This publication provides a set of guiding principles for constitutional reform on the basis of practical experiences of constitutional reform processes in selected countries: Bolivia, Ghana,... Show moreThis publication provides a set of guiding principles for constitutional reform on the basis of practical experiences of constitutional reform processes in selected countries: Bolivia, Ghana, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The focus is on the role of political parties in constitution-building processes. The publication shows that although country-specific reform processes may be unique in terms of objectives, context, popular involvement, and achievements, they go through similar phases: preparatory, consultative, drafting, and implementation. All cases illustrate the political nature of constitutional reform and the central role of political parties in the process. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Many people associate hospital treatment with 'getting better', the restoration to health and normal life. The onset of a life-threatening disease such as cancer, however, can transform the... Show moreMany people associate hospital treatment with 'getting better', the restoration to health and normal life. The onset of a life-threatening disease such as cancer, however, can transform the hospital into a place of constant struggle and suffering. Hospitalisation in this sense coincides with the deterioration of patients' and their families' overall wellbeing. Drawing on twelve months of ethnographic research in a cancer ward in Kenya, this monograph shows that patients' suffering should be viewed within the context of a wider spectrum of adversity. The book demonstrates the ambiguity of a hospital stay and treatment, showing how a hospital can both alleviate as well as increase human suffering. The author advocates patient-centred hospital ethnography as a way to improve the understanding of cancer patients' needs, both medical and non-medical, as they struggle to restore their wellbeing. Benson A Mulemi is a medical Anthropologist from Kenya. He obtained a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from the Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi in 1998 and was admitted to the PhD programme at AMIDSt, University of Amsterdam in 2004. He has worked on several projects as a researcher and lecturer at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, visiting lecturer at the Institute of African Studies; University of Nairobi, Christ the Teacher Institute for Education, Tangaza College (affiliated to St. Mary's University Minnesota, USA), Tangaza and Hekima Colleges of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi. Show less
