Formalizing Through Finances: A Case Study With Unics, Leah Kellenberger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper seeks to analyze the microfinance industry in Yaoundé, Cameroon through the lens of the microfinance institution UNICS. The main question guiding this study deals with whether or not the UNICS is encouraging a shift to the formal sector through their work with business people. Other questions relating to repayment rates and subsequently economic development also remain pertinent to the information found. In total, it is found that UNICS seeks to encourage formal sector growth through their work with businesspeople in the informal. Repayment rates however do not determine success of any aspect of a customer’s business or encouragement …

When The Health System Fails You: Maternal Care Under Kenya’S 2017 Nurses' Strike, Tessa Coughtrey-Davenport

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study focuses on the 2017 nurses’ strike and how the crippling of the public health system impacted maternal care in Kisumu, Kenya. Kenya has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world, and there have been many efforts to reduce this, such as delivery with a Skilled Birth Attendant and attending antenatal care visits, all of which are centered around a functioning health system. The research team used a combination of interviews with key populations and analysis of service delivery data at local health centers to evaluate the effects of the strike on maternal care. The study …

Caring For Caregivers: Challenges Facing Informal Palliative Caregivers In Western Kenya, Hartlee Johnston

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chronic illnesses like cancer, HIV, and other non-communicable disease are increasing globally, especially in developing countries, necessitating development of palliative care and symptom management systems. In Kenya, the burden of care for chronically ill patients often falls to unpaid, informal caregivers like family members or friends. Thirty-five current or past informal caregivers from Kisumu, Kenya were interviewed about their experience, challenges they faced, and interventions they felt would be helpful. Major challenges identified included lack of finances for treatment and other living expenses; inadequate, unaffordable, or interrupted medical care; emotional stress exacerbated by juggling many responsibilities, pressure to emotionally support …

Community Perception Of The Hiv Vaccine In Western Kenya: Acceptability, Potential Behavior Changes, And Views On Compulsory Vaccination, Deborah Keen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) suppresses the immune system by attacking T cells, leading to the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV affects over 30 million people around the world and 1.6 million people in Kenya. On August 18, 1987, the FDA sanctioned the first human testing of a candidate vaccine for HIV. Currently, multiple HIV vaccines—projected to be on the market in five to ten years—are being tested for efficacy and safety. The goal of this study was to explore opinions related to the HIV vaccine so that there is a guide for future policy development in Western Kenya. …

Assessing The Successes Of And Challenges Facing Civil Society Organizations In South Africa, In Influencing Gender-Based Violence Policy, Sarah Connolly

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to explore how South African civil society organizations (CSOs) influence government policies that are put into place to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV). The project seeks to determine what strategies for influencing these policies have been the most effective and had the greatest impact, what factors have contributed to the organizations’ successes in influencing these policies, what challenges have been experienced in attempting to influence these policies, and what best practice for civil society actors attempting to influence such policies might be. The research focuses on the experiences of seven women working …

The Latex Journey: A Narrative Approach To Exploring Condom Use, Stigma, And Education From The Perspective Of Women In Masxha, Kylie Yocum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although the South African National Department of Health (NDOH) is spending increasing amounts of money on improving their HIV programs (including the rollout of new, scented condoms for their condom distribution program), the rates of condom use at last sexual encounter are declining. This inquiry focused on young women in the neighborhood of Masxha, Cato Manor, and their opinions surrounding how condoms are being used or misused, as well as the gender norms that perpetrate this (mis)use. This inquiry demonstrated the narratives of these young women on factors such as condom acquisition, gendered stigma, and condom education, including the Life …

Land Insecurity In Gulu, Uganda: A Clash Between Culture And Capitalism, Zachary Slotkin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper presents the causes and consequences of land insecurity in Gulu, Uganda. In order to address this important and often sensitive issue, the paper analyzes the role of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency and the government’s policy of forced encampment during the insurgency in contributing to land insecurity, causing widespread displacement among former internally displaced persons (IDPs). It further explores the importance of land ownership in providing economic productivity to rural landowners, as well as the nature of customary land tenure in Acholi culture and the government’s efforts to privatize communal land, to give a background on the …

Rehabilitation And Reintegration Of Genocide Ex-Prisoners: Understanding The Correctional Role Of Prisons In Rwanda, Lulu Abdun

