Applied research project (D. Min.)--School of Theology and Missions, Oral Roberts University, 2006. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-184).

No description available.

This thesis is a phenomenology of understanding in the context of development practice in East Africa. It is framed by stories of my life and work, experiences rooted in European traditions and provoked and expanded in encounter with African traditions. My question began with methods for dealing with poverty and suffering. Even with all my goodwill and education and the might of large institutions behind me, I found myself part of a series of analytical interventions that seemed to make the problem worse. Yet I would like to contribute to a world where people live together well. This thesis is the story of how I laid siege to this conundrum, working on it from various angles until I saw development intervention for the incoherent prejudice that it was. How could something as co-operative as living well with others be achieved by something so domineering as methodical intervention? Western development consciousness has not noticed that other cultures cannot and will not bear such hubris. So I questioned the notion that a good method (or a good institution, analytical technique or moral code) is the first requirement for fair co-existence. Development, I realised, is conversations that we join, not instructions that we give. I asked instead how I and others come to agree, a question that many people in my profession have never asked. In a close examination of the way I have come to understandings in my own life, I draw on the work of German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer. His philosophical hermeneutics bring together multiple aspects of understanding: its consciousness, historicity, eventfulness, and linguistic and conversational nature. With the help of African thinkers, I gain more perspective - I take part in understandings that are held, provoked and renewed in conversation across time, geography and entire societies. Through the journey represented by this thesis I have come to understand that understanding speaks the world, its history, diversity and potential. I have come to know that from understanding comes method, not the other way around. It is an insight that has profound implications for those of us who work in the development field.

<p>This study is about how Tanzanian primary schools teachers look on HIV/AIDS related issues</p><p>in relation to education, and how the teachers use their education to prevent the spread of</p><p>HIV/AIDS.</p><p>The data to this study has been collected over a period of eight weeks. Fifteen randomly</p><p>selected Tanzanian teachers from three different primary schools in the Dodoma region have</p><p>been interviewed, where five of the interviewed teachers have been working in an urban</p><p>school, another five in a semiurban school, and further, five of the teachers in a rural school.</p><p>The theoretical foundation of this study is pedagogical. We have in our study emanated from</p><p>the African pedagogue Julius Nyerere´s and the Latin American pedagogue Paolo Feriere´s</p><p>thoughts around education as liberalization, when we asked teachers about how they educate</p><p>around questions concerning HIV/AIDS.</p><p>Our conclusion from this study is that the Tanzanian teachers have a substantial knowledge</p><p>about HIV/AIDS, and that all of the teachers are teaching their students in questions around</p><p>HIV/AIDS. Further, all of the teachers are using innovative ways to transmit knowledge</p><p>around HIV/AIDS to their students, though there is a difference between pedagogical methods</p><p>in the three different schools. Moreover, all of the teachers think that teachers have a</p><p>responsibility to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and that education can prevent the spread</p><p>of the disease. Concerning sexual interactions in school environment, the teachers in the urban</p><p>school did not consider pregnancy among school girls as a problem, comparative to the</p><p>teachers in the semiurban and rural school, who considered this to be a problem in their</p><p>schools.</p><p>The teachers direct or indirect stressed the importance of education for all people to prevent</p><p>the spread of HIV/AIDS. The knowledge about the disease could be transmitted through</p><p>different kinds of ways, where some teachers mentioned public meetings, massmedia,</p><p>counselling from parents and spiritual/religious education.</p>

