African Studies Commons^™

Transparency And Accountability In The Management Of Oil Revenues In Ghana, Ransford E. Van Gyampo

Government and International Affairs Faculty Publications

This paper undertakes a five-year review of the management of oil revenues in Ghana since the commencement of oil production in 2010. Using reports from the Petroleum Transparency and Accountability Index, official records from key state agencies, and interviews with core individuals within the petroleum sector, the paper assesses the quality of transparency and accountability in the management of Ghana’s oil revenue. It argues that even though some progress has been made in the transparent and accountable use of oil revenues, more can be achieved if certain critical bills are passed and proactive interventions pursued without further delay on the …

Challenges Of Empowering People With Disabilities In Nigeria For National Development, C. Jonah Eleweke, Gabriel Soje

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper reviews issues affecting the empowerment of people with disabilities in Nigeria so they can be productive and contribute to the development of the nation. The questions of concern are: What is known about the extent people with disabilities are empowered to contribute to national development in Nigeria? What challenges do people with disabilities in Nigeria encounter in their attempt to contribute to national development? What are the implications of these challenges regarding strategies that could enhance the empowerment of people with disabilities to facilitate their contribution to national development?

Impact Of German Sources Of Capital On The Namibian Economy, Vladimir Chlouba

Economics Honors Papers

This work examines the impact of German sources of capital on the Namibian economy. Two sets of equations are tested. The first set tests the effect that German development assistance and German capital goods have had on domestic GDP. The second set tests the effect of German development assistance on the Namibian government’s capital formation outlays. The German independent variables are subsequently compared to global sources of capital in order to determine whether the German sources demonstrate a comparatively higher significance. Furthermore, the effects of official development assistance are disaggregated by type to test for aid’s fungibility. This analysis enables …

Afroreggae And Grupo Cultural Afro Reggae: A Study Of The Early Years, Sarah S. Ohmer

Publications and Research

The following study of AfroReggae and Grupo Cultural Afro Reggae (GCAR) calls attention to Brazilian presence and community organizing in the field of Hip Hop studies with a long memory framework: placing AfroReggae and GCAR in a long history of Africana resistance through music in Latin America. !990s GCAR group arises when reggae and Hip Hop music had become new global forms of solidarity among urban marginalized youths worldwide, making use of old and new strategies of social healing (Fernandes 2011). A close look at lyrics from the Hip Hop fusion band and the associated nonprofit organization shape the concepts …

Sustainable Safari Practices: Proximity To Wildlife, Educational Intervention And The Quality Of Experience, Ryan Devine Tarver

All Master's Theses

This research examines the perceived quality of experience for safari tourists in relation to wildlife viewing proximities and the potential of educational interventions as a management strategy to mitigate adverse impacts of safari participant crowding. Crowding emanates from the safari tourist preferences to obtain close proximity to animals, particularly large mammals. Recognizing these preferences and associated impacts to animal behavior defined in previous research, we develop and deliver a survey instrument designed to measure the perceived quality of experience of the safari tourist while controlling for the viewing proximity variable. The survey instrument involves responding to stock photos selected to …

Barriers To And Efficacy Of Point-Of-Use Chemical Drinking Water Treatment In Kolda, Senegal, West Africa, Barbara L. Michel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Hundreds of thousands throughout the Kolda region in southern Senegal rely on potentially contaminated well water as their drinking source. Chemical treatment of the water using a small amount of chlorine bleach has been shown to increase its safety for human consumption; however, the vast majority of people in the region do not disinfect water before they drink it. In this study, 97 individuals (47 water Treaters and 51 Non-Treaters) were surveyed on motivations and barriers towards bleaching or not bleaching their water, and microbiological field testing was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of treatment in the field. The microbial …

Ethiopian And Eritrean Businesses Growth Barriers In The Washington, Dc Area, Sereke-Berhan Meres

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prior studies have revealed that recent Asian and Hispanic immigrant entrepreneurs have made significant contributions to social change in the United States. Although African immigrant entrepreneurs have made such contributions, few studies exist about them, and there is limited knowledge about this business community. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify the barriers of growth in Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrant-owned firms in the Washington, DC area who were in business for a minimum of 3 years and represented various trade lines and geographical locations. The enhanced integrated model of ethnic business development, which proposes growth strategies by …

Success Strategies For Small Business Owners In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Marcellinus Emeka Madu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African immigrant business owners create jobs and often stimulate economic growth in distressed inner-city areas, yet they continue to experience barriers obtaining financial support in the United States when trying to gain entrance into the broader economy. The objective of this multiple case study was to explore strategies African immigrant business owners used to succeed in business beyond 5 years. The conceptual framework of this study included resource-based theory, human capital theory, and disadvantage theory. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 3 African immigrant business owners in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who had succeeded in business beyond 5 years. Thematic analysis from interviews, …

