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Hermann Hoffmann (1819-1891) gilt als Pionier der Arealkunde und der Floristischen Kartierung auf Basis von Rasterfeldern. Seine "Nachträge zur Flora des Mittelrhein-Gebietes" erschienen in acht Folgen von 1879 bis 1889 und enthalten "bezifferte Täfelchen" (Erläuterung bei HOFFMANN 1879: 4), welche Vorläufer der heute üblichen Raster-Verbreitungskarten darstellen. Das von Hoffmann bearbeitete "Mittelrhein-Gebiet" umfasst einen quadratischen Ausschnitt Deutschlands, zu dem ein großer Teil des heutigen Bundeslandes Hessen sowie Teile angrenzender Bundesländer gehören (Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Baden-Württemberg und Bayern, zudem in geringem Maße Saarland). Hoffmann unterteilte das Gebiet in 7 x 7 gleich große Rasterfelder, die jeweils einer Fläche von ungefähr 25 x 25 km entsprechen. Die "Nachträge" enthalten für etwa 580 Sippen Raster- Verbreitungskarten. Die erste Folge enthält nach einer Einleitung auch ein Ortsverzeichnis (S. 18-21) sowie ein "Systematisches Verzeichniß der aufgenommenen Arten" (S. 21-27). Die letzte Folge enthält ein "Schriften-Verzeichniß zur Flora des Mittelrhein-Gebietes (S. 23-32). Die Digitalisierung der entsprechenden Bände der Berichte der Oberhessischen Gesellschaft erfolgte im Rahmen des Projektes Biodiversity Heritage Library. Für das vorliegende Konvolut wurden die entsprechenden Bände heruntergeladen, die einzelnen Folgen der "Nachträge" wurden herausgeschnitten und zu einer einzigen PDF-Datei vereinigt.
Innerhalb einer Stadt bildet sich durch die dichte Bebauung und den erhöhten Energieumsatz gegenüber dem Umland ein davon deutlich abweichendes "Stadtklima" aus. Dieses ist beispielsweise durch eine höhere Temperatur in der Stadt gekennzeichnet, welche zur Ausbildung der sogenannten städtischen Wärmeinsel führt. Zudem lassen regionale Klimamodelle für die nächsten Jahrzehnte Klimaänderungen erwarten, die sich in den städtischen Ballungsräumen durch die Überlagerung mit der städtischen Wärmeinsel deutlich belastender auswirken als im Umland. Dies ist für die Menschen von elementarem Interesse, da bereits heute mehr als die Hälfte der Weltbevölkerung in Städten lebt. Der Klimawandel findet bereits statt: 60-jährige Messungen des Deutschen Wetterdienstes am Flughafen Frankfurt/Main belegen einen signifikanten Anstieg des Jahresmittels der Lufttemperatur von 0,35 °C pro Dekade. Die Anzahl der mittleren jährlichen Sommertage, das sind Tage an denen die Lufttemperatur 25 °C erreicht oder überschreitet, weist ebenfalls einen signifikanten Trend von 4,3 Tagen pro Dekade auf. Wenn dieser beobachtete Trend unverändert weiterginge, so wären für die Klimaperiode 2021 - 2050 durchschnittlich etwa 21 Sommertage pro Jahr mehr als in der Klimaperiode 1971 - 2000 zu erwarten. Eine zuverlässige Abschätzung muss jedoch die erwartete Änderung klimarelevanter Spurenstoffe berücksichtigen und daher auf den verfügbaren globalen und regionalen Klimaprojektionen basieren. Ziel der Untersuchung war es deshalb, auf der Basis von Projektionen regionaler Klimamodelle die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels für detaillierte Stadtstrukturen aufzuzeigen. Mit Hilfe eines Stadtklimamodells und der am Beispiel Frankfurt/Main entwickelten sogenannten „Quadermethode“ (Früh et al., 2011) konnte erstmals sowohl die vergangene als auch die zukünftige Wärmebelastung für Frankfurt am Main unter Berücksichtigung der vielfältigen Bebauungsstrukturen und sonstiger Flächennutzungen simuliert werden. Auch die klimatischen Auswirkungen der größeren Planungsvorhaben der Stadt wurden in diesem Zusammenhang untersucht. Auf der Grundlage des moderaten IPCC Emissionsszenarios A1B ergibt sich für das Stadtgebiet von Frankfurt bis zum Jahr 2050 eine Zunahme der mittleren jährlichen Anzahl von Sommertagen von derzeit etwa 44 Tagen pro Jahr, um weitere 5 bis 31 Tage. Damit wird Mitte des Jahrhunderts im Sommerhalbjahr jeder zweite bis vierte Tag in Frankfurt wärmer als 25 °C sein. Gleichzeitig wird auch die mittlere jährliche Anzahl "Sommerabende", das sind Abende an denen es um 22 Uhr noch mindestens 20 °C warm ist, um 5 bis 33 Tage ansteigen. Auch die Anzahl der "heißen Tage" mit einer Höchsttemperatur von mindestens 30 °C und der Tropennächte mit Lufttemperaturen, die nicht unter 20 °C sinken, wird deutlich zunehmen. Aufgrund der heute noch geringen Anzahl solcher Tage lassen sich für die Zukunft derzeit keine verlässlichen Aussagen treffen. Dies gilt auch für alle Untersuchungen, die für die Klimaperiode 2071 - 2100 durchgeführt wurden. Die Studie zeigt, dass die Zunahme der Sommertage bis Mitte des Jahrhunderts sich nicht signifikant zwischen dicht und locker bebauten Stadtteilen unterscheidet. Die Wärmebelastung wird also gleichermaßen stark zunehmen und zukünftig auch dort am höchsten sein wo sie es heute schon ist. Die Unterschiede zwischen Stadt und Umland werden sich aber nicht wie befürchtet verschärfen. Aber die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass Hitzesommer – wie beispielsweise im Jahr 2003 – häufiger auftreten werden, nimmt bis Mitte des Jahrhunderts zu. Betrachtet man unterschiedliche Bebauungsstrukturen in Frankfurt, so belegen die Modellergebnisse zusätzlich, dass in dicht bebauten Gebieten, wie zum Beispiel der Innenstadt, die Wärmebelastung mit bis zu 54 Sommertagen pro Jahr bereits heute am stärksten ist. Hochhäuser, wie im Frankfurter Bankenviertel, können den Effekt dichter Bebauung zwar durch ihre abschattende Wirkung zumindest tagsüber etwas mildern. Da allerdings der Effekt der nächtlichen Wärmeinsel durch die Hochhäuser verstärkt wird, ist keineswegs als Anpassungsmaßnahme auf den Hochhausbau zu setzen. Neben den Auswirkungen der regionalen Klimaänderungen auf die Stadt werden auch die Auswirkungen bereits geplanter Veränderungen der Stadt untersucht. Dabei kann gezeigt werden, dass eine Umwandlung von bebauten Flächen in Grünflächen die durch den Klimawandel erwartete Zunahme an Sommertagen und -abenden etwa halbieren würde. Umgekehrt kann eine Verdichtung der Bebauung die erwartete Zunahme an Sommertagen und -abenden nahezu verdoppeln. Die Auswirkungen solcher Maßnahmen werden aber lokal sehr begrenzt sein. Um der erwarteten regionalen Klimaerwärmung im gesamten Stadtgebiet gegenzusteuern ist daher eine klimagünstige Gestaltung der Stadt in möglichst vielen Stadtbereichen notwendig. Parks und Grünanlagen nehmen unter zukünftigen Klimabedingungen somit in ihrer Bedeutung stark zu.
