scholarly journals The benefits and limitations of using cricket as a sport for development tool in Samoa

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Khoo ◽  
Nico Schulenkorf ◽  
Daryl Adair

This study investigates benefits and challenges associated with the use of sport – in this case cricket – as a community development tool in Samoa. This Pacific Island nation, like others in the region, has been the focus of various development programs in the post-colonial era, with developed economy neighbours like Australia and New Zealand providing aid funding. Some of that has involved sport as a development tool, underpinned either by funding from the national government, foreign aid agencies, or a combination of both. The present paper, by focusing on a cricket for development (CFD) program in Samoa, aims to explore outcomes and limitations associated with the use of sport as a community engagement tool. The paper pursues that goal by examining the activities of relevant sport and government organisations, and – most crucially – it interviews key stakeholders involved in the CFD process in Samoa. In short, the prime purpose of this paper is to identify and interpret – from the perspective of locals – whether the CFD program has brought benefits to Samoan communities, and the challenges and limitations they see thus far. This is important because, to date, there has been an absence of qualitative inquiry into the efficacy of sport for development (SFD) programs in Samoa, and very limited research in a Pacific Islands context.

Author(s):  
Brian M. Howell ◽  
Michael A. Rynkeiwich

This chapter explores the mission of nonconformist and dissenting missionaries throughout the Pacific Islands, including the Philippine Islands. A wide variety of Christian denominations have taken root in the Pacific, as well as a great number of examples of localization and indigenization of Christianity, particularly emerging from the wake of dissenting missionary efforts. So, we ask several questions. What kinds of dissenting mission have there been, especially in the Colonial Era, and now in the post-colonial Era? In what ways have the Pacific Islands and Filipino peoples, as agents in their own right, cooperated, resisted, and indigenized and localized the gospel and the church? Finally, what can we learn from these Protestant/dissenting mission histories that contributes to our overall project in this encyclopaedia; that of analysing and explaining the historical, theological, and missiological dynamics of mission from a particular perspective?


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Sherry ◽  
Nico Schulenkorf ◽  
Emma Seal ◽  
Matthew Nicholson ◽  
Russell Hoye

As the field of sport-for-development (SFD) has developed, there has been increasing debate over the ability of SFD programs to effect lasting structural change on target communities. Highlighting the barriers to SFD program delivery in five Pacific Island nations, in this paper we argue that numerous challenges emerging at macro-, meso-, and microlevels must be explored, understood, and accounted for to enact structural change. Building on thematic findings from our empirical cross-nation research project, we discuss the importance of addressing SFD challenges at all levels of society to ensure that interventions are appropriately tailored for the specific and often divergent sociocultural contexts in the Pacific Islands region. We argue for a more holistic approach to planning, management, and evaluation when attempting to deliver structural change through sport.


2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Cohen ◽  
Khalid Ballouli

Although sport can serve as a valuable mechanism for social change, this does not imply it can single-handedly solve large-scale problems; rather, sport should be utilized with passionate leadership, efficient and innovative program design, and ancillary cultural enrichment activities to achieve optimal results. This research was motivated by developments in some marginalized and at-risk communities where several sport-for-development programs have started to incorporate music to enhance the appeal and impact of sport interventions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of hip-hop and sport by one sport-for-development program to educate and improve the lives of inner-city youth in Harlem. Data were collected by interviewing key stakeholders of the program, including participants, workshop leaders, staff, and upper-level executives along with onsite observations. Results of our investigation highlighted the cultural influence of music and sport within a local demographic and a sport-for-development initiative aimed to appeal to both local at-risk youth and key community stakeholders.


2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 629-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Schulenkorf

For several years, sport-for-development (SFD) programs have been implemented around the world to make a positive difference for disadvantaged or underprivileged communities. Within this context, special events have been used to complement regular development activities to celebrate social, cultural, and sporting achievements. To date, little managerial work has been conducted on the specific contributions that special events can play in the context of ongoing SFD endeavors. In addressing this issue, this paper presents findings from an empirical investigation of a participatory SFD event in the Pacific Islands. Findings suggest that special events can create new interest and excitement for SFD activities, reengage stakeholders to the wider SFD program, leverage partnerships, and provide opportunities to build and shape local management capacity. In discussing these findings, the paper highlights potential positive and negative impacts of special SFD events and provides practical and theoretical implications for SFD program design, management, and leverage.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 632-643
Author(s):  
Derek Taira

