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Power-sharing and Identity-Politics Transformation in Zanzibar, Tanzania
Get PDFZanzibar has had a long unsettled political history from its colonial era to radicalized post-colonial politics. The core source of such politics is the cosmopolitan nature of the isles whereby races and identities reside on the island for a long time. Such nature made the political and social groups categorized and differentiated from others through identity. As a result, the struggle for the owner and ruler of the island becomes a high concern among the groups in the society. This situation resulted in turbulent politics for many years with violence, killings, and hostility. In 2010, Zanzibar inters in the negotiation to solve the political problem that marred the island for a long time. The Government of National Unity (GNU) which involves the sharing of power between the first and second winners was agreed upon as the structure of the leadership style of Zanzibar. This was done through referendum and constitution amendment. As political identity theory reveals that; political elites use identity groups for their political benefits. They organized and influence their political activities through the identity they are familiar with. So, in solving such an identity politics problem, the identity tragedy must be transformed and accommodated the rational politics. This paper seeks to examine the extent to which power-sharing transforms identity-based politics and is accommodated in Zanzibar. The study was conducted in three districts to represent Zanzibar. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from five in-depth interviews and two hundreds and eight seven questionnaires respectively. The in-depth interviews involved the GNU\u27s current and former top leaders, members of the Cabinets, and political activists. The questionnaire involves the citizens from districts Mjini, Micheweni, and Kusini. The study found that to some extent the power-sharing successes in reducing the exercises of identity politics in Zanzibar. Three angles have been justifying that reduction. First is the existence and increase of political trust in society to large extent. The second one is the equal treatment of all identity groups, races, and regions by government institutions and society. The Last one is the exercises of political activities without the influence of historical and identity political narrations. This study pinpoints two important aspects of transformational identity politics through power-sharing. The first one is the role of leadership in transforming the mindset and bringing people together. The second one is social change due to generations\u27 natural changes and opportunities. The study concludes that power-sharing can be the source of identity transformation from worst uses to recognition in the society. This will happen only if the power-sharing institution is set to consider the potentiality of mutual recognition of self and respecting social, cultural, and ideological differences in society
Using FinBERT as a refined approach to measuring impression management in corporate reports during a crisis
Get PDFThis paper presents the findings of sentiment analysis as a refined approach to detecting impression management that may be present in the Chairman’s Statements of companies during an exogenous event such as the Corona virus pandemic. FinBERT, a more advanced machine learning model of natural language processing (NLP), was used to investigate the change in net sentiment expressed in the Chairman’s Statements of a sample of South African JSE-listed companies before and during the pandemic. A computation of net sentiment for each report was performed. Overall, no generic pattern of communication in the Chairman’s Statements emerged between the periods researched. Impression management tactics may vest within reports on an entity-specific basis and may be the exception, not the rule. Considering the increasing amount of unaudited narrative disclosure presented in formal corporate communication, consideration must be given to whether the sentiment expressed in these formal corporate reports is balanced, clear and transparent. Content analysis has historically been labour-intensive. More accurate ways of analysing growing bodies of financial text would be relevant to investors, analysts, key stakeholders, policy makers and academics. Pre-trained NLP models such as FinBERT offer a specialised way of understanding the sentiment of financial text. Research exploring impression management in corporate narrative sections using FinBERT is still gaining momentum across the world and is limited in South Africa. To the researchers’ knowledge, this is one of the first South African studies to employ FinBERT as an innovative, accurate and efficient approach to analysing the sentiment in the Chairman’s Statement
Climate Change and Transatlantic Slavery: Uncomfortable parallels, uncertain futures
Get PDFThe article examines the causes and effects of climate change and juxtaposes these with the transatlantic slave trade to glean what lessons, if any, can be learnt. It further explores any systemic linkages between transatlantic slavery and climate change, and proffers sustainable recommendations for mitigating the current dilemmas associated with slavery and climate change. To this end, this study finds that the effects of transatlantic slavery and climate change reveal multi-generational impacts related to a lack of representation, the disproportionate distribution of benefits and costs, cultural losses, and a lack of frameworks to facilitate compensation to those adversely affected. The article concludes by underscoring useful measures that can be adopted to combat the proliferation of similar problems in the future
Éléments d\u27analyse de l\u27institutionnalisation de la sociologie appliquée. Un cas de sociologie clinique en Colombie (2015-2022)
No full textThe institutionalization process of a discipline can be studied from a set of representative cases on which, although we cannot base ourselves to account for all its complexity, they do allow us to identify the elements involved in that process and the problems to be faced.This work is dedicated, in its first part, to the presentation of the debate around two visions of sociology that coexist and characterize its institutionalization. First, the classic discussion around the dichotomies "theory and technique", "theoretical and applied", "science and profession", "basic research and applied research" is explored, to then address the relevance of applied sociology.Finally, the particular case of the first attempt to institutionalize clinical sociology in Colombia from its inclusion in the study plan of the sociology career of the Universidad del Atlántico is exposed, together with the development of research activities; social outreach activities; internships and degree projects; diploma courses, international seminars, publications and, finally, the creation of a professional association.El proceso de institucionalización de una disciplina puede estudiarse a partir de un conjunto de casos representativos en los que, si bien no nos podemos basar para dar cuenta de toda su complejidad, sí nos permiten identificar los elementos involucrados en ese proceso y las problemáticas que se enfrentan.