Contents Introduction 1 New forms of collaborative innovation and production on the Internet : Volker Wittke and Heidemarie Hanekop Interdisciplinary perspectives on collaborative innovation and production: Conceptual debates 2 Customer Co-Creation: Open Innovation with Customers : Frank Piller, Christoph Ihl and Alexander Vossen 3 Governing Social Production : Niva Elkin-Koren 4 Trust Management in Online Communities : Audun Jøsang 5 Building a reputation system for Wikipedia : Christian Damsgaard Jensen 6 Cooperation in Wikipedia from a Network Perspective : Christian Stegbauer Firm driven collaborative innovation and production: Case studies 7 Managing a New Consumer Culture: “Working Consumers” in Web 2.0 as a Source of Corporate Feedback : Sabine Hornung, Frank Kleemann and G. Günter Voß 8 Prosuming, or when customers turn collaborators: coordination and motivation of customer contribution : Birgit Blättel-Mink, Raphael Menez, Dirk Dalichau, Daniel Kahnert 9 Role Confusion in Open Innovation Intermediary Arenas : Tobias Fredberg, Maria Elmquist, Susanne Ollila, Anna Yström List of Contributors
Im Kontext des Wandels des fordistischen Wohlfahrtsstaates, hin zu einer neoliberalen Formation von Staatlichkeit, werden seit den 1980er Jahren Veränderungen der sozioökonomischen
Strukturen von Städten, wie auch innerhalb des Städtesystems, beobachtet. Das politische Argumentationsmuster der Städtekonkurrenz ist ein Resultat dieser Veränderung, wobei
es in die Verantwortungen der Städte verlagert wird, sich als Standort profilieren zu müssen, indem Aufwertungsmaßnahmen durchgeführt und städtische Potenziale ausgebaut werden
(Heeg und Rosol 2007: 492). Bob Jessop spricht in diesem Zusammenhang von einer Naturalisierung der neoliberalen Prinzipien, die auf der Ebene der Stadt zur Folge hat, dass Städte als chancengleich und damit selbstverantwortlich für ihre ökonomische Lage, d.h. für ihr Wohlergehen und die Möglichkeit attraktive Orte für Unternehmen und Bevölkerung zu sein, gesehen werden (Jessop 2002: 468). Folglich verschieben sich auch die Prioritäten der Stadtplanung,
so dass nicht mehr die Versorgung der Bevölkerung und der Abbau von sozialräumlichen Disparitäten als Ziel der Stadtplanung an erster Stelle stehen, sondern das Hauptziel
zunehmend darin besteht, die fiskalische und wirtschaftliche Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der Städte selbst zu erhalten (Schneider-Sliwa 1996: 318). Um im Wettbewerb zu bestehen, gilt es eine prosperierende, attraktive Innenstadt als Aushängeschild der Stadt vorweisen zu können bzw.
herzustellen.
In Rüsselheim wird die Situation der Innenstadt, gemessen an der wirtschaftlichen Lage, momentan sehr negativ beurteilt. Auch Zeitungsartikel zeichnen ein pessimistisches Bild der
Rüsselsheimer Innenstadt1: So druckt die Frankfurter Rundschau, um ein Beispiel heraus zu greifen, eine großformatige Kollage, bestehend aus den Schaufenstern der vielen leerstehenden Ladenflächen (Frankfurter Rundschau 27/28.02.10: R24). Die Sanierung der Innenstadt befindet sich bereits seit den 1990er Jahren in der Vorbereitung. Von der Stadt in Auftrag gegebene Studien attestieren dem gesamten öffentlichen Raum eine erhebliche Beeinträchtigung seiner Funktion als Geschäftsstandort, da die städtebauliche Gestalt nicht der für den Einzelhandel erforderlichen Aufenthaltsqualität und Atmosphäre gerecht wird. Dem soll mit umfassenden Sanierungsmaßnahmen begegnet werden, die als Antwort auf den Städtewettbewerb und die Standortkonkurrenz zu verstehen sind, in denen sich die Stadt besser aufstellen möchte. Die Planungen sind, so meine These, ausgerichtet auf eine Zielgruppe, die noch nicht vor Ort ist, d.h. Maßnahmen sollen die Stadt, insbesondere die Innenstadt, für eine „gewünschte Bevölkerung― erst attraktiv machen. Die derzeitigen Nutzungen und BewohnerInnen entsprechen nicht den Vorstellungen einer repräsentablen Innenstadt, worauf mit einer Umdefinition des Stadtraumes reagiert wird, um bestimmte Nutzungen zu verdrängen. In meiner Diplomarbeit möchte ich mich mit dem Diskurs um die Innenstadtsanierung in Rüsselsheim beschäftigen. Rüsselsheim erscheint mir für dieses Vorhaben sehr interessant, da sich die Diskussionen in dem großen Widerspruch zwischen Hoffnungen und Visionen für die Planung mit dem Ziel der Herstellung einer prosperierenden Stadt und der Ohnmacht, ob der unlösbaren (finanziellen) Situation, bewegen. Zudem spielt das Verhältnis der Stadt zu Opel eine Rolle, da die Wahrnehmung der Stadt verknüpft ist mit der Wahrnehmung der Situation
des Unternehmens Opel und auch Stadtentwicklung und Unternehmensentwicklung miteinander verschränkt sind, was sich im Stadtbild wieder findet. Womöglich lässt das den Diskurs um Planungen im Bezug auf den Wandel vom Fordismus zum Postfordismus besonders deutlich zu Tage treten, da Rüsselsheim zu Zeiten des Fordismus massiv expandierte und heute in diesem Zusammenhang stehende, strukturelle Probleme zu bearbeiten hat. Diese Situation ist mitbestimmend für die Diskussion um die durchzuführenden Sanierungsmaßnahmen.
Leuchtturm statt AfE-Turm : hegemoniale Kämpfe im Umzugsprozess der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
(2011)
Im Kontext des Bildungsstreiks 2010, bei welchem die Leitung der Frankfurter Goethe-Universität das von Studierenden friedlich besetzte Casino auf dem IG-Farben-Campus polizeilich räumen ließ, formulierten wir als Studierende am Institut für Humangeographie eine Protestnote, in der wir uns vor allem für ein selbstbestimmtes und kritisches Lernen aussprachen.
Das in der Folge entstandene autonome Projektseminar ist aus unserer Unzufriedenheit mit den im Vorlesungsverzeichnis angebotenen Seminaren motiviert und darüber hinaus mit dem Wunsch verbunden, aus den „klassischen“, frontal organisierten Seminarstrukturen auszubrechen und andere Formen des Arbeitens zu erproben. Der vorliegende Projektbericht ist der Nachweis, dass dies am Institut für Humangeographie möglich ist. Für diese Möglichkeit sind wir dem Institut im Ganzen und den Vielen, die trotz enger Zeitbudgets die Rahmenbedingungen ermöglichten, zu Dank verpflichtet.
Zugleich ist dieser Bericht allerdings auch der Nachweis, dass der Autonomie unter gegebenen Bedingungen Grenzen gesetzt sind, dass sich autonome Initiativen an der Universität in einem „kontrollierten Möglichkeitsfeld“ (Schreibwerkstatt des AK Kritische Geographie 2011) bewegen. Um unsere Arbeit entsprechend der Studienordnung in die heilige Kuh der bolognareformierten Abschlüsse – den Credit Points – eintauschen zu können, mussten diverse formale Voraussetzungen erfüllt werden. Dazu gehörte, dass wir einen vorgegebenen workload erbringen mussten und am Ende ein zu bewertendes Ergebnis stand. Schließlich war eine mit den nötigen Befugnissen ausgestattete Person erforderlich, die jene zu beurteilen und zu bescheinigen in der Lage war – der Dank geht in diesem Falle an Bernd Belina.
Wesentlich wichtiger aber war für uns seine inhaltliche Begleitung des Seminars. In Absehung akademischer Statusgruppenunterschiede und einer „klassischen“ Seminarleiter_innenposition nahm er als zwar erfahrenerer aber gleichberechtigter Diskussionsteilnehmer an unseren Debatten teil und gab uns manche hilfreiche Anregung. Ein ähnlicher Dank geht an Sebastian Schipper, der uns in den Untiefen der Diskursanalyse ein guter Lotse war.
Bereits zu Beginn des autonomen Projektseminars einigten wir uns darauf, ein gemeinsames Endprodukt zu erstellen, welches auch Anderen, die sich mit dem Umzug und dem organisatorischen Umbau der Goethe-Universität kritisch auseinandersetzen, als Material zugänglich sein sollte. Dieser Wunsch erfüllt sich dankenswerterweise darin, dass unser Abschlussbericht hier im Forum Humangeographie publiziert ist. Zugleich hat aber auch diese Möglichkeit ihre Grenzen. So dürfen unsere Inhalte zwar veröffentlicht und zur Diskussion gestellt werden, aber nur unter der Bedingung, dass ein_e Professor_in des Instituts die Publikation begleitet und die Verantwortung für die formale und stilistische Richtigkeit trägt. Zudem ist der Anlass dieser Publikation, unsere Ergebnisse zur Diskussion zur Verfügung zu stellen und damit auch dem neoliberalen Geist an der Goethe-Universität etwas entgegenzusetzen. Unter Bedingungen der neoliberalisierten Lehre und Forschung verwandelt sich eine solche Publikation aber auch zum affirmativen Eintrag im Lebenslauf. Unter den gegenwärtigen Strukturen können wir dem nichts als unsere Reflexion und Kritik entgegenstellen.
