Religion and Development

This article is a contribution to the discourse on religion and development. The contribution seeks to investigate the role of religious conceptualisations in development. Theological anthropology, and specifically the Christian doctrine of the imago Dei, is critically analysed from the historical-biblical approach, a feminist and postcolonial approach, and a contextual approach. Themes such as progression, responsibility, relationships, and the spiritual dimension of personhood are identified as contributing toward the role of religion in development. Drawing from theological concepts such as “vocation,” “rule,” “image,” and “likeness,” the specific connections between religion and development derives from the central theological anthropological doctrine of the imago Dei. The themes that are identified are not explored exhaustively but are nonetheless highlighted as markers that should be considered by both practitioners and academics in the broad-based development discourse and practices. The limitations of the modernisation and materialistic approaches of the post-war period are countered by the centrality of personhood.

Solo Motherhood and the State: Precarity, Agency, and Post-Development Discourse in Aotearoa New Zealand

<p>The rise of the ‘precariat’ under neoliberalism has garnered the attention of development studies scholars. Drawing on and contributing to this literature, in this thesis I explore the lived experiences of solo mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand and their own precarity in relation to a neoliberal State. Through interviewing seven self-identified solo mothers in the Greater Wellington region, in this thesis I explore solo mothers negotiations with the State through the following areas: state welfare, child support, employment, and housing. I outline how the State often exacerbates the precarity of the research participants, but also highlight the different tactics the participants employ to enact their agency and push back against the State. Shifting the discursive focus of Development Studies from the ‘Global South’ to the ‘Global North’, the experiences of the participants highlight the very real issues of inequality manifesting in the ‘developed’ setting. Informed by the visions of the participants and the wider literature, this research contributes to scholarship in gender post-development studies, illustrating the need for a comprehensive, socialistic welfare state, and to methodologically see value in localising development research in a way that accounts for local complexities. In opposition to neoliberal discourse, this thesis calls for the valorisation of care work, to better account for the competing responsibilities of solo mothers and to lessen the precarity they experience in their everyday lives.</p>

Solo Motherhood and the State: Precarity, Agency, and Post-Development Discourse in Aotearoa New Zealand

<p>The rise of the ‘precariat’ under neoliberalism has garnered the attention of development studies scholars. Drawing on and contributing to this literature, in this thesis I explore the lived experiences of solo mothers in Aotearoa New Zealand and their own precarity in relation to a neoliberal State. Through interviewing seven self-identified solo mothers in the Greater Wellington region, in this thesis I explore solo mothers negotiations with the State through the following areas: state welfare, child support, employment, and housing. I outline how the State often exacerbates the precarity of the research participants, but also highlight the different tactics the participants employ to enact their agency and push back against the State. Shifting the discursive focus of Development Studies from the ‘Global South’ to the ‘Global North’, the experiences of the participants highlight the very real issues of inequality manifesting in the ‘developed’ setting. Informed by the visions of the participants and the wider literature, this research contributes to scholarship in gender post-development studies, illustrating the need for a comprehensive, socialistic welfare state, and to methodologically see value in localising development research in a way that accounts for local complexities. In opposition to neoliberal discourse, this thesis calls for the valorisation of care work, to better account for the competing responsibilities of solo mothers and to lessen the precarity they experience in their everyday lives.</p>

Critical Discourse Analysis of the World Bank’s Report on Teacher Status in Morocco

This study aims to investigate some linguistic features of the SABEER report on Moroccan Teachers by the World Bank (2017) as educational development discourse. The approach adopted is that of Critical Discourse Analysis and the Hallidayan Functional framework. More specifically, the report was analysed in terms of labelling, nominalization, passivation, and modality. The results show that the report uses special vocabulary to portray that teachers' situation is in crisis and needs reform. Hence, it is recommended that reports on development discourse should not be taken for granted. It is used to justify the needs for loans granted by some international organizations.

TOURISM SME STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES ON THE INAUGURAL ‘SAUDI SEASONS’: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Purpose – This exploratory study aims to determine tourism SME stakeholders’ perceptions of the performance of the first “Saudi Seasons” initiative 2019/20 developed by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH). Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative study draws on an interpretivist paradigm that explores participants’ views and experiences through immersive, semi-structured interviews. A total of 30 participants were interviewed in three locations: Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-‘Ula. A thematic analysis was then conducted and the emerging themes were presented as key findings. Findings – The Seasons have been successful in increasing business activity and changing the negative perception of Saudi Arabia among international tourists. However, it was also noted that the Seasons have put pressure on local tourism infrastructure, whilst other stakeholders raised concerns regarding the inadequate promotion of heritage sites and ineffective stakeholder engagement. Originality/value – This exploratory study offers novel stakeholder insights into the performance of the inaugural Saudi Seasons initiative and underscores the important need for SMEs to be more effectively involved in contemporary tourism development discourse in Saudi Arabia.

Women’s Participation in Decision Making Structures and Processes: A Case Study on the Local Government Institution in Bangladesh

Since 1976, women’s participation has been empowered as part of the development discourse for achieving sustainable development in Bangladesh. Women’s empowerment in the local government structures and processes has a substantial influence on the National Gender Policy of Bangladesh. This study has critically assessed the extent of the women’s participation in the decisionmaking processes of the Local Government Institutions (LGIs) through participants’ observation, qualitative and quantitative methods. The study evolves the success and failure attempts of the women’s participation in the LGI’s structures and decision-making processes as per Local Government (Union Parishad) Act-2009. The study also finds the UPs are too politicized to make them socially inclusive, pro-poor friendly and distribute equally the benefits of aids and social safety net services. The centralized power of UP chairs, manipulation and tokenism practices in the UP’s governance and decision-making processes had diminished the gender sensitivity, transparency, and accountability of the institution. The study also suggests increasing the number of women representatives in UP’s structures, making functional the roles of woman’s vice-chair, activating the Ward level meetings, standing committees and project implementation committees, as well as regularizing the effective monitoring with transparent and accountable manner for making the UP gender responsive and people oriented. Social Science Review, Vol. 37(2), Dec 2020 Page 267-286

Erratum: Why cannot the term development just be dropped altogether? Some reflections on the concept of maturation as alternative to development discourse

No abstract available.

Ethical Responsibility to Distant Others through the Coffee Industry

<p>How we live our lives here in New Zealand affects others who are distant from us. We live in a world with many networks across space, which connect people with radically different lifestyles. These connections create an avenue to respond to the poverty of these ‘distant others’. One such network of connections is the coffee industry. Ethical consumption and social entrepreneurship within the coffee industry are a means to address development issues, and ultimately poverty. This research will look into coffee social enterprises, and how they can be included in a post-development theoretical framework. In particular, it will discuss the motivations of social entrepreneurs involved in the coffee companies interviewed. Post-development provides a theoretical framework for this research of coffee social enterprises. It provides a critique to mainstream development, and has questioned how development is done, as well as its very validity. In doing so, it has encouraged new ways of ‘doing development’. One example of this is Sally Matthews’ three responses the wealthy can have to poverty: first, re-thinking of the development discourse in light of post-development; secondly, supporting popular initiatives; and thirdly, solidarity with distant others here at home. This is an appreciative inquiry into different coffee companies, using qualitative ethnographic methods. Seven in-depth interviews have been conducted with managers, past owners or head roasters, as well as one with an expert on social enterprise.</p>