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 …

Parent-Adolescent Sexual Health Communication In Immigrant Nigerian American Families, Susan Modupe Ogunnowo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Poor sexual health communication among first generation Nigerian American parents and their adolescent children due to disparities in cultural integration constitutes a barrier to effective parent-child relationships. The purpose of this phenomenological study, which was guided by the acculturative family distancing (AFD) model, was to explore the lived experience of Nigerian immigrant families in the United States regarding communication effectiveness about sex and integration into the American way of life. The research questions addressed cultural bias, parent-adolescent communication effectiveness, strategies employed, resources available to new immigrants, and barriers to their usage. Data collection was by individual interviews of 5 Nigerian-born …

Motives And Methods Of Social Mobilization In Rural Senegal, Antonia Morzenti

Capstone Collection

Senegal, a predominantly Muslim West African country, has demonstrated political stability, sustained a constitutional democracy, and maintained a pluralistic society since independence in 1960. Amidst this, there are several small groups of social organizers who are engaging in effective social change. Tostan, a regional INGO focusing on community empowerment through nonformal education, has been working in Senegal for more than 25 years and has reached more than three million people in West Africa. After completing Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP), the social organizers have decided to travel from village to village educating and sensitizing others on what they have learned. …

Strategies To Sustain Small-And-Medium Sized Business Enterprises, Matthias Ikenna Chijioke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Eighty-five percent of all firms operating in Nigeria are small-and medium-sized business enterprises (SMEs) and contribute almost 55% to the gross domestic product (GDP) in Nigeria. Capital flight and other growth inhibitors pose threats to the sustainability of SMEs in Nigeria. This exploratory multiple-case study was to determine strategies SME leaders use to sustain business operations in Nigeria. The study participants consisted of 15 SME leaders from 3 regional manufacturing firms who had successfully implemented strategies to sustain SMEs in Nigeria. Bertalanffy's general systems theory and Freeman's stakeholder theory were the conceptual frameworks used in the research. The data collection …

Immigration's Impact On Emerging Mental Health Issues Among Kenyans In The Northeast United States, Jane Itumbi Kabuiku

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Immigrants lose their unique psychosocial context when their experiences are subsumed under pan ethnic labels such as Hispanics, Latina/o, Asians or Africans. The stress from navigating different cultural contexts becomes problematic when immigrants operate within mainstream cultural norms that are in conflict with their traditional values. The number of Kenyan immigrants to the United States has steadily increased since the 1980s. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to study the lived experience of Kenyan immigrants by focusing on their integration experience and how the integration processes may have affected their mental health. Very few studies center on the …

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 …

Perceptions About Sexually Transmitted Diseases In Akwa Ibom State Of Nigeria: A Qualitative Study Of Young Adults Age 18-24, Mfon Archibong Archibong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the ongoing investments in programs to increase sexual health awareness among young adults globally, many youths remain vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Two-thirds of all STDs occur among youths engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors, which put young adults at higher risk of STDs and can result in serious consequences including infertility. Additionally, the social consequences of STD affect families and communities. While a need exists for increased public awareness of STDs among young adults, extant intervention and prevention activities should be informed by a cultural perspective, including the integration of community and government roles. The purpose of this …

Social Justice And Human Rights In Education Policy Discourse: Assessing Nelson Mandela's Legacy, Abrehet Gebremedhin, Devin Joshi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Twenty years after South Africa's democratisation, Nelson Mandela's passing has prompted scholars to examine his legacy in various domains. Here we take a look at his legacy in education discourse. Tracing Mandela's thoughts and pronouncements on education we find two major emphases: a view of education as a practical means to economic development, and education as a means to social justice, human rights, and democracy. Assessing the legacy of these twin emphases, we conducted qualitative and quantitative content analysis of turning point documents in education policy and annual reports from the respective South African ministries of education over the last …

An Analysis Of Education Reform In Sub-Saharan Africa, Katharine Eger

CMC Senior Theses

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to fall behind other developing regions regarding educational attainment, despite recent progress in enrollment. This thesis examines a variety of external conditional factors that could contribute to a country’s relative success, in terms of years spent in school using a prediction model that compares years enrolled in secondary education as a foundation to determine over- and under-performing countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

By exploring various educational policies, historical patterns, and projects executed in Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana, and Botswana, this thesis sheds light on four main challenges that can impact educational attainment: ethnic and racial tensions, an acute …

Examining The Renewable Energy Consumption-Economic Growth Nexus In Sub-Saharan African Countries, Luke Neuhaus

Honors Program Theses

Given the role renewable energy is likely to play in the context of sustainable development, it is important to understand the relationship between renewable energy and economic growth. Therefore, this paper examines the relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth in a panel of sub-Saharan Africa countries from 1990-2011. Using a production function framework, the dependent variable is real GDP while the independent variables include renewable energy consumption, capital, and labor. The panel cointegration and Fully-Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) results indicate the existence of a long-run and statistically significant relationship between real GDP and the independent variables. The …