Die Erkenntnis, dass wir uns in solcherlei kontrollierten Möglichkeitsfeldern bewegen, hat im Verlauf des autonomen Projektseminars zu Diskussionen um die auftretenden Widersprüche geführt. So war es bspw. für einige weniger problematisch als für andere, dass die Publikation eine_n professorale_n Betreuer_in benötigt. Ein anderer Diskussionspunkt war der Zwang, ein den akademischen Standards entsprechendes Endprodukt zu erstellen, welches zudem bewertet werden musste. Während für einige die Möglichkeit wichtiger war, dass die Veranstaltung überhaupt stattfinden konnte, empfanden es andere als starke Einschränkung einer selbstbestimmten Arbeitsweise. Am Ende bleibt die Erkenntnis, dass Kompromisse unabdingbar sind, wenn eigener Anspruch und kontrolliertes Möglichkeitsfeld aufeinanderprallen. Ergänzt werden diese „äußeren“ Widersprüchlichkeiten durch „interne“ divergente Interessenspositionen. Auch hier waren Kompromisse unabdingbar. Diese spiegeln und reproduzieren zugleich gesellschaftliche Machtverhältnisse als interne Gruppendynamiken. Trotzdem liegt der zentrale Vorteil unseres Projektseminars gegenüber einer „klassischen“ Universitätsveranstaltung gerade darin, dass wir permanent versuchten, solche Widersprüchlichkeiten und machtförmigen Kompromisse offenzulegen und zu diskutieren.
Schließlich wollen wir mit dem vorliegenden Bericht zeigen, dass Studierende in der Lage sind, erkämpfte und zuerkannte Freiräume zu nutzen und diese mit Inhalten zu füllen. Wir wollen Andere dazu ermuntern uns zu folgen. Auch Ihr werdet an die Grenzen der kontrollierten Möglichkeitsfelder stoßen und einen Weg finden (müssen), mit diesen umzugehen oder sie zu überwinden. Nichtsdestotrotz lohnt sich der Aufwand!
The title of this collection of poetry, Kale ya Washairi wa Pemba: Kamange na Sarahani is translated as, 'The Past of Pemba Poets: Kamange and Sarahani'. Pemba, for those who may need reminding is the smaller of the two islands known as Zanzibar, the other being Unguja. The poets whose works make up the collection lived between the last half of the 19th and early 20th century in Pemba, but their poetry was known and much appreciated throughout the Swahili world of the time, meaning the coastal towns of East Africa, in particular, Mombasa, Lamu, Zanzibar and other settlements. The two famous and rival poets, Kamange and Sarahani, were influenced, as all artists inevitably are, by their environment and culture, among the most important of its manifestations being religion and language. Both of them were Muslims, and were therefore influenced by Islamic literature and Arabic language. But they were also influenced by the multiplicity of Swahili sub-cultures and dialects - which were not in fact called Swahili but Kim vita, Kiamu, Kipemba, Kimrima and Kivumba respectively (for the Swahili spoken in Mombasa, Lamu, Pemba, Vanga and Wasini off the Southern Kenya coast) and several others. One aspect of the richness of the collection of Kamange and Sarahani's poetry is the length and breadth of their command of the different dialects. At the height of their fame, the two poets divided the world of poetry into followers of Kamange or Sarahani. This rivalry became even fiercer after Kamange's death with Sarahani refusing to be engaged in it, because as he voiced it, in the absence of his real sparring partner there was no one to pit himself against. Kamange was the boisterous, and daring one writing on subjects of love and bravery while Sarahani was interested in religion erudition, philosophy and moral instruction. The collectors of the poems, Abdurrahman Saggaf Alawy and Ali Abdala El Maawy saved the poems from extinction after the1964 revolution in Zanzibar and kept them for more than forty years before presenting them to Abdilatif Abdala, editor of this collection (himself a renowned poet) to find a publisher for them. This is a real treasure of Swahili poetry that will open up a new window to the richness of Swahili literary and poetic culture.
Die Themenschwerpunkte Lehr-Lern-Forschung und Professionalisierung werden aus Sicht aktueller Forschungsprojekte sowohl empirisch als auch theoretisch analysiert. Im Vordergrund stehen die Wirksamkeit spezifischer Unterrichtsmethoden und Fördermaßnahmen sowie professionelle Kompetenzen des Bildungspersonals.
When taking into consideration the demographic and socio-economic trends in most European countries, the demand for domestic services will be increasing in the next decades. This development could be used for creating formal employment opportunities in private households for unskilled and low-skilled labour. However, it is not an easy task since it entails devising a strategy for reducing the high share of informal labour in as well as overcoming the current fragmentation of the domestic services sector. Both on the national and EU level there is a need for policy advice on how to best integrate the diverse but yet interrelated needs and interests of the households, the employees and the firms as providers of domestic services into one coherent strategy. So far, such a comprehensive strategy can be found only in France where the BorlooPlan systematically integrated measures and tools from all relevant fields of politics. Thus it led to a significant growth of the domestic services sector and a substantial increase of formal employment. This brochure presents the Generalised Model, a tool for devising a similarly comprehensive and coherent strategy. It was constructed by drawing on the successful French strategy of creating more formal employment relationships through the systematic development of the domestic services sector. The brochure demonstrates how other countries can learn from the French experience by analysing their current situation and using the Generalised Model to create a strategy fitting their specific circumstances. By studying the situations in Germany, Austria, Italy and Poland and considering how to create strategies fitting the different national settings in these countries it is shown how the Generalised Model can put into practice. These case studies were conducted in the EU Project “Labour Market Instruments for Reducing Illegal Employment in Private Households of the Elderly”, supported by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The brochure intends to initiate and stimulate discourses on fostering the creation of formal employment in EU Member States. Therefore, it addresses different stakeholders such as policymakers on the national, regional and EU level, representatives of local administrations, providers of domestic services, domestic workers, trade unions or welfare associations, labour administration, placement services as well as providers of education and training.
The dramatic sociopolitical crisis which befell Côte d'Ivoire in September 2002 gave birth to an unprecedented political zeal. Immigration, the other, ethno-nationalism, nationalism, patriotism, civil war, youth at risk - such are the words that describe the Côte d'Ivoire' situation. Attempts to explain the 'crisis' in this country, known in recent past as 'relatively peaceful', mainly happen through media 'sensationalism'. This translates at the same time the almost complete control of the scoop media which renders the understanding of the situation only possible through such outlets. The ability of media professionals to coin words through which social history is reflected upon has the effect of complicating the task of social and human sciences while also appearing as stimulating at the same time. Understanding complex situations is now a crossroad of confusion between the simple and the simplified. The challenge for social and human sciences is, therefore, to resume its rightful place by presenting social and political realities in their complexity. Contributions in this book attempt to rid simple words of their excessive simplification to enable an understanding of social and political ills as well as the sense of history. This book is to be taken as a look from within. The challenge here is to take a step back and disconnect the real from the surprising which prevents a deep analysis of realities emanating from a historical process that is relatively long. At the heart of that process resides the paradoxical re-invention of the self through violence, though in the name of democracy. The 2010 post-electoral crisis and the intensity of the violence which characterized it are once again a demonstration of the relevance of the violence-democracy paradox and the on-going exercise of objectivity.
