ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 27 (2009).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 27 (2009). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
What does it mean to be human in a world of technology? What could be the role of religion in responding to the ecological crisis? Should we be concerned about the modification of food, and even of... Show moreWhat does it mean to be human in a world of technology? What could be the role of religion in responding to the ecological crisis? Should we be concerned about the modification of food, and even of ourselves? Who do we trust to make decisions regarding our common future? What do we use our technology for? These are not questions for experts only. How can the wider public be involved? Do experts and the general public trust each other sufficiently? Or is the public ignorant, in the eyes of the scientists? And are too many engineers narrow minded, according to the general public? The contributors to this timely and necessary volume address expertise, trust and engagement, as we consider our technological condition , religious resources for the ecological crisis , biotechnology , and matters of trust between scientists and the general public. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, including James Miller from Queen's University, Canada and Tony Watling from the University College, London, this book will captivate a range of readers interested in the spirtitual dimension of of our culture and society Show less
ASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 25 (2009).... Show moreASA Online provides a quarterly overview of journal articles and edited works on Africa in the field of the social sciences and the humanities available in the ASC library. Issue 25 (2009). African Studies Centre, Leiden. Show less
The ship's surgeons in the employ of the Dutch East India Company were responsible for the healthcare on board the ships and in the hospitals founded by the Company in a vast geographical area... Show moreThe ship's surgeons in the employ of the Dutch East India Company were responsible for the healthcare on board the ships and in the hospitals founded by the Company in a vast geographical area expanding from South Africa to Japan. They were not highly regarded by their contemporaries, who criticised them for being little more than barbers or loblolly boys. The author of this fascinating study paints the true picture of the profession, drawing on her analysis of data for some 3,000 ship's surgeons in the Company's service, and including the recruitment policy of the Company, the career of the surgeons, their geographical origins, their life expectancy, to mention but a few. The results of her analysis, based on many hitherto unpublished sources, show this negative image to be a myth. The surgeons were, as a rule, fairly well educated according to the standards of their time. The tragic fact that they were confronted with diseases unknown in Europe and incurable at the time contributed to the sailors' and the society's dismissive attitude to their skills Show less
Gewald, J.B.; Luning, S.W.J.; Walraven, K. van 2009
In the early 1900s the motor-vehicle (car, bus, lorry or motorcycle) was introduced in sub-Saharan Africa. Initially the plaything and symbol of colonial domination, the motor-vehicle transformed... Show moreIn the early 1900s the motor-vehicle (car, bus, lorry or motorcycle) was introduced in sub-Saharan Africa. Initially the plaything and symbol of colonial domination, the motor-vehicle transformed the economic and social life of the continent. Indeed, the motor-vehicle is arguably the single most important factor for change in Africa in the twentieth century. A factor for change that thus far has been neglected in research and literature. Yet its impact extends across the totality of human existence; from ecological devastation to economic advancement, from cultural transformation to political change, through a myriad of other themes. This edited volume of eleven contributions by historians, anthropologists and social and political scientists explores aspects of the social history and anthropology of the motor-vehicle in Africa. Show less
Iongh, H.H. de; Hutomo, M.; Moraal, M.; Kiswara, W. 2009
The Jordan Valley continues to present many fascinating facets: a barrier as well as a demographic centre, a steppe as well as a fertile agricultural zone, and a region inhabited by a mix of... Show moreThe Jordan Valley continues to present many fascinating facets: a barrier as well as a demographic centre, a steppe as well as a fertile agricultural zone, and a region inhabited by a mix of different ethnic groups, cultures and ideas. This rich volume, written in honour of the Leiden archaeologist Gerrit van der Kooij, presents a wealth of research material from wide range of scholars. Chronologically and thematically diverse, the chapters include material on, among others, historical reports of the Zerqa Triangle; the palaeoecology of the Hula area; Khirbet Kerak Ware found at Jericho; the Jordan Valley during the Early Bronze Age; clay tablets of Tell Deir ‘Alla; a shrine model from Tel Kinrot; an anthropomorphic statue from Tell Damiyah; and sugar production in Jericho during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Also incuded is an overview of Dutch cultural and archaeological activities in Jordan during the last fifty years. Show less
