Malaria is one of the leading causes of death for children and women in Sierra Leone. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and understand the lived experiences of women from the rural areas of Sierra Leone regarding malaria. A purposive sample of Krio women from the western rural area, aged 21-55 years, spoke English, and had taken care of someone with malaria described their perceptions and lived experiences with the disease in face-to-face interviews. The research questions were based on the health belief model and focused on knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions about malaria prevention and treatment. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify themes through coding. The findings indicated that (a) lack of doctors, medicines, and medical supplies at government clinics discourages malaria victims from visiting those clinics; (b) the use of traditional herbs is prevalent because of their effectiveness, affordability, easy access, and lack of side effects; (c) women were not aware of recommended comprehensive malaria control measures, which include the continuous use of durable insecticide nets, residual spraying, case management, and artemisinin-based therapy. The results also show that (a) pregnant women should not take prescribed medications to prevent or treat malaria because they harm the fetus, and (b) traditional herbs may be taken with Western medicines to treat severe malaria. Recommendations include: that the government evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of its current malaria programs in local clinics, and that future studies be undertaken to identify antimalarial properties in commonly accepted local herbs. Changes in policies and practices relating to the prevention and treatment of malaria will serve as building blocks for positive social change to reduce the malaria incidence rate in Sierra Leone.

From 1991 to 2002, the Sierra Leone government and the Revolutionary United Front waged war against each other, subjecting Sierra Leone to a civil war. This war devastated the nation and resulted in many human casualties. Although many researchers have investigated the role of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in counterinsurgency and conflict resolution, few studies have been conducted on the specific role of strategic processing tools used by ECOWAS during the Sierra Leone war to sustain a durable peace resolution in the country. Using Galula's conceptualization of counterinsurgency and conflict resolution as a guide, the purpose of this qualitative, I used an explanatory case study to determine the elements that made strategic processing tools effective. Data were collected through open ended interviews with 10 Sierra Leoneans that experienced the conflict, publicly available documents, and mass media reports related to the Sierra Leone civil war. All data were manually coded and then subjected to constant comparative analytic procedures. The key finding of this study was that conflict resolution was successful because intervention by ECOWAS was largely viewed by Sierra Leoneans favorably and legitimate. The ECOWAS use of force was vital for the peace process. However, there were occurrences of human rights violations that were not fully resolved through the procedural mechanisms in place at the time. The positive social change implications stemming from this study includes recommendations to ECOWAS to establish a disciplinary unit to oversee violations of international humanitarian law and other serious abuses by ECOWAS troops. These actions may advance peace among religions, political parties, and ethnic groups in the region.

Ce mémoire explore le rôle du conte dans l’enseignement de la langue française. L’étude se focalise sur les aspects culturels, socio-éducatifs et didactique des contes en se focalisant sur le conte Africain d’expression française. Pour ce faire, l’étude a d’abord revu des articles et ouvrages pertinents à la littérature africaine d’expression orale y compris le conte avant d’explorer la place du conte dans la littérature africaine d’expression française. Cette revue de la littérature montre différentes approches utilisées par les écrivains pour inclure les contes dans la littérature. Le recueil de contes et l’intertextualité sont les formes les plus présentes dans cette étude car étant les plus utilisées par les écrivains de contes africains. Sur le plan pédagogique et didactique, cette étude s’est basée sur la méthode communicative d’enseignement de la langue (CLT) pour proposer des cas pratiques d’enseignement/apprentissage de deux contes africains (La Cuillère Sale et Le Roi et Ses Trois Enfants) et un conte français (Le Petit Prince, Chapitre xv). Ces leçons, destinées aux élèves des Collèges D’enseignement Moyen des pays Francophone et aux élèves/étudiants de niveau intermédiaire en français aux États-Unis, constitue un prétexte pour explorer la littéraire et la cultures africaine et françaises à travers des exercices communicatifs. L’étude a montré que le conte est sous exploite dans l’enseignement du français à travers le monde alors qu’il regorge d’aspects socio-éducatifs et culturels bénéfiques aux apprenants. L’étude suggère aussi une formation préalable des enseignants sur la littéraire et l’histoire africaine avant de s’engager sur l’enseignement du conte africain en particulier pour en tirer le meilleur et éviter interprétations inexactes ou de renforcer certains stéréotypes.

