Women Chiefs and Post War Reconstruction in Sierra Leone

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 19-39
Author(s):  
Lynda R. Day
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Culturally Based ◽  
Women's Equality ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Post War ◽  
Traditional Structures

This paper examines the role of women chiefs in post war reconstruction in Sierra Leone, particularly the connection between women chiefs with the movement for women’s equality and economic empowerment. Contrary to scholarship which views culturally based traditional structures, including chieftaincy, as counterproductive to progressive change, I argue that traditional women chiefs have contributed to the movement for gender justice and gender equity and could be key to shaping and promoting both an agenda and an ideology for women’s social and political advancement on a local level. The study is based on fieldwork conducted in Sierra Leone from 1982 to 2012 and includes semi-structured interviews with women chiefs and other key players before, during, and after the war, as well as sources such as newspaper articles, journal and book publications and archival materials.

scholarly journals Examining the Role of Economic Actors in Post-war Reintegration Processes: Case of Sierra Leone.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 158-167
Author(s):  
MaryAnne Iwara
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Planning Strategy ◽  
Social Contracts ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Aid Dependency ◽  
Post War ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
National Governments

This paper examines post-conflict peacebuilding activities in Sierra Leone by critically looking at the role of economic actors in the reintegration process of its post-war Disarmament Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) initiative. The civil war that lasted for 11 years in Sierra Leone, put doubts on the national governments ability to effectively provide both victims and perpetuators, the necessary protection and assistance needed to fully assume responsibilities within the communities. Because of this, poverty was further entrenched, thereby increasing the countries susceptibility to return to conflict. Though reintegration processes are continuous, integrative and involve exhaustive budgetary commitments, the process, in Sierra Leone was short-termed, not well coordinated and took time to begin delivering. With the United Nations, World Bank and the weak national government leading the process, financing was often insufficient or late, in combination with the lack of a coherent planning strategy; all these factors contributed to lapses in socio-economic profiling, skills and vocational training and spread disillusionment and resentment among ex-combatants and victims. Using content analysis, the paper argues that, post-war countries need active, equitable and profitable economic sectors if they are to graduate from conflict and from post-conflict aid-dependency. Moreover, as social contracts and corporate social responsibility to communities they govern and operate in, economic actors must create enabling environments and, generate jobs to support legitimate local capacities. The utility of this paper lies in the idea that for any post-conflict country to attain long-term social and economic development, reintegration programme design and activities, must holistically incorporate critical economic actors.  

The role of dissociation and abuse among adolescents who self-harm

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 989-999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Hoyos ◽  
Vincent Mancini ◽  
Yulia Furlong ◽  
Nick Medford ◽  
Hugo Critchley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Childhood Abuse ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Emergency Presentation ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Matched Comparison

Objectives: Retrospective recall of dissociative symptoms has been found to mediate the association between childhood abuse and deliberate self-harm (DSH) in later life. To disentangle the effect of recall bias, we tested whether dissociation symptoms ascertained during an acute DSH presentation mediates this link. Method: All participants with DSH were recruited during emergency presentation. Seventy-one individuals aged 11–17 years with overdose (OD) and/or self-injury (SI) participated in semi-structured interviews and psychiatric assessment to measure abuse and dissociation. An age- and gender-matched comparison group of 42 non-psychiatric patients admitted to the same service were also assessed. Results: The DSH groups reported significantly higher levels of abuse and dissociation compared to comparison group. Dissociation significantly mediated the association between abuse and DSH. Of the four dissociation subtypes, ‘depersonalisation’ was the primary mediator. Adolescents with chronic patterns of DSH and the ‘OD + SI’ self-harm type reported more severe dissociation. Conclusion: Exposure to abuse significantly increased the risk of DSH in adolescence. This association was mediated by dissociation. Our findings suggest a possible dose–response relationship between dissociation with DSH chronicity and the ‘OD + SI’ self-harm type, implicating the importance of evaluating dissociation and depersonalisation symptoms as well as abuse exposure in DSH management.

