informed by the results and the analysis of the results. This study is important because it can contribute to existing knowledge by identifying the current status of the knowledge relative to the reduction of patient anxiety over undergoing cardiac catheterization via education and what areas may require further research for improving on the current knowledge base. Moreover, by identifying the current status of knowledge relative to reducing patient anxiety via education for improving the effectiveness of cardiac catheterization, nursing practices can be informed by the benefits of using education as a method of managing patient anxiety. Conclusion Essentially, this research report identifies and explains how this research can inform research and practice relative to the reduction of patient anxiety in anticipation of cardiac catheterization. This study concludes that the reduction of anxiety and psychological distress prior to undergoing cardiac

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How I Dress and Customize Myself - Essay Example My dressing manifests the decency, the body exposure, and the minimum dressing requirements that my religion and culture accepts. Indeed, my personal beliefs and values also define the tightness and type of clothes that I should put on. Actually, I put on clothes that will not expose or outline my body since that is against my personal beliefs and values. I dress to achieve and maintain my dignity and to respect mu cultural values. I also dress to support my personal belief of being joyful every day since that gives me energy for the day. I also dress to express my love for style. Personally, I do not envy body adornment like tattoos because I have a personal belief that they do not reflect decency, they are against my cultural values, and are equally painful. Nevertheless, I put on watches to support my personal belief of keeping time. I also have a personal belief of drawing attention and hence I dress to be stylish and attract attention. RESPONSE 2 I make these dressing and body a dornment to express my emotions. Moreover, my dressing decisions and choices seek to justify my beliefs and values. At the same time, I make these choices to abide by the lessons that my parents have taught me for years. Indeed, I seek to copy my parents’ dressing tastes as they reflect our cultural values. I also make these choices to avoid the recurrence of my own life experiences where my dressing embarrassed me. Additionally, in my dressing I present my class and respect for others. My choices also seek to dress appropriately for the occasion and venue where places like class, church, workplace, and sports ground require different clothing choices. Moreover, I make these choices for the sake of my health and manners where body adornments like tattoos maybe unhealthy and undignified. I also dress to achieve my professional requirement of decency. RESPONSE 3 Indeed, my dressing and body adornment have changed over the years. The surrounding, my parents, and peers influenced my dressing and body adornment choices. As I moved from one college to another, this changed my environment as well as my experiences on dressing. Indeed, I moved to a place where the dressing was more liberal than my hometown and I had to adapt to that norm. My experience of people who are no afraid to express their beliefs through dressing also motivated me to change my dressing for purposes of expressing my personal beliefs and values. As such, I have changed my dressing to reflect the local dressing ways. My peers have also changed my way of dressing as I sought to identify with them. Indeed, over the years I have had different peers with different dressing styles, which I have respectively adopted. I have also been copying my parents dressing which have changed overtime but remained decent. Moreover, as l grow and mature I gained the capacity to make my own dressing decisions, which manifest in the changes in my dressing. Ultimately, when I got a corporate job, I had to change my dressing choices thus reflecting how my dressing has changed over the years. RESPONSE 4 The core beliefs and values in my family were dignity, professionalism, decency, and emphasis on respectable and appropriate dressing. Ideally, dressing and body customization communicated these beliefs and values. My parents wore nice and decent clothes to work which reflected their professionalism and respect for others. They put on shirts, trousers, and skirts that reflected their decency and dignity. Moreover, even during holidays and outings, my parents always dressed appropriately and I had to adopt their dressing behavior as it maintained our core beliefs and values. Additionally, my parents never had tattoos because they believed that tattoos did not reflect

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Irish History A Brief Historiography - Essay Example The first Normans landed in Ireland or at least the descendants of the Normans who had conquered England from 1066 onwards. Little did Diarmuid McMorrough (King of Leinster) know that his action of involving outsiders in sorting out a local political dispute with rival clans would have such a profound effect on the history of Ireland for centuries to come. Up to that point, Ireland was largely an independent entity and mainly Christian in character. Ireland had played its part in illuminating the â€Å"Dark Ages† in the 4th Century when she had brought the Christian faith to all parts of Europe through the exploits of the adventurous monks like St. Colmcille where he and his like founded monasteries not only in England and Scotland but also in the furthest ends of Europe. This era was known as â€Å"Ireland of the saints and scholars†. Prior to the Normans, or more accurately the descendants of the Normans who had settled largely in Wales, the Vikings had plundered and traded with the native Irish and had assimilated into Irish society blending their own unique culture with that of the locals. Many of Ireland’s great cities and towns such as Dublin, Waterford, and Wexford developed and prospered on Viking trade. What was different about the Norman invasion from other intrusions was their sheer military strength, their administration and their ability to apply law and order to the lands they had conquered. Their administration was far in advance of anything in existence in Ireland on their arrival.... Ireland had played its part in illuminating the "Dark Ages" in the 4th Century when she had brought the Christian faith to all parts of Europe through the exploits of the adventurous monks like St. Colmcille (Columba) where he and his like founded monasteries not only in England and Scotland but also in the furthest ends of Europe. This era was known as "Ireland of the saints and scholars". Prior to the Normans, or more accurately the descendants of the Normans who had settled largely in Wales, the Vikings had plundered and traded with the native Irish and had assimilated into Irish society blending their own unique culture with that of the locals. Many of Ireland's great cities and towns such as Dublin, Waterford and Wexford developed and prospered on Viking trade. What was different about the Norman invasion from other intrusions was their sheer military strength, their administration and their ability to apply law and order to the lands they had conquered. Their administration was far in advance of anything in existence in Ireland on their arrival. To the native Irish it must have seemed that their entire world as they knew it was completely turned on its head. How could they fight or compete with such a powerful force To a great extent the early settlers were more like adventurers, advancing their own self interest, - a point not wasted on Henry II who was quick to see the security implications for his own kingdom. It was imperative that he gain some measure of control and this is what he did. Up to Tudor times the Norman conquest of Ireland was limited to certain areas of the country, mostly to strongholds in the province of Leinster and particularly around Dublin. This area was known as "the Pale"1 which was roughly a forty mile radius