Several studies have shown that media play a huge role in constructing national identities. These studies are often carried out in the context of ‘othering’, since a collective dissociation of ‘the...Show moreSeveral studies have shown that media play a huge role in constructing national identities. These studies are often carried out in the context of ‘othering’, since a collective dissociation of ‘the other’ in many cases strengthens the feeling of nationalism. Studies on how African media play a role in the formation of national identities are scarce, however. A regularly used example of ‘the other’ is the refugee and one of the largest refugee-hosting countries world-wide is Uganda. This thesis therefore studies how the New Vision, one of the biggest Ugandan newspapers, covers news on refugees and how the New Vision then contributes to the construction of a national identity in Uganda. Three methods were used: a participatory research in the form of an internship, a discourse analysis of text and finally a discourse analysis of pictures. The results show that the New Vision focuses on the idea that the government does everything in its power to help refugees and portrays ‘the Ugandan’ as very welcoming towards refugees.Show less
This research examines how entrepreneurship can influence Mauritian women entrepreneurs’ sense of empowerment. It seeks to shed light on the empowerment of women entrepreneurs in a fast-developing,...Show moreThis research examines how entrepreneurship can influence Mauritian women entrepreneurs’ sense of empowerment. It seeks to shed light on the empowerment of women entrepreneurs in a fast-developing, ethnically diverse country. A critical approach was adopted, in which an analysis was made on the different areas in life (dimensions) in which women feel (more) empowered by their business or not. Furthermore, it recognized women as a heterogeneous group and researches how personal and entrepreneurial background influence sense of empowerment. During a fieldwork period of six months in Mauritius, data was collected. A mixed-methods approach was adopted and two datasets were created in order to both demonstrate (quantitative data) and explain (qualitative data) differences in empowerment. A main conclusion that can be drawn is that women generally do feel empowered by their business. However, entrepreneurship affects women’s areas of life in different ways, which can partly be explained by the woman’s background. Also, it was found that a sense of community and collective groups of women entrepreneur contributed enormously to women’s sense of empowerment in multiple ways. This research thus contributes to discussions about women’s empowerment through entrepreneurship by emphasizing that empowerment is an inherent individual process and that women have different backgrounds and entrepreneurial experiences, which in turn influences the way they feel empowered by their own business.Show less
In the 2006 Care Reform Initiative (CRI), Ghana’s Department of Social Welfare (DSW) called for the deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and sought to move vulnerable...Show moreIn the 2006 Care Reform Initiative (CRI), Ghana’s Department of Social Welfare (DSW) called for the deinstitutionalization of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and sought to move vulnerable children towards a range of integrated family and community-based care services. The initiative is currently on its third five-year road map for 2017 to 2021 with specific targets and yet still children are in orphanages. Over a decade after the official launch of the initiative a myriad of challenges persist, especially the uncertainty over whether families are prepared to welcome OVC into their homes. Set in Central Region Ghana, using Country-Side Children’s Welfare Home (CCWH) as the main case study, this thesis investigates the underlying factors that are preventing families in the Bawjiase and surroundings from opening their homes and hearts to vulnerable children. Qualitative data was obtained through forty interviews; people interviewed included community leaders, men and women with an active profession in education, banking and informal trading sectors. The views of teenagers from two RHC were also examined through focus group discussion. The study shows that although financial means are often cited as a deterrent for adoption and fostering, the sluggishness in emptying orphanages in Ghana is often due to the lack of training of would-be foster parents and the complicated system of legal adoption. On top of that, the idea of being moved to a family triggers different attitudes among the children involved. The predisposition of OVC towards the idea of reintegration into family life is often conditioned by their memories of their initial experience of family life, or lack thereof. Most of them display a lackadaisical attitude because of their negative experiences of family life, whereas a small number are driven by the prospect of earning a living and being independent even when they are not necessarily looking forward to being integrated into families. This study brings to light the agency of children under care and shows the importance of the psychological and emotional state of OVC involved in deinstitutionalization which could be an influencing factor to be taken into account when taking measures to reintegrated children into a family or community.Show less