The Maasai of East Africa is a nomadic tribe. Their pastoral culture is well known for its unique ritualism. The United States is an industrialized nation where cohesive ritualism is not as well defined. Cultural practices in these two vastly different societies often include the potential for medically deleterious effects. Such medically harmful practices can include facial mutilation, female circumcision, dietary habits, and plastic surgery. This research is designed to define and compare medically deleterious ritual practices among Maasai and United States culture, in order to seek the possibility of similar human reasoning for their continuation. The comparison of reasoning among vastly different cultures may allow for the better understanding of human primary motives and collective meaning.

Rwanda is a small resource poor country in East Africa that has experienced almost two decades’ worth of significant growth following a genocide that claimed almost 10% of the country’s population. This paper explores the role of positive autonomy in the countries path to development hoping to demonstrate that countries that are ready to pursue independent policy initiatives ought to be encouraged to do so by their international partners. Positive autonomy has three defining characteristics; the ability of a country to pursue its own internally driven policy choices, especially in the face of external opposition but not necessarily in the face of opposition, “ownership” of a community over policy developments that affect them, i.e. their involvement in the administration of policy, and lastly, the ability of a country to reject policy propositions from the outside. Negative autonomy would be a lack of two or more of those conditions. Using this model, I seek to show that these three characteristics have been pursued by Rwanda as a result of its pre-genocide history. I also seek to show that these three characteristics have played a vital role in the development of Rwanda by allowing the government to pursue innovative strategies outside of international norms. To demonstrate this conclusion, I first look to the pre and post-colonial histories of Rwanda in order to examine the role of negative autonomy, seeking to build a case that demonstrates its lasting impact in Rwanda’s political character. I then examine an extreme case of negative autonomy in the case of the CFA monetary union followed by an extended examination of a clear case of positive autonomy in Rwanda and the benefits and failures it has produced. I then briefly examine the relationship between development aid and influence also demonstrating that Rwanda’s position on development aid mirrors its position on positive autonomy in general. Finally, I briefly examine three different examples of positive autonomy in Rwanda as a supplement to the extended example to demonstrate that some of the biggest policy initiatives undertaken by the Rwandan government are either the result of positive autonomy, are successful because of positive autonomy or can be drastically improved by a better implementation of positive autonomy. I hope that this research can be seen as a fresh lens for examining the relationship between weak and powerful states to validate the position that more autonomy for weaker states in their decision-making processes can produce much more successful results in their development drives.

This thesis provides an analysis of the cartoons produced by Victor Ekpuk for The Daily Times newspaper of Nigeria from 1989 through 1998 and the artist’s use of ancient nsibidi script to “hide in plain sight” his social commentaries on sociopolitical and economic issues in Nigeria. Victor Ekpuk’s original cartoons within the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art are examined in the context of indigenous masking practices and other indirect methods employed by indigenous comedians to protect themselves. Moreover, the cartoons’ use of caricature and their nsibidi scripts within are argued to provide a connotative and denotative dichotomy which allowed the artist to work more freely during a period of oppression.

Some Nigerian manufacturing organizations suffer significant losses yearly due to a lack of employee commitment and engagement. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain understanding of the strategies that leaders in the manufacturing industries in Lagos need to know in order to change employee behavior to achieve increased organizational productivity levels. The conceptual framework that grounded the study was the path-goal theory of leadership. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with a purposeful sample consisting of 24 managerial and non-managerial staff members of 2 manufacturing organizations in Nigeria who have had experience in, and training, and education on how to change employee behavior to achieve increased productivity. The interview consisted of open-ended questions. Using Yin's 5 step data analysis process, member checking, and triangulation, 13 themes emerged: motivated employees, productivity, motivation, enabling work environment, transformational leadership style, continuous improvement, unprofitable organization, low capacity utilization, demotivation, dwindling capacity, diversification, capability development, and innovation. Leaders of Nigerian manufacturing organizations may be able to use these emergent themes to develop strategies to increase the productivity of their employees. The potential implications for positive social change stem from Nigerian manufacturing organizational leaders' development of more effective leadership skills, which may contribute to the growth of the Nigerian manufacturing sector and be a viable source of employment creation.

