stakeholders’ attitudes towards the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage...

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Stakeholders’ Attitudes Towards theManagement and Preservation of DigitalCultural Heritage Resources in GhanaEric Boamah a , Daniel G. Dorner b & Gillian Oliver ca Student, School of Information Management , Victoria Universityof Wellington , New Zealand E-mail:b Dr. PhD Programme Director, School of Information Management ,Victoria University of Wellington , New Zealand E-mail:c Dr. Senior Lecturer, School of Information Management , VictoriaUniversity of Wellington , New Zealand E-mail:Published online: 08 Jul 2013.

To cite this article: Eric Boamah , Daniel G. Dorner & Gillian Oliver (2012) Stakeholders’ AttitudesTowards the Management and Preservation of Digital Cultural Heritage Resources in Ghana,Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 43:4, 300-317, DOI: 10.1080/00048623.2012.10722289

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300 Australian Academic & Research Libraries

Eric Boamah, Daniel G. Dorner, Gillian Oliver

This paper presents an overview of one component of the preliminary findings from a research project that seeks to understand the various contextual factors influencing the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources (dPCh) in Ghana. Four main clusters of factors, i.e., attitudinal, resources, policy, and management factors, were identified as impacting on dPCh in Ghana. This paper focuses on attitudinal factors because increasing understanding of underlying attitudes and behaviours has the potential to inform meaningful and culturally appropriate strategies. The paper identifies attitudinal enablers and hindrances and concludes that the lack of interest by funders and policy makers in formal information management, and also in dPCh currently counters the enablers. Accordingly, information professionals and professional associations need to be proactive in their promotional efforts to bring about attitudinal changes to promote dPCh.

EricBoamah,Student,SchoolofInformationManagement,VictoriaUniversityofWellington,NewZealand,Email:[email protected],[email protected]

DanielG.Dorner,Dr.PhDProgrammeDirector,SchoolofInformationManage-ment,VictoriaUniversityofWellington,NewZealand,Email:[email protected]

GillianOliver,Dr.SeniorLecturer,SchoolofInformationManagement,VictoriaUniversityofWellington,NewZealand,Email:[email protected]

INTRODUCTIONANDBACKGROUNDTOTHERESEARCHThe importance of cultural heritage as a singular entity to distinguish a people and make them unique from other groups has been stressed by writers from a variety of disciplines (banks-Wallace 2002, belich 2003, lentz 2000, Poll 2010). Examples of cultural heritage resources include tangible objects such as monuments, archaeological sites, paintings, sculpture, manuscripts, natural landscapes and geographical formations, war memorials, underwater ruins, cities, shipwrecks, and texts, just to mention

STAKEhOldErS’ ATTiTudES TOWArdS ThE mANAGEmENT ANd PrESErVATiON OF diGiTAl CulTurAl hEriTAGE rESOurCES iN GhANA

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December 2012 301Volume 43 Number 4


a few. Other examples of heritage resources are intangible, non material heritages in the form of oral tradition, performing arts, rituals, belief systems, indigenous cultural knowledge, festivals, and musical dance forms (datzira 2006, hofstede 2007, Qereqeretabua 2008).

by understanding the importance of their cultural heritage, countries begin to cherish their traditions and histories and consider them essential to preserve for future generations. Together, these objects, traditions, history, activities and the evidence they provide, form a country’s national heritage as well as its memory for the future (Confino, 1993, mulligan and Schultz, 2002, White, 1999). Therefore, countries need to develop national approaches and co-ordinate actions to effectively manage and preserve such cultural heritage resources (Eden et al. 1998, 228). Cultural institutions such as libraries, archives and museums have long been responsible for the management and preservation of heritage resources, using the technologies of their specific time (Cordeiro 2004, 6). in modern times, the new digital technologies are often used for managing heritage resources and ensuring their long-term preservation and continual access (digital Preservation Coalition, 2009). Thus, cultural institutions are now planning for the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources (henceforth, referred to as digital preservation of cultural heritage) dPCh for their countries. Examples planning for dPCh include the development of a digital Continuity Action Plan by Archives New Zealand for government records, and a digital Preservation Strategy by the National library of New Zealand and Archives New Zealand together (see digital Continuity Action Plan 2012) and also the digital Continuity Plan by the National Archives of Australia (see National Archives of Australia 2012).