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

After the Genocide Against the Tutsi in 1994, over 120,000 people were imprisoned in Rwanda for the perpetration of genocide. Twenty-three years after the Genocide, numerous genocide ex-prisoners have been released. Throughout their prison time and after their release, rehabilitation and reintegration programming has been available. This paper looks at the rehabilitation and reintegration programming available to genocide ex-prisoners, the success and challenges they currently face or have previously faced, and recommendations for reforms for the future prison/rehabilitation/reintegration process. This paper also examines the correctional role of prisons in Rwanda and how that contributes to successful reintegration. From interviewing genocide …

Mental Illness Stigma, Socially Acceptable Treatment, And Barriers To Health, Frances Renee Gellert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper discusses the topic of mental illness stigma and treatment in Uganda as explored through internship in the Social Work Department at Butabika National Referral Mental Hospital. The objectives of this project were to complete a meaningful internship while exploring causes of mental illness in Uganda, contradictions between traditional and modern approaches to treatment, and the affect of stigma on mental well-being. The internship included a total of 120 hours at Butabika Hospital. Individual research using documentary and literature review methods accompanied the internship. Butabika Hospital did not consent to the completion of formal research at, so any conclusions …

An Analysis Of Positive Coping Mechanisms Utilized To Overcome Trauma In Post-Genocidal Rwanda, Danielle Marvin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

From April 7th to July 1st of 1994, one million Rwandan people were brutally murdered by their friends and neighbors in the meticulously planned and government-sponsored Genocide against the Tutsi. Survivors witnessed killings and sexual assault, had their lives threatened, lost multiple family members, and hid under dead bodies to evade the killers. To make matters worse, trust within communities and even within families was destroyed as Hutu perpetrators turned against Tutsis they had, days earlier, been inviting to family events. After the genocide, PTSD rates among adults in Rwanda were estimated at 20.5% for men and 30% for women …

Christians’ Cut: Popular Religion And The Global Health Campaign For Medical Male Circumcision In Swaziland, Casey Golomski, Sonene Nyawo

Anthropology

Swaziland faces one of the worst HIV epidemics in the world and is a site for the current global health campaign in sub-Saharan Africa to medically circumcise the majority of the male population. Given that Swaziland is also majority Christian, how does the most popular religion influence acceptance, rejection or understandings of medical male circumcision? This article considers interpretive differences by Christians across the Kingdom’s three ecumenical organisations, showing how a diverse group people singly glossed as ‘Christian’ in most public health acceptability studies critically rejected the procedure in unity, but not uniformly. Participants saw medical male circumcision’s promotion and …

Perceptions Of Ethnic Federalism And The Ethiopian Diaspora Community In The Us, Kassaw Tafere Merie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diaspora communities are becoming an essential part of socioeconomic and political developments of their homeland countries. The problem addressed by this study is that after ethnic federalism was implemented in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian diaspora in the US is divided along ethnic lines, causing human resource management and law enforcement challenges within the communities in the host country. The purpose of this study was to describe the impacts of Ethiopia's ethnic-based federalism on its diaspora residing in a US metropolitan area. The theoretical framework was based on Teshome and ZáhoÅ?ík's theory of ethnic federalism and Safran's theory of diaspora. The key …

Transformative Leadership And Its Development In Public Service Reform In Kenya, Gerald Paul Regier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leadership on the African continent has been a focus of scholars as African nations have incredible human and natural resources but seem to be bereft of the leaders necessary to capitalize on its opportunities. Researchers acknowledge that the barrier to progress in the developing world is not the deficiency of money or natural resources, but suggested it to be the lack of leadership. Researchers have demonstrated reasons for this deficiency including the effects of the colonial system upon people and civil service systems, but have yet been able to establish a promising path to economic and social progress. Leaders in …

Peacebuilding In The Context Of Displacement: Women’S Groups In Internally Displaced Persons (Idps) Settlements In Kenya, Catherine A. Odera

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

Abstract

Following the 2007-2008 post-election violence in Kenya, 650,000 people, comprising men, women, youth, and children, fled their communities, and found refuge in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps. Although the Kenyan Government resettled some of the IDPs later in eco-villages and inner city settlements, seven years later there were still 309,200 in IDPs camps across the country. The objective of this qualitative multi-sited single case study is to explore the role of women’s groups in peacebuilding efforts following the post-election conflict. The study focuses on four grassroots-level local women’s groups in the Bankala and Mambira eco-villages and an inner-city settlement …

Protecting The Right To Life Of The Internally Displaced: An Examination Of Encampment And Its Effects On The Communities In Unyama And Koro Sub-Counties In Gulu District, Northern Uganda, Ashley Alessandra