This master thesis attempted to research the kinds of socio-economic dynamics of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) on rural communities in Kenya. To do this, the Kenyan branch of the SNV...Show moreThis master thesis attempted to research the kinds of socio-economic dynamics of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) on rural communities in Kenya. To do this, the Kenyan branch of the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation hosted me to analyse the impacts of three SNV-initiated PPP projects focusing on the fields of agriculture, dairy and water management. Research was conducted directly in the field by interviewing twenty different smallholder farmers who are using products or services of one of the five different analysed SNV business partners taking part in the PPP projects. The history of PPPs in Africa and particularly Kenya was summarised while simultaneously elaborating as to why PPPs are an increasingly more prevalent means of development in the country. My methodology was then outlined including information about the relevant Kenyan counties and the different SNV PPPs and business partners. The results of the twenty different interviews were then detailed and critically discussed showing the strengths and shortcomings of the collected data while highlighting key findings. It was found that the farmers I interviewed were primarily very pleased with the products and services they were using through SNV’s PPP projects, being fairly hesitant in sharing any critiques or points of improvement. Upon further analysis this could have been due to shortcomings in my methodology meaning that it is important to always critically evaluate gathered qualitative data before coming to a definitive conclusion since various unintended consequences could still negatively impact rural communities even though interviewed farmers remain positive. For future research there is room for improvement by looking into different factors that may introduce bias into data gathering, requiring adjustments to the methodology, as well as increasing the sample size of conducted interviews. Additionally, future interviews should include questions about specific quantitative figures in order to have a clear manner to measure changes in production and income.Show less
AIM: It is the aim of this study to understand how and why South Sudanese women living in refugee settlements in Adjumani look for treatment in regard to Tuberculosis (TB), by answering the main...Show moreAIM: It is the aim of this study to understand how and why South Sudanese women living in refugee settlements in Adjumani look for treatment in regard to Tuberculosis (TB), by answering the main question ‘What are the health beliefs and health-seeking behaviour within the South Sudanese community in Adjumani district in regard to Tuberculosis?’. The sub-questions focus on different factors that influence health-seeking behaviour and health beliefs. METHODS: Focus group discussions (FGDs) (15) and individual interviews (3) with South Sudanese women were held in different refugee settlements in the Adjumani district in Northern Uganda. These were transcribed and analysed through ‘open’, ‘axial’ and ‘selective’ coding. Also, respondents were asked to draw something TB related, to make a visual interpretation of their knowledge about TB. By using Seale’s (2008) scheme, factors that influence health beliefs and health-seeking behaviour were formulated to answer the main question. Additionally, the district TB focal person was interviewed. RESULTS: The main health beliefs were that TB is a contagious disease which is mainly transmitted through sharing a cup with an infected person and that it is curable. Still, in more than half of the FGDs respondents said TB is caused by other factors (such as heavy work or fear) and in about one third of the FGDs no respondents mentioned the early symptoms of TB. In more than half of FGDs respondents said they would isolate someone with TB. The health-seeking behaviour of the respondents was commendable, since all respondents sought to find treatment when necessary. However, the majority would end up looking for treatment at a private clinic or a distant health facility, since the closest health facility would not provide them with medicine or the treatment they were expecting. In one in five of the FGDs a respondent mentioned self-treatment in the form of finishing old medication or using local herbs. The main factors that influence health beliefs about TB in this study are body perception, perception of susceptibility, supernatural beliefs, levels of education and familiarity with TB. The main factors that influence health-seeking behaviour are experiences with health care in Uganda, distance to the health facility, familiarity with TB, compliance and identity. CONCLUSION: To conclude, even though the health beliefs and perceptions about TB among the South Sudanese women were often different from medical or professional points of view, the health seeking behaviour was very much present and the South Sudanese women were willing to find treatment whenever they considered it necessary. Nevertheless, due to bad experiences with the health facilities, which was mainly about frequent drug-stock-outs, bad attitude of health workers, lay-professional rivalry and inappropriate testing machines, the South Sudanese mothers believe that the district’s health facilities are often unable to make a proper diagnosis. With the insecurity of how the conflict in South Sudan will continue, it will be important for the district to more strongly monitor the spread of TB and include the perspective of the South Sudanese community in order to understand why and where people look for treatment. Recommendations for the district health office and for future research were formulated.Show less