despite their passion, information managers and cultural institutions find the responsibilities of providing effective dPCh very challenging (harwood 1994). These challenges arise, as harwood identified almost two decades ago, as a consequence of new digital technologies. These technologies have not only overwhelmed today’s information managers with huge amounts of information, they have also resulted in many new forms of digital cultural heritage materials. That is, the digitised versions of the various cultural heritage resources presented above and increasingly, born digital materials. As a result, cultural heritage institutions, particularly in developed countries, are seeking effective ways to undertake dPCh. These countries are also looking for ways to create national digital memories (Ndm) comprising digitised and born digital cultural heritage materials to inform their citizenry of the future. Examples of Ndms include the American memory for the united States of America (uSA), the National digital heritage Archive (NdhA) of New Zealand, and the Europeana project, which could be viewed as a supra-national digital memory that brings together the digital cultural heritage of European countries.

Nevertheless, the fast developing new digital technologies, and their concomitant challenge of technological obsolescence, not only make the responsibilities of cultural heritage institutions challenging, they

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Stakeholders’ attitudes towards the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources in Ghana

also put future memories at risk, particularly those in soft digital forms (hockx-Yu 2006, 234). The seriousness of this situation has ignited interest and a willing attitude, inspiring many of these institutions to develop and implement actions and plans that are developed into digital policies and strategies for their countries. Such attitudes and actions are seen as critical elements needed for the establishment of successful information systems in contemporary societies (Walsham and Waema 1994, 151).

Compared to their counterparts in the developed world, developing countries lack adequate resources to implement effective information systems (Avgerou 2008, 133), such as those that make use of the new technologies needed to undertake dPCh and to establish Ndm resources. Nonetheless, the rate at which digital technologies are being adopted has resulted in the proliferation of digital cultural heritage materials in developing countries as well. Thus, it becomes necessary to explore factors that are influencing dPCh in developing countries such as Ghana where there has been little research on this topic (Akussah 2002, 2005, Arthur and mensah 2006, Asamoah-hassan 2010). The research reported in this paper therefore seeks to identify attitudinal enablers and hindrances to dPCh in Ghana as understanding these has the potential to inform meaningful and culturally appropriate dPCh strategies.

About Ghana

Ghana is a country in West Africa, sharing borders with the ivory Coast to the west, Togo to the east, burkina Faso to the north and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. it is mainly tropical rainforest, broken by heavily forested hills with many streams and rivers. it has an average temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. There are around 25 million people in an area of about 238,540 square kilometres. The Ghanaian people are made up of about 100 different linguistic and cultural groups with some similarities. Ghana’s economy is based on timber and cocoa production and minerals such as gold, diamonds, bauxite and from 2007, oil. The country’s political system is parliamentary based (GhanaWeb 2012).

As a developing country, Ghana appears poised to find its place in the digital world. The development of the Ghana information and Communication Technology for Accelerated development (Ghana iCT4Ad) policy in 2004 is an indication of Ghana’s aspiration to join nations worldwide that have recognised the developmental opportunities and the challenges of the emerging information age which is characterised by the wider use of information and communication technologies (iCTs) (Ghana iCT4Ad 2003, 6). Various studies conducted in Ghana indicate that digital technologies are proliferating and rapidly spreading to all sectors of its economy (Alemna and Cobblah 2005, Azangweo 2006, Falch 2004, Ghana iCT4Ad 2003, hinson and Sorensen 2006). digital technologies are used in the management of the country’s rich cultural heritage resources as well (Arthur and mensah 2006, Asamoah-hassan 2010). Ghana is one of the leading countries in terms of iCT use

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in Sub-Saharan Africa (Alemna 1999, Alemna and Cobblah 2005, Asamoah-hassan 2010). Outcomes from this research project will be relevant for informing effective dPCh in Ghana.

Ghana’s efforts towards effective dPCh are being hindered by a variety of factors including the lack of adequate resources (Akussah 2002, 2005, Alemna 2001, Alemna andCobblah 2005, martey 2004), lack of lead institutions (such as a national library), and lack of effective advocacy by professional associations (Alemna 1989, 123). many of these issues link to the attitudes of key players in the cultural heritage community in Ghana. The attitudes of these key players impact directly on the actions taken to design and execute plans, policies and strategies for dPCh as well as on the allocation of resources for the management of related projects. Success in these endeavours would enable the country to achieve its goal of using digital technologies to further its development.

