Doing family: Responses to the constructions of ‘the migrant family’ across Europe

This paper draws on how constructions of ‘the migrant family’ in political discourse influence migrants' and their families' lives. In specific national contexts, ‘the migrant family’ is determined according to the national and European debates and expressed by their respective rules and regulations. By ‘doing family’, migrants and their families develop strategies in order to fit these requirements of living a certain family life. Fulfilling specific norms and perceptions which are not necessarily required for the majority of society is a precondition to succeed. Who is and who is not part of the family, who holds responsibility — such aspects have to be proved and repeatedly reproduced by migrants and their families. This not only affects their position in society, but also has strong implications on their lives as a couple and family, since it requires the continuous adaptation and reconstructions of their everyday reality.     

Perceptions and practices of farmer empowerment in Tanzania

The purpose of this article is to review the implementation of various empowerment interventions in Tanzania. Data for the review are based on field visits to programmes/projects/organisations involved in implementing empowerment interventions in various regions of the country. These visits involved key-informant interviews, sample surveys, and focus-group discussions with farmers. The review highlights the perceptions of empowerment at the levels of project staff and practitioners/beneficiaries, as well as the approaches used by various organisations and projects in implementing empowerment activities. In addition the article discusses the factors perceived to lead to empowerment, as well as its consequences.     

Federalism and Decentralization: Ownership Rights and the Superiority of Federalism

The benefits and costs usually ascribed to federalism are benefitsand costs of decentralization; they are, therefore, presentin unitary states that are in fact all decentralized. The benefitsand costs specific to federalism pertain to ownership rightsin constitutional powers. Federalism is superior to confederalismand unitarianism because the ownership rights peculiar to thatsystem of government are such that they ensure the perduranceof competition when one or more competitors are unsuccessful.They do so because under federalism, powers cannot be repossessedunilaterally. Ownership rights have to be enforced; as a consequence,there are also costs that are specific to federalism.     

Managing Value Conflicts in Public Innovation: Ostrich,Chameleon, and Dolphin Strategies

ABSTRACT

This paper develops a theoretical understanding of the management of value conflicts in public innovation. Drawing from the literatures on public values and on public innovation, various strategic approaches to managing conflict are discussed, conceptualized, and applied to two cases. The paper identifies three basic approaches for dealing with value conflicts: avoidance (ostrich strategy), coping (chameleon strategy) and learning (dolphin strategy). This model is used to analyze two technological innovation processes in the Netherlands, showing its value for empirical research. The paper concludes that continued high-level deliberation can impede innovation processes while local experimenting may support learning about value conflicts.     

Selling Krishna in Ghana's religious market: proselytising strategies of the Sri Radha Govinda Temple community of Ghana

Drawing upon the metaphor of the religious market, this article presents an analysis of the proselytising strategies the Hare Krishna, a new Hindu worshipping community in Ghana, has developed in order to survive in Ghana's competitive religious economy. It demonstrates the creative ways in which the group negotiates the contours of this market, incorporating Pentecostal methods into its preaching culture, exploiting an ongoing debate between agents of African Religions and Pentecostals on the appropriate place of tradition in Ghana, and establishing its credentials as a religion whose culture is compatible with both African religions and Christianity, yet with deeper insights into the mysteries of life.