The African continent is about to play a prominent role on the world stage, yet challenges regarding health, environment, corruption and inequality remain. To address this, previous years have...Show moreThe African continent is about to play a prominent role on the world stage, yet challenges regarding health, environment, corruption and inequality remain. To address this, previous years have witnessed the rise of ‘social entrepreneurship’ in sub-Sahara Africa. Incorporating a societal or environmental vision at its core, the social enterprise has the potential to be particularly effective in stimulating (local) economic growth. In their own environment, these social entrepreneurs face an array of unique challenges that ordinary Western business literature does not cover. This thesis makes a case to acknowledge the context in which these social entrepreneurs operate and investigates how they incorporate Western business tools in their own strategies. It also considers the importance of knowledge interpretation and creation and the influence of urbanization, globalization and digitalization on this process. The research questions are: How are Western business concepts and technologies interpreted and applied by local social entrepreneurs in Lagos, Nigeria and in what ways are they helpful in tackling the social entrepreneur’s unique challenges? Additionally, this thesis examines whether there are other sources from which local social entrepreneurs can derive strategies and tools in order to solve their problems and become more effective in creating impact. The findings, which are based on a single case study and a focus group discussion with several Lagos-based social entrepreneurs suggest that while Western business concepts can be very useful on some levels, the local social entrepreneurs have difficulty in effectively applying them to their own situation. Finally, the discoveries in this thesis suggest that African social entrepreneurs can tackle these challenges by creating, recording and sharing their own data and knowledge with each other in order to seize agency in the field of social entrepreneurship.Show less
This research was designed to identify and critically examine social-economic conditions of IDPs in 10 informal settlements in Abuja, Nigeria. Data were collected mainly in the face-to face...Show moreThis research was designed to identify and critically examine social-economic conditions of IDPs in 10 informal settlements in Abuja, Nigeria. Data were collected mainly in the face-to face interviews, observations and informal discussion group. The results show that IDPs in informal settlements are vulnerable and live in very poor conditions. The most alarming data is that some of them have not received any kind support from the Government in years. For this reason, it is important to fill the gap of knowledge in this field in order to provide authorities and other actors (NGOs and international organization) updated data.Show less
Fish-smoking is a popular post-harvest preservation method in Ghana, predominantly carried out by women in fishing communities. NGOs and researchers in Ghana in the 1950s identified a range of...Show moreFish-smoking is a popular post-harvest preservation method in Ghana, predominantly carried out by women in fishing communities. NGOs and researchers in Ghana in the 1950s identified a range of adverse health risks in local fish-smoking oven technologies that place fish-smokers at risk. The main approach that has been adopted to combat these risks has been through developing new fish-smoking oven technology, which is being distributed across Ghana by NGOs. This research paper aimed to contribute an alternative understanding of these NGO approaches in Ghana through investigating the level of participation within NGO interventions and by drawing attention to gender dynamics that frame fish-smoker’s agency. Through conducting research at fish-smoking sites in Jamestown, Greater Accra, this paper’s findings demonstrate how fish-smoker’s participation and inclusion in NGO interventions are limited, leaving fish smokers hesitant to adopt NGO distributed oven technologies. Drawing from key theory around participation and Gender and Development, this paper stresses the dynamic interplay between participation and gender within NGO fish-smoking oven interventions and the far-reaching implications for women’s collective success in the Ghanaian fish-smoking industry. This study’s conclusions suggest that alternative approaches, which consider the role of gender in the fisheries value chain more closely, could result in more transformative interventions for fish-smokers in Ghana.Show less
The late 20th century has seen a rise of debates on the real effectiveness of international development cooperation programmes, at least in the way they were conceived and implemented starting from...Show moreThe late 20th century has seen a rise of debates on the real effectiveness of international development cooperation programmes, at least in the way they were conceived and implemented starting from the first post-WWII decades. The main outcome of these ongoing discussions has been the urgency of a “paradigm change” in development cooperation, in order to enhance its social impact and increase the resources dedicated to it. In chapter two, which is about my conceptual framework, I discuss this change more in detail. It implies shifting from a model based on unilateral actions from governments, public society organisations or private actors, in favour of multi-stakeholder collaborations between these three categories of actors, to pool together their specific resources and expertise towards the achievement of development goals. Chapter three is dedicated to presenting the emergence of this new paradigm of development cooperation, as well as the historical reasons that led to it, and how it is presently being implemented in the form of cross-sector