The topic of whether resource scarcity affects conflict has for long been debated in the field  of peace and conflict studies. This study aimed to understand if there is a correlation between groundwater scarcity and communal conflict by answering the research question ‘How does groundwater scarcity affect communal violence in the Arid and Semi-Arid Land of Kenya’. The independent variable that was measured was groundwater scarcity and the dependent was communal conflict. The proposed theory of the thesis leads to the hypothesis that reads as follows: A decrease of access to groundwater will increase the communal conflicts of the group experiencing said scarcity. To test this hypothesis a Structured Focused Comparison was conducted on two dyads with two communal groups each, one that had experienced communal conflict and one that had not. The results from this analysis were that no aspects of groundwater scarcity had a correlation with an increase in communal conflict, there seemed however to be some covariation between a lack of quantity of groundwater and communal conflict. Further studies need to be conducted on the topic to determine if this co-variation is part of a bigger causal mechanism.

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How do some political elites, in unstable democracies with communal divisions, use ethnic, religious, and tribal affiliations for a rhetoric of polarisation and/or reconciliation when running for office? This thesis applies a framing analysis to explore how political elites employ these affiliations in speech acts, mainly political rallies, to construct narratives of polarisation and reconciliation during election campaigns. The theoretical framework is constructed by previous research on “Big Men” politics and the rhetoric used by ex-combatants turned politicians within a context embossed with electoral violence and division. The thesis conducts a qualitative case study of the 2023 Nigerian election, where the frames used by the winner of the election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his main opponents, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, are investigated. While previous research suggests ambiguity in the rhetoric of political elites, the empirical findings reveal a surprising level of consistency in the candidates' framing. This study offers perspectives on Nigeria and similar multi-ethnic nations marked by communal divisions. It contributes to the comprehension of the intricacies of political communication in unstable democracies, where language has the power to either promote reconciliation or exacerbate polarisation.

Through a case study, this study examines the organizational structure of group homes for the mentally retarded. The case study is found to represent a new form of communal organization according to Hillery's theory of communal organization (1968; 1978). As a communal organization, the structural measures utilized to maximize freedom in this group home are examined. A discussion of the implications of this study towards community theory and the management of group homes follows. / Master of Science

Until recently, there have been different and sometimes conflicting views on whether or not the communal land tenure system (CLTS) has a positive or negative impact on rural economic welfare. This study analyses some trends associated with the CLTS in the Ditsobotla area of the NorthWest province, focusing on the implications for rural economic welfare. The results of the study suggest that the CLTS is extremely important in order to sustain the rural economy, and therefore this dissertation presents developmental, policy and research options for consideration by government and other affected stakeholders for the betterment of the livelihood of people in the Ditsobotla area. The study adopts participatory research techniques in the selected villages of Springbokpan and Mooifontein. It also reflects on land tenure experiences in other African countries. The dissertation concludes with a suggestion that the South African government should engage in in-depth research programmes prior to the implementation of the envisaged communal land tenure reform legislation and that, the state should secure sufficient funding to boost agricultural activities in the area. Taking all these factors into account, a view is held that all developmental endeavours in the area must be informed by the collective participation of the affected local people, and their efforts must be united for the enhancement of their livelihood. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Thesis (MAgric (Agricultural Economics))—University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The natural resources mainly land, forests, and grazing lands in the Highlands ago-ecological zone of Eritrea are in a severely degraded state. And much of these common pool resources comprise commons i.e. they are managed under the common property rights management regimes. “The tragedy of the commons”, model suggests that all commons will inexorably suffer overexploitation and degradation. Contrary to this deterministic proposition, however, common property theory argues that the ‘tragedy’ is not due to inherent flaws in the common property rights management regimes, but because of institutional failure to control access to resources, and to make and enforce internal decisions for collective use. If the commons dilemma situation exists- i.e. ‘tragedy’, then the underlying problem is the degeneration of the existing common property rights resource management regime into open-access-like regime—a condition that can potentially trigger “the tragedy of the commons”. The question of how to deal with the problem of the commons is, therefore, primarily an issue of the existence of efficient institutions. The prevailing severe degradation of the common-pool resources in the Highlands of the country thus calls into question the robustness of the common property rights regimes that are in place for the governance of these resources. This thesis attempts to address this important problem specifically in relation to forest and grazing land common pool resources. A case study based on a single-case qualitative and exploratory-explanatory research design was carried out in a village located in the Highlands of the country. Data were collected through various forms of interviews (semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews, key informants interviews, group discussions, and informal conversational interviews), direct observation, and document review. The data, gathered largely through using these separate lines of enquiry, were crosschecked to provide a triangulation of methods and to strengthen the validity and reliability of the data. The empirical findings reveal that existing common property rights management regimes for the management of the local common pool resources of the case study area have weakened over time. These findings indicate that, there is a significant incongruence between appropriation and provision rules. And this is manifested in terms of appropriation externalities and demand side and supply side provision externalities. This situation implies that existing local institutional arrangements i.e. common property rights management regimes in the case study area are not sufficiently robust to solve common pool resource appropriation and provision externalities. Though generalisation cannot be made beyond the case that was studied, there are several lessons that may be drawn from this field analysis, which may have valid implications for the natural resources management challenges and opportunities of the entire Highlands agoecological zone of the country.