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines the period of encampment in Northern Uganda, as related to the Lord’s Resistance Army conflict, and the effects that encampment has had on communities in Gulu District through present day. The objectives of this study include; to examine the process of displacement, to analyze whether displaced persons were accorded the right to security during the encampment period, to analyze the effects that encampment has had on communities during the return period, through present day, and to examine the ways in which various actors have attempted to address such effects. This analysis is conducted through a human rights …

The Relationship Between Nigerian Local Government Administrative Leadership Styles And Organization Outcomes, Adebayo A. Adanri

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the multitude of existing studies of leadership and organizational outcome, there are few empirical studies of these phenomena in Africa. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between Nigerian local government administrative leadership and organizational outcome and between perceived leadership effectiveness and transformational leadership factors, based on Bass's full range leadership theory (FRLT). Data were collected through the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires administered to a randomly selected sample of 240 department heads in 30 local governments in Osun State, Nigeria. Regression result shows a statistically significant correlation between the local public administrators' leadership practices and organizational …

Exploring Ghana's Strategies For Stability:Lessons For Postwar Reconstruction, Wilmot Nah Adekoya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 1990 and 2005, the state of affairs in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Liberia, remained fragile due to continuous civil unrest and war. Although peace initiatives were initiated, progress toward peace has remained minimal. Ghana, one of the nations in Sub-Saharan Africa, has continued to demonstrate significant stability and progress in the midst of civil and political conflicts in the sub-region. Currently, little research exists on how Ghanaians managed to remain stable, while countries in the sub-region continued to experience civil unrests and wars. Using Eisenstadt's theory of sociological modernization as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this holistic …

Consequences Of The Niger Delta Amnesty Program Implementation On Nigeria's Upstream Petroleum Industry, Chisomaga Ihediohanma Ezeocha

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Niger Delta militancy ravaged the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector between 2004-2009, bringing it to a standstill. In response, the Nigerian state adopted an amnesty policy―a globally recognized tool for conflict resolution and peacebuilding―to protect the sector and the economy from collapse. Little is known, however, about the unintended consequences of the amnesty implementation for the Nigerian upstream petroleum sector. Thus, the purpose of this study was to fill this gap in the research literature on the Niger Delta amnesty program. Polarity management was the conceptual framework applied; relative deprivation and polarities of democracy constituted the theoretical foundation for this …

Threads And Stitches Of Peace- Understanding What Makes Ghana An Oasis Of Peace?, Hippolyt Akow Saamwan Pul

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Ghana is considered an oasis of peace despite having the same mix of ethno-political competitions for state power and resources; north-south horizontal inequalities; ethno-regional concentrations of Christians and Muslims; highly ethnicised elections; a natural resource dependent economy; and a politically polarized public sphere, among others, that have plunged other countries in Africa into violent and often protracted national conflicts. Use of the conflict paradigm to explain Africa's conflicts glosses over positive deviance cases such as Ghana. This study used the peace paradigm in a mixed method, grounded theory research to examine Ghana's apparent exceptionalism in staving off violent national conflicts. …

Creating Knowledge, Volume 8, 2015

Creating Knowledge

Dear reader,

I am delighted to introduce this eighth volume of Creating Knowledge: The LAS Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship. This volume features 19 essays and 14 art works, representing advanced coursework produced in twenty different departments and programs during the 2014-2015 academic year. Several of the essays have been honored with department awards and several draw on research supported by undergraduate research grants. Many were originally written in senior capstone seminars, research-intensive seminars, and independent studies, and many were presented in some form at one of the numerous conferences and showcases sponsored by departments and programs throughout the year. All …

Into The Red: A Look Into The Reasons Why Refugees Decide To Flee, Settle Or Migrate To And From Morocco, Fadeelah E. Holivay

Master's Theses

This research paper explores some of the main reasons why refugees and asylum seekers, particularly from sub-Saharan African countries, embark on a journey and decide to settle, flee or migrate to and from Morocco. Because of this phenomenon, Morocco has seen a 96% increase of refugees migrating to the borders of Morocco each year for the past three years. Many say that this astonishing increase of migrants choosing Morocco is due to such factors as: wars breaking out regionally across central African and Middle Eastern countries causing them to flee; Morocco being a culturaly diverse francophone country whose laws and …

The Imam And The Pastor: Attempts At Peace In Nigeria Using Interfaith Dialogue, Jinelle Piereder

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Peace And Reconciliation: Case Of Lokokwo Peyot Women’S Group In Paidwe Parish, Bobi Sub-County, Amanda R. Kaste

Student Publications

This research project explores perceptions of peace and reconciliation among female members of the Lokokwo Peyot Women’s Group in Paidwe Parish, Bobi Sub-County, Gulu District. It aims to understand how women define the concepts of peace and reconciliation and how women currently perceive peace and reconciliation within their community. It also attempts to further understand these perceptions through examining the women’s past experiences and current challenges. The project displays the impact of women’s involvement in peacebuilding and conflict mediation in a region that is desperately trying to recover from decades of destruction and violence.