This study is about how Tanzanian primary schools teachers look on HIV/AIDS related issues in relation to education, and how the teachers use their education to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The data to this study has been collected over a period of eight weeks. Fifteen randomly selected Tanzanian teachers from three different primary schools in the Dodoma region have been interviewed, where five of the interviewed teachers have been working in an urban school, another five in a semiurban school, and further, five of the teachers in a rural school. The theoretical foundation of this study is pedagogical. We have in our study emanated from the African pedagogue Julius Nyerere´s and the Latin American pedagogue Paolo Feriere´s thoughts around education as liberalization, when we asked teachers about how they educate around questions concerning HIV/AIDS. Our conclusion from this study is that the Tanzanian teachers have a substantial knowledge about HIV/AIDS, and that all of the teachers are teaching their students in questions around HIV/AIDS. Further, all of the teachers are using innovative ways to transmit knowledge around HIV/AIDS to their students, though there is a difference between pedagogical methods in the three different schools. Moreover, all of the teachers think that teachers have a responsibility to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and that education can prevent the spread of the disease. Concerning sexual interactions in school environment, the teachers in the urban school did not consider pregnancy among school girls as a problem, comparative to the teachers in the semiurban and rural school, who considered this to be a problem in their schools. The teachers direct or indirect stressed the importance of education for all people to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The knowledge about the disease could be transmitted through different kinds of ways, where some teachers mentioned public meetings, massmedia, counselling from parents and spiritual/religious education.

This research seeks to examine the effects of the establishment of regional trade agreements (RTAs) among developing nations on trade, welfare and production activities. The focus here is on the new East African Community (EAC) formed between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and established in 1999. The formation of the new EAC raises the important question of whether this regionally based trading agreement is of economic merit to its members. This study begins by reviewing trends in regional trade flows and the extent to which regional integration has affected trade patterns and productive activities. Using a gravity model augmented with several sets of dummy variables, I estimate the effect of the EAC-RTA on trade and welfare on members and non-members. The results show that intra-bloc trade is on average 18 times higher than what would be expected in the absence of the agreement. However, this trend does not seem to be influenced by the official lowering of trade barriers with the formation of the EAC. Model results also show a decline in bloc exports to the rest of the world suggesting that the bloc has trade diverting tendencies. Since static gains from the EAC-RTA are quite low, possibly dynamic gains from regional integration lend more support to the economic merit of the EAC.