Nso' and Its Neighbours : Readings in the Social History of the Western Grassfields of Cameroon
(2011)
This is a rich and compelling volume of readings in social history on Nsoí and its neighbours in the Western Grassfields of Cameroon. It consists of 19 essays by some of the leading historians, archeologists and ethnographers of the region, with seminal contributions by Jean-Pierre Warnier, Paul Nchoji Nkwi, Bongfen Chem-Langhee, Phyllis Kaberry, E.M Chilver, Miriam Goheen, Ian Flower, Dan Lantum and V.G. Fanso. The book covers a broad range of themes from precolonial times to date, including trade, alliances, diplomacy, the iron industry, colonial impact, continuities, discontinuities and compromise, general persistence, ideology and conflict. Warnier draws on linguistic and archaeological data to argue that this region has been settled for several millennia, very probably continuously, and that its landscapes are very ancient and have resulted from many human and natural forces other than the simple clearance of the forest cover of the region at an uncertain date as some authors have postulated. Using data on inter-group diplomacy and alliances, Nkwi puts into question some problematic theses on persistence hostilities and enhances knowledge of the precolonial history of the region. Fowler and Chem-Langhee show how local conditions and needs fostered the spirit and practice of cooperative ventures in the precolonial period, which provided the driving force and the ideological and structural underpinnings for the successful and smooth introduction of modern modes of cooperation in the area during the colonial and postcolonial periods. The rest of the studies have a unifying theme or thesis, namely, that despite the entry and assault of external, influences, particularly those associated with colonialism, Christianity and Islam, the traditional institutions, customs and value systems of the Nsoí and their neighbours have resisted major change and their total corrosion is not yet in sight. The volume illustrates the proposition that historical research is a continuous process of rediscovery which provides new questions, and also that the evidence of other disciplines - linguistics, archaeology and palaeobotany for example - may give rise to many new lines of inquiry and help to correct the documentary record and explain oral tradition. Herein lies the most important element of this experimental collection. Its editors hope that it will provoke other similar collections.
Local Livelihoods and Protected Area Management : Biodiversity Conservation Problems in Cameroon
(2011)
Cameroon's tropical forest is home to numerous plants and animals. It is also inhabited by Baka pygmies who are foragers and Bantu farmers. These communities have developed forest-dependent livelihoods, cultures and religions. Destruction of the forest by commercial and state interests, subsistence agriculture and the harvesting of products has necessitated a considerable upsurge in environmental protection projects to conserve and rehabilitate ecosystems, forests, soils and water resources. Ultimately, the approach to conservation that is applied is the responsibility of the government and international development agencies. The case studies documented seek to demonstrate that a broader perspective linking environmental protection and human welfare is important for two reasons. First, it addresses the rights and needs of local people and more marginal groups in society. Second, it also ensures that fundamental conservation objectives are achieved in practice with the participation of local people. The book develop guidelines for a more integrative and socially-aware approach to environmental planning and project design and implementation. It outlines a participatory mapping procedure for the design and implementation of community forest programmes. This is a valuable book for land resource managers, environmentalists, environmental biologists, conservators, field workers and technicians involved with environmental conservation. With the professionalisation of courses in most universities, the book will constitute good reading for students of geography, biology, agriculture, forestry, botany and natural resource management.
The Last Hope
(2011)
This play was written as part of an evaluation of Africa's oldest and most diverse rainforest conservation initiative in the Korup area, with the aim of highlighting and sharing some lessons learnt from the creation of the Korup National Park, through a period of full activity, to when activities were considerably reduced. It is a fine blend of the results of the evaluation and some carefully developed fictional, artistic materials for the achievement of an overall dramatic effect. Ekpe Inyang gives an informed artistic touch to achieve dramatic effects, succinctly relating the story of Cameroon's first rainforest national park, Korup.
The Cameroon Political Story is a long journey through the eyes and actions of the author himself. It is a mix between Mbile's memoirs, a bit of his biography and the Cameroon political story, heavily weighted in favour of that part of the Republic formerly identified as Southern Cameroons, later West Cameroon, now South West and North West Regions. The story is told in the interest of the Cameroonian youth and scholar who have often complained of the inadequate recording by political leaders of the life and deeds of their times. It is the story of an African boy of humble village beginnings who rose to participate in the making of a modern political community. It is hoped the book provides useful knowledge on the history, growth and constitutional evolution of Cameroon, a country which after more than a century of administrative metamorphosis settled to its present statehood in 1961, a Cameroon reborn.
No Trifling Matter : Contributions of an Uncompromising Critic to the Democratic Process in Cameroon
(2011)
No Trifling Matter is a collection of controversial, critical weekly commentary on the reluctance of a monolithic regime to yield to popular aspirations for democracy in Cameroon. In these essays written between 1990 and November 1992, Godfrey Tangwa, alias Rotcod Gobata, doesnt quibble. He comes across as a man of courage and resolve; one ready to swim upstream in a manner of a desperate midwife eager to prevent a still birth (in this case, of democracy). His column is as daring an embarrassment to Biyas démocratie avancée as the radio programme Cameroon Report (later Cameroon Calling), was to Presidents Ahidjo and Biya in the hey days of the parti unique. Rotcod Gobata believes the time has come for Cameroon to graduate from a country over milked by mediocrity and callous indifference, to the paradise that it was meant to be for the poor and downtrodden. In this regard, he belongs with that rare breed of intellectuals who are genuine in their pursuit of collective betterment, and who in consequence, have opted to distance themselves from the stomach and all its trappings. This position is to be commended and encouraged, especially in a system where explanation is often mistaken for subversion, a system where the stomach is about the only political path-finder - the sole compass in use, a country where the champions of falsehood want all at their beck and call, and where a handful of thirsting palates daily jostle to share with Count Dracula the blood of the common and forgotten. Rotcod Gobata wants the new Cameroon to be rid of the ills and failures of the past five decades that have made it impossible for Cameroonians in their millions to live productive and creative lives.
In the on-going democratic debate, the Cameroonian media have not played the role of objective mediators. A one-party logic, of which government, opposition and the public are guilty, has prevented Cameroonian multipartyism from addressing the major issue: that of how best to bring about real participatory democracy. So far, democracy has served mainly as a face powder, an empty concept or slogan devoid of concrete meaning used to justify reactionary propaganda by the ruling party and its acolytes on the one hand, and revolutionary propaganda by the opposition and some pressure groups on the other. This polarisation in the Cameroonian political arena corresponds to a similar polarisation in the Cameroonian media. One can identify two main political tendencies in the media: first, there are those who argue that all the government does is good and in the best interest of Cameroon, and that the radical opposition is void of patriots and motivated only by selfish, regional, or ethnic self-interests. These comprise the publicly owned, government-controlled electronic and print media on the one hand, and pro-government 'privately' owned newspapers on the other. Second, there are those who claim that all the radical opposition does or stands for is in the best interest of Cameroon, and that the government and its allies are only motivated by a stubborn love of power and other selfish pursuits. These comprise the bulk of the privately owned papers. The media are polarised into two diametrically opposing camps, each claiming to know and represent the best interests of the Cameroonian people.
Despite rapid urbanisation, Africa remains predominantly rural. This calls for decentralisation beyond the dominant concern by states and government with urban spaces. Rural areas, rural development and the future of rural settlements need to be understood and addressed in the context of the ongoing democratisation trends and the emergence and development of civil society. States have tended to tame rather than serve civil society in Africa. By establishing a single cultural reference and imposing a centralised state, African governments have exacerbated the fragmentation of civil society. However, political pluralism has slowly been gaining ground since the 1990s. This book explores the scope for implementing decentralisation programmes that focus on citizens in rural areas. For the purpose of decentralisation, civic participation in local politics and user participation in development programmes must be seen as two sides of the coin. The book focuses on spatial planning ? a process concerned with spatial organisation in an integrative manner, and incorporates the design, establishment and implementation of a desired spatial structural organisation of land. This is especially relevant in a context where the formulation of guidelines for spatial development at the overall level of a state is inadequate.
The Death of Asobo-Ntsi
(2011)
This novel re-visions history through narrative fiction: the history of his people that has long been silenced and distorted as a colonial strategy, the history of an African community at the crossroads. Asobo-Ntsi, the stubborn yet proud Fon of Nyen, is faced with some challenges amongst which are: his seven- and nine-man council that is not happy with his dictatorship and tax laws, a disgruntled quarter that attempts to secede, and also, the encroaching colonialist, Nwuoupang, with his church and administration. How Asobo-Ntsi handles these challenges is expressed powerfully and movingly with great narrative artistry that absorbs the reader and keeps him/her enthralled to the end.
Neoliberalism has become the dominant development agenda in Africa. Faced with a deep economic and political crisis, African governments have been compelled by powerful external agencies, in particular the Bretton Woods institutions and western states, to pursue this agenda as a necessary precondition for the receipt of development aid. What is particularly striking in Africa, however, is that neoliberal experiments there have displayed such remarkable diversity. This may be due not only to substantial differences in historical, economic and political trajectories on the African continent but also, and maybe more importantly, in the degree of resistance internal actors have demonstrated to the neoliberal reforms imposed on them. This book focuses on Cameroon which has had a complex economic and political history and is currently witnessing resistance to the neoliberal experiment by the authoritarian and neopatrimonial state elite and various civil-society groups. It is the culmination of over twenty years of fine and refined research by one of the leading scholars of Cameroon today.