Diaspora communities are becoming an essential part of socioeconomic and political developments of their homeland countries. The problem addressed by this study is that after ethnic federalism was implemented in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian diaspora in the US is divided along ethnic lines, causing human resource management and law enforcement challenges within the communities in the host country. The purpose of this study was to describe the impacts of Ethiopia's ethnic-based federalism on its diaspora residing in a US metropolitan area. The theoretical framework was based on Teshome and ZáhoÅ?ík's theory of ethnic federalism and Safran's theory of diaspora. The key research question examined how ethnic-based federalism in Ethiopia affects perceptions of members of the Ethiopian diaspora in the US. This qualitative ethnographic study included interviews with 15 members of the Ethiopian diaspora community residing in the Washington, DC metro area. The data were thematically coded and analyzed with the help of qualitative data analysis software. Findings revealed that the Ethiopian diaspora in the US is constantly involving in its homeland affairs, although in a fragmented and dis-unified manner. Ethnic-based federalism is not only divisive but also serving as the main source for ethnic bias among the Ethiopian diaspora. Ethnic resentment has surfaced and created a we versus them mentality in every aspect of diaspora's life activities. Recommendations include the Ethiopian government establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and identifying a better form of federalism for the country. The implications for positive social change include integrating voices of the Ethiopian diaspora community in the policy making processes of the home and host governments.

Despite the financing gap in the sub-Saharan Africa power sector, private investors struggle to capitalize on the opportunity because of the high failure rate of power project development companies. Using the conceptual framework of the behavioral finance theory, this multiple case study was conducted to explore the strategies used by executives of 4 companies in sub-Saharan Africa who successfully developed power projects within the last 5 years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and a review of government and institutions' websites. Yin's 5-phased cycle for analyzing case studies provided the guidelines for data analysis. Three themes emerged from data analysis: market knowledge, stakeholder alignment, and commercial viability. Findings revealed strategies that current and aspiring power project development company executives may use as a guide to mitigate business failure risks. Implications of these findings for positive social change include the potential to increase the power generation capacity in sub-Saharan Africa and provide electricity to many of the 620 million Africans who currently lack access. Implications also include poverty alleviation and economic growth through creation of successful power project development companies.

Nigerian entrepreneurs face government barriers and lack the skills and awareness needed for successfully creating and scaling public value in resource-constrained environments. The concept of bricolage, which involves doing business by making do with resources at hand, has been addressed in the literature, but not as it occurs among Nigerian entrepreneurs. This study was conducted with the aim of narrowing this gap in knowledge by exploring how Nigerian entrepreneurs have successfully carried out their businesses. The research question addressed how Nigerian entrepreneurs overcame critical situations to successfully address the challenges of scaling and creating public value, and whether the theory of entrepreneurial bricolage can support their actions. A qualitative descriptive single case study with a purposeful sample of 22 interview respondents was employed. A total of 145 critical incidents were analyzed by fitting them into themes constructed a priori from the known behavioral patterns that emerged through the theoretical taxonomy of the concept of entrepreneurial bricolage. The results showed that Nigerian entrepreneurs made do with the resources at hand, improvised, and invoked stakeholder participation and persuasion to solve critical challenges of business continuity. The outcome of the research should help potential entrepreneurs determine strategies to scale their ideas or innovations to achieve positive social change. The results may be useful to any fledgling entrepreneur who needs encouragement when feeling overwhelmed by the challenges of doing business in Nigeria. Budding entrepreneurs can learn from the experiences of those who are deemed successful in their businesses, thereby avoiding challenges when they can and strategizing for those challenges that are unavoidable.