Engaging in a just energy transition implies the equitable participation of all stakeholders. The successful development of renewable energy infrastructure projects relies on a strong social...Show moreEngaging in a just energy transition implies the equitable participation of all stakeholders. The successful development of renewable energy infrastructure projects relies on a strong social support. Companies must implement ambitious community engagement practices to gain a social license to operate (SLO) and, thus, mitigate social acceptance risks. This study aims at investigating the interactions between involved companies and host communities of such projects in South Africa, where firms must engage in local economic development activities. It focuses on the construction phase of third-party EPC projects (when Engineering, Procurement and Construction services are offered by an actor that is not the original developer). Based on a comprehensive literature review, field research was conducted. Thorough observations were recorded. Questionnaire surveys were disseminated to the company’s employees and local workers. Semi- structured interviews and discussions were conducted with company’s representatives, local workers, and other community members. A comparative case study approach is adopted to evaluate corporate management strategies. Two projects located in the North West province, Bokamoso and Waterloo Solar Parks, and overseen by the same EPC company, are analyzed. The SLO concept is utilized to assess actual community responses and frame elements of corporate management that might have influenced the positive observed levels of SLO. Results show that: • There is a slight mismatch between the reality on site and its perception by the company. • The company maintains a negative approach to communication, both internally and externally, which negatively influenced local communities’ responses. • Community responses are also shaped by external factors that the company acknowledges but difficultly navigates. These results suggest that host communities and local rules of the game should be better understood by corporate proponents. Practical recommendations to improve community engagement and better mitigate social acceptance risks in renewable energy infrastructure projects, solely during the construction phase, in South Africa are offered.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
2017-11-01T00:00:00Z
Looting refers to the act of digging up artifacts without the recording of the excavation, context or other activities related to archaeological excavation, either the purpose of collecting or sale...Show moreLooting refers to the act of digging up artifacts without the recording of the excavation, context or other activities related to archaeological excavation, either the purpose of collecting or sale (Hart and Chilton 2015, 319). An illicit excavation refers to the undocumented, illicitly obtained artifacts that are excavated from the ground and sold for profit (Proulx 2013, 111). This activity is a widespread action that affects all the countries in the world, in one way or another. Looting is the third largest illegal market after drugs and weapons (Szopa 2004, 56); it funds armed conflicts, denies human rights to culture, history and identity and depletes an irreplaceable resource. In this thesis I aim to show the current situation of protecting of the archaeological heritage from looting in Romania, the current state of looting activities and what are the actions undertaken by the heritage experts and institutions in order to fulfill that purpose. Furthermore, I aim to study the extent to which the activities of metal detecting are hindering the protection of archaeological sites and if those activities are illegal in terms of national or international legislation framework.Show less
This Master thesis on archaeology and cultural heritage management of the Caribbean and Amazonia was written at the University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology. The special emphasis in this...Show moreThis Master thesis on archaeology and cultural heritage management of the Caribbean and Amazonia was written at the University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology. The special emphasis in this research is on finding out which role the Amerindian past and archaeology play in a Surinamese image of the past. The research design in the first place needed to reveal the past perception of individual people with a Surinamese Caribbean background. The interviewees who participated in this research however were Surinamese migrants who are living since many years in the Netherlands. The approach taken to reveal the past emphasis of individuals from the Surinamese community was through holding semi structured open interviews. The Surinamese community in the context of this research consists of groups of people that share their experience and memory on Suriname within communication, both in the Netherlands and their mother-country. It is within this community that an image of the Surinamese past is being constructed. A key note to the research is that the past is a present construct. From this point of departure multiple pasts do exist. People in their own diversity, within different environments, have to deal with personal socio-cultural realities. This implicates that a meaningful past for Surinamese people needs to be constructed from their individual and community perspectives. This research applied insights from memory theory, archaeological theory, heritage theory and a more anthropological example to show that such a construct asks for people’s balanced historical involvement and community concern. Community concern demands reciprocal involvement that should accomplish mutual understanding. The goal of this thesis is to show that archaeology can be a tool in accomplishing shared understanding and concern from doing research after past happenings and cultural environments. The thesis further advocates engaged archaeology as a tool to create shared understanding. Engaged archaeology does not only imply that an archaeologist should listen to society and people’s concern in order to find topics for research. It even more asks for stimulating participation of people in past interrogation and creating an open critical attitude towards personal perceptions and those of others. The role of the archaeologist in this process of past communication is one of being an example to people with respect to care about archaeological heritage and involvement in both the past and people’s present environment. As an archaeological professional, who executes a profession that primarily is concerned with people, the archaeologist’s task is to facilitate involvement and provide society with critical questions on people’s past supposition. The practice of archaeology in itself needs to be a research environment where people communicate their understandings and from this realize a more inclusive community of involved people that show interest in their surroundings and each other. There can be worked towards a more stable future from contemporary knowledge or understanding about the past. Besides the interview technique, in order to find out more on people’s past concern this research aimed for application of methods from the social sciences. These were methods like discourse analysis and grounded theory. From the interrogation a better understanding of contemporary Surinamese community was accomplished. It made clear that Amerindians in Suriname in general were perceived as being unchanged. From a Western colonial perspective they did not bring about much development and their culture was regarded primitive. Their political, economic and cultural significance was neglected within the culturally diverse and divided Surinamese colonial community. From contemporary and continuous political and societal shifts reorientation on those people who are indigenous to Suriname as well as on other groups in society however is needed in order to create communality. The recommendation to Surinamese society is that ongoing conceptualization on the past and people in society, is necessary in order to accomplish a stable community.Show less
