Controlling mobilities in the EU is increasingly depending on information and information technology. Abolishing permanent border control between Schengen Member States has created the dilemma... Show moreControlling mobilities in the EU is increasingly depending on information and information technology. Abolishing permanent border control between Schengen Member States has created the dilemma of economic benefits versus security issues of the freedom of movement. The solution to this issue is often sought in the development and implementation of information technology. While expectations of information and information technologies are high, empirical research on how such border technologies are used in practice is scarce and subsequently little is known about to what extent the envisioned benefits are actually achieved. This dissertation aims to gain more insight in the use of information and information technology in controlling mobilities in intra-Schengen border areas by using a case study of the Mobile Security Monitor as carried out by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Through extensive observations of border checks, focus groups with border patrol officers, interviews with Marechaussee staff members, discourse analysis of political debates and policy documentation and quantitative data, this dissertation aims to gain insight in the decision-making process on the political, organizational and street-level and the role of information and information technology therein. Show less
The study looks at the experience of railway development in the countryside between Kano and Zaria. It looks at the ways the inhabitants perceived, appropriated and domesticated the railroad and... Show moreThe study looks at the experience of railway development in the countryside between Kano and Zaria. It looks at the ways the inhabitants perceived, appropriated and domesticated the railroad and how their lives were transformed by it. The communities are located in the two Hausa states of Kano and Zaria. Situated strategically on trade routes and the rail line, all the communities with the exception of one were nineteenth century creations. They became significantly important with the construction and operation of the railway in the twentieth century. The railway as the study argued was the most important innovation which transformed the communities from almost nothing to economically significant center's on the rail line. It played a critical role in their social, economic and cultural life much more than previously recognized. The railway is also a double edge sword. It opened many frontiers of opportunities and at the same time indirectly endangered many. It also bread crimes and provided platforms for criminals to operate. The impact of the railway, as the study severally demonstrates differs between the communities. Show less