Research was carried out at two …

Corruption In Oil Revenue Distribution And Conflict In Bayelsa State, Nigeria, Chux Ibekwe

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

In the last seventeen years, several high level government officials in Nigeria have faced corruption charges totaling $22 trillion dollars related to oil revenues. In Bayelsa State, a Nigerian state that produces oil, officials have been marked with high level corruption in oil revenue. In particular, the state faces constant conflicts among the government, multinational oil corporations, and the people of the state. Based on these observations, this dissertation seeks to understand the relationship between corruption in oil revenue redistribution and perpetuation of conflicts in Bayelsa State of Nigeria.

Bayelsa State is one of the nine states in Nigeria’s Niger …

The Growing Women’S Political Activism In Africa 1990-2010: An Explanatory Analysis Of Institutions And Contexts, Sylivia Juta

Dissertations

Women all over the world face significant social, cultural, political, and economic barriers that prevent them from obtaining leadership positions. Africa is no exception. However, in the past four decades, Africa has shown a remarkable increase in the number of women gaining political leadership positions, in particular as representatives in parliaments. Due to this remarkable increase in the number of women in parliament in africa, there is a dearth of literature exploring this phenomenon more systematically. Most studies on women’s representation focus on the context of developed countries. The few studies on the African continent are mostly single case studies …

How Civil Society Represents Women: Feminists, Catholics, And Mobilization Strategies In Africa, Alice J. Kang

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

In recent years, civil society has risen to speak on behalf of underrepresented groups in Africa. In particular, civil society has advocated for the representation of women’s interests. Yet, relatively little is known about the full range of actors who seek the representation of women’s interests, mobilize around women’s issues, and articulate specific preferences. Some of these actors include not only feminists, but also religious activists who may clash over women’s issues. This gap in knowledge, moreover, extends to non-democratic countries. Who in civil society seeks to influence the representation of women’s interests and how, in both democratic and authoritarian …

Livelihood Security Among Refugees In Uganda: Opportunities, Obstacles, And Physical Security Implications, Karen J. Norris

Student Publications

This research project was designed to investigate the challenges refugees face in securing a livelihood, to understand the extent to which the United Nations, the government of Uganda, and various aid groups are able to assist refugees in achieving self-reliance, and the capacity that refugees have to empower themselves. It also endeavors to expose any disparities between nationality groups, and the impact of these differences. Furthermore, this project aims to explore the impact of refugee livelihood security on regional physical security and community stability.

The study found that despite international and national policies, and efforts by both non-governmental organizations and …

« Banlieue Noire » : La Question Noire Dans La Littérature Urbaine Contemporaine, Stève Puig

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

Just as the “beur” movement started to flourish in France in the 80’s and the 90’s, a new question has emerged in French society in the last decade: the “black question”, which deals with the place of Africans and Antilleans in French society today. At the same time, a new literary genre has emerged: urban literature, which largely tackles themes related to the presence of Afro-caribbean people in metropolitan France. This article seeks to analyze three urban novels which take place in France, and more specifically how characters situate themselves regarding their Frenchness as the French government attempted to redefine …

Calypso: Effecting Conflict Transformation Through The Indigenous Calypso Art-Form, Edward M. Phillips

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The calypso, which forms an integral part of the carnival celebrations of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is a syncretic popular art-form that has its origin in Africa. The art-form, having been influenced and adapted by the experiences of enslaved Africans in the Diaspora, has been fused in the vortex of plantation society. Today, the music of carnival has evolved considerably, with the calypso becoming one of the cornerstones of the carnival celebration. This paper looks at aspects of the subset of political calypsos that offer commentary on the socio-political and/or economic issues in the Republic of Trinidad and …

La Sociolinguistique Postcoloniale En Amérique Hispanophone Et En Afrique Francophone : Un Drame Linguistique En Deux Actes, Eva Valenti

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the sociolinguistic situations in postcolonial Latin America and francophone North Africa (the Maghreb) through a comparative lens. Specifically, it examines the ways in which Spain and France’s differing colonial agendas and language ideologies affected the relationships between colonizer and colonized, and, by extension, the role that Spanish and French play(ed) in these regions after decolonization. Finally, it explores how Spain and France’s contemporary discourses frame colonial participation in the two languages’ development, and the psychological effects these ideologies have had on the formerly colonized.