Development Studies

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10315/28601

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Now showing 1 - 16 of 16

Access status: Open Access ,
Understanding the Contemporary Challenges and Adaptive Strategies Used By Informal Waste Recyclers in Manshiyat An-Nasr to Secure Their Right to Waste
(2023-12-08) Malik, Maria; Ojong, Nathanael
Using the perspectives and experiences of traditional informal waste recyclers in Manshiyat an- Naṣr, a group who has engaged within the informal waste trade in Cairo for more than 80 years, this thesis investigates how the informal waste sector value chain has changed within a more contemporary Egyptian society. Drawing on qualitative data gathered over the course of three (3) weeks in Egypt in August and September in 2022, I argue that the right to waste of informal recyclers in Manshiyat an-Naṣr, which has historically secured their livelihoods within the waste sector, is threatened by processes of modernization and greater environmental awareness within Egypt. I find that increased competition and the implications of formalization have emerged as prominent challenges faced by second-generation informal recyclers in maintaining their right to waste. However, community members have adapted their activities and practices to acclimate to the evolving landscape of waste management in Cairo. These changes have included the use of three primary assets to secure opportunities and demonstrate their integral role within the sector: diversification, social networks, and external support. Thus, while the adaptive capacity demonstrated in this community suggests a strong sense of resilience and agency for livelihood outcomes, this work reveals that the lack of equitable integration remains the greatest threat to the modernizing municipal solid waste management (MSWM) sector, and undermines attainment of sustainable livelihoods for members of the community. I conclude by considering the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for informal waste recyclers in Manshiyat an-Naṣr, and their impacts on other informal waste settlements in Egypt, and globally.
Access status: Open Access ,
The Displacement of Asylum: Securitization, 'Voluntary Return' and Israel's Management of Eritrean and Sudanese Asylum Seekers
(2015-04) Scott, Melissa Christine; Hyndman, Jennifer M.
Since the founding of the state in 1948, Israel has recognized just over 200 people as refugees, raising concerns about the state’s exclusionary approach towards asylum seekers. Through primary and secondary research, this thesis explores factors contributing to the departure of Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers through ‘voluntary return.’ Utilizing interviews, participant observation, a focus group and discourse analysis, the conditions of asylum and the Israeli government’s role in making Israel inhospitable to asylum seekers is explored. This research also provides an analysis of the state’s management of asylum, examining the securitization of asylum seekers in the discourse of state agents and politicians. Along with obstacles to accessing Israel’s asylum system and exclusionary policies, draconian laws and the use of detention have been features of Israel’s management of asylum, shaping the conditions that inform the departure of asylum seekers from the Israeli state.
Access status: Open Access ,
Climate Change Inaction in Canada: Political Subsystems and Policy Outcomes in the Oil & Gas Industry, 1999-2019
(2021-07-06) Viens, Nicolas; Laurin-Lamothe, Audrey
Despite increasing urgency of the climate crisis, Canada is unlikely to meet its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target under the Paris Agreement. The expansion of the countrys fossil fuel industry is one of the main causes for Canadas emissions. Consequently, recent studies have adopted a policy network approach to outline the relationship between the federal government and the fossil fuel industry to explain the countrys inaction. However, the relationship between this network and actual policy outcomes remains unclear. Hence, this study determines the extent to which climate and energy policy change applied by the federal and Alberta provincial governments reflect the interests of the fossil fuel industry. The main findings point to the fossil fuel industry having had substantial political influence on climate and energy policy decisions over the last twenty years, although its influence has been increasingly contested over time. However, this network remains influential in Canadian politics.
Access status: Open Access ,
Stateless Palestinian Youth in Jordan: Negotiating Poverty and Durable Solutions Beyond Legal Status
(2020-08-11) Farah, Lara Emad; Kyriakides, Christopher
A significant body of research focuses on understanding refugee agency beyond the legal frameworks institutionalized by the global refugee regime and hosting states. Situated within a critical approach, this thesis bridges displacement and development studies so as to expand our understanding of refugee agency. The study examines how the legal status of de jure stateless Palestinian refugee youth informs their negotiation of poverty-related constraints to enhance their livelihood. The research consists of a comparative approach that juxtaposes two groups of Palestinian refugees stateless (Gazans) and naturalized living in Amman, Jordan. A multidisciplinary analysis reveals that both groups exercise similar forms of agency interlinked to meanings they give to their lives trajectories to i) capture ontological security, and ii) challenge accumulative disadvantage. Hence, refugee agency needs to be reconceptualized to reflect its evolving and interchangeable nature, embedded in the interplay between subjectively produced meanings and livelihood outcomes in urban settings.
