<p> Sierra Leone suffered the worst Ebola outbreak in history. This is a study of Sierra Leone aid workers during the 2014&ndash;2015 Ebola epidemic using the mixed-method concurrent nested model. Data collection consisted of 4 quantitative surveys (BSI, PDS-5, CD-RISC, and CSI), demographic information sheet, and qualitative semi-structured interviews. The findings show 53% met the criteria for psychological distress indicated by the BSI and 40% met the criteria for PTSD indicated by PDS-5. The highest score on CD-RICS resilience questionnaire indicated a belief that God can help them. The CSI revealed 15% of the participants used wishful thinking, social support, problem-solving, and cognitive restructuring coping strategies. Sociocultural factors showed significant impact on NAWs during the Ebola epidemic The qualitative themes that emerged in the responses of the participants included psychological distress, trauma, coping, resilience, economic factors, social structure shift, social factors, basic needs, community support, infrastructure, and changing cultural practices.</p><p>

<p> The path to controlling the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and achieving the UNAIDS goals of 90-90-90 is hampered by the need to identifying people living with HIV (PLHIV) through HIV testing and counseling (HTC) services. Improving access to HTC services is important because the early identification of HIV-positive individuals can facilitate their access to and enrollment in life-long HIV prevention and treatment services, which can lead to significant reductions in morbidity and mortality. HTC is also a cornerstone of prevention of mother-to-child (PMTCT) programs and can protect the health of pregnant women and their babies. Yet gaps remain in the uptake of HTC, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where the more than 50% of PLHIV reside. Compounding this problem, there is a dearth of evidence on key operational challenges and the quality of services administered to people in low- and middle-income countries that may impede the delivery of HTC at health care facilities. This dissertation, which is comprised of two analyses, seeks to help fill that gap. </p><p> I examined the association between the regional HTC service environment and recent HIV testing behaviors among adults and the determinants of routine HIV testing in antenatal care (ANC) settings using nationally-representative datasets from East Africa. The first objective of this dissertation was to examine the association between HTC service readiness and HTC standard precautions and uptake in HIV testing and counseling by linking data from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and Service Provision Assessments (SPA) from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from 2004-2010. The second objective was to determine the frequency of health care providers routinely offering HTC to pregnant women during ANC visits and the facility- and individual-level characteristics of health care providers offering the HIV test, using data from the Kenya 2010 SPA. These population-based analyses provide insight on the degree and extent of HTC program and policy implementation in East Africa, identify how the service readiness of HTC provided at facilities is associated with health-seeking behaviors on an individual level and help to fill an important knowledge gap in HIV implementation research.</p><p>

<p> Nearly 720,000 youth, ages 15 to 24, are living with HIV in South Africa. Black South African adolescents remain disproportionately impacted by HIV and face challenges to their development including issues of stigma, trauma, orphanhood and bereavement, increased poverty, and medication adherence and disclosure challenges. The majority of research on adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) has only documented negative health outcomes and psychological distress. This study used a mixed methods approach to explore the factors that help South African ALHIV effectively cope with the adversities that they face and that contribute to their well-being and resilience. Participants included adolescents (<i>N</i>=7) from the Katlehong township in the Gauteng province, their primary caregivers (<i>N</i>=6), and their mental health providers (<i>N</i>=3). Photovoice was used to engage the adolescents in a process of taking photographs that represented how they cope with HIV and resources that contribute to their well-being. Adolescents also completed the <i>Child and Youth Resilience Measure-28 </i> to assess overall resilience and their access to ecological resources. To gain an additional perspective, caregivers were surveyed and mental health providers were interviewed. The study found that adolescents had access to protective factors and resources, across the ecological framework, which promoted psychological well-being and resilience. The protective factors were identified at the individual level (self-care, independence, being informed about HIV, and individual peer support), at the interpersonal level (family support), and at the community and contextual level (community support and finding purpose and belonging).</p><p>

