African Studies Commons^™

Complexity, Cofactors, And The Failure Of Aids Policy In Africa, Eileen Stillwaggon

Economics Faculty Publications

Global AIDS policy still treats HIV as an exceptional case, abstracting from the context in which infection occurs. Policy is based on a simplistic theory of HIV causation, and evaluated using outdated tools of health economics. Recent calls for a health systems strategy – preventing and treating HIV within a programme of comprehensive health care – have not yet influenced the silo approach of AIDS policy.

Evidence continues to accumulate, showing that multiple factors, such as malnutrition, malaria and helminthes, increase the risk of sexual and vertical transmission of HIV. Moreover, complementary interventions that reduce viral load, improve immune response, …

Genres Populaires Et « Érographiques » En Afrique Francophone : Le Cas Des Romans De La Collection Adoras, Sathya Rao

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

This article will take the Adoras novels as a case study to address the aesthetics and institutional issues related to the emergence of popular literature in francophone Africa. As the promoter of an “erographic” discourse that strives to accommodate modernity and tradition, francophone romance, which has been largely under-examined if not denigrated, raises a wide range of questions on the status of francophone literature, the socioeconomic constraints on publication in Africa, and the construction of a truly African erotic imaginary.

Quand On Vient Aussi De L’Autre Monde: Appartenance(S), Conflit(S) Et Déchirement(S) Dans L’Enfant Des Deux Mondes De Karima Berger, Carla Calargé

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

My essay analyzes Karima Berger’s first novel, L’enfant des deux mondes (1989). The author who has been living in France for more than 25 years tells the story of a Muslim Arab girl (herself ?) educated in the French school system of pre-independent Algeria. In this study, I examine linguistic, cultural and religious issues raised by the novel in an effort to identify the factors that keep the protagonist imprisoned in a permanent state of being in-between-two-worlds without fully belonging to any of them.

Le Feu Sous La Soutane, Roman Populaire? Du Génocide À Sa Transposition Fictionnelle, Josias Semyjanga

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

A reflective, first-person account, Benjamin Sehene’s Le feu sous la soutane is the story of memories of a double crime of rape and genocide by a Catholic priest, Father Stanislas. At the beginning of the killings of the Tutsi, some people take refuge in a parish in Kigali. Its priest takes under his protection a few Tutsi women, hiding them in the presbytery. But, the Holy man will rape them. He also participates alongside with the Hutu militia to the extermination of the Tutsi who came to take refuge in the parish. Later the priest took refuge in France where …

Soleil, Sexe Et Vidéo: La Comédie Populaire Aux Antilles, Françoise Naudillon

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The comedy of manners presented in the form of play or in the form of sketches or playlet by the medium of videos and DVDs is a phenomenon that develops in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana, but also in France. These productions are the link between communities in the Creole area (Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana) and the outside (metropolitan France and diaspora). They will be analyzed for their popular and scholarly features between erudite comedy and farce, between traditional and postcréolitaire cultural affirmation, between Creole and French, between Italian theatre and yardplay, between creole comedy and vaudeville, between negropolitan diaspora and …

Science Education Policy For Emergency, Conflict, And Post-Conflict: An Analysis Of Trends And Implications For The Science Education Program In Uganda, Betty Pacutho Udongo

Dissertations

This study analyzes the impact of armed conflicts on the development of education policy and particularly science education program in Uganda. Since independence from the British colonial rule, Uganda has experienced a series of armed conflicts, with the most devastating being the 21 years of conflict in Northern Uganda.