De nombreux facteurs environnementaux et/ ou de santé publique amènent à se poser aujourd’hui la question du devenir des générations futures. Plusieurs fléaux touchent notre société et sont de nature à affecter les générations suivantes à l’instar de nombreuses maladies dégénératives, de cancers, de maladies génétiques et diverses maladies de sang et de la moelle osseuse. Cependant, un élément d’optimisme a vu le jour grâce à la possibilité de prélever le sang placentaire et de conserver les cellules souches du cordon ombilical du nouveau-né à des fins de greffes ultérieures, beaucoup moins lourdes que celles de moelle osseuse. Des actions de communication seraient donc utiles pour informer les parents de cette possibilité, les sensibiliser et les encourager à prendre la décision de conserver les cellules souches du cordon pour le bien des générations futures. Ce besoin de communication et la nécessité de se préoccuper des générations futures ont attiré notre attention sur un concept issu de la psychologie sociale et introduit récemment en marketing : la générativité, définie par son auteur pionnier comme étant « la préoccupation quant à l’établissement et au conseil des générations futures » (Erikson, 1950). Par conséquent, la problématique centrale de cette recherche s’articule comme suit : Comment construire des messages prosociaux incitatifs, favorables aux générations futures, - en l’occurrence de conservation des cellules souches du sang du cordon ombilical -, efficaces pour agir sur les attitudes et intentions des femmes enceintes par une stimulation de leur générativité situationnelle ? Les objectifs de cette recherche imposent avant tout de mener une phase primordiale de meilleure compréhension du concept de générativité et de sa mesure. À cet effet, deux études préliminaires (étude qualitative suivie d’une étude quantitative) ont permis de mieux cerner ce concept du point de vue de ses conceptualisation, opérationnalisation et mesure. Une nouvelle conceptualisation de la générativité fondée sur une générativité situationnelle, venant compléter l’unique vision dispositionnelle de préoccupation générative, est proposée. Ensuite, une expérimentation auprès de femmes enceintes, cible de la décision de don du sang placentaire, souligne le rôle de l’imagerie mentale et de la générativité situationnelle dans le processus persuasif, confirmant la pertinence de cette nouvelle conceptualisation. Enfin, les résultats sont discutés ; des voies de recherches sont développées, notamment pour pallier les limites de la présente recherche. / Many environmental and/ or public health factors lead to questioning the future of generations. Many plagues affect our society and are likely to influence future generations such as numerous degenerative or genetic diseases, cancers, blood and bone marrow disorders. However, an optimistic element has emerged due to the ability to collect placental blood and to preserve the umbilical cord stem cells of the newborn for subsequent grafts, less heavier than those of bone marrow. Communication actions would therefore be useful to inform parents of this possibility, raise awareness and encourage them to decide to conserve cord stem cells for the benefit of future generations. This need for communication as well as the concern toward future generations have drawn our attention to a concept that emerged from social psychology and has been recently introduced into marketing: generativity. Erikson (1950), its pioneer, defined it as « primarily the concern in establishing and guiding the next generation ». Our central research question is articulated as follows: How to construct incentive prosocial messages, favorable to future generations, - in our case the conservation of umbilical cord stem cells -, effective in influencing the attitudes and intentions of pregnant women by stimulating their situational generativity? The objectives of this research require, first and foremost, a crucial phase of better understanding the concept of generativity and its measurement. To this end, two preliminary studies (qualitative followed by a quantitative study) made possible to perceive the conceptualization, operationalization and measurement of this concept. A new conceptualization of generativity based on a situational vision, in addition to the dispositional vision of generative concern, is proposed. Afterwards, an experiment among pregnant women, potential decision makers in donating placental blood, highlights the role of mental imagery and situational generativity in the persuasive process, confirming the relevance of this new conceptualization. Finally, the results are discussed ; research perspectives are developed, particularly to overcome the limitations of this research.