Western Education and Rural Productivity in Tropical Africa

Africa ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. C. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Rural Life ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Western Education ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
White Collar Workers ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Complete Rejection ◽  
To Come ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphFor many years British administrators and others concerned with the developing countries of tropical Africa have criticized Western-type schooling introduced there for what they believe to have been its bad effects on the life of rural peoples. They have complained that such schooling is prejudicial to rural life, since it produces a distaste for agriculture and leads to a drift from the land. They say it promotes in schoolchildren a desire to be clerks or white-collar workers and, because of their schooling, they develop a strong dislike for manual work and a reluctance to soil their hands with physical labour. They assert that these values inculcated by Western schooling lead finally to an almost complete rejection of rural life, a contempt for agriculture, and therefore to a decrease in rural productivity. Finally, they maintain that this is particularly serious in view of the fact that, as far as we can see at present, many African countries will have to depend on agriculture and the land for a long time to come, for it is only through such dependence that it seems likely that they will achieve economic viability which will be an important factor in making a success of political independence.

scholarly journals The Black Man’s burden and the existentialist challenge: unchaining the African consciousness to action

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 129-133
Author(s):  
Tom Eneji Ogar ◽  
Emmanuel Kelechi Iwuagwu
Keyword(s):  
Research Work ◽  
Human Growth ◽  
Poverty Rate ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
Human Growth And Development ◽  
To Come ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Right

This research work, “The Black Man’s Burden and the Existentialist Challenge: Unchaining the African consciousness to action,” is a critical analysis of the human condition in Africa that has remained intractable right from political independence to the present and the right approach to stem the tide towards the Africa of the future. How is it that none of the about forty-eight nations South of the Sahara have made appreciable and sustained progress since most achieved independence in the 1960s, except maybe a few with exceptional natural resources. It has been found out that what has become known as the Black Man’s burden is a consequence of unacceptable poverty rate, endemic corruption, civil strife, wars, terrorism, banditry, and a generally low level of human growth and development. The idea that Western countries of Europe and America hold the key to Africa’s development is a myth that is not worth patronizing. The answer to the Black Man’s burden lies as they should in the hands of African countries themselves and especially the individuals and their governments. It is not the case that Africa has been the only continent in history that has suffered this human condition. Europe in the aftermath of the world wars was in shambles, and it took some conscious efforts of individuals and governments to consciously revolt against the absurd through a commitment to come out of the vicious cycle of finger-pointing as causes. The Black Man’s burden can also be addressed using the existentialist movement as a theoretical framework to bring Africa out of the present malaise of backwardness. An acceptance of the absurd and a conscious revolt against the same is what we need in Africa to address this sisyphusian like scenario.

Seasonal hunger among the Ngoni and Ntumba of central Malaŵi

Africa ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. T. Nurse
Keyword(s):  
Critical Level ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Agricultural Workers ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Opening Paragraph ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
High Storage

Opening ParagraphThe cultural significance of regular ‘hunger periods’ in tropical Africa, however much it may be disputed by anthropologists, has for a long time been apparent to less objective observers. It is generally accepted by those concerned in the engagement of migrant labour that at certain regular times of the year the supply is greater than at others: and it is believed that the number of men presenting for engagement is related to the quantity of food available in the villages. This view, as will be shown below, is an over-simplification. Ogbu (1973), though he relates seasonal hunger among the Poka to labour migration, sees die latter as a cause rather than a result of the former. He apparently considers that migration reduces the number of agricultural workers to below an unstipulated critical level above which it might still be possible to produce a sufficiency of food at all seasons, provided that animal pests could be controlled and agricultural techniques made more efficient. Seasonal hunger among the Ibo of Onicha he blames on shortage of farmland, low yield, and high storage loss of foodstuffs. At first sight it might appear that the cultural concomitants of the hunger period contrast rather strikingly between the two populations; and yet the recurrent hunger period is recognized by the FAO and other authorities (though Miracle (1961) questions its existence) as being a phenomenon widespread in sub- Saharan Africa, and one which might in consequence be expected to result from similar or related causes in most of the situations in which it occurs.