There is a “world of difference,” anthropologist Epeli Hauʻofa argued, “between viewing the Pacific as ‘islands in a far sea’ and as ‘a sea of islands.’” The distinction between both perspectives, he explained, is exemplified in the two names used for the region: Pacific Islands and Oceania. The former represents a colonial vision produced by white “continental men” emphasizing the smallness and remoteness of “dry surfaces in a vast ocean far from centers of power.” This understanding has produced and sustained an “economistic and geographic deterministic view” emphasizing Pacific Island nations as “too small, too poor, and too isolated” to take care of themselves. The latter, in contrast, denotes a grand space inhabited by brave and resourceful people whose myths, legends, oral traditions, and cosmologies reveal how they did not conceive of themselves in such “microscopic proportions.” Rather, Oceanic peoples have for over two millennia viewed the sea as a “large world” where peoples, goods, and cultures moved and mingled unhindered by fixed national boundaries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-35
Author(s):  
Adebukola Dagunduro ◽  
Adebimpe Adenugba

AbstractWomen’s activism within various ethnic groups in Nigeria dates back to the pre-colonial era, with notable heroic leaders, like Moremi of Ife, Amina of Zaria, Emotan of Benin, Funmilayo Kuti, Margaret Ekpo and many others. The participation of Nigerian women in the Beijing Conference of 1995 led to a stronger voice for women in the political landscape. Several women’s rights groups have sprung up in the country over the years. Notable among them are the Federation of Nigerian Women’s Societies (FNWS), Women in Nigeria (WIN), Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND) and Female in Nigeria (FIN). However, majority have failed to actualize significant political, social or economic growth. This paper examines the challenges and factors leading to their inability to live up to people’s expectations. Guided by patriarchy and liberal feminism theories, this paper utilizes both historical and descriptive methods to examine these factors. The paper argues that a lack of solidarity among women’s groups, financial constraints, unfavourable political and social practices led to the inability of women’s groups in Nigeria to live up to the envisaged expectations. The paper concludes that, for women’s activist groups to survive in Nigeria, a quiet but significant social revolution is necessary among women. Government should also formulate and implement policies that will empower women politically, economically and socially.


2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402199717
Author(s):  
Joan Ricart-Huguet

Political elites tend to favor their home region when distributing resources. But what explains how political power is distributed across a country’s regions to begin with? Explanations of cabinet formation focus on short-term strategic bargaining and some emphasize that ministries are allocated equitably to minimize conflict. Using new data on the cabinet members (1960–2010) of 16 former British and French African colonies, I find that some regions have been systematically much more represented than others. Combining novel historical and geospatial records, I show that this regional political inequality derives not from colonial-era development in general but from colonial-era education in particular. I argue that post-colonial ministers are partly a byproduct of civil service recruitment practices among European administrators that focused on levels of literacy. Regional political inequality is an understudied pathway through which colonial legacies impact distributive politics and unequal development in Africa today. JEL: F54, I26, N37, N47


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
William G. Dzekashu ◽  
Julius N. Anyu

The West, chiefly Europe, left political footmarks in Africa from the Colonial Era, along with varying economic footprints and surviving engagements in the immediate Post-colonial Era. However, the relationships between Africa and her former colonial masters have hardly yielded much to the former following the wave of independence, leading to the perception of failed relationships. This perception of failure to deliver on their undertakings has left Africa with only one option—China. The latter has been addressing some of Africa’s urgent infrastructure needs in return for natural resources and agricultural products. These engagements on the surface appear to be good business, but on further examination seem questionable notably as it relates to debt distress on vulnerable economies. To increase her footprint within the continent, China extended her Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to most African nations who have signed a memorandum of understanding for future development projects. Though the commitments usually are unspecified, China’s investments have seen rapid growth since the early 2000s, largely owing to the implementation of the BRI. The memoranda have had the potential to strengthen ties with partner nations. The expansion to include Africa in its economic participation in the BRI has left the West questioning China’s motives while reinforcing suspicions about possible future US-China conflict. The impact of BRI on the African continent is quite visible in all the subregions, especially in their improved gross domestic products. A burning question has been whether these partnerships represent win-win relationships for sustainable growth or debt-growth dynamics.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-157
Author(s):  
Parvez Hassan

Abstract In the post-colonial era, the newly emerging and independent states of Asia and Africa, supported by the developing world in South America, questioned the validity and legitimacy of norms of international law. Those norms were perceived to serve only the interests of the developed Western nations and were alien to the aspirations of the developing countries. International law has evolved over time, with a willingness to accept the viewpoint of new participants in the global process in a variety of contexts. These include the international protection of human rights and international law regarding the permanent sovereignty of nations over their natural wealth and resources. The interests of developing countries have been assimilated, though the extent to which this is done varies. A central message advanced is that the ultimate integrity of international law is the commonality and synthesis of the interests of all states, rich and poor, agricultural and industrial. The continuing contribution of developing countries, through their participation in conferences, negotiation of treaties and soft law texts, adds immeasurable strength to the current state and future development of international environmental law.


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