collaborations. Of the latter, we will focus on the case of public-private partnerships and specifically on their application as instruments of blended finance, explaining the origins and the definitions of the concept and its potential advantages – as well as limits – compared to pure public or private development interventions. Chapter four will present a case study of a public-private partnership established between Dutch development agency “Aqua for All”, and Kenyan company “Hydroponics Africa”, for the realisation of a development project in the area of Nairobi and its surroundings. After introducing the project, we will evaluate the strong points and the shortcomings of Aqua for All’s approach to development cooperation in relation to the project at hand. This will be done by analysing the outcomes of interviews conducted with Hydroponics Africa’s CEO, directly involved in the elaboration and implementation of the partnership, as well as the people targeted by the project, to assess its results in terms of social impact.Show less
Highly developed forms of culture, society and political organization were established for thousands of years over the African continent. European colonizers, who conquered most African lands...Show moreHighly developed forms of culture, society and political organization were established for thousands of years over the African continent. European colonizers, who conquered most African lands between 1880 and 1913, sliced up the African continent at the Berlin Conference held in 1884-85. The colonial administrations forced the native diversity of governance, culture and society into an artificial mold to ensure the most effective rule for their new colonies. As a result, African societies are not developed but under-developed, remaining stuck within the artificial tribal construction with despotic chiefs. A ‘First Protest Wave’ of decolonization led to freedom from colonial rule, but not to the abolishment of the colonial structures. Rather, it was adopted by the African elites. As the under-developed situation did not change for most of the African nations, a ‘Second Protest Wave’ followed in the 1980’s, and a ‘Third Protest Wave’ even more recently. This third protest wave is still ongoing. The status quo leads to persistent political instability and a jobless economy. The increasingly growing young populations of Africa have no work and are forced in a stage of ‘Waithood’, a concept used to describe the stage of young people unable to get jobs and thus unable to enter the stage of adulthood. Youth stuck in this waithood have generally three modes of action: 1. survival, 2. use of violent methods, and 3. use of non-violent methods. The majorities of studies about youth in Africa have been focusing on youth coping with their situation of waithood, or when they have used violent methods, becoming agents of destruction (Vandals). This study focusses on the third choice, on how youth could become agents of change (Vanguards) using non-violent methods to escape their waithood. Several youth organizations in Uganda are trying to transform their situation with non-violent methods such as peaceful demonstrations, talent workshops, and changing mindsets. They aim at making the people aware, do it together and work on their futures. However, they are actively contained by a sophisticated dictatorship, who uses an intelligence veil to make sure that there is no freedom after speech. This dictatorship has become increasingly adept in camouflaging its internal oppression to the outside world of donors and investors. The sophisticated dictatorship has been provided external legitimacy even though the government is perceived as illegitimate by its own youth. The Ugandan government makes sure that the Darkness is maintained by containing the possible enlightenment and transformation.Show less
The Neolithic is a period in the history of mankind that is characterized by the emergence of pottery, domesticated animals and domesticated plants. Researchers believe that the Neolithic has its...Show moreThe Neolithic is a period in the history of mankind that is characterized by the emergence of pottery, domesticated animals and domesticated plants. Researchers believe that the Neolithic has its origins in the Fertile Crescent, which is based on the oldest recorded dates of domesticated plants and animals found there. From this point, the ‘Neolithic package’ has spread across the globe. As of 2019, there are a large number of academic debates revolving around the route of dispersal of the ‘Neolithic package’ from its earliest starting point. One of these debates revolves around the way in which agriculture has reached Northwest Africa, or more specifically, Morocco. Since agriculture is one of the primary components of the ‘Neolithic package’, the author will put a large emphasis on this topic in this research. The spread and emergence of agriculture will be researched through archaeobotanical research, with an emphasis on macrobotany. Macrobotany is a subfield within botany and revolves around investigating plant macrofossils to learn more about topics such as: past environments, past traderoutes, past diets and so on. Plant macrofossils are generally not transported very far from time of sediment deposition, thus enabling accurate descriptions of past environments and vegetation types. This thesis will use archaeobotanical data generated from a Neolithic site in Oued-Beth, which is a site in the vicinity of Rabat and Meknes. The main objective of this thesis is to use this archaeobotanical data within the existing framework created by past archaeobotanical research in Morocco, in order to better understand the process of Neolithisation in Morocco.Show less
