Community collaboration in development work with young people: perspectives from Zambian communities

Despite its recognised importance, studies of collaboration within specific communities in the Global South are rare. This paper examines the purposes and processes of collaboration between organisations undertaking development work with young people in two communities in Lusaka, Zambia. Interviewees recognised the need for collaboration given the limitations of existing provision and the fragmented organisational context. Existing collaboration was commonly orientated towards information sharing and joint provision rather than broader coordinated planning. Building awareness and understanding across organisations were viewed as key processes in developing collaboration. To enhance collaboration between organisations, it is suggested that inclusive community forums be instigated.

Collaboration communautaire dans le cadre d'activités de développement parmi les jeunes : points de vue de communautés zambiennes

Malgré son importance reconnue, la collaboration au sein de certaines communautés dans l'hémisphère Sud n'a fait l'objet que de rares études. Cet article se penche sur les finalités et les processus de collaboration entre organisations qui entreprennent des activités de développement avec des jeunes dans deux communautés de Lusaka, en Zambie. Les personnes interrogées reconnaissaient la nécessité de collaborer étant donné les limites des services disponibles et le contexte organisationnel fragmenté. La collaboration existante était fréquemment axée sur le partage des informations et la prestation conjointe, plutôt que sur une planification coordonnée plus large. Le développement de la prise de conscience et de la compréhension entre les organisations était considéré comme un processus clé dans le développement de la collaboration. Pour améliorer la collaboration entre organisations, le lancement de forums communautaires est suggéré.

Colaboración comunitaria en el trabajo de desarrollo con jóvenes: perspectivas de comunidades zambianas

A pesar de la reconocida importancia del tema, la colaboración entre comunidades específicas del Sur ha sido poco estudiada. El presente artículo examina los propósitos y los procesos de colaboración que se establecen entre organizaciones que realizan trabajo de desarrollo entre jóvenes en dos comunidades de Lusaka, Zambia. Dadas las limitaciones de la provisión actual y el contexto organizativo fragmentado, las personas entrevistadas reconocieron la necesidad de colaborar entre sí. En general, se constata que la colaboración ya existente se orienta más a compartir información y a la provisión conjunta que a una planeación coordinada más amplia. Construir conciencia y comprensión entre organizaciones constituye un proceso clave para fomentar la colaboración. El artículo sostiene que la colaboración entre organizaciones puede mejorarse a través de la realización de foros comunitarios incluyentes.

Colaboração da comunidade no trabalho de desenvolvimento com jovens: perspectivas de comunidades zambianas

Apesar de sua reconhecida importância, estudos de colaboração dentro de comunidades específicas no Sul Global são raros. Este artigo examina os propósitos e processos de colaboração entre organizações que estão realizando trabalho de desenvolvimento com jovens em duas comunidades de Lusaka, na Zâmbia. Os entrevistados reconheceram a necessidade de colaboração tendo em vista as limitações da provisão atual e o contexto organizacional fragmentado. A colaboração existente era comumente voltada para o compartilhamento de informações e provisão conjunta em vez de um planejamento coordenado mais amplo. Promover a conscientização e a compreensão entre as organizações foi vistos como um processo-chave no desenvolvimento da colaboração. Para ampliar a colaboração entre as organizações, é recomendado que fóruns comunitários inclusivos sejam promovidos.     

What's Special about Female Suicide Terrorism?

This study analyzes the interaction between the motivations of individual attackers and terrorist group strategies. To do so, I combine a quantitative analysis of all known suicide terrorist attacks between 1981 and July 2008 with a strategic account of why terrorist organizations employ female suicide terrorism (fst) and case studies of individual female attackers. I advance five central claims. First, I reveal the superior effectiveness of fst from the perspective of the groups that employ women. Second, I explain that terrorist groups increasingly enlist women as suicide attackers because of their higher effectiveness. Third, I demonstrate that terrorist groups adapt their discourse, catering to the specific individual motives of potential female suicide attackers in order to recruit them. Fourth, I show that female attackers are driven by the same general motives and circumstances that drive men. Furthermore, and in contrast to the existing literature, women attackers uphold, rather than eschew, their societies' norms for gender behavior. Attempts to transform these societies into gender-neutral polities are therefore destined to increase fst. Finally, I conclude that, unless target states adapt their defensive strategies, we should expect an increase in fst.     