The research study was guided by the following questions: (1) What is the level of government funding towards improving science education program in Uganda? (2) Have recent initiatives, such as free Primary and Secondary education, compulsory science, and 75% sponsorship for science-based courses, had a measurable impact on the proportion of …

Degrees Of Institutionalization: Family Planning Policies And Programs In Senegal, 1980-2005, Yazmine Michelle Watts

Dissertations

Senegal's population growth rate of 2.7% is greater than double that of the world average of 1.16%. The Government of Senegal acknowledges the population problem and has made efforts to address this issue. For over the past two decades the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has served as the predominant donor in Senegal's health sector and has been a strong supporter of Senegal's family planning program. The evolution of family planning in Senegal cannot be understood without considering the roles of culture, religion, decentralization and funding in the institutionalization process. This research addresses important questions concerning factors that …

Formalisation Of Information Systems In Sub-Saharan African Small And Medium Enterprises: Case Of Botswana, Richard Duncombe, Alemayehu Molla

The African Journal of Information Systems

This article provides an exploratory model that assesses the factors that influence formalisation of information systems (IS) for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa drawing on data gathered in Botswana. The paper defines four levels of formalisation of IS for SMEs and identifies the internal and external factors that influence the process of IS formalisation. Key findings demonstrate a strong reliance on informal information practices amongst SMEs, alongside widespread unmet demand for formal information. It is also observed that successful enterprise development requires optimum use of both formal and informal IS. Evidence suggests this is achieved through developing …

The Global Text Project, Richard T. Watson, Donald J. Mccubbrey

The African Journal of Information Systems

The Global Text Project is intended to create global free textbooks for students in the developing countries. We argue that two key technological and social developments offer an opportunity to create a new model for textbook publishing. First, the Internet is a low cost channel for distributing information products in digital form. Second, global digital communities have created the platform for collaborative creation of content. Through this model a free and open content library will be developed for students covering all major subjects for an undergraduate education. This project is a contributory measure to the global efforts to address the …

Darfur: In Search Of Peace Exploring Viable Solutions To The Darfur Crisis, George Shepherd, Peter Van Arsdale, Negin Sobhani, Nicole Tanner, Frederick Agyeman-Duah

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The following is a report for the Consultation on Darfur carried out in Nairobi, Kenya by Africa Today Associates, Inc. The event took place June 9‐11, 2008 and was made possible with support from Ford Foundation, Kenya (in collaboration with the Institute of International Education). This report aims to build upon, not replace, the findings of our Consultation in Abuja, Nigeria. It is for this purpose that the findings and points addressed in this report are solely those discussed in Nairobi. Although it is inevitable that the two consultations reflected some overlap on the core issues and discussion points, especially …

H. M. Chauke Research Of African Hlengwe People, Happyson William Matsilele Chauke, Tillerman Houser

ATS Digital Resources

This is a collection of historical and cultural research works about the vaHlengwe people of Zimbabwe, created by Happyson Chauke before his untimely death by a hit and run driver in 2009. It was compiled by his friend Tillman Houser, who spent 35 years as a missionary to Zimbabwe under the Free Methodist Church. The bulk of the collection is comprised of the book entitled: "The miracle of Lundi Mission: lest we forget."

The Economic Decline Of Zimbabwe, Chidochashe L. Munangagwa

Gettysburg Economic Review

For the past decade, Zimbabwe has been experiencing an economic decline that has resulted in an inflation rate of 231 million percent and an unemployment rate of over 90 percent. Past research has concluded that the economic decline of Zimbabwe has mainly been caused by poor monetary policies and failure of fiscal policies to control the budget deficit. This research aimed to closely examine some of these policies that the Zimbabwean government implemented, the effects of these policies on economic activity, employment and inflation levels in the country. By interviewing many economic analysts in Zimbabwe, I managed to gather the …

No. 51: Migrant Remittances And Household Survival In Zimbabwe, Daniel Tevara, Abel Chikanda

Southern African Migration Programme

Migrant remittances are now recognised as an important source of global development finance and there is increasing evidence that international remittances have considerable developmental impacts. The contribution of remittances to GDP in many developing countries is significant and has shown a steady increase over the past decade. However, while there is a consensus that remittance flows to Africa are increasing, little attention has been paid to the impact of these transfers on poverty alleviation, primarily because of data deficiencies at the household level. Despite their obvious magnitude, accurate data on remittance flows to Zimbabwe is unavailable or inaccessible. In an …

From "No Country" To "Our Country!" Living Out Manumission And The Boundaries Of Rights And Citizenship, 1773-1855, Scott Hancock