The Power to Succeed
(2011)
This is the fascinating story of a young girl from a very poor family who raised her head high and raised the dignity of women through her own personal and determined effort. She did not yield to the victimizations of corrupt minds, nor to the temptations of apathy and pessimistic thinking; rather she saw everything optimistically and through many hardships achieved her life's ambitions.
Regional Balance and National Integration in Cameroon : Lessons Learned and the Uncertain Future
(2011)
This book presents a series of reflections by Cameroon scholars on a variety of topics associated with regional balance and national integration. The different reflections look for answers to some burning questions of the day such as: Where are we coming from? Where are we going? How are we going where we are going? Have the different state ideologies offered appropriate solutions to the quest for a strong, united, stable and prosperous nation-state? If not, what has gone wrong and why? What can be done to shape the future and accommodate the aspirations of the men and women of Cameroon and of their progeny? The book addresses the issue of national unity and national integration within the context of different political perceptions and visions. It examines the merits and demerits of the policy of regional balance of the Ahmadou Ahidjo years (1960-1982). Focus is also on the underlying flaws of this doctrine and philosophy. The debate also addresses some critical questions of the national integration policy and practices of Paul Biya, President since November 1982. The policy has failed to achieve its stated goals and has ended up in the ethnicisation and polarisation of national life. The future of the Cameroon nation-state, with its rich ethnic and cultural diversity, seems to be in jeopardy as internal forces question the management of civil society by leaders who have lost the sense of justice and equity. Why are there several voices singing the song of destitution and disappointment with the state? Have regionalism and the rhetoric of national integration and balance emerged as untenable polities within a nation-state in search of an identity and responsible leadership? These are some of the questions and issues Cameroonian and Cameroonist scholars have tried to address in this collection of 28 well-researched and outstandingly argued essays.
At independence, Cameroon and Nigeria adhered to the OAU principle of UTI POSSEDETIS JURIS by inheriting the colonial administrative borders whose delineation in some parts was either imperfect or not demarcated or both. The two countries tried to correct these anomalies. But such efforts were later thwarted by incessant geostrategic reckoning, dilatory, and diversionary tactics in the seventies and eighties that persisted and resurfaced in the nineties with a more determined posture. On two occasions, the border conflict almost boiled over to a full-scale war. First, in May 1981 when there was the exchange of fire between Cameroonian and Nigerian coast guards and second, in February 1994 when Nigeria marched her troops into Cameroon's Bakassi Peninsula. Elsewhere in Africa, border incidents like these have often degenerated into war. But Cameroon and Nigeria together with the international community managed these protracted incidents from escalating into war. This book examines the part played by the disputing parties, Cameroon and Nigeria; the mediation, conciliatory and adjudicatory role of third parties; and the regional and international organisations, in the process of the resolution of the border dispute from 1981-2011. The study situates the nature and dynamics of the dispute historically, and comprehensively explores in detail its causes, settlement and resolution.
There is a dearth of well researched books on important disciplines in law written by Cameroonians. This regrettable situation has invariably meant a reliance of substantive and practice books written mostly by Nigerian and English writers. While books written by these writers have been helpful, they have not always captured the peculiarities and judicial attitudes of the Cameroonian context. When approached from the perspective of practice in the Anglophone regions, not even Cameroonian writers of French orientation have done justice to this situation. This book contributes to filling this gap. It is a comprehensive review that combines an analysis of the principles and basic procedure of labour law in Cameroon. Yanou draws on solid academic research as well as a wide ranging experience in legal practice across Cameroon and Nigeria to present a coherent and practical elaboration of themes such as employment, dismissal, remedies for wrongful dismissal, compensation for industrial injuries, and trade unions. The book is also motivated by the desire for a repository for members of the Bar and Bench, judges, academics, students and human resources practitioners.
The Power To Make A Choice
(2011)
Is it possible to make a difference in your life that no one else has ever made? What difference will you make as an individual in your life's situations? Have you ever considered yourself a possible obstacle to your future plans? Some people toil and amass knowledge and fame to make a difference. Some engage in a life of politics where they believe they can make a difference. Still, there are some who make a difference in a quiet way and move the world on. The difference you make may lead to negative or positive results and both ways have a price. It is worth exploring the powers you have and discovering the real you. Life is full of surprises. Life around you might be ignorant but you have the potential to move to a better understanding. This story portrays and affirms the uniqueness of each person: how one moves on in life amidst all the difficulties that life presents. Life is beautiful if we are able to challenge what we can and accept what we cannot change. The Power to Make a Choice is a powerful story on how to look within ourselves to make a difference.
The debate on the existence of African philosophy has taken central stage in academic circles, and academics and researchers have tussled with various aspects of this subject. This book notes that the debate on the existence of African philosophy is no longer necessary. Instead, it urges scholars to demonstrate the different philosophical genres embedded in African philosophy. As such, the book explores African metaphysical epistemology with the hope to redirect the debate on African philosophy. It articulates and systematizes metaphysical and epistemological issues in general and in particular on Africa. The book aptly shows how these issues intersect with the philosophy of life, traditional beliefs, knowledge systems and practices of ordinary Africans and the challenges they raise for scholarship in and on philosophy with relevance to Africa.
Within the Walls of Hell
(2011)
The Land of Eternal Discomfort is a place where no one wants to go. It is hot and dirty. One is sure to experience depression once there and sleep is a luxury no longer attainable in that place. Unbelievable though it may seem one enters the Land of Eternal Discomfort by choice. It is a place destined for those who did not live a righteous life according to the Creator. The kind of life one lives down below determines where they go thereafter. For the seven characters in this play, the love of power and the hatred for those different and inferior to themselves leads them to choose a life of luxury gained through deceit, theft, adultery and murder. Against all the Creator's commands, they chose to live lives of self-gratification ignoring their obligations to their fellow man. The choice they made was for their lives down there but they will forever live with the consequences in their lives thereafter. Life down there does not last forever and the characters are destined to meet the Messenger at which time the choice will have already been made. When you finally meet the Messenger, pray that he is ushering you into the Land of Eternal Happiness because in the other place you are doomed forever. In the Land of Eternal Discomfort the gate can only open to let someone in. It cannot open to let anyone out. Once you are in there you can never get out again.
The Campaign Trail
(2011)
In an uncomplicated plot, The Campaign Trail takes its readers through the independence of a state in fiction, the introduction of a multiparty system, to its demise owing to poor governance and power struggle; this novel has a universal appeal to the political scientist, the literary critic, the sociologist, the anthropologist and just anyone who needs entertainment. The author blends the comic and the tragic to good effect.
In this collection Ayuninjam attempts to capture his sentiments on many plains. He also takes the liberty to capture the sentiments of other persons in his life and in society as a whole as well as the sentiments of other creatures that are part of the chain of life. As a result, much of what follows is occasional poetry, as he has more often than not responded or reacted to his sensations while also being a surrogate for those who could (or would) not express theirs. Having lived abroad for as long as he lived in Cameroon, his perspective has, accordingly, been coloured, though not necessarily transmuted. The poems transcend space and time.
This detailed, meticulous ethnographic study on mobile phone use among Nuba students at the University of Khartoum in Sudan, distinguishes itself from other studies by taking a focused look at the linguistic content of mobile phone interactions via text-messaging, portraying it as a site for the expression of personalized and affective language. While men and women appear to be equally aggressive consumers and producers of text-message poetry, women are formally discouraged in using the phone for relations that go beyond the publicly acceptable norms of 'keeping in touch' and making arrangements. Nonetheless, women use it for such purposes and many manage it discreetly, showing how this technology can serve to subvert discursive norms on gender and marriage. The mobile phone in Sudan enhances individual autonomy over interactions, making possible the extension and creation of social spaces. It simultaneously enlarges private space and trespasses into public space. Poetic themes and language, previously limited to elite producers - those both more literate and who had control over mass media domains, radio and newspapers - are exposed to anonymous recipients, who draw from, copy or forward them in continuous circulation, thereby staking a claim in the public sphere. Similarly, the mobile phone serves as a site for the exercise of several layers of identity in negotiation, and reflects or creates alternative identities and the contestation of existing discourses, communities in physical space and notions of belonging.
