The Global Green Bean and Other Tales of Madness

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Freidberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Institutions ◽  
Food Provisioning ◽  
Food Retailing ◽  
Green Beans ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
History Of ◽  
Food Scare ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Sub Saharan

The last years of the 20th century were tough times for selling food to Europeans. The competition was fierce, the rules uncertain, and the retail markets picky. It was not just that huge supermarket chains had come to dominate food retailing, and to demand products conforming to ever-higher standards of convenience and aesthetic quality; these trends were common across the industrialized world. In addition, they demanded that the suppliers of those products— farmers and manufacturers, but also a range of intermediaries—meet standards of hygiene and accountability that were unimaginable twenty, even ten years earlier. The supermarkets wanted assurances that none of their products would set off another food scare; too many had already shaken European consumers’ faith in the supermarkets’ increasingly globalized offerings. On the supermarket shelves, these assurances might appear as new labels or packaging, if they appeared at all. What consumers largely did not see was the work that went into providing them with food as certifiably pure as it was pretty. This work took place on farms and in packhouses; in consultants’ offices and corporate boardrooms; in activists’ meetings and chemical analysts’ laboratories. It demanded long flights, short deadlines, and nonstop vigilance. Above all, the work of assuring the overall goodness of globalized food required all kinds of people and things to deal with each other in new ways, and often across great distances. In this sense, it transformed the social relationships of food provisioning on both an interpersonal and transcontinental scale. This book explores how these changes took shape within two fresh vegetable trades, or commodity networks, linking two Sub-Saharan African countries to their former European colonial powers. The francophone network brings Burkina Faso’s green beans to France, while the anglophone network brings an assortment of prepackaged fresh vegetables from Zambia to the United Kingdom. Broadly similar in some ways, they differ radically in others, including the ways that they experienced Europe’s late twentieth-century food scares. By exploring the history of these differences and how they are sustained and transformed in specific places, practices, and social institutions, I hope to illuminate the relationship between culture and power in globalized food provisioning.

Catalogue of Tamil manuscripts in the Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine

1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-369
Author(s):  
S. Gunasingam
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
South Asia ◽  
History Of Medicine ◽  
British Empire ◽  
South Asian ◽  
African Countries ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
History Of

Since the time South Asia, together with other Asian and African countries, became an integral part of the British Empire, the significance of manuscripts, published works and other artefacts, relating to those regions has stimulated continued appreciation in the United Kingdom, albeit with varying degrees of interest. It is interesting to note that the factors which have contributed in one way or another to the collecting of South Asian I material for British institutions vary in their nature, and thus illuminate the attitudes of different periods. During the entire nineteenth century, the collectors were primarily administrators; for most of the first half of the twentieth century, it was the interest and the needs of British universities that led to the accumulation of substantial holdings in many academic or specialist libraries.

scholarly journals How to understand, evaluate and influence efficient progress in South Africa’s land reform process: A typology from historical lessons from selected sub-Saharan African countries

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nhlanhla C. Mbatha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Policy Uncertainty ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Black Farmers ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: With reports of widespread failures in South Africa’s land reform programmes, the levels of policy uncertainty in the political rhetoric that influences land reform have been increasing. Since 1994 policy targets to transfer land to black farmers have not been met. Of the 2005 target to transfer about 25 million ha of commercial farmland to black farmers by 2014, less than 5 million ha. have been transferred for commercial use. Some studies report failure rates in resettlement projects of up to 90%. To account for the failures, revisions of policies and amendments to legislations have been proposed within a political environment that is becoming increasingly intolerant to slow progress in land transfers and to resettlement failures.Aim: Against this environment, this paper presents a typology for understanding and evaluating important elements of the land reform project in order to influence progress in the process.Setting: The study adopts a historical review of land reform processes in post-colonial Kenya and Zimbabwe in order to identify potential challenges and key lessons for South Africa.Methods: Hence, using institutional and historical analytical lenses in exploring different narratives, the paper reviews reported failures and successes in land reform policy cases from the selected countries. From an institutional framework, prevalent social institutions and key lessons from Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa, a typology for evaluating important elements of the land reform process in South Africa is developed and discussed. Additionally, a review of global data collected on average sizes of farms in different regions of the world is provided as evidence to support propositions of what would constitute efficient farmland size ranges for small to medium commercial farms in South Africa.Results and conclusion: A proposition is made on how to use the typology to guide policy and research interventions to reduce failures and promote successful cases in different areas of the land reform process in South Africa, and possibly other similar contexts.

