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2008

Africa

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Articles 1 - 27 of 27

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Communicable Disease And International Security: The Case Of Africa & Hiv/Aids, Amy L Rue Dec 2008

Communicable Disease And International Security: The Case Of Africa & Hiv/Aids, Amy L Rue

Archived Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I will look at how communicable disease fits into the human security discourse particularly with the disease being views as the 'potential threat' and the 'referent object' within the international sphere. The case of Africa will be used to illustrate the impact of HIV/AIDS on international security at country, regional and international levels. Ultimately, I will argue that communicable disease, as a human security issue, is a clear and important international security issue due to its status as a continual "potential threat" within international relations particularly in Africa. The elements that I will use to establish my …


The State Of African Geography In The North American Academy, William G. Moseley, Kefa Otiso Dec 2008

The State Of African Geography In The North American Academy, William G. Moseley, Kefa Otiso

William G Moseley

The objective of this article is to examine trends in the production of Africa-related geography PhDs at US and Canadian universities.


De La Fiction Criminelle En Afrique. Relecture Des Films D’Ousmane Sembène, Alexie Tcheuyap Dec 2008

De La Fiction Criminelle En Afrique. Relecture Des Films D’Ousmane Sembène, Alexie Tcheuyap

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

For institutional, ideological and even sociological reasons, the detective genre had difficulty rising to prominence within literatures and especially within the field of African cinema. If one observes today its shy emergence in the works of some West African film directors and within popular Nigerian video films, it is nonetheless possible, thanks to a finer scrutiny of theories developed on the subject, to realize that some films by Ousmane Sembène contain aesthetic strategies that allow for a fresh assessment of the works of a director whose films were often reduced to their ideological aspects. This second reading also unravels the …


The Role Of Private Military Companies In Us-Africa Policy, Emmanuel Aning, Thomas Jaye, Samuel Atuobi Nov 2008

The Role Of Private Military Companies In Us-Africa Policy, Emmanuel Aning, Thomas Jaye, Samuel Atuobi

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This article discusses the increasing use of private military companies (PMCs) in United States' security policy in Africa, and examines this phenomenon in relation to the US' various military training programmes on the continent. We argue that the increasing use of PMCs in US security policy has evolved due to two critical and mutually dependent developments; African state weakness and resource stringency on the one hand, and the US's overwhelming security commitments around the world, combined with military downsizing, on the other. The article further argues that the involvement of PMCs is to a large extent informed by US concerns …


Africa, Mark J. Calaguas Aug 2008

Africa, Mark J. Calaguas

Mark J Calaguas

The Africa Committee's contribution to the 2007 Year-in-Review issue of the American Bar Association Section of International Law's quarterly journal, The International Lawyer.


Civic Service In Lesotho: Local Sources And U.S. Connections, R Drew Smith, Stephanie Boddie Jul 2008

Civic Service In Lesotho: Local Sources And U.S. Connections, R Drew Smith, Stephanie Boddie

Center for Social Development Research

Civic Service in Lesotho: Local Sources and U.S. Connections


Emergence Of The E-Government Artifact In An Environment Of Social Exclusion In Kenya, Nixon Muganda Ochara Jun 2008

Emergence Of The E-Government Artifact In An Environment Of Social Exclusion In Kenya, Nixon Muganda Ochara

The African Journal of Information Systems

Purpose: E-Government, introduced in African countries under the banner of New Public Management (NPM), is envisaged to fundamentally aid in improving governance in developing countries. The imported model of E-Government is therefore transferred to African countries as a panacea to bad governance by carriers such as international donor agencies, consultants, Information Technology vendors and Western-trained civil servants. Improved governance is expected to impact on the socio-economic development of these countries implementing E-Government, as an NPM instrument. This article recognizes that E-Government success, which is critically dependent on the World Wide Web, requires socially inclusive national information infrastructure.