KEYCONCEPTSin this study, the term digital cultural heritage resources is used to denote the digital versions of those aspects of culture heritage resources which a group of people are willing to keep and transfer to subsequent generations. The term digital preservation of cultural heritage (dPCh) is used in this study to represent the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources in Ghana. dPCh is viewed as an innovation related to the Ghanaian information infrastructure, applying Sugihara’s (1994) definition for information infrastructure:

The communication systems, information technologies, information related competencies and the basic education systems which enable the public to understand, store and use information in a country (p. 82).

in this research, the unit of analysis is the Ghanaian information infrastructure. The term key players, is used to refer to the various stakeholders involved in digitisation and information management in Ghana. They include information professionals, traditional leaders, government officials, policy makers, strategy developers and implementers, scholars, funders, and school teachers with the responsibility for subjects which would be enhanced by the use of digital cultural heritage resources.

LITERATUREREVIEWAlthough there have been studies about cultural heritage preservation and digitisation in Ghana (Arthur and mensah 2006, Asamoah-hassan 2010), none of these studies focuses on factors influencing dPCh. The factors that influence dPCh in a country can arise from the social, economic, educational, technological, cultural and political systems of the country (dong 2012, Kyobe 2011). Specific factors identified from the literature review that can influence dPCh include:

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• developing policies and implementing strategies to guide dPCh

• Stakeholders’ attitudes such as interest in, and commitment for dPCh

• Collaboration among institutions and professionals

• Emulating success stories from other countries

• investing in iCT to enhance its access for dPCh (cf, Alemna 1999, Ayeh 2008, Carnaby 2009, dong 2012, dorner, liew and Crookston 2006, Kyobe 2011, Oliver et al. 2010)

discussions in the literature indicate that the availability of these factors is an enabler to dPCh whilst the lack of them, or inadequacies within them hinder dPCh.

According to Zuraidah (2008, 546), an important consideration for effective dPCh is the development of strong policies and implementation of strategies to guide dPCh initiatives in countries. According to Carnaby (2009, 251), the digital world of New Zealand started to transform into its current shape in the late 2000s. One could compare the situation in Ghana now to that of New Zealand before the time being described by Carnaby. digital materials had just started proliferating. however, with the thinking of digital strategies and the final development of the New Zealand digital Content Strategy (NZdCS) in 2008, the country started developing in terms of digitisation and dPCh very rapidly (see also dorner, liew, and Yeo, 2007, Knight 2010, NlNZ 2010, NZdCS 2008). Now New Zealand is the first country to establish an inclusive and unified whole-of-government digital Continuity Action Plan at Cabinet level for its government records (digital Continuity Action Plan 2012). The development of effective policies and digital strategies is a key enabler of dPCh. Experts have advocated for a need for such strategies in Ghana as well (see Alemna 1999, Alemna and Sam, 2006; mensah and Owusu-mensah, 2002) but the country is yet to develop one. The lack of digital strategies in Ghana is hindering dPCh in the country.

iCT is an important component of dPCh. Kyobe (2011, 255) identifies that stakeholders attitudes greatly influence their adoption of iCT innovations. Cullen (2003, 250) states that the thinking that computers are “difficult to use”, “unsafe to put information on”, “belongs to the white culture” etc., are all negative attitudes that hinder initiative in digitisation such dPCh. The literature, (see Carnaby 2009, Knight 2010, Oliver et al. 2010), further indicates New Zealand’s progress in dPCh for example, was achieved through stakeholders interest in, and understanding of, iCT and commitment to dPCh.

Further, according to dong (2012, 281) an effective means to enable dPCh projects in sub-Saharan Africa countries is through collaboration. but, manzuch (2011, 320) observes that memory institutions, even in advanced countries, barely collaborate. The lack of collaboration among memory institutions and professional bodies is a hindrance to dPCh.

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As iCT is an inseparable component of dPCh, access to iCT becomes a key enabler for dPCh. inadequate access to iCT in Ghana (see Alemna and Sam 2006, Ayeh 2008) for instance, is a hindrance to dPCh in the country. Countries with easy access to iCT, for example New Zealand and Australia have achieved progress in dPCh (cf, National Archives of Australia 2012).