Challenging the Orthodoxy: African Development in the Age of Openness

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamee Moudud ◽  
Karl Botchway
Keyword(s):  
Trade Openness ◽  
Developmental State ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
Income Convergence ◽  
African Countries ◽  
African Development ◽  
The North ◽  
Empirical Level ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan

AbstractDoes trade openness necessarily lead to income convergence between countries in the North and South and hence facilitates social development? This paper challenges this claim with regards to African development in the age of neo-liberalism. The paper argues that a one-sided reading of the history of an early phase of globalization by advocates of neo-liberalism seems to have turned trade openness into a mantra for African development. Furthermore the paper challenges the rhetoric of competitiveness that underpins the rationale for neo-liberalism by critiquing the neoclassical model of competition. The neo-liberal policy position, as the paper suggests is problematic at an empirical level also. In a test for convergence for eleven sub-Saharan African countries described as good adjusters by advocates of trade openness, the paper shows that a straightforward openness per se guarantees nothing as far their growth rates are concerned. Rather this paper suggests that the role of the “developmental state” needs to be brought back in order to facilitate the international competitiveness of African countries. It will be argued that such a role for the developmental state rests on a very different conceptualization of the nature of capitalist competition and growth. In the final instance, then, we suggest the need for building a theory of the developmental state that rests on non-neoclassical macro- and micro-foundations.

scholarly journals Non-communicable respiratory disease in Malawi: a systematic review and meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-73
Author(s):  
Rebecca Nightingale
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Respiratory Disease ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Airflow Obstruction ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Chronic Respiratory Disease ◽  
African Countries ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Life Course

BackgroundNon-communicable respiratory diseases are important contributors to morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan African countries such as Malawi. AimTo conduct a systematic review of the available literature relating to chronic respiratory disease in Malawi. MethodsWe conducted a systematic protocol-driven literature search of key scientific databases including Scopus and Medline. Papers were independently assessed for eligibility by two authors and included if they reported objective measures (including self-reported standard symptoms) of chronic respiratory disease and were conducted in Malawi. A meta-analysis of available estimates was then conducted. We re-analysed data from three of these studies in a secondary data analysis to allow for between-study comparisons. ResultsOur search identified 393 papers of which 17 (5 involving children and 12 involving adults) met the inclusion criteria. Wheeze was the symptom most frequently reported in children in the community (12.1%), hospital (11.2%) and HIV clinic (8.1%) settings. Cough was the symptom most frequently reported by adults in the community (3–18%). Spirometric abnormalities varied substantially between studies. For example, in adults, airflow obstruction varied between 2.3% and 20% and low forced vital capacity (FVC) varied between 2.7% and 52.8%. ConclusionWe identified a high burden of chronic respiratory symptoms and abnormal spirometry (particularly low FVC) within paediatric and adult populations in Malawi. The estimates for country-wide burden related to this disease were limited by the heterogeneity of the methods used to assess symptoms and spirometry. There is an urgent need to develop a better understanding of the determinants and natural history of non-communicable respiratory disease across the life-course in Malawi.

scholarly journals Policy makers, regulators and researchers’ perspectives on genomics research and the capacity of the National Health Research Act of 2013 to regulate genomics research in Zambia

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Oliver Mweemba ◽  
John Musuku ◽  
Tulani Francis L. Matenga ◽  
Michael Parker ◽  
Rwamahe Rutakumwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Research ◽  
Ethics Committees ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Genomics Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan

Background: Health research in sub-Saharan Africa takes place against a lengthy history of exploitation and unfair collaboration. This has involved the export of samples and data from the continent for the benefit of institutions and researchers elsewhere. In this paper, we report the perspectives of people involved in conducting genomics research in Zambia and the capacity of the Health Research Act (HRA) of 2013 in regulating genomics research. Methods: We approached 14 purposively selected stakeholders involved in the development or implementation of the HRA in Zambia for in-depth interviews. These were members of research ethics committees, genomics researchers, Ministry of Health policy makers and institutional lawyers. Results: Participants reported that there are benefits in genomics research for Zambia such as diagnosing and treatment of diseases. Participants also expressed concerns, most of which were ethical in nature. Prominent concerns were on consent. Participants’ main concern was the possible misuse of samples in the future. These concerns resonated with the HRA, which prohibits the use of broad consent for the collection of samples and data for future unspecified research. The implications of this is that Zambians may not participate in any kind of health research for which the storage, sharing and re-use of data or samples is envisaged. The restrictive nature of HRA means that genomics research may be excluded from future health research collaborations, thus isolating the country from potentially beneficial health research. Some policy makers also worried the samples and data that comes from such research may be difficult to access by local scientists. Conclusion: In this article, we describe the views of Zambian policymakers on genomics research and the capacity of HRA in regulating genomics research. Our findings are relevant for the Zambian audience, and other African countries that are aiming to regulate health research, especially genomics research.