Eutrophication of freshwater lakes has led to an increase in the occurrence of harmful cyanobacterial blooms, and it is expected that a warming climate will further exacerbate the frequency and duration of such blooms. Microcystin is a cyanobacterial hepatotoxin that is found worldwide, and poses a serious threat to the ecological communities in which it is found as well as to those who use these waters for drinking, recreation, or as a food source. Although microcystin is known to accumulate in fish and other aquatic biota, the prevalence of microcystin in fish tissue and the human health risks posed by microcystin exposure through fish consumption remain poorly resolved. Very few studies have quantified microcystin (a broadly present cyanotoxin) in water from East African lakes, despite the large human and animal populations that rely on these lakes for both water and food, and to date there is very little information available on the accumulation of microcystin in fish from these lakes. A comprehensive set of water and fish samples was collected on a monthly basis between September 2008 and February 2009 from several lakes in Uganda. The study sites included two embayments in northern Lake Victoria (Murchison Bay and Napoleon Gulf), Lake Edward, Lake George, Lake Mburo, and the crater lakes Saka and Nkuruba. The large lakes sampled all support substantial commercially important fisheries, while the smaller lakes support subsistence fisheries that provide a critically important source of protein and income for riparian communities. Microcystin concentrations in water were determined in addition to chlorophyll and nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton community composition, mixing dynamics and light conditions. At all study sites except Lake Nkuruba, microcystin concentrations in water regularly exceeded the WHO guideline for microcystin in drinking water of 1.0 µg/L. Microcystis spp. emerged as the cyanobacterial taxa that is primarily responsible for microcystin production in these lakes, and as such, microcystin concentrations were closely linked to environmental factors that favour the development of high Microcystis biomass, including high nutrient concentrations, as well as shallow mixing depth which acts to increase mean mixed layer light intensity. Because of the importance of understanding the underlying food web when considering the accumulation and trophic transfer of a compound, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was used to characterize the food webs at the previously mentioned Ugandan study sites as well as in the East African great lake Albert. Omnivory was found to be common at all study sites, and based on δ13C values, the food webs in these lakes were strongly based on pelagic primary production, with no strong evidence of substantial benthic contribution to these food webs, likely as a result of reduced benthic primary productivity in these generally low-transparency eutrophic lakes. The distribution and trophic transfer of mercury was also characterized in the Ugandan study lakes (including Lake Albert) in order to provide a contrast for the trophic transfer of microcystin in the same lakes. Furthermore, relatively little is known about the behaviour of mercury in tropical hypereutrophic lakes, and the study sites included in the current study provided an opportunity for the exploration of this topic. Consistent biomagnification of mercury was observed at all study sites; however, mercury concentrations in fish were generally low, and would not be expected to pose a risk to consumers. Mercury dynamics were strongly linked to lake trophic status, with biomagnification rates significantly lower at the hypereutrophic study sites than at the mesotrophic and eutrophic study sites. I found evidence that growth and possibly biomass dilution can reduce mercury concentrations at the base of the food web, while growth dilution of mercury at consumer trophic levels might effectively reduce the biomagnification rate of mercury in these hypereutrophic lakes. Microcystin was prevalent in fish muscle tissue from all study sites and at all trophic levels. In contrast to mercury, for which consistent biomagnification was observed, neither biomagnification nor biodilution was observed for microcystin; and concentrations were relatively consistent throughout the fish food web, including in top predators, indicating that efficient trophic transfer of microcystin is occurring in these lakes. Microcystin concentrations in fish from several study sites followed seasonal trends that were similar to those observed for microcystin concentrations in water at these sites, suggesting that fish can rapidly respond to changes in microcystin concentrations in water through accumulation and depuration of this toxin. Microcystin concentrations in water and fish from all Ugandan study sites (including Lake Albert) in addition to data from two temperate eutrophic embayments (Maumee Bay in Lake Erie, and the Bay of Quinte in Lake Ontario) were compiled and used to estimate potential microcystin exposure to human consumers of both water and fish from these study sites. Microcystin was pervasive in water and fish from both the tropical and temperate study sites. Also, these results establish that fish consumption can be an important and even dominant source of microcystin to humans, and can cause consumers to exceed recommended total daily intake guidelines for microcystin. These results highlight the need to consider potential exposure to microcystin through fish consumption in addition to water consumption in order to adequately assess human exposure and risk.

This research seeks to examine the effects of the establishment of regional trade agreements (RTAs) among developing nations on trade, welfare and production activities. The focus here is on the new East African Community (EAC) formed between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and established in 1999. The formation of the new EAC raises the important question of whether this regionally based trading agreement is of economic merit to its members. This study begins by reviewing trends in regional trade flows and the extent to which regional integration has affected trade patterns and productive activities. Using a gravity model augmented with several sets of dummy variables, I estimate the effect of the EAC-RTA on trade and welfare on members and non-members. The results show that intra-bloc trade is on average 18 times higher than what would be expected in the absence of the agreement. However, this trend does not seem to be influenced by the official lowering of trade barriers with the formation of the EAC. Model results also show a decline in bloc exports to the rest of the world suggesting that the bloc has trade diverting tendencies. Since static gains from the EAC-RTA are quite low, possibly dynamic gains from regional integration lend more support to the economic merit of the EAC.

No description available.