Why did a conflict between a majority of settlers (Konkomba), claiming equal citizenship, and a minority of autochtons (Nanumba) produce both Ghana's largest incidents of ethnic cleansing and a... Show moreWhy did a conflict between a majority of settlers (Konkomba), claiming equal citizenship, and a minority of autochtons (Nanumba) produce both Ghana's largest incidents of ethnic cleansing and a subsequent ominous calm? Analysing the post-1996 peace accord Konkomba/Nanumba coexistence against their violent past and in Ghana's political context as one of Africa's promising nations, this ethnography shows that the conflict has two forms. One is sovereign violence and another is a persistent silence in relation to legalistic speeches. Breaking out of these forms may not so much require a reconciliation, as peace brokers proposed, but a political compromise. Martijn Wienia studied Cultural Anthropology, Development Sociology and African Studies at Leiden University. Currently, he works as policy officer with the WOTRO Science for Global Development division of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) in The Hague. Show less
Miljoenen mensen wonen en werken op land waarop zij geen officiC+le rechten hebben. Hun bezit wordt vaak wel beschermd door niet-statelijke rechten die wortelen in lokale gemeenschappen.... Show moreMiljoenen mensen wonen en werken op land waarop zij geen officiC+le rechten hebben. Hun bezit wordt vaak wel beschermd door niet-statelijke rechten die wortelen in lokale gemeenschappen. Ontwikkelingsdeskundigen en donoren hebben lange tijd zulke onofficiC+le regelingen als een hinderpaal voor ontwikkeling gezien en gewerkt aan invoering van individueel eigendom en complexe registratie, teneinde investeringen in land, huis en bedrijfje aan te moedigen en de productiviteit te verhogen. Deze aanpak werkt niet en daarom wordt nu gezocht naar een nieuwe, pluralistischer aanpak die probeert lokale regelingen te erkennen en waar nodig te verbeteren. In dit boek worden zulke nieuwe benaderingen onderzocht. Experts uit acht landen in AziC+, Latijns-Amerika en Afrika behandelen eerst de landwetgeving en -politiek van hun land en komen dan met een concrete gevalstudie van zo'n nieuwe aanpak. Steeds is de vraag wat zo'n nieuwe statelijke aanpak van landrechten betekent in het dagelijkse leven van kleine boeren (ruraal), van bewoners van onofficiC+le stedelijke wijken (urbaan) en van mensen die onder de rook van de stad wonen en werken (peri-urbaan). Hoe zeker voelen zij zich nu van hun rechten (tenure security), kennen ze de nieuwe regeling en kunnen ze zich er effectief op beroepen (legal empowerment), werken de overheidsinstanties controleerbaar (control of bureaucrats)? Millions of people live and work on land that they do not legally own in accordance with enforceable state law. The absence of state recognition for local property rights affects people's tenure security and impedes development. Efforts to legalise extra-legal land tenure have traditionally emphasised individual titling and registration. Disappointment with such approaches have led to a search for 'a third way' in land tenure regulation that will reconcile state perspectives with local land rights. This book contributes to the quest for a new pluralistic approach. It combines the description of land tenure regimes in Africa, Latin America and Asia with an analysis of designs, objectives, and actual implementation of specific legalisation programmes. This allows for conclusions on the relationship between various kinds of legalisations and tenure security and the challenges to improve the design and implementation of legalisation programmes Show less
Most of the world’s estimated 1.4 billion poorest people are still rural. Yet the majority lack ownership (or any secure rights) to the land that is their principal source of livelihood. Although... Show moreMost of the world’s estimated 1.4 billion poorest people are still rural. Yet the majority lack ownership (or any secure rights) to the land that is their principal source of livelihood. Although land law and related reforms have transformed the lives of millions of families by providing secure land rights, not all such efforts have succeeded. Over the years, the conventional wisdom concerning law and land tenure reform—what is needed, what is possible, and how such reform contributes to pro-poor development—has changed, sometimes in striking ways. Lawyers at the Rural Development Institute and the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle have spent more than four decades advising on, helping formulate and assessing the results of land tenure reform efforts around the world. The present volume distils key lessons from that work and parallel work by others. Show less