Access status: Open Access ,
Visual Representations in the Field: Policies and Practices of Photography in Ethiopia
(2020-08-11) Lawless Andrus, Helen Claire; Idahosa, Pablo L. E.
My research examines the policies and practices associated with photography at major international development organizations operating in Ethiopia. The analysis is based on a series of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with communications officers working at these organizations, photographers, and photo subjects, as well as an examination of the official communications guidelines of the same organizations. The research was conducted over three months of fieldwork located in Addis Ababa, with some additional interviews in Asosa in the west. My work seeks to engage with and expand the literature of development photography practices, limited mostly to studies of communications officers, by taking a more holistic approach to photography, by viewing it as a series of actions guided by multiple actors decisions. To this end, I identify a general agenda of photography projects, theorize about the philosophies of individuals and organizations operating in this field, and look to define the concept of dignity.
Access status: Open Access ,
Empowerment and Reintegration: Survivors' Perceptions of Human Trafficking Rehabilitation Programs in Nigeria
(2020-08-11) Okoli, Nnenna Helen; Idemudia, Uwafiokun
Rehabilitation services are often aimed at facilitating the recovery, empowerment, and reintegration of human trafficking survivors after their exploitative ordeal. However, only limited efforts have so far been directed at ascertaining the extent to which these rehabilitation programs fulfill their mandate. Using survivors perceptions and experiences, this thesis assesses the extent to which the Nigerian government and civil societys rehabilitation programs facilitate or undermine the empowerment and reintegration of female survivors of human trafficking. Drawing on qualitative data gathered over the course of 4 months in Nigeria, I show that the government and civil societys collaborative efforts at rehabilitation simultaneously aid and hinder the empowerment and reintegration of survivors in Nigeria due to their conceptualization of human trafficking and the wider socio-economic structure of the Nigerian state. I conclude by considering the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for human trafficking rehabilitation in developing countries.
Access status: Open Access ,
Close to Peace but Far from Home: Forced Displacement and Land Restitution in Post-Accord Columbia
(2019-07-02) Primeau, Laura; Patroni, Viviana
My research looks at the opportunities and challenges of the Colombian transitional justice process to produce long-overdue societal transformations. It critically examines the land restitution framework established by Law 1448 using the transformative justice analytical lens in order to expose enduring patterns of violence that are embedded in, or influenced by, the current transitional justice process. Based on four months of fieldwork in various regions of Colombia in the summer of 2018, my research first suggests that the discrepancies between victims expectations of the transitional justice process and the states approach, which are most visible when considering reparations for collective non-material forms of harms, have significant implications for victims recovery. Secondly, my research challenges the assumption that transitional justice and development are complementary concepts and brings attention to instances in which the transitional justice process was conditioned by states development priorities that are in direct conflict with some of the fundamental elements of Law 1448.
Access status: Open Access ,
The Value of Social Capital: Exploring How Public Senior High Schools in the Central Region of Ghana Respond to Challenges and Opportunities in the Secondary Education Sector
(2019-07-02) Bart-Plange, Vanessa Grace; Dippo, Donald A.
Although low-to middle income countries have been encouraged to attain the international benchmark of 15-20% public budget allocation to education, Ghanas education budget to GDP has hovered between 4% and 10% over the last decade. As a result, all public secondary schools are constantly compelled to negotiate for their fair share of governmental support to secure infrastructure and teaching and learning materials. However, in this context of constrained resources certain schools seem to be thriving better than most of their counterparts. Drawing on primary research findings, this study problematizes the structural inequalities and competition as a direct consequence of not only the fiscally constrained public sector, but also as the result of deep-seated historical events and political decisions that form part of colonial legacies in Ghana. It draws on the concept of social capital to highlight the crucial role of private networks and relationships (social capital) in mitigating these challenges.