At Nature's Edge

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Impacts ◽  
Military Bases ◽  
East African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The Road ◽  
European Experience ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
The Many

In an epoch when environmental issues make the headlines, this is a work that goes beyond the everyday. Ecologies as diverse as the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean coast, the Negev desert and the former military bases of Vietnam, or the Namib desert and the east African savannah all have in common a long-time human presence and the many ways people have modified nature. With research in six Asian and African countries, the authors come together to ask how and why human impacts on nature have grown in scale and pace from a long pre-history. The chapters in this volume illumine specific patterns and responses across time, going beyond an overt centring of the European experience. The tapestry of life and the human reshaping of environments evoke both concern and hope, making it vital to understand when, why, and how we came to this particular turn in the road. Eschewing easy labels and questioning eurocentrism in today’s climate vocabulary, this is a volume that will stimulate rethinking among scholars and citizens alike.

scholarly journals Design of female white-collar office chair based on ergonomics

2020 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 02101
Author(s):  
Jiao Hu ◽  
Qing Yin ◽  
Canqun He
Keyword(s):  
Field Research ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Office Workers ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Work Efficiency ◽  
Literature Research ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
White Collar Workers ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Office Chair

In the daily work of office workers, the comfort of the office chair has a great impact on the staff’s work efficiency and human health. Sitting on the office chair for a long time may cause diseases such as cervical, shoulder, and lumbar spine. This article uses online literature research, brand analysis, and offline field research to understand the current status and deficiencies of office chairs, find design points and design directions, and based on ergonomics and sitting analysis research, design general office chairs for female white-collar workers to achieve a comfortable and healthy office purpose.

1787–1887–1987: reflections on a Sierra Leone bicentenary

Africa ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Fyfe
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Forest Belt ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Language Pattern ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Opening Paragraph

Opening ParagraphSeen in the widest perspective, 1787 is only one date among the uncounted tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of years during which the present Sierra Leone has been inhabited. Archaeologists have done disappointingly little work there. But it is clear from their findings (and by implication from findings in the rest of forest-belt West Africa) that people have lived there a very long time. Though traditional historiography always tends to present the peoples of Sierra Leone as immigrants from somewhere else, the language pattern suggests continuous occupation over a very long period. As Paul Hair (1967) has shown, there has been a striking linguistic continuity in coastal West Africa since the fifteenth century. Nor is there evidence to suggest that before that period stability and continuity were not the norm.

Using Old Photographs in Interviews: Some Cautionary Notes About Silences in Fieldwork

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Bravman
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
The People ◽  
Taita Hills ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Photo Collection ◽  
Image Production ◽  
To Come

In September 1987, early in my research at the Kenya National Archives, I came across a collection of photographs taken by a British missionary during the 1920s and early 1930s. The collection contained nearly 250 photos of the terrain and people of Kenya's Taita Hills, where I would soon be going for my fieldwork. I pored over the photo collection for a long time, and had reproductions made of twenty-five shots. The names of those pictured had been recorded in the photo album's captions. Many of the names were new to me, though a few WaTaita of the day who had figured prominently in the archival records were also captured on film. When I moved on to Taita in early 1988,1 took the photographs with me. Since I would be interviewing men and women old enough either to remember or be contemporaries of the people in the pictures, I planned to show the photos during the interviews. At first I was simply curious about who some of the people pictured were, but my curiosity quickly evolved into a more ambitious plan. I decided to try using the photographs as visual prompts to get people to speak more expansively than they otherwise might about their lives and their experiences.In the event, I learned that using the photographs in interviews involved many more complexities than I had envisaged in my initial enthusiasm. I found that I had to alter the expectations and techniques I took to Taita, and feel out some of the limitations of working with the photographic medium. I had to recognize the power relations embedded in my presence as a researcher in Taita, in my position as bearer of images from peoples' pasts, and in the photos themselves. I found, too, that I needed to come to grips with a number of issues about the politics of image production, and the historical product of those politics: the bounded, selected images that are photographs. Finally, I had to address some of my own cultural assumptions about photography and how people respond to pictures, assumptions that my informants did not necessarily share.

scholarly journals Physical Properties of Thermoplastic Starch Derived from Natural Resources and Its Blends: A Review

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1396
Author(s):  
Z. N. Diyana ◽  
R. Jumaidin ◽  
Mohd Zulkefli Selamat ◽  
Ihwan Ghazali ◽  
Norliza Julmohammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermoplastic Starch ◽  
Natural Fibre ◽  
Polymer Materials ◽  
Secondary Pollution ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Long Time ◽  
To Come ◽  
Main Component ◽  
Significant Attention

Thermoplastic starch composites have attracted significant attention due to the rise of environmental pollutions induced by the use of synthetic petroleum-based polymer materials. The degradation of traditional plastics requires an unusually long time, which may lead to high cost and secondary pollution. To solve these difficulties, more petroleum-based plastics should be substituted with sustainable bio-based plastics. Renewable and natural materials that are abundant in nature are potential candidates for a wide range of polymers, which can be used to replace their synthetic counterparts. This paper focuses on some aspects of biopolymers and their classes, providing a description of starch as a main component of biopolymers, composites, and potential applications of thermoplastics starch-based in packaging application. Currently, biopolymer composites blended with other components have exhibited several enhanced qualities. The same behavior is also observed when natural fibre is incorporated with biopolymers. However, it should be noted that the degree of compatibility between starch and other biopolymers extensively varies depending on the specific biopolymer. Although their efficacy is yet to reach the level of their fossil fuel counterparts, biopolymers have made a distinguishing mark, which will continue to inspire the creation of novel substances for many years to come.