Africana Studies Faculty Publications

During the Revolutionary War and the first decades of the early U.S. Republic, as free people of color sought to define their place in the new nation, they expressed little connection to an American nationality. But antebellum black leaders later articulated a powerful vision of Africans and Americans. As slaves and free blacks had done during the Revolutionary era, they based this African American identity in part upon a biblical view of human rights and a natural rights philosophy, but they also buttressed black identity formation by making a rights discourse the fulcrum of their argument for full inclusion in …

Jessica Burley On Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. By Richard Dowden (New York: Public Affairs, 2009). 592 Pp., Jessica Burley

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles. By Richard Dowden (New York: Public Affairs, 2009). 592 pp.

Transforming Children Of War Into Agents Of Change, Brooke Breazeale

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the turn of the century, Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced the fastest growing rate of child soldiers. Consider the following statistics:

• An estimated 60 percent of child soldiers in Africa are fourteen years old and under (Singer 2006: 29);
• In Uganda the average age of personnel in armed forces is 12.9 (Singer 2006: 29);
• Since 1990, two million children have been killed in armed conflict, the equivalent of five hundred per day for ten years (Singer 2005).

Political Oppression In Sub-Saharan Africa, Alayna Hamilton

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Relative to social and economic rights, there is little discourse on the issue of political rights in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This fact is attributable to the pressing problems of lack of access to food and healthcare that plague millions of people in the region. However, without the observance of political (and civil) rights, economic development, wealth redistribution, and basic social order may be compromised. Contrary to arguments that insist that economic growth and social stability often require the limitation of political rights, political rights are a necessary requisite for promoting civilian support of governmental policies. Without political rights, equitable policies …

Considering The International Monetary Fund And World Bank: Lending Effectiveness In Sub-Saharan Africa, Daniela A. Wohlwend

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sub-Saharan Africa is a place of unequivocal beauty, diversity and history; it is also the most impoverished and neglected area on the planet. With an objective look at what has gone wrong in the past five decades of International Monetary Fund and World Bank lending, along with strategic assessment and planning, sub-Saharan Africa does not have to remain the home to unimpeded, rampant poverty.

African Aid And Success: Four Keys, Susan Paganelli

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Aid to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has occasional success stories, but they are intermingled amongst tales of waste and failure. The stark reality is that more of the population of SSA is chronically undernourished in the present decade than it was in 1992 and 50 percent of the population is still considered to be living in extreme poverty. These problems persist in spite of the $650 billion given in aid to Africa by the world’s concerned countries since 1960 (Sunderberg and Gelp 2006). It is clear that money and good intent are not sufficient to alleviate the suffering in Africa.

The Limits Of International Humanitarian Law, Melissa Eli

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The goal of international humanitarian law is to humanize war in an effort to minimize human suffering and the long-term negative consequences of war. However, despite the adoption by most countries of the Geneva Conventions and other relevant agreements, crimes of war occur in every conflict around the world on a regular basis. Additionally, as the form of warfare changes, so does the implementation and consequences of various war crimes. Genocide, systematic rape, and the use of child soldiers are three of the most significant war crimes facing sub-Saharan Africa today. Each has consequences so severe that specific international laws …

Kimberly Lanegran On Justice And Reconciliation In Post-Apartheid South Africa Edited By François Du Bois And Antje Du Bois-Pedain. Cambridge, Uk: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 311pp., Kimberly Lanegran

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Justice and Reconciliation in Post-Apartheid South Africa edited by François Du Bois and Antje Du Bois-Pedain. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 311pp.

Violated: Women’S Human Rights In Sub-Saharan Africa, Kathryn Birdwell Wester

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In contemporary sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), women are facing human rights abuses unparalleled elsewhere in the world. Despite the region’s diversity, its female inhabitants largely share experiences of sexual discrimination and abuse, intimate violence, political marginalization, and economic deprivation.

Food Insecurity In Sub-Saharan Africa, Amy Rademacher

Human Rights & Human Welfare

For almost half a century, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been struggling, in one form or another, with food insecurity. This ongoing condition has been caused by a number of factors including distribution obstacles, global climate change, a lack of successful local agriculture, and an inability or disinterest to act by local officials. The situation has been further complicated by an inefficient and disorganized international response to the crisis. Although most would agree that each of these factors carries at least some validity, there is far less international consensus on the best remedy to the crisis.