Access status: Open Access ,
More than a Game? Exploring Sport's Role in Refugee and Asylum-Seeker Settlement in Glasgow, Scotland
(2019-03-05) Blanchard, Alexandra Mary Knight; Idahosa, Pablo L. E.
Up until recently, refugees and asylum-seekers, and even more so, the relationship between sport and settlement, has generally been written out of discussions surrounding sport for development (SFD). This study seeks to fill some of this lacuna through a critical analysis of a grassroots, community football club for male refugees and asylum-seekers - United Glasgow FC (UGFC). Drawing on fieldwork carried out in Glasgow, Scotland from May August 2017, this thesis aims to explore the notion that sport can facilitate refugee and asylum-seeker well-being throughout the settlement process. Through a qualitative analysis of the experiences of both volunteers and players involved with the club, this research suggest that sport can hold great potential for the facilitation of refugees and asylum-seeker well-being; however, the extent to which well-being is facilitated relies heavily on the conditions of the sport program itself and the local context.
Access status: Open Access ,
Livelihood Strategies of Displaced Independent Eritrean Youths in Cairo: Examining Agency and Vulnerability
(2018-11-21) Siino, Amanda Elizabeth; Mekouar, Merouan
Eritrea is one of the largest refugee producing countries, as many exit to escape arduous National Service (Amnesty International 2015). Egypt is an important transit country for Eritreans, with the majority settling in Cairo. Based on fieldwork with displaced independent Eritrean youths in Cairo from May-August 2017, this thesis applies the livelihoods framework to independent displaced youths to study their agentic capabilities, amidst vulnerability. They are primarily able to negotiate their livelihoods through their housemates, often those they meet en route. Furthermore, their housemates are frequently their only source of support, regardless of their ability to provide adequate support. Despite their experiences of vulnerability, mainly determined by their security context, youths enact their agency in managing social, institutional, and financial resources. Gender was the predominant marker of identity that influenced their livelihood strategies. This thesis critically examines the key livelihoods issues facing displaced youths and makes practical and theoretical recommendations.
Access status: Open Access ,
'If You Can't, We Can!': Labour as Commons, the Solidarity Economy and Transformative Development on the Margins - A Case Study on the Worker-Recuperated Company, VIO.ME, in Thessaloniki, Greece
(2018-08-27) Prassoulis, Anthony Nicholas; Patroni, Viviana
This Masters Thesis analyzes the worker occupation and takeover of the Vio.Me factory in Thessaloniki, Greece in a context of widespread business closures brought on by the economic crisis. The recuperation of the Vio.Me factory set in motion a deeply transformative process, as workers converted their bankrupted firm into a socially-oriented workers cooperative. In this paper, I explore the ways in which the worker recuperation has transformed the abandoned factory into a common space for building and sustaining community, and the labour activity of workers into a process of commoning. I argue that while the Vio.Me takeover initially emerged as a defensive reaction against unemployment and poverty, it has become an offensive class-based struggle against power and representation in the workplace and beyond in pursuit of autonomy and the commons. I aim to demonstrate how the commons and commoning constitute a vehicle for transformative community and human development from below.
Access status: Open Access ,
Exploring Gender Mainstreaming in Primary Education: A Cambodian Context
(2017-07-27) Stinson, Julie Sarah; Clark-Kazak, Christina
Gender and education has become a popular component to mainstream development discourse over the past decade. In such a short span of time, the focus, aims, implementation, and monitoring processes have shifted quickly. Drawing on fieldwork carried out in Cambodia from May-August 2016, this thesis provides an exploration of gender mainstreaming in the context of primary education. The aim of the research was to understand, through stakeholder perception, to what extent does Cambodian primary education policy address gender issues? Guided by gender & feminist theory, the research was an attempt to conceptualize the sometimes broad and vague definitions of gender mainstreaming, on a practical level, in an uncommonly explored context. By critically examining the nature and dynamics of the policy, I have developed considerations for theoretical and practical implementations for gender, education, and development.