The purpose …


An African Phd Program In Information Systems: The Case Of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, Solomon Negash, Richard T. Watson, Detmar W. Straub Jun 2008

An African Phd Program In Information Systems: The Case Of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, Solomon Negash, Richard T. Watson, Detmar W. Straub

The African Journal of Information Systems

This case study is about the first Information Systems PhD program in Ethiopia and the region, a collaborative effort of thirteen universities around the globe. Fifteen faculty members traveled to Ethiopia to launch the program for classes, which will start in 2009. This paper depicts the program design and program development and an outline of the overall program. The authors share their personal experience in the development of this unique IS PhD program.


An Empirical Analysis Of Macroeconomic And Political Determinants Of Private Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa, Ralph Cann-Tamakloe Apr 2008

An Empirical Analysis Of Macroeconomic And Political Determinants Of Private Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa, Ralph Cann-Tamakloe

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

The general macroeconomic and political difficulties experienced by many Sub-Saharan African countries in the late 1980s has led to economic and political reforms to improve private investment performance. It has been estimated that Sub-Saharan African countries needed to boost private investment in gross domestic product some 25% in the 1990s to achieve sustainable growth and development (Pfefferman and Madarassy, 1989). However, private investment performance has fallen short of the estimated 25%, and remained stagnant between 12.4% and 14.1% per annum from 1993 to 2002.

The purpose of this study therefore is to examine the influence of macroeconomic factors and democracy, …


South Africa And The Arab World: Facing Common Challenges, Marcus Noland, Howard Pack Mar 2008

South Africa And The Arab World: Facing Common Challenges, Marcus Noland, Howard Pack

Marcus Noland

Today the Arab countries of the Middle East face a challenge familiar to all South Africans: to create jobs for the large cohort of young people reaching working age. Over the next decade or so, the region may experience population growth of 150 million people—the equivalent of adding two Egypts (table 1). In demographic terms, the task is similar to that facing South Africa—only larger. Rising labor force participation by women only increases the pressure. The task is immense, and the stakes are high.


An African Perspective On The Cluster Munitions Convention, Sheila Mweemba Mar 2008

An African Perspective On The Cluster Munitions Convention, Sheila Mweemba

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

On 30 May 2008, the international community adopted the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It is little wonder that those who were against a convention of this sort are still reeling from the shock of it. Africa, on the other hand, can give itself a well-deserved pat on the back for having played a pivotal role in the adoption of a groundbreaking, legally-binding instrument of which posterity will judge the results.


Ec-Funded Mine Action In Africa: Volume 2 - Country Reports, Ted Paterson, Vera Bohle, Léonie Barnes, Mohamed Ahmed, Pamela Rebelo Mar 2008

Ec-Funded Mine Action In Africa: Volume 2 - Country Reports, Ted Paterson, Vera Bohle, Léonie Barnes, Mohamed Ahmed, Pamela Rebelo

Global CWD Repository

The Evaluation of EC support for mine action in Africa is the first of six regional mine action evaluations that the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) will conduct or commission for the European Commission (EC). These regional evaluations follow from a Global Assessment of EC support for mine action completed in 2005. Given the broad scope of a regional evaluation, no attempt was made to assess the performance of individual
projects; rather, the focus was on EC mine action strategy and programming issues at the country and regional levels. In addition to a document review, the evaluation team …


Evaluation Of Ec Funded Mine Action Programmes In Africa, Gichd Feb 2008

Evaluation Of Ec Funded Mine Action Programmes In Africa, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The Evaluation of EC support for mine action in Africa is the first of six regional mine action evaluations that the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) will conduct or commission for the European Commission (EC). These regional evaluations followon from a Global Assessment of EC support for mine action completed in 2005. Given the broad scope of a regional evaluation, no attempt was made to assess the performance of individual projects; rather, the focus was on EC mine action strategy and programming issues at the country and regional levels. In addition to a document review, the evaluation team …


Us Peace-Operations Policy In Africa: From Acri To Africom, A. Sarjoh Bah, Emmanuel Aning Jan 2008