Power Lies in the Barrel of a Gun: Diplomacy Without Strategic Military Capability Is Futile

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 77-99
Author(s):  
Moorosi Leshoele
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
United Nations Security Council ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Military Capability ◽  
Black Africa ◽  
Mineral Wealth ◽  
The World ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pipe Dream

Abstract The United States of America invests heavily on their military capability and it is estimated that it spends, alone, approximately 40 per cent of what the whole world spends on military. Four of the other super powers that make up the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UN-SC) also spend a significant percentage of their national budgets on military. Chinweizu has for a long time argued that Africa needs a well-resourced African Standby Force (or the Black Africa League) that will protect the interests of the continent so as to prevent the history of Africans enslavement and colonialism repeating itself. This article seeks to analyse Africa’s investment on its military defense capability vis-à-vis the five permanent members of the UN-SC and North Korea, by critiquing two case studies of two of the continent’s economic giants – South Africa and Egypt. Realist and Sankofa perspectives are used as the prisms through which the article was researched. In line with Chinweizu’s observation, the article argues that without serious political will and dedication to building Africa’s nuclear weapons capability and ensuring that Africa is economically self-reliant, diplomatic engagements with the rest of the world as (un)equal partners will remain a pipe dream and the looting of Africa’s mineral wealth will continue unabated. It is clear that given the reality of the African Holocust if African countries fail to collectively defend themselves, Africa will continue to be a political football for the rest of the world.

Secrecy, State-Private Networks and Operational Effectiveness in Cold War Europe

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-560
Author(s):  
ERIC PULLIN
Keyword(s):  
Central Intelligence Agency ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Operational Effectiveness ◽  
Intelligence Agency ◽  
The Us ◽  
Long Time ◽  
To Come ◽  
Us Senate

Secrecy has unintended consequences. The release on 9 December 2014 of the US Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the torture of terrorism detainees focused public attention on the secret activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Regrettably, lost amidst debate over justifying or condemning state-sponsored torture is a more basic concern, the issue of state secrecy, which underlies the discussion of how governments promote national ends. Only two days after the issuance of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report, the US House of Representatives adjourned without taking action on the Freedom of Information Act reform bill – despite receiving unanimous approval in both houses. This bill would not have required complete openness, but it would have eliminated many of the arbitrary mechanisms that enable the CIA and other governmental agencies to suppress requests for information. Although the House Republican leadership failed to put the act on the legislative calendar, the Obama administration's Department of Justice also deserves opprobrium for surreptitiously opposing the act behind the scenes. The US government's disregard for establishing reasonable rules of transparency virtually guarantees that the CIA will continue to suppress its records, and thus public scrutiny of its unchecked activities, for a very long time to come.

scholarly journals High speed internet development in Africa using 4G-LTE technology-a review

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 577-585
Author(s):  
Mohamed Njikam ◽  
Nanna S. ◽  
Shahrin S. ◽  
Mohd Fairuz Iskandar Othman
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Telecommunication Networks ◽  
African Continent ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Lte Networks ◽  
Telecommunication Infrastructure ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Populated Region ◽  
4G Lte ◽  
Internet Development

The African continent is ranked second most populated region and has a huge amount of natural resources to be locally transformed or outsourced overseas. The traditional telecommunications system has helped connect people and enabled them to manage their businesses and trading in Africa for a long-time; many African countries have embarked early in changing their network and technology systems during the first years of the information age. Over a few decades ago, the introduction of new telecommunication methods and techniques have influenced much of African countries’ growth via different perspectives. The situation has triggered an enormous interest in people. They analyzed the factors supporting such changes, which in the case of this paper is all about the advent and adoption of LTE/4G-LTE technologies including its service commercialization in Africa. This review article attempts to provide an overview of 4G-LTE networks technologies and the internet; it includes the current evolution of telecommunication networks within and even beyond the African continent, assisted by the 4G-LTE expansion. An extended view is provided throughout this article’s development with respect to what could be expected (or is missing) for the sake of this continent’s telecommunication infrastructure enhancement and a better QoS to Africa’s dwellers.

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