Where do the opportunities for gendered institutional change lay in post conflict transitional states? In particular, what processes explain the transformation of gender roles within traditionally male-dominated sectors such as security? The post-conflict South African State provides the institutional backdrop against which the gender equality gains of women in the security sector are explored. The rare opportunities presented in the transitional context are a key factor in understanding the promises and limits of gendered change within the institutional arena, both in terms of the descriptive and substantive representation of women. This thesis explores the processes of gendered institutional change from a feminist institutional perspective, incorporating a range of normatively nuanced variables that examine the mechanisms by which socially-constructed gender norms are altered within the security sector, situating power at the heart of the contextually driven analysis. The thesis argues that the paths which emerged over the course of the liberation struggle as a result of three key historical legacies enabled a transformation of gender roles and institutional norms with respect to security. Specifically, the intertwined legacies of an equality-based liberation movement, the continuous increase in women’s autonomy, and the legacy of militarisation all contributed to the opening of spaces for women’s strategic action. Through process tracing methodology, the thesis reveals how South African women strategically wielded their power to consolidate gender gains embedded within the foundational documents of the new democratic regime. In so doing, women capitalised on a range of timeous exogenous influences within the broader feminist movement, particularly the global shift towards institutionally-focused gender mainstreaming strategies. The focus on the security sector is viewed as a litmus test for the advancement of gender equality within the institutional structures of South Africa, given the rigidly patriarchal and masculine norms permeating the security arena. Among the contextual considerations which produced openings for the gendering of State security structures was the adoption of the human security paradigm, which called for a holistic, people centred vision of security centred around development and stability. The resulting overhaul of the security sector, and the repositioning of the South African military on the national and regional stage, presented further opportunities for strategic interventions by women to transform the institutional culture of the State security structures. Bolstered by exogenous influences such as innovative regional and international instruments and organisations, a new military culture began emerging in South Africa, with women positioned to play a central role in its development. The manner in which women engaged with this process is a demonstration of the extent to which gendered norms have become entrenched in the institutional structures of the post-conflict South African State, revealing the constraints of inherited structures, and the power of institutional layering in restructuring women’s security roles within the State. The successes and failures of the gendering of the security sector are embodied within the complex case of the arms acquisition. This example is analysed as a “case study within a case study”, and clearly highlights the intersection of the multiple variables discussed in the thesis, revealing the manner in which evolving institutional norms promote and foreclose gendered change, and the implications of the struggle between old and new gendered legacies. The infusion of gendered norms into the security sector is also considered through the perceptions of government and civil society respondents, as an indicator of the “stickiness” of the gender equality rhetoric, and of the progress made towards transforming the masculine domain of the security arena. The unique attributes of the South African case yields insights into the opportunities and constraints of post-conflict institutional change, contributing to the broader feminist institutional literature through the focus on the complex processes of gendered institutional change and continuity within the overlooked security structures of the State.

<p> The women of the Ndebele, an ethnic minority living in the rural North of South Africa, decorate their homes in colorful geometric paintings. This thesis retraces how Ndebele mural art was "discovered" by white South African modernist artists at the beginning of the twentieth century. By examining their paintings and photographs, it shows how their specialist interest contributed to Ndebele villages becoming popular tourist destinations during the apartheid era.</p><p> This thesis furthermore demonstrates how the format of the glossy coffee-table book facilitated global exposure and appreciation of the Ndebele "style," and eventually led to its commodification as an ethnic brand. Finally, it evidences that despite this appropriation, the designs of Ndebele women are part of a rich cultural heritage that continues to fascinate artists and designers worldwide.</p><p>

<p> This case study explores wellbeing and sustainable development in rural sub-Saharan Africa &ndash; a culturally and ecologically diverse and vibrant region devastated by colonial and postcolonial injustices that have created persistent and pervasive social, economic, and ecological crises. The growth-oriented capitalist economic model that has shaped the operative understanding of wellbeing and perpetuated the invented reality of underdevelopment also guides large-scale sustainable development efforts that persistently fail to significantly improve wellbeing among rural communities. Ecological economics may provide a paradigm for sustainable development that is culturally, ecologically, and economically more appropriate &ndash; and more effective &ndash; for both assessing and improving wellbeing. Twenty-seven participants from two rural, forest-dependent communities in Cameroon&rsquo;s Southwest Province were surveyed to assess perceptions of wellbeing and social-ecological resilience. These communities are heavily invested in a sustainable agriculture initiative that reflects an ecological economics worldview and key dimensions of community resilience. Results indicate that perceptions of wellbeing are influenced by both gender and occupation, and that the sustainable agriculture initiative positively impacts perceptions of wellbeing for farmers more than non-farmers, and female farmers more than male farmers. This suggests that participation in the program may positively influence perceptions of subjective and community wellbeing. Further study in these communities, and across similar communities may shed light on how ecological economics might provide a practical basis for broadening an understanding of wellbeing and for informing the approach, design, and implementation of sustainable development initiatives.</p>