Mobilization against apartheid in South Africa, the campaign against blood diamonds, the women's movement in Liberia where Africa's first female head of State was elected in 2005 - these are all... Show moreMobilization against apartheid in South Africa, the campaign against blood diamonds, the women's movement in Liberia where Africa's first female head of State was elected in 2005 - these are all examples of socially based movements that have had a major effect on Africa's recent history. Yet the most influential theories concerning social movements worldwide have paid little heed to Africa. This volume draws together contributions on social movements in Africa, setting empirical studies alongside a couple of theoretical chapters. The volume is the outcome of a conference held in Leiden on 23-24 October 2008. Contents: Theoretical perspectives: Introduction: African social movements or social movements in Africa? (Stephen EllisandIneke van Kessel); Social movement theory: past, presentandprospects (Jacquelien van Stekelenburg and Bert Klandermans); Speaking to global debates through a national and continental lens: South African and African social movements in comparative perspective (Adam Habib and Paul Opoku-Mensah). Case studies: African civil society, 'blood diamonds' and the Kimberley process (Lansana Gberie); The Islamic Courts Union: the ebb and flow of a Somali Islamist movement (Jon Abbink); Liberia's women acting for peace: collective action in a war-affected country (Veronika Fuest); Nurtured from the pulpit: the emergence and growth of Malawi's democracy movement (Boniface Dulani); Bare-foot activists: transformations in the Haratine movement in Mauritania (Zekeria Ould Ahmed Salem); An Islamic social movement in contemporary West Africa: NASFAT of Nigeria (Benjamin Soares); The United Democratic Front's legacy in South Africa: mission accomplished or vision betrayed? (Ineke van Kessel); 'Campus cults' in Nigeria: the development of an anti-social movement (Stephen Ellis). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Kamermans, Hans; Leusen, Martijn van; Verhagen, Philip 2009
ederland is een van de weinige Europese landen waar voorspellende modellen een rol spelen in het beheer van archeologisch erfgoed. Deze modellen worden gebruikt om de locatie van archeologische... Show moreederland is een van de weinige Europese landen waar voorspellende modellen een rol spelen in het beheer van archeologisch erfgoed. Deze modellen worden gebruikt om de locatie van archeologische vindplaatsen te voorspellen. Ze spelen zo een rol in toekomstige ontwikkelingen van het moderne landschap. Voor veel onderzoekers is het gebruik van voorspellende modellen in de monumentenzorg omstreden. Tussen 2002 en 2006 onderzocht een team van Nederlandse onderzoekers het gebruik van deze modellen in de Nederlandse archeologische monumentenzorg. Een van de doelen was het ontwikkelen van een best practice voor het maken en gebruiken van deze modellen. Dit boek is hier het resultaat van, het bevat naast technische bijdragen artikelen over hoe de modellen gebruikt moeten. Meer informatie over het onderzoeksproject Predictive Modelling for Archaeological Heritage Management kunt u "http://archaeology.leiden.edu/research/computerapplications/bbopredmod.html">hier vinden. The Netherlands are one of the few countries in Europe where predictive models play an important role in cultural heritage management. The models are used to predict archaeological site location in order to guide future developments in the modern landscape. Many scholars however consider the application of predictive models for this purpose highly controversial. Between 2002 and 2006 a team of Dutch researchers conducted strategic research into predictive modelling on behalf of Dutch cultural resource management. One of the goals was to develop best practices for the production and application of these models. This book is the second and final edited volume of publications of this Predictive Modelling project. It brings together technical papers on developing new methods for predictive modelling and applied, interdisciplinary 'action research' focusing on how the models are, or should be, used by stakeholders in cultural heritage management in the Netherlands. For more information on the researchproject, please click "http://archaeology.leiden.edu/research/computerapplications/bbopredmod.html">here Show less
Overexploitation of natural resources is often associated with poverty among local populations. A multi-disciplinary team studied artisanal fishers along the Kenyan coast on the Indian Ocean. The... Show moreOverexploitation of natural resources is often associated with poverty among local populations. A multi-disciplinary team studied artisanal fishers along the Kenyan coast on the Indian Ocean. The main focus of the research was on income diversification of fishers, the pressure on marine resources and the relation between the two. Income diversification did not reduce the pressure on the marine environment. Rather, indications are that many part-time fishers are entering the profession. Moreover, fishers with alternative employment stayed in-shore and used damaging gear more often. Policies to stimulate employment opportunities for coastal communities cannot be expected to lessen the pressure on marine resources and need to be planned carefully in terms of industry location, labour requirements and degree of coastal pollution. Show less
Iongh, H.H. de; Hutomo, M.; Moraal, M.; Kiswara, W. 2009