Accordingly, Alemna (1999) suggested that developing countries need to emulate success stories regarding iCTs applications, from their Western counterparts. Seven years on, Corrales and Westhoff (2006) indicated that it can be rewarding for any country that hopes to achieve success in dPCh to look at what is happening elsewhere in the international environment, especially the advanced areas. This point has been stressed again recently (Kyobe 2011). Emulating success stories of countries that have achieved progress in dPCh is an enabler.

Theoretical considerations

The dPCh concept is a new idea in Ghana. To fully understand the contextual factors that are influencing this innovation, rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovation (dOi) theory and davies’ (2000) Policy, Strategy and resources (PSr) troika model have been used together with ideas from the literature to develop a conceptual model to guide the exploration of the problem areas and interactions with the key players. Figure 1: summarises the theoretical basis for the research.

Figure 1: Summary of theoretical considerations

rogers (2003, 12) defines an innovation as “an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption”. As dPCh is little practiced in Ghana, it is therefore an innovation which needs to be communicated to stakeholders. According to rogers (2003, 222), the rate of adoption of the innovation, depends on five main factors (see figure 1). These factors were used as a lens to explore dPCh innovation and to gain an understanding of the factors affecting its adoption in Ghana. Also, dPCh involves policy development, strategy implementation and resources allocation. The PSr troika model guided the exploration of the factors affecting

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these areas. The literature review provided additional factors to guide the exploration of general issues such as attitudes of key players, collaboration, access to iCT, emulation success stories, just to mention a few. These factors from the literature and theory were used to develop a theoretical framework for the study. This paper for space considerations only focuses on attitudinal factors. it does not discuss all the factors or the theoretical basis of the study, which are in the process of being further investigated and reported.

Research design

This is an exploratory single case study of the contextual factors that are influencing dPCh in Ghana. The study is within the interpretivist paradigm. A qualitative methodology was employed. Semi-structured interviews using open-ended questions were used to obtain data, supplemented by observation and document analysis. The interviewees were mainly key players from the information and cultural heritage field in Ghana, along with significant people from government ministries, and important traditional personalities (such as chiefs, clan heads and traditional priests). Participants were selected using the snowball technique up to the point of saturation. in all, 27 interviews were conducted. An interview session took 45 minutes to 1 hour. data analysis procedures were undertaken manually. interviews were transcribed and coded to identify themes and categories of contextual factors. interviewees were grouped into five categories based on the institutions they came from. Table 1 below illustrates the grouping and labelling assigned to interviewees.

interviewees label Number

university lecturers ul 4

People from Cultural institutions ( libraries, Archives, museums, Chiefs’ Palaces)

Ci 8

iCT Teachers / managers iT 4

People from ministries and Agencies / district Assemblies

md 7

NGOs / Private institutions Pi 4

Total number of interviewees 27

Table 1: institutional categories of interviewees and their labels

To enhance easy referencing to quotes and to assist with readability, all 27 interviewees were further given pseudonyms. For example, ul1 is referred to as bosomuru, iT2 as bonwireketey, Ci1 as Nyarkoabronoma and Pi1 as Kuntanepodepodehyie. The pseudonyms selected are cultural names that cannot be attributed to any specific individual. Anonymity of participants is therefore assured.

CONTEXTUALFACTORSINFLUENCINGDPCHINGHANAThe overarching purpose of the research project is to explore and understand contextual factors that are influencing dPCh in Ghana.

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From an analysis of the interview transcripts, certain factors have been identified as either having the potential to enable or hinder dPCh in Ghana. These factors are grouped as follows:

• Attitudinal factors

• resource factors

• Policy factors

• management factors

The focus of this paper is solely on the first group, the attitudinal factors. restricting consideration in this way enables an in-depth discussion of attitudes. it does not imply that the other factors are of lesser significance and they will be discussed in future works.

ATTITUDINALFACTORSThe various attitudinal factors identified in the interview data include stakeholders’ interest, traditional behaviours, political behaviours, and perceptions towards the management and preservation of information, heritage resources and the new digital technologies. Some of these factors enable, while others hinder, dPCh in Ghana.