Still Hungry (Book Review), Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

While I was conducting a research project on property rights in southern Ethiopia in 1994, I watched truck after truck roll into the community to distribute food aid. I asked a local farmer if the harvest had been bad. He assured me of his abundant harvest of tomatoes and onions—cash crops that he normally couldn't plant because he had to focus on feeding his family. However, he explained, with all the food aid they were now getting, he did not have to worry about feeding his family, so he could use his land to make some extra cash—and his family …

An Analysis Of The Intra-Regional Trade In The Middle East And North Africa Region, E. M. Ekanayake, John R. Ledgerwood

Publications

This paper analyzes the intra-regional trade and investment flows in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region using an augmented gravity model applied to panel data. The study uses annual trade and investment data for the period 1980-2006. There is a growing awareness among countries in the MENA region regarding the importance of international trade and foreign direct investment for stimulating growth and integrating into the world economy. The research will attempt to achieve the following objectives: (a) analyze the intra-regional trade and investment flows in the MENA region; (b) identify the major determinants of trade and investment flows …

Corporate Social Responsibility In Sub-Saharan Africa: Can Companies Economically Benefit While Helping The Society?, Melanie Zorn

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examines the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects in sub-Saharan Africa of a set of 28 leading consumer product companies. The focus is on the economic benefits which the companies can gainfrom the CSR projects if they are conducted in a certain manner. A number of potential business benefits resulting from CSR are introduced, and the idea that CSR is comparable to Research & Development (R&D) efforts is examined. As a basis for the analysis, a framework provided by Michael Porter and Mark Kramer is utilized, introducing a set of criteria for CSR which is effective in the sense …

Irrigating The Famished Fields: The Impact Of Labour-Led Struggles On Policy And Action In Nigeria (1999-2007), Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Articles & Book Chapters

Between 1999 and 2007, a broad-based labour-led movement which focused most of its energies on its struggle against unpopular fuel price hikes in Nigeria was able to exert considerable, though limited, influence on an Obasanjo-led executive arm of government that was at best quasidemocratic in its orientation. This article argues that, despite the very important roles played by other factors (notably the presence of more democratic space in Nigeria post-1999), the movement's adoption of a mass social movement approach facilitated its ability to exert such influence.

Making History In The Bedroom: Americo-Liberians And Indigenous Liberians Sexual Unions, 1880s- C. 1950s, William E. Allen

Faculty Articles

The article discusses sexual unions between black American settlers and majority indigenes in Liberia. According to the author, these unions forged political alliances between indigenous Liberians and Americo-Liberians, furthered the so-called civilizing mission of the colony, and created space for social mobility. Details related to the different groups living in the region, including indigenous Africans, recaptives who had been taken off illegal slaving vessels and resettled in Liberia, and free and formerly enslaved blacks from the U.S., are presented. Other topics include Christianity, polygamy, and illegitimate children.

Legitimizing The Invented Congolese Space: The Gaze From Within In Early Congolese Fiction, Kasongo Mulenda Kapanga

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications

Postcolonial discourses describe colonization as a process of invention to impose the will of a conquering West on "backward" societies. The will to power conjugated with the need for row materials served as the main catalysts. They put side by side a hegemonic intruder bent on duplicating itself, and a powerless and compliant native unable to react to the blitz of transformations. Hence, the master/slave or father/child relationships that describe the colonial framework. The task is to interrogate these generally accepted assumptions and binary oppositions. Although marginalized, the Congolese native was unwilling to become on object for the colonizer's gaze. …

Peace From Below: Recent Steps Taken Along The Track-Two Diplomacy Path, Michael Thomas Kuchinsky

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Peacemakers in Action: Profiles of Religion in Conflict Resolution. Edited by David Little. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

and

Peace Out of Reach: Middle Eastern Travels and the Search for Reconciliation. By Stephen Eric Bronner. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2007.