Grievances, governance and Islamist violence in sub-Saharan Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitriona Dowd
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Political Exclusion ◽  
History Of ◽  
Triggering Events ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Conflict Research

AbstractWhat explains the emergence of Islamist violence as a substantial security threat in such diverse contexts as Kenya, Mali and Nigeria? This article addresses this question through an exploration of the strategies of governance employed by states, and how these shape the emergence and mode of collective violence. Conflict research often emphasises the specificity of Islamist violence; but these conflicts can be understood as a form of political exclusion and grievance-based violence, comparable to other forms of political violence. Further, violent Islamist groups emerge from local conditions: the areas in which groups are established share similar local experiences of governance and political marginalisation; a history of violent conflict on which Islamist militants capitalise; and key triggering events expanding or reinforcing state exclusion. These findings challenge a narrative emphasising the global, interconnected nature of Islamist violence. This article pairs data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Dataset (ACLED) with Afrobarometer survey data and case study evidence to identify drivers of Islamist violence across three African countries.

scholarly journals Challenging Global Geographies of Power: Sending Children back to Nigeria from the United Kingdom for Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 818-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Kea ◽  
Katrin Maier
Keyword(s):  
Physical Punishment ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Neoliberal Globalization ◽  
Civilizing Mission ◽  
Education Society ◽  
Colonial Legacy ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
History Of ◽  
British Colonial ◽  
The Uk

AbstractWest Africans have a long history of investing in their children's education by sending them to Britain. Yet, some young British-Nigerians are being sent to Nigeria for secondary education, going against a long historical grain. The movement of children from London to Nigeria is about the making of good subjects who possess particular cultural dispositions and behave in such a manner as to ensure educational success and the reproduction of middle-class subjectivities within neoliberal globalization. We maintain that this movement highlights the way in which global geographies of power—rooted in a colony-metropole divide—are being challenged and reconfigured, serving to provincialize the UK, through the educational choices that Nigerian parents make for their children. Such small acts disrupt imagined geographies and particular spatial and temporal configurations of progress and modernity, in which former colonial subjects have traveled to the metropole for education, while generating counter-narratives about Nigerian education, society, and economy. Yet, the methods used to instill new dispositions and habits in the contemporary Nigerian educational context are informed by the British educational colonial legacy of discipline through corporal punishment—physical punishment was central to the civilizing mission of British colonial educational policy. Consequently, the choice to send children to school in Nigeria and other African countries both challenges global geographies of power and illuminates the continued relevance of the colonial educational legacy and its disciplinary strategies, which are, in turn, part of the broader project of modernity itself.

How relevant to sub-Saharan Africa is the Kyoto Protocol?

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
A B Sebitosi
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Clean Development Mechanism ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Paper Briefly ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Subsaharan Africa ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan

The African Recovery Journal once referred to it as, ‘an opportunity for African countries to attract new financing for their own sustainable development’. It was indeed waited for with much anticipation. In fact, today, it is readily observable that the international Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) market is becoming increasingly dynamic and projected to grow exponentially. However, judging from hard facts on the ground, the reality in sub-Saharan Africa is grim. Moreover, analysts are forecasting a convergence in the market; towards a focus on a few project types in a limited number of host countries. On this scale both, Kenya and Uganda are non-existent as are the rest of their sub-Sahara African compatriots. This paper briefly looks at the history of the CDM and what could have gone wrong for an instrument that had so much promise for subSaharan Africa.

Challenges and Opportunities in Documenting the Recent History of Public Health: The Health of Bristol after 1948

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 641-658
Author(s):  
David Evans
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Government ◽  
History Of Public Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
The City

Summary How do you find the sources to write the history of the health of a city, particularly for the late twentieth century and into the digital age? This article explores this challenge in the case of the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom during the period from the creation of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, through the transfer of the public health function from local government to the NHS in 1974 and up until the return of public health back to local government in 2013. The aims of the article are to scope the extant paper and digital official and academic documentary sources for the history of public health in the city, to critically assess the availability and completeness of the sources and to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of integrating earlier paper records with more recent digital ones.

scholarly journals Tax bargaining, fiscal contracts, and fiscal capacity in Ghana: A long-term perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 (475) ◽  
pp. 177-202
Author(s):  
Prince Young Aboagye ◽  
Ellen Hillbom
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The State ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Tax Reforms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Tax Revenues ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
People’S Perceptions

Abstract Many Sub-Saharan African countries are unable to generate sufficient tax revenues for public purposes. While it is widely accepted that governments’ ability to tax is shaped by politics, the precise mechanisms through which this relationship takes place in practice remain elusive. Based on a historical analysis of four major tax reforms in Ghana from the 1850s to the late 1990s, this article captures the various ways in which taxpayers negotiate with the state in an attempt to limit the extent of taxation, especially in cases where state reciprocity falls short of what people expect. Our evidence suggests that, far from being a recent development, effective taxation in Ghana has long depended on the ability of the state to convince taxpayers that tax revenues will be used for the public benefit. A history of misappropriation of tax revenues, overt corruption, and profligacy diminished taxpayers’ support for governments’ tax efforts. More generally, the article points to the importance of understanding how tax bargaining works in practice and people’s perceptions of their governments over the long term to overcome resistance to tax reforms.

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