Access status: Open Access ,
Spirit and Body, Heart and Soul: Exploring Student Narratives through Higher Education in Exile
(2017-07-27) Afrazeh, Aida; Giles, Wenona
Refugee higher education, as a subset of the larger education in emergencies field, has been rapidly growing since the 2000s. However, a deeper exploration of student experiences is needed to critically understand the potentially transformative aspects of higher education. Responding to this gap, this research draws on fieldwork data collected in Amman, Jordan in summer 2016. It aims to interrogate how higher education can open avenues for alternative narratives for refugee students. The uptake of higher education by refugees challenges discursively limiting representations by giving students an avenue through which they can connect to their own pasts and futures, while also transforming their present lived experiences. A feminist lens is used to draw attention to the racialized and gendered differences among students experiences. By re-centering discussions of refugee higher education around students themselves, this research is intended to help better align development praxis to flow from this crucial starting point.
Access status: Open Access ,
Understanding the Relationship between Participation and Social Capital for Collective Action: A Case Study of Muungano's Self Help Saving Group System
(2017-07-27) Ahmed, Farzana Julie; Idahosa, Pablo
This study is an attempt to provide a contextual analysis of the processes that link social capital and participation and examine how the processes that link the two are acting as enabling or constraining factors for collective action within the context of Kenya Slum Dwellers Internationals (Muungano) self-help saving groups system in Korogocho, Mathare and Mukuru. The four main conclusions that the study draws are: (1) a contextualized understanding of social capital demands social science research to examine the processes through which structural and cognitive social capital reinforce each other; (2) Capable agency is the missing ingredient that determines how and if existing stocks of social capital will be harnessed and activated for collective action; (3) A contextualized understanding of the processes that simultaneously link productive and perverse social capital, which are mutually reinforcing is important in designing participatory tools that are fair, inclusive and equitable, thus encourage collective action; and (4) When a participatory tool is more concerned with results as opposed to process, it creates or exacerbates existing divisions within the community, failing to achieve collective action.
Access status: Open Access ,
From the Peaks and Back: Exploring the Educational Journeys of Trans-Himalayan Students in Kathmandu, Nepal
(2015-08-28) Ashraf Khan, Adrian; Hyndman, Jennifer M.
In a rapidly modernizing Nepal where urbanization is on the rise, families in rural areas participate by sending their children to urban schools, vast distances from home. Children/youth who have migrated to Kathmandu from Trans-Himalayan regions of Nepal, who experience interconnected and multidimensional conditions of poverty are the focus of this study. The journey these students undertake to Kathmandu span thousands of kilometres and often results in long-term (multi-year) family separation. The children in this study who migrated were between the ages of 4-10 and did not return for several years, with very minimal and/or no contact with family during this period of family separation. This thesis explores and chronicles the journeys taken and rationales for such acute family migration experiences; educational integration of Himalayan students into boarding school residency in Kathmandu; and emotional articulations of return visits back to their remote villages.
Access status: Open Access ,
Preparing for Uncertainty: Exploring Access to Higher Education in Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Malawi
(2015-01-26) Donald, Heather Anne; Giles, Wenona Mary
Against a backdrop of increasingly protracted refugee situations worldwide and on the continent of Africa in particular, education is imperative to facilitate the ability of displaced persons to voice their concerns and ambitions. Drawing on fieldwork carried out in Dzaleka Refugee camp in Malawi during Summer 2013, this thesis adopts an Afro-centered approach to studying the relationship between education and development. Utilizing oral histories and interviews, it explores educational access, the displacement of young people and their desire for higher education. This desire is linked to first, a self-realization that is expressed as control over their lives in a context of heightened uncertainty and second, an increased potential to contribute to the current betterment of their own and their families’ lives. Despite increasingly protracted situations for refugees and mixed migrants in Malawi, it is extremely difficult to find cartographic evidence of Dzaleka’s existence amongst other documentation of forced migration in the region. This thesis works collaboratively with refugee youth narrators to bring visibility to the place they live. Moreover, this work contributes to the view that those described as refugees in protracted refugee situations can contribute to a discursive and structural shift by ‘self-authoring’ their own development. Access to higher education is recognized as one of the key ways to enable and support this shift.

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