Key Considerations for Advancing Women in Coaching

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenessa Banwell ◽  
Gretchen Kerr ◽  
Ashley Stirling
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equity ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Business Engineering ◽  
Female Coaches

Women remain underrepresented in the coaching domain across various levels of sport both in Canada and internationally. Despite the use of mentorship as a key strategy to support female coaches, little progress has been seen in achieving parity. At the same time, greater advances in gender equity have occurred in other non-sport sectors such as business, engineering, and medicine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to learn from non-sport domains that have seen advances in gender equity to inform mentorship for women in coaching. A mixed-methods methodology was employed and consisted of distributing mentorship surveys to female coaches (n = 310) at various competitive levels, representing current (88%), former (12%), full-time (26%), part-time (74%), paid (54%), and unpaid (46%) coaching status. In addition, eight in-depth semi-structured interviews were also conducted with women in senior-level positions across various non-sport domains, including business (n = 1), media (n = 1), engineering (n = 2), higher education (n = 1), law (n = 1), and medicine (n = 2), regarding the role of mentorship in advancing women in their field. A descriptive and thematic analysis of the survey and interview data were conducted and findings are interpreted to suggest considerable variation in the characteristics of female coaches’ mentoring relationships, as well as the need to move beyond mentorship to sponsorship for advancing women in coaching. Recommendations for future research and advancing women in coaching are provided.

Global Megatrends and the Macroeconomics of Gender

2019 ◽  
pp. 417-435
Author(s):  
Kalpana Kochhar ◽  
Sonali Jain-Chandra ◽  
Monique Newiak
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
Economic Diversification ◽  
Vulnerability To Climate Change ◽  
Demographic Shifts ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines global megatrends such as demographic shifts, technological progress, globalization, and climate change and emphasizes the important role of gender equality in mitigating their adverse consequences. The chapter first discusses demographic change, globalization, technological progress, and climate change before explaining how the main challenges posed by these megatrends could be offset by increasing gender equality, providing more equal access to economic opportunities for women, and boosting female economic participation. In particular, it considers ways of mitigating the impact of population ageing, harnessing urbanization for growth and gender equity, catalysing change to reduce income inequality, accelerating economic diversification, and mitigating vulnerability to climate change. The chapter concludes with an evaluation of policy options for mitigating the risks posed by megatrends through gender equality, such as unleashing fiscal policy, easing the burden of non-market work, and removing legal discrimination against women.

scholarly journals ‘CEO equals man’: Gender and informal organisational practices in English sport governance

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 1009-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy V Piggott ◽  
Elizabeth CJ Pike
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equity ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Specific Detail ◽  
Theory Of Practice ◽  
Organisational Values ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Alternative Practices

Despite the benefits of diversity amongst sport leaders increasingly being argued by both researchers and practitioners, English sport governance remains gender-imbalanced at all levels of leadership. Within this article, we aim to explore how informal organisational practices within two established English national governing bodies impact upon gender equity and gender balance within their governance. This is important to raise awareness of the power of informal organisational practices to favour one gender over another. We present findings generated through a multi-method qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Official documents from the two organisations were also drawn upon to add specific detail or fill information gaps during the collection, analysis and write-up of data. Throughout the article, we draw upon Bourdieu’s theory of practice to focus on the ways in which cultural resources, processes and institutions hold sport leaders within gendered hierarchies of dominance. We found that informal organisational practices contribute to the reinforcement of gendered structures of dominance which privilege (dominant) men and masculinity, and normalise and naturalise the positions of men as leaders. Some examples of resistance against inequitable informal practices were also evident. Drawing upon Bourdieu’s theorising, we highlight that alternative practices must be valued more highly by the organisation than current problematic practices in order for them to become legitimised, habitual and sustainable. We suggest that one way of achieving this is by linking gender-equitable governance to organisational values and performance to provide motivation for organisations to make genuine, sustainable change.

Teacher Understandings of and Commitment to Gender Equity in the Early Childhood Setting

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerrin Lee-Thomas ◽  
Jennifer Sumsion ◽  
Susan Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Gender Inequity ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Feminist Poststructuralist ◽  
Early Childhood Settings

Despite considerable examination of gender and gender equity within early childhood education, gender inequity remains problematic in many early childhood settings. Using qualitative methods, the study reported in this article investigated four early childhood teachers' understandings about gender and their commitment to promoting gender equity. It adopted a triangulated investigation of the teachers' understandings, attitudes and commitment to gender equity that involved talking with the teachers about their practice, observing their pedagogic practice, and inviting them to reflect on gender-based scenarios. While the participants believed gender to be a significant issue for early childhood teachers, their understandings about many aspects of gender and gender equity were heavily grounded in socialisation theory. In addition, their reliance on socialisation theory seemed to contribute to a sense of fatalism regarding their capacity for intervention. The study concludes that engaging with feminist poststructuralist theory may enhance teachers' understanding about gender and gender equity and offer a way of intervening effectively at the local level.