Attitudinal Enablers

Attitudinal factors that are enabling dPCh in Ghana include peoples’ interest in iCT, commitments by stakeholders and positive cultural attitudes.

Interest in ICT

many Ghanaians, particularly the young people, are interested in using the new digital technologies in their daily lives. interest in the use of technologies such as mobile phones, digital cameras, computers and other forms are increasing in Ghana. While people are using these technologies for educational, communication and recreational purposes, they also take digital photos and videos of present activities. Evidence of past activities is also documented using these technologies. Now heritage institutions are showing interest in using digital technologies to manage the informational materials in their custody. interviewees expressed how people are showing interest in digital technologies in Ghana. For instance, Obunumankoma said:

You will be surprised to know that when it comes to the new technology . . . many people show interest . . . more than the traditional ways of managing information . . . especially the young ones. There are many people who are computer savvy all over the place. (UL3)

This interest in the new digital technologies indicates a positive influence which enables dPCh. When people develop interest in the technologies, it becomes easier to learn more about it and apply the knowledge in their activities which facilitate dPCh.

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Positive cultural attitudes

Certain Ghanaian traditions, customary beliefs and practices prevent people from tampering with some cultural heritage resources. Such cultural attitudes make dPCh possible. For example, according to a comment by Kuntanepodehyie, the ancient slave market in the sacred Kunsu forest has existed until now because traditional leaders in the area rendered the forest sacred. it is taboo for people to go there. Only traditional priests are allowed to go there for prayers to the gods. People adhere to these customs that protect heritage resources. These practices also show that people are conscious of their culture. being conscious of the culture is an enabler to dPCh. The importance of cultural consciousness as an enabler for effective dPCh was raised in various expressions by interviewees. For example, Osagyefo said:

As for the culture we are conscious of it as Ghanaians and Africans . . . and that is very important. It enables us to think about our history and make us want to preserve our traditional norms and practices and behaviours . . . otherwise there are a lot of things our children will lose in the future. (UL4)

being conscious of the culture creates awareness for the need to manage and preserve the heritage resources for future generations. The Ghana museums and monuments board (Gmmb) is one of the institutions responsible for the management and preservation of Ghanaian cultural heritage. Talking about the activities of Gmmb, Nyarkoabronoma for instance said:

One factor that has enabled us to come this far is that we love our culture . . . the people love their history. We want to know where we are coming from . . . so that we know where we are going. (CI1)

These positive traditional attitudes, beliefs and customs, awareness and fondness for culture and history in Ghana enable dPCh in the country. They protect the heritage resources from being destroyed by human activities. Thus, heritage resources are maintained to form content for dPCh programme in the country. however, certain attitudes also hinder it.

Attitudinal Hindrances

According to the interview data, the attitudinal factors that hinder dPCh include general lack of interest, lack of respect for documentary resources, conflicting interests among decision makers in leading institutions, political attitudes and negative traditional and cultural attitudes.

General lack of interest in information management

Although interest in the use of the new digital technologies in Ghana was identified as enabling dPCh, the interviewees commented on a general lack of interest in information management. This lack of

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interest hinders dPCh in the country. interviewees expressed the lack of interest by stakeholders in many forms. in a comment above, Osagyefo said Ghanaians are conscious of their cultural heritage and consider it important. however, he also added his voice to the chorus that expressed the idea that Ghanaian stakeholders generally lack interest in information management. Osagyefo said:

Government authorities and all [stakeholders] do not show interest in cultural heritage information management (UL4).

As to why there is lack of interest in information management, interviewees revealed various reasons. For instance, Asempayetia commented that:

Many people are ignorant of the need to manage and preserve information . . . so they are not interested (UL2).

Similarly, bonwnirekentey echoed this view by saying:

Leadership themselves do not know about ICT so they do not show much interest (IT2).

Kutanepodehyie also pointed out that:

Politicians are more interested in protecting and sustaining power . . . and policy makers look at their personal interest (PI).

in Ghana, politicians and policy makers are responsible for decisions on projects that require huge allocation of funds. however, the interview data revealed that the lack of interest in information management and cultural institutions hinders dPCh in the country.