Este trabajo se dedica, en su primera parte, a la presentación del debate alrededor de dos visiones de la sociología que conviven y caracterizan su institucionalización. Se explora, en primer lugar, la discusión clásica entorno a la dicotomía “teoría y técnica”, “teórico y aplicado”, “ciencia y profesión”, “investigación básica e investigación aplicada”, para abordar luego la pertinencia de la sociología aplicada.
Por último, se expone el caso particular del primer intento de institucionalización de la sociología clínica en Colombia a partir de su inclusión en el plan de estudios de la carrera1 de sociología de la Universidad del Atlántico, conjuntamente con el desarrollo de actividades de investigación y proyección social; prácticas, pasantías y trabajos de grado; diplomados, seminarios internacionales, publicaciones y, finalmente, la creación de una asociación profesional.
1 Se utilizan como sinóminos “programa”, “carrera” y “pregrado”.Le processus d\u27institutionnalisation d\u27une discipline peut être étudié à partir d\u27un ensemble de cas représentatifs sur lesquels, bien qu\u27on ne puisse se baser pour rendre compte de toute sa complexité, ils permettent d\u27identifier les éléments impliqués dans ce processus et les problèmes qui se posent.Cet ouvrage est consacré, dans sa première partie, à la présentation du débat autour de deux visions de la sociologie qui coexistent et caractérisent son institutionnalisation. Dans un premier temps, la discussion classique autour des dichotomies "théorie et technique", "théorique et appliquée", "science et métier", "recherche fondamentale et recherche appliquée" est explorée, pour aborder ensuite la pertinence de la sociologie appliquée.Enfin, le cas particulier de la première tentative d\u27institutionnalisation de la sociologie clinique en Colombie depuis son inclusion dans le plan d\u27études de la carrière de sociologie de la Universidad del Atlántico est exposé, ainsi que le développement des activités de recherche et de projection sociale; pratiques; des formations diplômantes, des séminaires internationaux, des publications et, enfin, la création d\u27une association professionnelle
Certification: Validating the Work of Sociological Practitioners
Get PDFThe application of sociological knowledge, including theory, methods, and skills, has been identified as sociological practice. Within the field of sociological practice there are two distinct types of practice - clinical and applied (Clark and Fritz 1986). In the United States (U.S.) the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology (AACS) certifies these sociological practitioners at the master’s or doctoral level. The process involves an evaluation by previously certified peers and includes the submission of a portfolio and the completion of a demonstration in which applicants showcase their action-oriented work. Certification is not state licensure. The credentialing of sociological practitioners in the U.S. and internationally can serve as a model for sociological practitioners globally - applied, clinical, and engaged public
Miss Alice Paul on Hunger Strike (1917): Suffragist Leader Adopts This Means of Protesting Against Washington Prison Fare.