<p> The chief aim of this study was to develop a grounded theory of ethical leadership with school leaders in Southern Nigeria, utilizing a qualitative constructivist paradigm and multiple case study design. There is growing interest in public service of ethics (Barberis, 2001). The study of ethics has been a part of the [school] leadership erudition and debate for centuries (Brown and Trevino, 2006; Tanner, Brugger, Van Schie and Lebherz, 2010), given that school leaders make many decisions daily, and at the heart of every one of them is the resolution of a moral dilemma because every decision carries with it the potential to restructure human life (Foster, 1986). Leaders in Nigeria have been engulfed in a crisis; which many indigenous Nigerian peoples believe is due to unethical practices and behaviors (Okechukwu, 2012). Yet, in the old African society, values and ethics education were the major instrument for evolving a peaceful society (Adekola, 2012). A constructivist approach to grounded theory reaffirms studying people in their natural settings and redirects qualitative research away from a positivist perspective (Charmaz, 2000). In this study, qualitative data was collected through in-person interviews, survey questionnaires, school observations, classroom visits and a focus group which occurred over an approximate period of two weeks in Delta State, Nigeria with nine school leaders, lead teachers, and classroom teachers working in three different publicly-funded primary schools. Theoretical sampling of artifacts and secondary data was achieved utilizing national education policies in Nigeria, archived research data, scholarly literature, and personal documents. Primary and secondary data sources were coded line-by-line and through focused coding techniques crucial to grounded theory methodology. Data trustworthiness was established through Creswell and Miller&rsquo;s (2000) verification procedures, including prolonged engagement, persistent observations, member checks, and triangulation. Through a two-step comparative method, four grounded theories of ethical leadership emerged: (1) Ethical Beliefs + Ethical Decisions = Ethical Actions, (2) &ldquo;No School or School leader is an Island,&rdquo; (3) Embody the Change You Want to See, and (4) Form and Finances before Function. Underlying tensions are discussed and strategic imperatives for actualizing ethical leadership in Southern Nigerian primary schools are offered.</p><p>

The social scripts that are deeply involved in cultural production by AfroCuban identified artists in Miami, during the late nineties to the present, participate in a climate that is informed by and feeds from the so-called Latin Explosion of this time period. More specifically, varying historical, socioeconomic, and geopolitical trajectories have placed Africa and African-based religion and cultural production (via music and theatre) at the center of Cuban national identity. The purpose of this study is to facilitate a discussion of the experiences of AfroCuban performance artists and the climate for production, given the aforementioned dynamics, in mass media. These experiences are directed by a study of transnational structures for cultural production (including the more recent memory-shadow of hip-hop culture in Cuba) and discourse that engages theories of modernity, authenticity, and resistance. Through the interventions of artists, producers, and distributors via their art and business, the text identifies and resists the pervasive oppression of stereotype, dehumanization (Othering), and essentialism.

Depuis la création de l'Union africaine en 2002, l'organisation est confrontée à de nombreux défis, notamment des conflits armés dans plusieurs régions du continent. Pour faire face à ces défis, l'organisation à intégré de nouvelles normes interventionnistes permettant d'assurer la paix. Malgré cela, l'Union africaine n'a pu stopper les violences au Darfour, région en proie à de graves violations des droits humains depuis 2003. Cette étude vise à expliquer la faiblesse des interventions de l'organisation en mettant un accent sur le manque de volonté politique, par l'entremise de l'analyse des intérêts nationaux en lien avec la situation au Darfour de deux pays membres influents de l'organisation, soit l'Afrique du Sud et le Nigéria. Il est soutenu que les intérêts nationaux des deux pays influencent négativement le processus décisionnel de l'organisation concernant la situation au Darfour car ces intérêts ne favorisent pas des interventions propices pour stopper les violences.

<p> After experiencing the reality of life in the Caribbean for nearly two decades, I remain grieved by the level of suffering throughout the region, yet hopeful that a future of sustainable growth is within the realm of possibility. I am a first hand participant in and observer of the longstanding socioeconomic crisis that has forced the African culture in the Caribbean to repetitively ask the same question: &ldquo;Why is all this hardship happening to us?&rdquo; In order to participate in the solution, this project comprehensively explores the relationship between creative practice and the socioeconomic crisis in the Caribbean&ndash;&ndash;does limited access to environments that facilitate original and conceptual ideas correlate with the socioeconomic crisis in the region? Understanding the relationship and its outcomes could expose the source of long-term hardship and identify a path of sustainable growth for the African culture in the Caribbean. Accomplishing this objective required an analysis of four distinct perspectives: my observations as a participant in the culture, the historical progression of the region, recognized research that speaks directly to socioeconomic crisis and creative practice, and the voice of the culture. Reaching for clarity and rationale in answering the primary research question of this project&ndash;&ndash;<i>What is the relationship between creative practice and socioeconomic crisis in the Caribbean? </i>&ndash;&ndash;the highest priority of understanding and respect has been given to the voice of the Africans in the Caribbean. Therefore, the Afro-Caribs on St. John, United States Virgin Islands serve as the narrative to reflect the reality of life in a contemporary context for the culture. The outcomes and methods of analysis developed in this project should be a useful tool for other cultures seeking to alleviate socioeconomic crisis and implement a sustainable pathway of growth.</p><p> Keywords: <i>Caribbean, creative practice, creativity, socioeconomic crisis, development, decolonization, dependency, living systems, oppression, cultural conditioning, chaos, Africans, West Indians.</i></p>