This book emphasises that planning is essential, as the conservation approaches of the past may not work in an ever-changing warmer environment. It appraises current management strategies, assesses the biological and physical effects of climate change on natural systems in Cameroon and designs a planning and management framework for each natural system within the context of global warming. Climate change poses a complex bewildering array of problems for ecosystems. The key question is, what can be done ? in addition to efforts to reduce CO2 emissions ? to increase the resistance and resilience of these natural systems to climate change? This book seeks to answer the above question by drawing from the vast array of scientific data available on the subject, and which may not be readily available to policy makers, resource planners, resource managers, environmentalists, students of geography, conservation biology and agronomy. It constitutes an important manual for those ready to confront the impacts of climate change. It is also a valuable document for teachers of the functioning and management of natural systems globally.
In most African countries, banana production has been consigned to subsistence production. However, a few countries, especially in Francophone West Africa, have recognised the commercial importance of banana, and have used their special relationship with France to export bananas. This has led to the dualization of the banana sector, with the traditional system existing side by side with a modern sector geared towards export trade. This book is one of the few comprehensive studies that have incorporated both the agronomic and economic aspects of banana production and marketing in Africa. It looks at all facets of banana production, from an historical perspective to the various traditional and modern technologies involved. The marketing aspect covers both the domestic and international trade, with emphasis on the preferential (ACP / DOM Lome Convention) and the open markets of the European Union. The book is a major contribution to understanding the internationalisation of the banana trade and to its ever-increasing investment portfolio, as the backbone of many a developing tropical economy. Although the emphasis is placed on Cameroon, other relevant African, tropical and subtropical banana-producing countries are mentioned where necessary, especially in the export sector where a degree of competition existed. Further, agricultural practices, soils, meteorological and climatological characteristics, pests and diseases, personnel and banana varieties grown, mean that findings in Cameroon are of relevance to other banana-producing countries, especially in Africa. Meanwhile, other African and tropical countries still contemplating entry into banana exports would benefit from the Cameroon experience. The book is of especial relevance to agronomists, entomologists, economists, farm managers, government policy makers, large, medium and small scale banana growers, and students and teachers in universities and schools of agriculture.
This study explores the predicament of Anglophone Cameroon - from the experiment in federation from 1961 to the political liberalisation struggles of the 1990s - to challenge claims of a successful post-independence Cameroonian integration process. Focusing on the perceptions and actions of people in the Anglophone region, Atanga argues that what has come to be called the 'Anglophone Problem' constitutes one of the severest threats to the post-colonial nation-state project in Cameroon. As a linguistic and cultural minority, Anglophone Cameroonians realised that the Francophone-led state and government were keener in assimilation than in implementing the federal and bilingual nation agreed upon at reunification in 1960. Calls for national integration became simply a subterfuge for the assimilation of Anglophones by Francophones who dominated the state and government. The book details the various measures undertaken to exploit the Anglophone regionís economy and marginalise its people. Principally the economic structures meant to facilitate self-reliant development were undermined and destroyed. Institutionalised discrimination took the form of the exclusion of Anglophones from positions of real authority, and depriving the region of any meaningful development. With the advent of multi-party politics, most Anglophone Cameroonians increasingly have made vocal demands for a return to a federation, in order to adequately guarantee their rights and recognition for them as a political and cultural minority. Actively encouraged by France, the Francophone-led regime in Cameroon has refused to yield to such demands, despite the grave danger of violent conflict and possible secession.
She Seized The Balls
(2011)
In She Seized The Balls, Ntube's exploits can best be described as guided by the hand of providence. In a bid to inherit her father's compound and live comfortably, she destroys the old sacred village grove and fells totemic trees. An epidemic breaks out, killing mostly the elderly. Ntube is accused of causing it because of the destruction of the sacred places. She is brought before the clan council several times but she tantalizes the council with her flawless defences. In due course, she rebuffs her former husband's bid for reconciliation; falls in love with an influential personality and begets a child with him. She uses the man to achieve the building of a bridge across the river that had enclaved the clan for centuries. With her elevated status among her people she becomes the first woman to be given the prerogative to pour libation in a patriarchal society.
In this thought provoking book, Komla Tsey argues that if governments, NGOs, development donor agencies and researchers are serious about development in Africa, they need to get down to ground level, both metaphorically and literally. They must search deep into Africa's own rich oral traditions by creating space and opportunity for ordinary Africans, whose voices have so far been conspicuously absent in the development discourse, to tell and share their own stories of development. Story-sharing as research methodology acts as a mirror, reflecting the participants' self-evaluation of where they have come from, where they are now, and how to proceed into the future. They are strategies that can empower and enable individuals and communities of people to be agents of their own change which, in Tsey's view, is what development is all about.
The Weeping Triangle
(2011)
The Weeping Triangle portrays a country that has been overtaken by corruption. This country had been awarded the most corrupt country in the world two times in a row and a third time is increasingly likely. In a world where money talks and violence is a way of life, most people succumb to the way things are lest they become victims of the system. Smith, however, is one of a kind. As a teacher entrusted with the lives of his students, Smith sees the need to curb the current direction of his country. Frustrated with the way things are, curious as to how things got so bad and motivated to make a change for the better, he stands out among the rest determined to make a difference no matter how small. Branded a fool for his bravery and incessant inquisitiveness, Smith stands up to those in authority; most of whom are bound by corruption. He refuses to partake in this illegal way of life. Encouraging his friends and anyone else to do the same proves difficult but does not deter his intentions. What hope does one have in a country full of lies, secrets, deceptions and bribery? The Weeping Triangle takes you through the journey of Smith and his friends making the most of what little hope there is.
This is an engaged and extremely well-informed book on business and business ethics in a society with political and social-economic crises. As an engaging and engaged effort to bring a nexus between business ethics and business practices in any human society, the book invites the reader to partake in pressing debates on business ethics in times of crisis. The book provides a much needed interdisciplinary approach and marshals an extraordinary array of social and intellectual resources that positively inspire business people and business making. It is wholesome and systematic in its articulation of the political and social forces that shape and are shaped by business. Additionally, it gives the reader a guided tour into the fascinating creativity that shapes and characterises business culture in contemporary Zimbabwe.
I Will Fly is a collection of 52 poems which bring to life a story of struggle and hope, the struggle of ordinary Cameroonians who daily entertain hardship, and of English-speaking Cameroonians born into a minority population. Disgruntlement leads to protests; but what happens when the protests fail to yield? Immigration and resignation, the latter, at times, becoming an invitation to death. Adventure and romance stand as the lifeline of others. Hope is a constant companion in these situations, inviting all and sundry to desist from giving adversary easy victories.
This posthumous publication is a collection of essays some of which are based on the author's research work while others record her thoughts on issues she regarded as important. The materials, which were written between 1991 and 1996, cover a range of subjects that have been tied together under the theme of women, law and justice in Uganda. They represent the author's central concerns, interests and views as they developed over the years.
Essays in Criminology
(2011)
Crime in Africa is fast growing like African cities, African poverty, African indebtedness, African brain-drain and African dependence; everything in Africa appears to be growing very fast; population too has been fast growing except that it is being reduced by violence as we have witnessed in Rwanda, Burundi and Somalia and AIDS pandemic that is first spreading in Africa, claiming thousands of lives every year. This book is a collection of essays and papers not based on empirical research on crime in East Africa but general observations arising out of the author's experience as a criminologist in East Africa.
Dictionary of Criminology
(2011)
In professional disciplines, just as in academics, the definition of basic concepts is fundamental for adequate understanding of issues. A dictionary of criminology may be regarded as irrelevant for the simple reason that criminology cannot be said to constitute an academic or professional discipline in East Africa. But this dictionary is not limited to criminological or sociological concepts alone. Just like any academic discipline, it covers other areas of social studies such as law, economics and politics. The dictionary covers some areas that, to the average reader, are least related to law and crime; but to the specialist, even the least likely entry, like race, tribe and democracy is, in some remote way, linked to the incidence of crime, delinquency or deviance.
Arbitration Law and Practice in Kenya is a practical reference text for one of the fastest growing areas of legal practice in Kenya today. The text covers the arbitration process from the arbitration agreement to commencement of proceedings and to the delivery of the Award in the Kenyan context. All topics are covered against the provisions of the Arbitration Act, 1995, the Civil Procedure Act, the UNICTRAL Model Law, relevant international conventions and relevant case law, local, regional and international. The book will prove useful for students, practitioners and arbitrators.