Us Peace-Operations Policy In Africa: From Acri To Africom, A. Sarjoh Bah, Emmanuel Aning

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

This article examines the changing nature of US peacekeeping policy in Africa in the postcold war period. After an account of the failures in Somalia and Rwanda in the early 1990s, it traces the evolution of various training programmes, from the African Crisis Response Initiative (ACRI) in the early 1990s to the African Command (AFRICOM). We argue that, while these initiatives had some characteristics that were welcomed by African states, the programmes never achieved their full potential. The United States was quick to replace one programme with another when it ran into difficulty with the recipients, leading to a shift …


From Importer To Exporter: The Changing Role Of Nigeria In Promoting Democratic Values In Africa, Shola J. Omotola Jan 2008

From Importer To Exporter: The Changing Role Of Nigeria In Promoting Democratic Values In Africa, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

No abstract provided.


Against The Cultural Gap Thesis In Africa’S Democratisation, Shola J. Omotola Jan 2008

Against The Cultural Gap Thesis In Africa’S Democratisation, Shola J. Omotola

Shola J. Omotola Mr

The article challenges the cultural gap thesis in Africa’s democratization. The thesis argues that democratization in Africa falters because there is a cultural gap in the democratic framework, such as the absence of democrats, i.e., culture, and the subsequent perversion of the democratization process. The argument holds only if there is one single democracy, and therefore, only one acceptable political culture, which is seldom the case. The problem of democracy in Africa is not due to a unique flaw in the African way of life that forecloses the feasibility of sustainable democracy in the continent. It must be that the …


The Linkages Between Fdi And Domestic Investment: Unravelling The Developmental Impact Of Foreign Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa, Léonce Ndikumana, Sher Verick Jan 2008

The Linkages Between Fdi And Domestic Investment: Unravelling The Developmental Impact Of Foreign Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa, Léonce Ndikumana, Sher Verick

Léonce Ndikumana

While the recent increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) to African countries is a welcome development, the question remains as to the impact of these resource inflows on economic development. This study posits that a key channel of the impact of FDI on development is through its effects on domestic factor markets, especially domestic investment and employment. In this context, this study analyses the two-way linkages between FDI and domestic investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results suggest that firstly, FDI crowds in domestic investment, and secondly, countries will gain much from measures aimed at improving the domestic investment climate. Moreover, …


Strengthening Livelihoods In Sahelian West Africa: The Geography Of Development And Underdevelopment In A Peripheral Region, William G. Moseley Jan 2008

Strengthening Livelihoods In Sahelian West Africa: The Geography Of Development And Underdevelopment In A Peripheral Region, William G. Moseley

William G Moseley

No abstract provided.


The Mystery Of Capital Formation In Sub-Saharan Africa: Women, Property Rights And Customary Law, Sandra F. Joireman Jan 2008

The Mystery Of Capital Formation In Sub-Saharan Africa: Women, Property Rights And Customary Law, Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

Economists such as Hernando De Soto have argued that clearly defined property rights are essential to capital formation and ultimately to economic growth and poverty alleviation. This article traces two impediments to the clear definition of property rights in the African context: customary law and the status of women. Both of these issues interfere with the attempt of African countries to rearticulate property law with the goal of capital formation. Constructive attempts to define property rights must address the problem of enforcement in under-resourced environments where changes may not be welcomed.


A Food-Based Dietary Strategy Lowers Blood Pressure In A Low Socio-Economic Setting: A Randomised Study In South Africa, Karen E. Charlton, Naomi Levitt, Krisela Steyn, Deborah Jonathan, Nomonde Gwebushe, Nasheeta Peer, Katja Rossouw, Theresa Gogela, Carl J. Lombard Jan 2008

A Food-Based Dietary Strategy Lowers Blood Pressure In A Low Socio-Economic Setting: A Randomised Study In South Africa, Karen E. Charlton, Naomi Levitt, Krisela Steyn, Deborah Jonathan, Nomonde Gwebushe, Nasheeta Peer, Katja Rossouw, Theresa Gogela, Carl J. Lombard

Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Objective To assess the impact of a food-based intervention on blood pressure (BP) in free-living South African men and women aged 50–75 years, with drug-treated mild-to-moderate hypertension.

