This book uses text and photographs to highlight a transdisciplinary research project (2018-2022) about artisanal and small-scale gold mining that involved transdisciplinary collaboration between... Show moreThis book uses text and photographs to highlight a transdisciplinary research project (2018-2022) about artisanal and small-scale gold mining that involved transdisciplinary collaboration between academics, artists, and gold miners. With the title Exploring Transformations to Sustainability in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining: Trans-regional and Multi-Actor Perspectives, or Gold Matters for short, the project examined whether and how societal transformations towards sustainable mining futures are possible in artisanal and small-scale gold mining. It brought together a multi-national team to conduct research in Brazil, Suriname, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Guinea Conakry, and Uganda. Show less
How do natural disasters affect the treatment of civilians by non-state actors? On the one hand, conflict literature argues that adverse shocks influence the strategic interplay between rebel... Show moreHow do natural disasters affect the treatment of civilians by non-state actors? On the one hand, conflict literature argues that adverse shocks influence the strategic interplay between rebel groups and the government, potentially increasing the level of violence against civilians. On the other hand, sociological research on natural disasters argues that they increase social integration and cooperation and are thus expected to reduce the risk of violent behaviour. In this study, we contend that the dynamics of violence against civilians are different in the short term and long term after a disaster strikes. We argue that natural disasters lead to a decrease in violence against civilians perpetrated by rebel groups in the short run. However, over time this temporary improvement in social integration starts to decline, increasing the level of civilian victimization. To examine this potential temporal dynamic, we combine georeferenced information on one-sided violence (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data; ACLED) and data on disasters (Emergency Event Database; EM-DAT). Our results confirm the expected dynamic effects. This research has important implications for our understanding of how disasters can influence the relationship between civilians, rebel groups, and governments. Show less
How does interethnic marriage influence the occurrence of ethnic violence in sub-Saharan Africa? Previous studies on the relationship between intergroup contact and conflict onset have produced... Show moreHow does interethnic marriage influence the occurrence of ethnic violence in sub-Saharan Africa? Previous studies on the relationship between intergroup contact and conflict onset have produced mixed findings. Some scholars have argued that this might be due to the way interethnic contact is measured. Building on insights of social psychology, this study examines the influence of interethnic marriage as the ultimate form of positive intergroup contact. In doing so, we combine information of the Demographic and Health Surveys with event data on ethnic conflict. Our analysis shows that areas with higher levels of exogamy significantly experience less ethnic conflict. Show less
Globally, the goal of education in the developing world has moved from "Education for All," which was one of the Millenium Goals of the United Nations, to focus on "Quality Education" as... Show moreGlobally, the goal of education in the developing world has moved from "Education for All," which was one of the Millenium Goals of the United Nations, to focus on "Quality Education" as Sustainable Development Goal 4, formulated by the same United Nations. As the number of children going to school all over the world increased and the expected results of the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger materialised, governments and NGOs alike soon realised that the term "education" covers a wide range of activities and ways of schooling, not all of which contribute equally and in all circumstances to the continuing development goals of any particular country or region. Sustainable development can be attained only when individuals and groups have and are able to use the tools and can adapt to local circumstances. Education should provide learners with those tools and only education that does provide them and prepares its learners for their futures can be called "quality education." Rethinking how "education" can be put to use strategically for long term gain therefore assumes the utmost importance, and the focus must then turn to the quality of education. Good and sustainable education is understood to be education that prepares its participants for both social and professional life by equipping them with appropriate knowledge and skills. Hence the title of this volume: Education for Life in Africa. Show less
Doortmont, M.R.; Hanson, J.H.; Jansen, J.A.M.M.; Bersselaar, D. van den 2016
By bringing the active challenge to ethnographic authority by people written about to the fore, the authors of this chapter hope to raise some doubts about the matter-of-factness with which... Show moreBy bringing the active challenge to ethnographic authority by people written about to the fore, the authors of this chapter hope to raise some doubts about the matter-of-factness with which ethnographers maintain their identity as scholarly writers who do their research in some 'field' far away from 'home'. Focusing on the study of religion in Africa, they present two cases in which the tactical behaviour of both the anthropologists and their interlocutors challenges the hegemony of their attitudes towards each other's production of knowledge. The authors first discuss an element of anthropological fieldwork which, in practice, has been rare: the initiation of the researcher into secrets held by local religious leaders. Here, ethnographers (act as if they) accept the hegemony of the 'other' cultural practice while being initiated. Second, they describe a case from van Dijk's own fieldwork and show how the researcher was obliged to go through a penitential exercise after having produced a text in a popular magazine which insufficiently recognized the inspirational authority of religious leaders in the field (Born-Again preachers in Blantyre, Malawi). Bibliogr., notes, ref Show less