Get PDFWASHINGTON. Nov. 6 – Alice Paul, National Chairman of the Woman’s Party, now doing a seven months’ sentence in jail here for picketing the White House, has gone on a hunger strike, and tonight she had been in the jail hospital without food for the preceding twenty- four hours, stolidly threatening to starve herself to death unless her six companions, serving time for the same offence, got better food
Creating a bereavement memorial protocol using art therapy: Reflecting on two case studies
Get PDFArt therapy in South Africa has focused on counselling and grief work but not on modelling a persistent complex bereavement memorial protocol as a viable alternative to traditional bereavement counselling. This article addresses this gap in practice and literature in the following ways: Investigating an organically modelled and observed bereavement process reflected in the form of interviews. Analysing the literature that will support this hypothesis, consider how this art-based therapeutic bereavement memorial protocol can provide a viable alternative to traditional bereavement counselling. Investigating how the use of art materials in the form of clay-work in this research can support healing and a safe place to process persistent complex grief processing. The methodology of this article is a qualitative arts-based inquiry extracting the information of an organically modelled process observing two bereavement case studies of two mothers processing persistent complex grief through the action of using the clay processing to the attachment onto a surface, creating bereavement artworks as memory capsules to support their unique mourning processes. The time frame of two years of observing, recording and creating a thematic analysis and synthesis is likened to the mourning process of persistent complex grief. Using a supporting psychodynamic investigation from an extensive literature review enables a unique art therapy bereavement protocol that could be used as an alternative to traditional grief and bereavement counselling. Furthermore, through the action of clay-work with an extension to paper collage to ‘piece together’ memories integrating the loss of a loved one into a life without them
“It has to be held”: Exploring the social unconscious among art therapy students in a South African context through social dreaming
Get PDFThe content of this article explores a social dreaming matrix (SDM) and art-making workshop among art therapy trainees in South Africa. This article is a preliminary investigation into the social unconscious of art therapy trainees, as art therapy practitioners and allied practitioners, who need to promote thinking that derives from an intersectional framework, as practising from this framework may help practitioners to be empathetic, culturally attuned, and culturally sensitive within a multicultural context. In this article, I argue that analytic group-based practices or interventions, such as an SDM, are a worthwhile method of getting to know and actively engage in the critical discourse around the lived experiences of students, practitioners, and citizens of South Africa. It may also prove a worthwhile directive for clients wishing to explore their social unconscious. This study considers knowledge and issues surrounding the complexities, contradictions, and discomfort of the lived experiences of future art therapists in South Africa. This exploratory approach aims to facilitate new insights into art therapy trainees’ social unconscious related to their identities as art therapy trainees and future practising art therapists. The central conclusion of the findings reveals that art therapy trainees’ social unconscious comprises five elements: power, privilege, identity, alienation, and violence related to their roles as art therapists. Moreover, the SDM and art-making offer a tool to empower the pedagogical process for art therapy trainees
The Finance Money Crisis and Cryptocurrencies: Is the US Dollar Hegemony in an Interregnum?
Get PDFThe speculative financial services sector and the systemic failures of financial globalisation have prompted a growing call for delinking from the hegemony of the US dollar. These systemic failures have been illustrated by financial mismanagement and the financial crisis of 2007-8. This event paints a dire picture of the consequences associated with poor regulation of the financial sector. This study seeks to interpret these events in terms of Gramsci’s Prison Notebooks and his concept of the ‘morbid symptoms of the interregnum’. According to Babic (2020), these occur when a hegemony and its institutions are ‘dying’, thereby hampering their power. This notion also highlights that the future remains murky, despite public calls for change. Gramsci calls this the ‘new that cannot be born’.This study seeks to extend this framework to the current state of the dollar hegemony. The ‘morbid symptoms’ we will examine include the call to delink from the speculative high-risk US economy, the emergence of cryptocurrencies, and the politics surrounding fiat money. Some have argued that the emergence of cryptocurrencies could be the ‘new’. However, this study argues that the negative characteristics associated with cryptocurrencies such as cybersecurity concerns and price volatility create ambiguity about whether cryptocurrency is the ideal trajectory. Therefore, it argues that ambiguity and calls for change qualify our current monetary situation to be classified as a Gramscian interregnum.It also examines the current fiat money discourse by highlighting how the dollar hegemony may be succeeded by another fiat currency. However, it argues that the inflationary shortfalls of fiat money make this a fallible option, thereby perpetuating the ambiguities within the Gramscian interregnum
Fake news and the political economy of the media: A perspective of Ghanaian journalists
Get PDFThe enduring rate at which fake news is disrupting the political economy of the media is the subject of this study. Using a largely qualitative instrument of intensive interviews with 18 journalists purposively selected for the study, we discovered that fake news is one of the banes of journalism in Ghana. Fake news\u27s notorious role in the political and economic realities of the country is not uncommon, as it has created uncountable political controversies. With several of the country\u27s media owned by politicians or persons with a vested interest in politics, it became a practice for players to utilise fake news as a propaganda tool to outwit their competitors through the media. For these architects to fully achieve their goal, social media and affiliated mainstream media were used as instruments to propagate fabricated content against their opponents, especially during the 2020 general elections. This paper also identified the use of artificial intelligence and robotics in the creation of fake news content. The study recommends the need for media organisations in the country to seek the services of fact-checkers as a means of verifying stories, as well as to intensify education on the identification of fake news and possible flagging