Political attitudes

Political interference, deception and unfulfilled campaign promises by politicians in Ghana hinder dPCh. Current governments intentionally discontinue initiatives by previous governments so as not to give any political credit to opponents. According to the interview data certain dPCh activities that were initiated by some institutions in Ghana have been interrupted because of politics. bonsumuru provided an example with the following comment:

Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) is one institution that had tried digitising . . . but when the NPP [political party] came into power . . . they had to investigate how the machines were acquired and other things . . . because of this SSNIT was never able to do it. (UL1)

likewise, Asempayetia said:

In 2000 . . . the head of civil service initiated a discussion which later resulted in a policy generally for the management of digital records. But soon after that there was a transfer of government and that initiative died. The Ministry of Public Sector Reform

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during NPP [political party] time had a lot of reform plans on management of recorded information and their preservation. But there is no such ministry today in NDC [political party] era . . . Why? (UL2)

There are political deceptions and many failed campaign promises in Ghana. Such political attitudes not only rob the country of developments, they also hinder dPCh. interviewees provided various examples of political deceptions. For instance, bonwirekentey noted the following:

They say one laptop per child but you go to a school of 2000 and you see only two laptops. (IT2)

Apiskoloolo and moaninko, both iCT teachers, also respectively expressed their doubts about the feasibility of this particular policy with these rhetorical questions:

How can a government give every school child a laptop when school teachers do not have one and are not even trained in ICT themselves? (IT1)

How can the government give computers to every school child when most of these places do not even have electricity . . . how are they going to use it? (IT3)

but, Kuntanepodehyie pondered why a government would make a promise that cannot be fulfilled:

These are promises they cannot honour but just to win or sustain political power . . . they make [promises] to deceive the people. (PI1)

All these negative political attitudes hinder dPCh in Ghana because although governments make promises, the interview comments show that they act on different interests.

Conflicting interests

Ghanaian information professionals themselves are at times complicit in the neglect of the heritage and information management field by decision makers in the country. in developed countries like New Zealand and Australia where dPCh initiatives have been undertaken, their national libraries, archives etc., and professional associations have played key roles (Oliver et al., 2010).

The Ghana library board (Glb) executes national library responsibilities in Ghana and the Ghana library Association (GlA) is the leading professional association for library and information professionals in the country. These two institutions do not agree about the ideas relating to the establishment of a national library, which the country lacks. Their ideas on the nature and purpose of a national library for Ghana are conflicting, creating tension between them.

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matemasie is a decision maker at the Glb. This is what matemasie said about the establishment of a national library in Ghana:

We want a national library as a national library in a building . . . period. I don’t care about the name . . . it is the role it will play and how it is structured that matters. We came out with a document and submitted to government . . . then later another document appeared from [GLA]. So the library board said no this is the document we have submitted but the other group [GLA] said no ‘this is what we want it to be done’. So that is the problem now. (MD7)

Gweseayibontey, a decision maker in GlA, also talked about the establishment of a national library for Ghana and said:

If you want to have a national library that will coordinate the activities of all other libraries or information centres . . . you need not collapse the public library system. The way they are going about it creates the suspicion that somebody wants his [or her] own agenda. So we received it with stiff opposition. We are not interested. (MD5)

in a situation like this where ideas and interests are conflicting, it becomes difficult to make any head-way towards development and improvements in information management. This situation is not only preventing the establishment of an important information management institution in Ghana, it is also hindering dPCh in the country.

Lack of respect for documentary resources

The lack of interest in information management links to a lack of respect for textual information. People have general antipathy for reading and writing in Ghana. Funtunfunefu for instance commented on this idea in this way:

The Ghanaian by nature does not like reading. There is this saying that ‘if you want to hide anything from the African or Ghanaian just put it on paper . . . and he will not read it’. So that when it comes to defence you say I put it in writing you did not read it. (CI5)

Another comment by Osagyefo agreed with Funtunfunefu’s point above:

If you take our political history [for example] . . . educated people like you and I should write our biographies . . . political . . . ancient histories and all that. But they are not writing so they die just like the traditional man . . . no difference . . . and it all comes back to my first point . . . lack of interest. They don’t see the importance. (UL4)

This antipathy results in a lack of regard for libraries, archives and other cultural institutions in Ghana. A visit to the Public record and

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Archives Administration (PrAAd) provided an opportunity to view first-hand the lack of respect and low regard key players have for documentary information materials. deplorable storage conditions, lack of equipment, inadequate staffing, electricity problems, etc., at PrAAd were clear indications of how decision makers are neglecting information management institutions when it comes to allocation of resources. Again, such attitude hinders dPCh in the country.