Regional Integration in Africa Bridging the North-Sub-Saharan Divide came about as a research project conducted by the Africa Institute of South Africa and examines the North African countries' strategies of involvement in the African continent, and their integration initiatives. The book looks at major issues involving Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania. These countries, in most cases, have been treated as separate from sub-Saharan Africa. However, the historical reality and economic and political interests indicate that the North African countries have been and still are closely connected with the rest of the African continent. Egypt, for example, was one of the leading countries in the African unity movement, and, together with Libya, has contributed to the restructuring of the African continental organisation and the establishment of the African Union. The book consists of two parts. The first part includes five chapters written in English, the second part of the book comprises six chapters written in Arabic.
Joy in the Morning
(2011)
Hopolang was sexually abused by a neighbor and for nineteen years she didn't divulge her experience because she feared that she would be blamed. In the first edition of 'Joy Comes in the Morning' she shared her battle to regain her self-confidence and self-esteem by running into the arms of the One who can heal - God. Through poems, she expresses emotions, such as confusion, pain, fear, betrayal, guilt, regret, approval, self-pity, mistrust and forgiveness that she had to work through. In this revised edition of 'Joy Comes in the Morning', Hopolang recounts how she overcame, not only the trauma of being sexually abused but also other challenges, such as working through relationships and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro- something that she never imagined she could accomplish. As she narrates her experiences, her hope is that the lessons she learned will motivate and inspire her readers. No matter how difficult the circumstances are that we encounter in our lives, we can triumph, and joy always comes in the morning. As she walked the paths of recovery from sexual abuse, Hopolang Phororo longed to read stories she could relate to, of those who had suffered abuse and overcame it. Because such stories were not available, she decided to share her story, to reach out and inspire other women with the message that there is hope. Her passion to see young women realize their fullest potential has led her to set up the Daughters of Destiny (DoD) Ministry (mentoring young women), in countries where she has lived.
This volume, from an Africa perspective, examines the relationship between ethnicity and citizenship within the framework of nation-state. Its objective and scope engage relational aspects of political integration, awaken public conscience, and motivate civic engagement. It provides a platform that could be considered prerequisite for political transformation. Such a framework is indispensable not only for challenging the politics of exclusion and marginalization, but also for reconstructing fractured social relationships. The test of its validity and relevancy is not whether it accounts for particular traditions, but whether it provides a framework through which we can comprehend the dynamics of ethnic identities as an avenue for promoting participatory governance and democratic accountability. An interdisciplinary study of this kind brings forth practical and theoretical contributions to the evolving concepts of ethnicity and citizenship.
Predicaments
(2011)
In this juvenalia, his first collection of poems, Francis Nyamnjoh takes the reader back in time, even as the past catches up with the present, to show how unchanging and even painful life can be. Accordingly, the poems celebrate, mourn, ridicule, lambast, and lament, thereby highlighting Nyamnjoh's characteristic fascination with the plight of the person in society, a picture which reaffirms his already established role as the conscience of spaces, especially those African.
This is a pioneer, long overdue and truly original book that off ers a unique, comprehensive and thorough exposition of the criminal law of Cameroon by a leading scholar. This latest book by Professor Carlson Anyangwe adopts a thematic approach, each chapter covering a specific aspect of the criminal law. The text is a clear, simple and comprehensive exposition of all the offences codified in the Penal Code. It offers a rich, clear, learned and discerning analysis to understanding of the criminal law. The book is designed to instruct and to contribute to a deeper understanding of the subject, the treatment of which is unique, informative and makes for compelling reading. This is the first textbook ever on the subject in Cameroon and it is undoubtedly an indispensable tool of trade for judges, prosecutors, lawyers in private practice, academic lawyers, law students and law enforcement officers.
This is a vivid, thought-provoking and fascinating text on some contentious issues in contemporary medical ethics. The book acknowledges the contribution of 'African tradition' and Western scholarship to the development of medical ethics as a university discipline. It questions the lack of consensus around such biomedical issues as euthanasia and traditional medicine. In many countries, the failure has resulted in public outcries. Its thrust centres on the nexus of practice and theory, and the importance of pragmatism and critical questioning in dealing with different cases on and around biomedicine. Its virtue is its significant shift from the traditional positions on selected biomedical issues to a more rigorous, pragmatic and critical questioning and understanding of the reasoning and positions of all involved and/or affected parties.
This is the story of the prolific professor Newit Anatole Lobe who after his studies and a failed marriage in the US decides to return home to Cameon, an imaginary post-colonial African state to take up a teaching job with the country's main university. When he refuses to join the machinations and antics of the power elites who want to hang on to power at all cost, he pays a heavy price. He plays a key role in the founding of an opposition party just to be betrayed by those in whom he placed his trust. He is arrested and detained on trumped up charges of subversion and complicity with external enemies of the state. He learns the hard way that life is larger than logic.
The Dialectics of Praxis and Theoria in African Philosophy : An Essay on Cultural Hermeneutics
(2011)
This book is a clarion call for African renaissance informed by African spirituality. It develops the vision that Africans can be the same in the process of change. Africans have to coincide with their ways of perceiving values, and to retrieve their identity wiped out by regrettable historical events. Even in this involvement of revalorisation of their stifled ways, Africans have to be aware of the fact that history has evolved and new human environments are taking place. Any attempt to recover African personality involves a triple necessity. First, to remember the past, second, to analyse critically what Africans have inherited from their past, and lastly, to project new ways and means for a genuine renaissance, free from alienation and exploitation. Bin-Kapela sees in Cultural hermeneutics an appropriate philosophical method to achieve this end of recognising and projecting African spirituality as a universal value.
This innovative book is a forward-looking reflection on mental decolonisation and the postcolonial turn in Africanist scholarship. As a whole, it provides five decennia-long lucid and empathetic research involvements by seasoned scholars who came to live, in local peoples own ways, significant daily events experienced by communities, professional networks and local experts in various African contexts. The book covers materials drawn from Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. Themes include the Whelan Research Academy, rap musicians, political leaders, wise men and women, healers, Sacred Spirit churches, diviners, bards and weavers who are deemed proficient in the classical African geometrical knowledge. As a tribute to late Archie Mafeje who showed real commitment to decolonise social sciences from western-centred modernist development theories, commentators of his work pinpoint how these theories sought to dismiss the active role played by African people in their quest for self-emancipation. One of the central questions addressed by the book concerns the role of an anthropologist and this issue is debated against the background of the academic lecture delivered by René Devisch when receiving an honorary doctoral degree at the University of Kinshasa. The lecture triggered critical but constructive comments from such seasoned experts as Valentin Mudimbe and Wim van Binsbergen. They excoriate anthropological knowledge on account that the anthropologist, notwithstanding her social and cognitive empathy and intense communication with the host community, too often fails to also question her own world and intellectual habitus from the standpoint of her hosts. Leading anthropologists carry further into great depth the bifocal anthropological endeavour focussing on local peoples re-imagining and re-connecting the local and global. The book is of interest to a wide readership in the humanities, social sciences, philosophy and the history of the African continent and its relation with the North.
Blessing
(2011)
Fatti Ashi died. Startling her family and community, she comes back to life just a few hours after dying. Blessing chronicles the life of this Fatti Ashi, a young village girl who from the moment she rejoins the land of the living is faced with both obstacles and opportunities consistent with an attempted mergence of two worlds. From a child who is molded with her father's advice to merge ancestral skull worship and Christianity to an underprivileged teenager who falls in love with the alphabet and finally becoming a woman who desires emotional and financial independence, Fatti Ashi's life yields misunderstandings and isolation. As a child in the village, her life is a battleground for family rivalry and religious conflict. As a teenage wife in the city, she befriends a sex worker who encourages her to bring meaning into her life rather than simply living to the dictates of others. She takes up the challenge by embarking on adult education and becoming a breadwinner but is taken aback when her husband requests a divorce. In a search for solutions to save her marriage, she entertains traditional religion, Catholicism and Pentecostalism. Disappointment and desperation lead her to take a deeper look at the situation. Is she to stay married simply for convenience? Is she to continue following religious paths laid out by others, clearly not as beneficial to her? Is she to please society to her detriment? The long journey of self-discovery takes her through scandal and humiliation but in the end, she emerges as a confident, admired and happy woman.
African historians documented the histories of their tribal people and have not investigated the role of slavery and colonialism in the shaping of the African personality; or how the two evils have in some way or other contributed to the slow economic growth of Africa. It is the belief of the author that reparations should be sought not to bring about economic development or to reduce dependence but redress wrongs the degradation, vandalism, terrorism and other inhuman treatment Africans have experienced nor is the demand racially motivated. The demand is for indemnity for inhuman acts committed against African people and is made in the belief that the international community will accept the reality of slave trade and later, imperialism and colonialism are crimes against humanity.
