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In this article, I apply a gendered analysis to a healing phenomenon understood through indigenous musical performances in a ritual context. Ghanaian indigenous music has been widely researched and documented, however, a contextual analysis of the gendered musical roles associated with the healing rituals of the Twelve Apostles Church (TAC) is scant. In this research, the data was obtained from six congregations of the TAC, between 2014 to 2019. Based on participation, observations and interviews, the analysis is a description of how music is gendered in the indigenous healing rituals of the TAC. The main question I seek to answer is: how is gender constructed and how are the gender roles ascribed to musical performances in the healing rituals of the TAC? In answering this question, I discuss the cultural interpretations ascribed to gender in a musically informed healing ritual. The findings revealed that in the TAC, singing is mostly initiated by females who sing about illnesses. Males, on the other hand, are mostly in charge of playing the dondo, an hourglass drum. However, the mfoba, an enmeshed rattle is played by both males and females and it is the mfoba that aids spirit possession. Spirit possession is an integral part of the healing rituals of the TAC and females are more susceptible to being possessed by spirits than males. Based on various rules I argue that the healing ritual of the TAC is based on complementary rather than opposing musical roles of males and females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the role of public relations in building and maintaining corporate reputation in Ghana. Corporate reputation is largely regarded as the most important, albeit, intangible asset of an organisation. The paucity of research in a developing country such as Ghana makes this research even more essential. PR practitioners from selected multinational organisations were used for the study. Results indicate that public relations plays a critical role in building the reputation of an organisation. Practitioners use a number of activities including interpersonal communication, corporate social responsibility, community engagement to build reputation. The strategic nature of PR as practiced in these organisations ensures practitioners are able to perform their roles effectively. This study has significant implications for theory and practice of public relations in non-western cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]