Assessing the Needs of Women Recently Released From Prison

The growing number of females incarcerated in the United States suggests that greater importance needs to be placed on preparing practitioners and communities for their eventual release from prison. Female offenders present a unique set of needs, including greater mental health, substance abuse, and medical health problems than their male counterparts. Furthermore, women may possess unique needs at various points of their involvement with the criminal justice system (i.e., before, during, and following a period of incarceration). The current study examines the needs of female offenders while they are reentering the community from the perspective of community service providers who work directly with recently incarcerated women. Survey results reveal that community service providers identify needs in 7 domains. Prevalence and urgency measures provide unique profiles of the needs of female offenders, and respondent reports of the effectiveness of the existing community-based service sector lead to numerous implications and suggestions for future research.     

A social psychological critique of the Saudi terrorism risk reduction initiative

Of great concern to policy makers and detention system administrators who face the need to release detainees suspected of terrorism is how to do so in ways that minimize risk to national security. Among responses taken by detention system administrators is the establishment of so-called ‘deradicalization’ (or ‘disengagement,’ or ‘terrorism risk reduction’) programs in which select detainees may participate to promote their own release. The present analysis critiques the Saudi terrorism risk reduction initiative in accord with two social psychological theories that are especially pertinent to the topic – identity theory and frame alignment theory – and offers policy suggestions based upon the theoretical strengths and weaknesses of the Saudi model.     

News constructs of customary identity versus democratic practice: the case of Lindiwe Dlamini and Mswati III of Swaziland

Abstract

If colonial Africa was governed through ‘indirect rule’ or ‘decentralised despotism’ (Mamdani 1996:8), its legacy remains surprisingly intact post independence. If the notion of the tribe lay at the heart of indirect rule and was effected by institutional segregation, such identities were discursively produced and sustained by being constantly flagged through a range of institutional structures in order to produce ‘willing subjects’ (Foucault 1977). The media has increasingly played a central role in flagging such identities as well as those that contest them, notably a civil identity.

This article examines how ethnic identity continues to be discursively deployed in opposition to democratic governance by focusing on one incident, namely the choice of the Swazi monarch‘s twelfth bride at the annual Reed Dance and its contestation by the bride's mother. The Times of Swaziland covered this dispute and provides an interesting case study. The analysis identifies how the contestations between customary and human rights discourses in this one African location are variously deployed and negotiated by the social actors in this instance, and it teases out the contradictions and tensions between them.     

How to build a better future? Kyrgyzstani development workers and the ‘knowledge transfer’ strategy

The development industry has moved from concepts of aid and technical assistance to the idea that closing ‘gaps’ in people's knowledge is the most effective way of alleviating poverty and injustice. My data show the means through which this ‘knowledge transfer’ is actually supposed to happen. I examine the micro-politics of development: the role and agency of development workers, who are so frequently employed to conduct ‘training’ on a wide range of topics affecting citizens' well-being, such as conflict prevention or sustainable agricultural practices. This paper draws on ethnographic research between 2010 and 2012 with Kyrgyzstani NGO workers to analyse the ‘side-effects’ of development, such as the creation of a new social class and softening age hierarchies. I examine the widespread conviction among trainers that education can solve most social ills, and their concepts of how knowledge, sometimes in the guise of ideologiya, shapes people. I argue that this faith in knowledge reflects both the life course of NGO workers themselves and what they can offer from within the ‘knowledge transfer’ paradigm. An understanding of the friction between different expectations of knowledge content, teaching relationships and aims in creating well-being is not only essential to a critical reflection on these development efforts but also illuminates wider political and social processes and relationships, such as expectations of the state and international community.     

Perceptions of Time and Their Impact on Negotiations in the Arabic-Speaking Islamic World

This article examines how perceptions of time affect Arabic-speaking Islamic negotiators and how their attitudes about time, and their corresponding behaviors, may differ from those of their Western counterparts. We begin by identifying cultural differences in the conceptualization of time and then comment on the role of time in negotiations, discussing how time influences bargaining, trust, and negotiation tactics. In the section on tactics, we discuss stall-and-delay tactics, the use of the past as an objective standard, and limits on negotiating the future. Our purpose is to encourage negotiators from the West to be knowledgeable about the way they, as well as negotiators from Arabic-speaking Islamic cultures, conceive of and use time in negotiations. We believe that understanding that the very concept of time is often quite different in these two cultures is an important step in facilitating negotiations that cross these cultural boundaries.