Tanzania has been independent in 2011 for 50 years. While most neighbouring states have gone through violent conflicts, Tanzania has managed to implement extensive reforms without armed political conflicts, Hence, Tanzania is an interesting case for Peace and Development research. This dissertation analyses the political development in Tanzania since the introduction of the multiparty system in 1992, with a focus on the challenges for the democratisation process in connection with the 2000 and 2005 elections. The question of to what extent Tanzania had moved towards a consolidation of democracy, is analysed by looking at nine different institutions of importance for democratisation grouped in four spheres: the state, the political, civil and economic society. Focus is on the development of the political society, and the role of the opposition in particular. The analysis is based on secondary and primary material collected between September 2000 to April 2010. The main conclusion is that even if the institutions of liberal democracy have gradually developed, in practice single-party rule has continued, manifested in the 2005 election when the CCM won 92% of seats. Despite impressive economic growth, poverty remains deep and has not been substantially reduced. On a theoretical level this brings the old debate between liberal and substantive democracy back to the fore. Neither the economic nor the political reforms have brought about a transformation of the political and economic system resulting in the poor majority gaining substantially more political influence and improved economic conditions. Hence, it is argued that the interface between the economic, political and administrative reforms has not been sufficiently considered in the liberal democratic tradition. Liberal democracy is necessary for a democratic development, but not sufficient for democracy to be consolidated. For that a substantive democratic development is necessary.
This rich conversational auto-biography tells the story of the political life of Ndeh Ntumazah who was born in Mankon in 1926, spent the best part of his life suffering and sacrificing for the freedom of Cameroon, and died in London on January 21, 2010, at the age of 83, as President of the Union of the Populations of Cameroon (UPC). Ntumazah was a political activist for nearly 60 years. He joined the UPC around 1950 and remained a militant of the party until his demise. When the UPC was banned in French Cameroon in 1955, he was advised by his comrades to create another party in the Southern Cameroons, which would be the UPC in disguise. The party was called 'One Kamerun Movement - OK', with Ndeh Ntumazah as its President. Following its banning, the UPC started a war of liberation in French Cameoon, so Ntumazah from the safety of Southern Cameroons, liaised with his comrades in French Cameroon to carry out their underground operations. Ndeh Ntumazah left Cameroon to seek political asylum abroad in 1962. He stayed in Ghana, Guinea, Algeria and finally in Britain where he spent most of his time sensitising the world about the plight of Cameroon using various avenues like writing, conferences and deputations. Ntumazah is dead, but he lives on because his life stands out as a point of focus.
There is a general agreement that piracy; counterfeiting and passing off are unfair. However, there is often surreptitious - or even open - sympathy for, say, those who purchase counterfeit designer fashions or the latest technical gadgets. The pirate is even sometimes represented as a daring evil hero. In this book, Prof. Dora Nkem Akunyili, Director General of Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, presents a unique study of a global phenomenon in which law-breaking and profiteering prevail at the cost of human health and life - and of the ways in which this can be fought by appropriate legislation, regulation and enforcement.
Migration in the Service of African Development : Essays in honour of Professor Aderanti Adepoju
(2011)
Fifteen chapters are included here in this compendium in honour of the Nigerian migration scholar Professor Aderanti Adepoju. Though the authors come from diverse disciplinary backgrounds: geography, demography, sociology and law they all work within the fields of internal and international migration in Africa. Chapters on Uganda, Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria and Mali are devoted to aspects of internal migration, while those on African emigration to Mexico and migration between Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire address various aspects of international migration. Migration issues in relation to women, students and climate change are also discussed.
How can a black people, who do not even profess to Islam, claim to have originated from Egypt, which is such an Arabic and Islamic geographical setting? But the Kalenjiin people of Kenya have held on fast to a tradition that their ancestors in antiquity were part of ancient Pharaonic Egypt, which they variously call Tto and Misiri. As unlikely as it may sound, the persistence in keeping this oral tradition alive does not seem to be dying with time and distance from the claimed place of origin. The Misiri Legend Explored: A Linguistic Inquiry into the Kalenjiin People's Oral Tradition of Ancient Egyptian Origin establishes the Kalenjin oral tradition of Misirian origin on the basis of linguistic evidence - a genuine tool which Egyptology scholars and researchers need to have relied on much more to bring greater and more final results to their investigations. Students of ancient Egypt willing to accept that there is an irrational prejudice against the concept of ancient black African ingenuity will upgrade their stock of knowledge regarding ancient Egypt with the numerous discoveries laid out here. They will discover a powerful new tool for their trade in the form of the African languages and cultures that now lie South of the Sahara.
Older people in Tanzania are disadvantaged and marginalized in many ways. They lack adequate formal social protection. They also suffer from diminishing family and community support. They face a series of multi-faceted problems and care for most AIDS-orphans, yet they are a much neglected target group in national social policy and international development programs. This book provides a theoretical discussion of ageing issues and their linkage to social protection. It depicts various policy frameworks at international, Pan-African and national level. And it provides extensive empirical findings on older people's living conditions.
In Our Own Tongues gives poetic voice to three generations of African-American women. It celebrates how Black women speak and do in the ways best known to them. This powerful and healing collection of poetry touches on a variety of experiences in the United States regarding emotional abuse, physical and sexual assaults, racism, lynchings, political issues as well as the permeating smell of magnolias.
President Juliys Kambarge Nyerere was the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Founder of the Nation. He came into power through the ballot - a democratic process held in 1961, and remained in power for more than two decades. Mwalimu Nyerere was a gifted and morally upright man. He was a true son of Africa - a Pan-Africanist, a nationalist, charismatic orator, steadfast thinker, diplomat and above all a teacher. He chose to be called simply Mwalimu-Teacher. Throughout his term of office he gave hundreds of speeches; some were prepared in advance others given extemporaneously. The Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation (founded by Mwalimu Nyerere himself in 1996) has assembled and put his speeches and writings into books. The Quotations in this book are only those picked from the books in Freedom Series and his University Lectures. They are presented and arranged under the following themes: Philosophy of life, Equality of Man, Colonialism, Tanzania's Revolution, Democracy, Self-reliance, Rural Development, Non-alignment, African Unity, the United Nations, Leadership and Education.
UNICEF estimates that Tanzania has over three million orphans. The Bethsaida Orphan Girls Secondary School seeks to help the ?most vulnerable of Tanzania?s children. Founded by Mrs. Anna Machary in 2005 under the auspices of the non-governmental organization, the Olof Palme Orphans Education Center, the school currently enrolls over 130 orphan girls from all over the country, providing them with free housing, meals, psychological support and a quality secondary education. This book features short stories by thirteen students and has the dual purpose of being a fundraiser for the school and giving the girls a voice. It is a unique and enthralling work of fiction, Their Voices: Their Stories ranges from magical realism to fable, from historical fiction to bildungsroman. Under the professional and passionate editorial guidance of Maryland professor Julie Wakeman-Linn, this collection sings of the fears, anxieties and dreams of young Tanzanian women, who pray their education will be the golden ticket out of lives filled with poverty and abuse.
Never Too Late
(2011)
Images of loneliness, seduction, unfulfilled dreams and torn lives emerge on the pages of this anthology to challenge readers to search for answers for a better life. The authors use The Role of Christianity as the running theme for most of the stories. This is a unique and interesting collection of stories about the life of teenagers. The stories, set in Uganda, offer rare insights into the emotional turbulence and social crises that usually remain unrecognisable and invisible to adults.
Whilst the establishment of the African human rights system was a good gesture that signalled the recognition of the value and essence of international human rights in the continent, a continuous study of the system has become necessary. This is particularly in light of the fact that the continent is in desperate need of well established and effective regional human rights enforcement mechanisms. At the moment, the regional human rights system is stuck between prospects and pitfalls because of the gap that exists between the promise of human rights and their actual realisation. By all means, this trend needs to be reversed. The main objective and purpose of this book is to underscore the challenges besetting the effective enforcement of international human rights law in Africa and the prospects and promises of an effective regional human rights system.
Justice Mary Ang'awa holds LL.B. and LL.M. degrees from the University of Nairobi. She is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and a Puisne Judge. She is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She has taught the law of succession to judicial officers and advocates of the High Court of Kenya.