Negative traditional and cultural attitudes

Just as some traditional attitudes were identified as enablers to dPCh, other traditional attitudes are hindering it. Certain cultural provisions prevent custodians of the culture (such as chiefs, queen-mothers, heads of clan traditional priests, etc.) from interacting with young people. This aspect of the Ghanaian culture results in traditional leaders keeping many cultural secrets from the young and other people who are not part of their clans, or not close to the royal families. Kuntanepodehyie commented that:

The leaders don’t see the essence of preservation . . . when children ask questions they are shouted at . . . Chiefs and queen-mothers don’t interact with the youth. We see them as a cult. They are not approachable. So all these heritage at their disposal will not be available to the youth because there is a barrier. (PI1)

This behaviour causes the youth of modern Ghanaian society to lose interest in the traditional Ghanaian culture. however, it is the young people who appear to have developed interest in the new digital technologies. The juxtaposition of these two factors does not enable dPCh in Ghana.

A complicating factor to the dPCh in Ghana is that the cultural diversity provides the country with over 100 different linguistic and cultural groups. but, there are bitter feelings among the different tribes towards one another. According to the interview data, these feelings are a legacy from historical tribal conflicts. They prevent the various tribes from contributing their cultural heritage resources to make a unified national cultural heritage for Ghana. Komfoanokye for instance, commented on this issue this way:

Some tribes have been trampled upon in the past. To heal those wounds is not easy. Asante was more or less Ghana until the British came. After independence…the expectation was that some of Asante’s heritages were going to be recognised by the constitution as national . . . but the other tribes did not agree. So it shouldn’t be now that somebody comes to tell us to give out the Golden Stool for national keeps . . . or make Akwasidae [festival] a national celebration. Everywhere you go [in Ghana] people speak Akan more than any Ghanaian language . . . but people don’t want to accept it as a national language because they feel pains [bitter]. (CI2)

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The existence of the attitudes discussed so far does not make it easy to pull together a unified cultural heritage resource to make a centralised collection that can be managed and preserved. Thus, attitudes are a barrier to the establishment of a Ndm for Ghana.

CONCLUSIONThe main contextual factors influencing the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage resources in Ghana can be clustered into the following broad groupings: Attitudes, resource allocation, policy development, and management factors. Attitudes can be argued to be the fundamental driver, and the reported research provides insight into how these attitudes enable or hinder dPCh.

Stakeholders’ attitudes which are enablers of dPCh in Ghana include interest in new digital technologies and positive cultural practices. however, this research shows that there are more attitudinal hindrances than enablers. General lack of interest, lack of respect for documentary heritage resources, conflicting ideas and interests by leading institutions, political interference, deception and failed promises, as well as negative traditional behaviours (including ethnic tribal tensions) are the key attitudes found to be hindering dPCh in Ghana. The underlying behaviour is a general lack of interest for information management and the institutions that undertake dPCh. This lack of interest affects all the other contextual factors in Ghana. General lack of interest exhibited by key players is also influencing decision makers to allocate resources to other priority areas at the expense of information management as a whole and dPCh in particular. Furthermore, lack of interest results in the absence of any acknowledgment of dPCh in government policies.

Further research is needed to investigate the extent to which attitudinal factors are critical influencers on dPCh. in the context of developing countries, attention is often focused on the more obvious hindrances such as scarcity of capability and funding. understanding underlying attitudes and behaviours has the potential to be able to inform much more meaningful and culturally appropriate strategies. Traditional leaders need to be more approachable and share knowledge about culture with young people. This can sow seeds of hope for the continuity of Ghana’s cultural heritage. information professionals and professional associations need to be proactive in their promotional efforts to bring about the necessary change. These agents need to be effective in communicating ideas about information management, digital preservation and cultural heritage in Ghana. The successful communication of these ideas will create an awareness for decision-makers and policy makers to design policies that incorporate strategies for effective information management as a whole and dPCh in particular.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSAn earlier version of this paper was presented at the research Applications in library and information Studies seminar (rAilS8) held at the university of South Australia, Adelaide in June 2012.

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stakeholders’ attitudes towards the management and preservation of digital cultural heritage...

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