Using urban literacy to strengthen land governance and women's empowerment in peri-urban communities of San Andrés Cholula, Mexico.

2021 ◽  
pp. 222-233
Author(s):  
Pamela Durán-Díaz ◽  
Emma R. Morales ◽  
Melissa Schumacher
Keyword(s):  
Urban Communities ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Historical Review ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Office System ◽  
San Andres

Abstract This chapter presents the role urban literacy has played in the stakeholder engagement and gender equity efforts introduced to strengthen land governance in San Andrés Cholula's periurban communities. The chapter uses focus group discussion (FGD) from eight urban literacy workshops in five peri-urban communities of San Andrés Cholula. These FGDs were conducted during a period of 3 months (i.e. July to September 2019). The chapter is structured as follows. It starts with historical review of Cholula's sociopolitical office system and a critical evaluation of MPSUD based on the principles of good governance. Then follows a discussion of the process of the urban literacy workshops. This is then followed by a discussion of the role of women in strengthening land governance through urban literacy based on the outcomes of the workshops. Finally, the chapter concludes with emphasis on how urban literacy is a veritable strategy for strengthening land governance and for enabling inclusive participation in policy making.

Radio, conflict and land grabbing in Sierra Leone: Communicating rights and preventing violence through drama

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-391
Author(s):  
Valentina Baú
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Land Acquisition ◽  
Land Grabbing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Entertainment Education ◽  
Radio Drama ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
Rural Farmers ◽  
The One

With a focus on entertainment education, this article sheds light on the effects of radio drama in addressing conflict over land governance. The discussion is built around the broadcast of Bush Wahala radio series during the recent land acquisition process that has taken place in Sierra Leone. Through the analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted by the author with rural farmers affected by this issue, on the one hand, this work generates reflections on the role of radio drama in providing listeners with alternative options to the use of violence and confrontation with the authorities in order to claim land rights; on the other hand, it represents an important contribution to the literature of edutainment in contexts of conflict, with a specific focus on the increasingly complex issue of land grabbing in the developing world.

scholarly journals Social representations of physical education teachers concerning the game: a qualitative study in Chile

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 373-381
Author(s):  
Alejandro Almonacid-Fierro ◽  
Jessica Mondaca Urrutia ◽  
Sergio Sepúlveda-Vallejos ◽  
Karla Valdebenito
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Sampling Method ◽  
Social Representations ◽  
Physical Education Teachers ◽  
Physical Education Teacher ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Social ◽  
Convenience Sampling

Background and Study Aim. The objective of this research was to determine the social representations of the game in physical education teachers belonging to the Chilean educational system, searching for the sense and meaning given by the educators to the game aspect. Material and Methods. The study sample consisted of 14 physical education teachers, who were chosen by the convenience sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from the participants, maintaining gender equity. The analysis of the data obtained was by means of content analysis and the NVivo 11 program was used to process the data. Results. Our research indicates that of the categories analyzed, the highest was the role of the game (22.29%), demonstrating the relevance given by teachers to the game in the development of meaningful learning. On the contrary, the category characteristics of the game (17.42%), describe how teachers visualize the contributions of play at the educational level, in this sense, the role of the game goes beyond motor contributions, but also provides tools for social and cognitive development. Conclusions. For the teachers, the game promotes autonomous and proactive actions of the students, which will be beneficial to understand that playfulness in education implies not to put in contradiction the rational and emotional faculties. This comprehensive view is called full attitude, and it is a relevant step toward the understanding of the game from a complex perspective. In this area, it is evident that, in the social representations of the participating teachers, the game constitutes a natural environment in which children develop, where the physical education teacher should create an environment that facilitates the game, facilitating the expression of autonomy, freedom, creativity, and playfulness.

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