The critical challenges that humanity is confronted with can only be addressed through global collaboration and partnerships. In the education sector, this requires that different epistemologies...Show moreThe critical challenges that humanity is confronted with can only be addressed through global collaboration and partnerships. In the education sector, this requires that different epistemologies are acknowledged and appropriate indigenous or traditional knowledge employed in local contexts. Didactical approaches to incorporate less authoritative knowledge systems in the internationally dominant Western scientific higher education curricula, remain contentious. In the highly politicised context of globalisation this leads to intense theoretical debates. In Africa the mounting tension between proponents of internationalisation and Africanisation, and in South Africa specifically, the rising demand for transformation and a decolonised curricula, impedes the fusion of local and-global knowledge paradigms. Using a Dutch funded food and nutrition security collaboration project between selected Dutch and South African higher education agricultural institutes as research field, this study set out to determine to what extent South African academics support the inclusion of indigenous and local knowledge in their curricula, and to what degree this is realised in practice. In conclusion, the challenges and opportunities as perceived by research participants are clustered and summarised.Show less
This thesis entitled ‘An Assessment of Climate Footprints through the Activities of Three Women in Yaounde, Cameroon’ sets out to show the (dis)connectedness of climate tools established in and for...Show moreThis thesis entitled ‘An Assessment of Climate Footprints through the Activities of Three Women in Yaounde, Cameroon’ sets out to show the (dis)connectedness of climate tools established in and for the West from local realities in Yaounde, Cameroon. It also aims to prove that the socio-cultural and economic situations of women in local communities are different from those in the West thereby, putting them at crossroads of climate footprint assessment and implementation. Theoretical underpinnings applied in this study indicate the different perspectives on the complex climate change issue, the transformations of climate discourse within given paradigms and the peculiar climate messaging and communication of the World Sustainability Fund (WSF). The three-pronged-methodology: critical discourse analysis, interview and audio/film, observation and photo used to gather data for this thesis aim at assessing the neoliberal individualistic modelling of WSF’s climate footprints and how this works elsewhere. This approach facilitates the communication of both the implicit and explicit experiences of the research/participants as they occur in their real live situations. Results of this study reveal that although climate impact assessment tools such as footprints could be designed with good intensions, they could equally be regarded as dangerous neoliberal power tools that ignore local sociocultural/economic realities elsewhere. The language functions of picture/text and talk around WSF’s climate footprint production rather represent broader sociocultural/political structures as exemplified in the colonial trait of its Sustainable Solutions. This study, conducted at WSF, The Hague and on three women in Yaounde, Cameroon is only a tip of the iceberg. It therefore serves as an opening for more research regarding women as actors in climate issues and the decolonisation of the climate change phenomenon. Key words: Climate change, discourse, footprints, the women, World Sustainability Fund (WSF)Show less
The legacy of apartheid and new forms of separation mean that Johannesburg remains spatially segregated, unconnected and consequently unjust. It was for these reasons that African National Congress...Show moreThe legacy of apartheid and new forms of separation mean that Johannesburg remains spatially segregated, unconnected and consequently unjust. It was for these reasons that African National Congress (ANC) mayor Parks Tau introduced the ‘Corridors of Freedom’ (CoF) initiative in 2013. This aimed to create three development corridors, in which different areas of the city are connected by means of transport corridors which are themselves connected to intersections that will be transformed into areas for mixed-use development. The transport corridors consisting of the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system are aimed at reconnecting different parts of Johannesburg and to ease people’s access to jobs, facilities and recreational opportunities by means of an affordable, fast, safe and convenient transport system. However, due to a change in Johannesburg’s political administration in 2016, and opposing interests of different stakeholders such as the taxi industry, the future of the corridors seems to have become uncertain. Nevertheless, although slowed down, various parts of the Rea Vaya BRT system are still going to be constructed. This thesis contributes to the debate on the effects of transport development on people’s social and spatial justice. It examines in what ways the policies and practices of the BRT impact commuters in terms of social and spatial justice by comparing the objectives of the City with the experiences of commuters. I gained insights into their practices by means of interviewing them while riding on the BRT with them. The thesis argues that while the policies intend to enhance the social and spatial justice within the city, in practice, although people are generally positive about the BRT, there are practical issues that prevent people from making full use of the city.Show less