Eutrophication of freshwater lakes has led to an increase in the occurrence of harmful cyanobacterial blooms, and it is expected that a warming climate will further exacerbate the frequency and duration of such blooms. Microcystin is a cyanobacterial hepatotoxin that is found worldwide, and poses a serious threat to the ecological communities in which it is found as well as to those who use these waters for drinking, recreation, or as a food source. Although microcystin is known to accumulate in fish and other aquatic biota, the prevalence of microcystin in fish tissue and the human health risks posed by microcystin exposure through fish consumption remain poorly resolved. Very few studies have quantified microcystin (a broadly present cyanotoxin) in water from East African lakes, despite the large human and animal populations that rely on these lakes for both water and food, and to date there is very little information available on the accumulation of microcystin in fish from these lakes. A comprehensive set of water and fish samples was collected on a monthly basis between September 2008 and February 2009 from several lakes in Uganda. The study sites included two embayments in northern Lake Victoria (Murchison Bay and Napoleon Gulf), Lake Edward, Lake George, Lake Mburo, and the crater lakes Saka and Nkuruba. The large lakes sampled all support substantial commercially important fisheries, while the smaller lakes support subsistence fisheries that provide a critically important source of protein and income for riparian communities. Microcystin concentrations in water were determined in addition to chlorophyll and nutrient concentrations, phytoplankton community composition, mixing dynamics and light conditions. At all study sites except Lake Nkuruba, microcystin concentrations in water regularly exceeded the WHO guideline for microcystin in drinking water of 1.0 µg/L. Microcystis spp. emerged as the cyanobacterial taxa that is primarily responsible for microcystin production in these lakes, and as such, microcystin concentrations were closely linked to environmental factors that favour the development of high Microcystis biomass, including high nutrient concentrations, as well as shallow mixing depth which acts to increase mean mixed layer light intensity. Because of the importance of understanding the underlying food web when considering the accumulation and trophic transfer of a compound, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was used to characterize the food webs at the previously mentioned Ugandan study sites as well as in the East African great lake Albert. Omnivory was found to be common at all study sites, and based on δ13C values, the food webs in these lakes were strongly based on pelagic primary production, with no strong evidence of substantial benthic contribution to these food webs, likely as a result of reduced benthic primary productivity in these generally low-transparency eutrophic lakes. The distribution and trophic transfer of mercury was also characterized in the Ugandan study lakes (including Lake Albert) in order to provide a contrast for the trophic transfer of microcystin in the same lakes. Furthermore, relatively little is known about the behaviour of mercury in tropical hypereutrophic lakes, and the study sites included in the current study provided an opportunity for the exploration of this topic. Consistent biomagnification of mercury was observed at all study sites; however, mercury concentrations in fish were generally low, and would not be expected to pose a risk to consumers. Mercury dynamics were strongly linked to lake trophic status, with biomagnification rates significantly lower at the hypereutrophic study sites than at the mesotrophic and eutrophic study sites. I found evidence that growth and possibly biomass dilution can reduce mercury concentrations at the base of the food web, while growth dilution of mercury at consumer trophic levels might effectively reduce the biomagnification rate of mercury in these hypereutrophic lakes. Microcystin was prevalent in fish muscle tissue from all study sites and at all trophic levels. In contrast to mercury, for which consistent biomagnification was observed, neither biomagnification nor biodilution was observed for microcystin; and concentrations were relatively consistent throughout the fish food web, including in top predators, indicating that efficient trophic transfer of microcystin is occurring in these lakes. Microcystin concentrations in fish from several study sites followed seasonal trends that were similar to those observed for microcystin concentrations in water at these sites, suggesting that fish can rapidly respond to changes in microcystin concentrations in water through accumulation and depuration of this toxin. Microcystin concentrations in water and fish from all Ugandan study sites (including Lake Albert) in addition to data from two temperate eutrophic embayments (Maumee Bay in Lake Erie, and the Bay of Quinte in Lake Ontario) were compiled and used to estimate potential microcystin exposure to human consumers of both water and fish from these study sites. Microcystin was pervasive in water and fish from both the tropical and temperate study sites. Also, these results establish that fish consumption can be an important and even dominant source of microcystin to humans, and can cause consumers to exceed recommended total daily intake guidelines for microcystin. These results highlight the need to consider potential exposure to microcystin through fish consumption in addition to water consumption in order to adequately assess human exposure and risk.