Methods A double-blind controlled trial was undertaken in eighty drug-treated mild-to-moderate hypertensive subjects randomised to an intervention (n 40) or control (n 40) arm. The intervention was 8-week provision of six food items with a modified cation content (salt replacement (SOLO™), bread, margarine, stock cubes, soup mix and a flavour enhancer) and 500 ml of maas (fermented milk)/d. The control diet provided the same quantities of the targeted foods but of …


A Re-Examination Of A Human Femur Found At The Blind River Site, East London, South Africa: Its Age, Morphology, And Breakage Pattern, Zenobia Jacobs, Qian Wang, David L. Roberts, P V. Tobias Jan 2008

A Re-Examination Of A Human Femur Found At The Blind River Site, East London, South Africa: Its Age, Morphology, And Breakage Pattern, Zenobia Jacobs, Qian Wang, David L. Roberts, P V. Tobias

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

ABSTRACT Modern human femoral features might have appeared in the early Middle Stone Age (156 ka to 20 ka) in South Africa, as demonstrated by the recent re-examination of a human femur fossil found at the Blind River Site, East London in the 1930s, if new dating results hold. Two optically stimulated luminescence dates from the relocated original Blind River shallow marine/estuarine deposits that contained the femur gave almost identical ages of ~120 ka, corresponding to the early part of the Last Interglacial (Oxygen Isotope Stage 5). Overall, the slender headless femur is of modern human form. The distal epiphysis …


What Happened To Africa?, J. Peter Pham Jan 2008

What Happened To Africa?, J. Peter Pham

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair—A History of Fifty Years of Independence by Martin Meredith. New York: Public Affairs, 2006. 752 pp.


Environment And Development In Uganda: Understanding The Global Influence On Domestic Policy, Christopher Gore Dec 2007

Environment And Development In Uganda: Understanding The Global Influence On Domestic Policy, Christopher Gore

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.


China’S Ventures In Africa, Emmanuel Aning, Delphine Lecroute Dec 2007

China’S Ventures In Africa, Emmanuel Aning, Delphine Lecroute

Emmanuel Kwesi Aning

In this paper, we are guided by several questions of which the critical one is whether Sino-African relations are merely opportunistic and based on an ad hoc momentum, or whether they reflect a real strategy based on presence and territorial domination in the new context of competition and cooperation on the reconfigured African continent. We argue that any endeavour to appreciate the complexities of this relationship needs a more nuanced and differentiated appreciation and understanding of Sino-African relations. Such an approach will elucidate the complex relationship between Africa and China and, more importantly, emphasise the delicate nuances that are overlooked …


Healthy Urban Food Production And Local Government, Christopher Gore Dec 2007

Healthy Urban Food Production And Local Government, Christopher Gore

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.


Electricity And Privatization In Uganda: The Origins Of Crisis And Problems With Response, Christopher Gore Dec 2007

Electricity And Privatization In Uganda: The Origins Of Crisis And Problems With Response, Christopher Gore

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.


Explaining Pro-Cyclical Fiscal Policy In African Countries, John Thornton Dec 2007

Explaining Pro-Cyclical Fiscal Policy In African Countries, John Thornton

John Thornton

Simple time series regressions for 37 low-income African countries during 1960–2004 suggest that government consumption is highly pro-cyclical,with consumption responding more than proportionately to fluctuations in output in many cases. The results from a cross-country specification suggest that government consumption is more procyclical in those African countries that are more reliant on foreign aid inflows and that are less corrupt, and that it is less procyclical in countries with unequal income distribution and that are more democratic. These results contrast with those from recent research using data sets that comprise a more diverse groups of countries in terms of geography …