Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
open access
This thesis explores the communication and behaviour of people with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) in social situations. Drawing mainly from three narratives spreading from first on-set to long...Show moreThis thesis explores the communication and behaviour of people with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) in social situations. Drawing mainly from three narratives spreading from first on-set to long-term living with IBD and a mother whose son has IBD. Furthermore I will also use vignettes from my own IBD-life. Through these narratives this thesis will follow how medical symptoms are unwillingly transposed into social situations, through which people with IBD become aware of how they should present themselves as healthy, while being sick, to prevent stigma and taboos. Also how social expectations of how an illness looks, makes people with IBD aware they do not have any physical traits, yet paradoxical feel the need to perform sick. The focus thereby lies on the behaviour and thoughts of people with IBD. By using Goffman’s (1990[1959]) dramaturgical approach as an analytic tool to dismantle social situations and communication, this thesis reveals the loyalty and continuity of the performances to a healthy self-presentation, juxtaposed by the search for a mental or physical back stages where they can be loyal to their illness experiences. I suggest that through these performances of healthy and sick self, people with IBD develop a deep awareness of social expectations that are put on them by others and themselves. Through which people with IBD become entangled in a bootstrap of social awareness.Show less
Master thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (MSc)
closed access
Ghana experiences difficulties with the current accumulation and circulation of waste. The most prevalent forms of waste are considered to be e-waste and solid household waste, specifically plastic...Show moreGhana experiences difficulties with the current accumulation and circulation of waste. The most prevalent forms of waste are considered to be e-waste and solid household waste, specifically plastic. Closing the Loop (CtL) is a Dutch non profit oriented company which collects mobile phones in Ghana to subsequently be shipped to Antwerp for efficient recycling of precious metals. Globally, the resources of the precious metals are in a state of decline. CtL current operations in Ghana are proving to be ineffective; because of this they want to attain more knowledge through ethnographic research in order to improve their strategy of collecting old mobile phones. With this research I hope to expand their knowledge. In this research, the concepts of sustainable waste management and cultural style will be discussed. By doing this I will aim at explaining the relationship between cultural styles and waste management practices. The concept of collective action will also be taken into account. Relating this to cultural style I hope to offer CtL insight in how they might inspire collective action with their strategy by focussing on improving asset-ownership. I will compare a formal waste management system with an informal waste management system on the local-level, with a focus on plastic waste. I will argue that rural and cosmopolitan cultural styles play an important part in how waste management is practiced (Ferguson, 1999). With this I will show that not considering the performative competence and enactment of cultural stylistic expression can result in waste management policies not being adopted. The data that is gathered with this research is based on a multi-sited ethnography in the village of Tongo and the provincial capital Bolgatanga, in the Upper-East region of Ghana. Main interest for conducting research were the operations of the formal waste management system of Zoomlion and the difference in stylistic expression between management and workers; and, the informal waste management system of The Saanema Movement and how they try to inspire community wide engagement.Show less
