When grain production falls short of consumption expectations in self-provisioning households, a range of responses is possible. How each household selects from and manages these responses provides the theoretical and empirical focus of this thesis. Several problematic issues in the 'coping strategies' literature are addressed, including questions of response sequencing and 'discrete stages', the timing of asset sales for food, and the relationship between consumption protecting and consumption modifying strategies. Among other theoretical advances, criteria for response sequencing are identified which explain decisions about which assets to sell for food, and when, in terms of each asset's expected return rather than its immediate 'entitlement' value. This thesis is grounded in fieldwork conducted in the West African semi-arid tropics, a region characterised by seasonally, agricultural risk and market imperfections. Drought and armyworms undermined crop production in the fieldwork village in 1987/8. The community is highly stratified economically, and striking cross-sectional contrasts in household behaviour and nutritional outcomes were observed. Food secure households practice demographic, agronomic and economic diversification, which provide access to sources of food and income that are not correlated to local economic fluctuations. Consumption insecure households have narrower options and respond to production deficits by wealth depletion (asset monetisation, debt acquisition) and severe food rationing. Responses to production deficits are not confined to strategies for acquiring food. Multiple objectives - economic, nutritional and social - are retained. Nutritional adjustments are motivated by intertemporal economic priorities. The poorest households protected their assets and rationed consumption most severely: the cost of consuming resources rises as the number and value of assets owned falls. Within households, nutritional surveillance revealed that adults rationed their food consumption earlier and more severely than their children. Adult anthropometric status may therefore be a more robust predictor of food insecurity and economic stress than child anthropometry.

No description available.

My published output represents an ongoing engagement with the issues of studying, learning, understanding and transmitting music. More specifically, it has the music of Ghana in West Africa as its primary focus. This music is then considered from a number of points of view:- • as music, where the sonic events can be charted, documented and analysed • as 'ethnic' music where the function and meaning of this music for its culture can be considered • as a cultural artefact where the changing processes of transmission and preservation are observed • as pedagogical material where the nature of learning related to culture and the processes of translation by the teacher and the learner are examined. Music as object for documentation and discussion is a substantial part of Xylophone music from Ghana, the two articles in Composing the Music of Africa and the article in the British journal of Ethnomusicology as well as the COs, 'Bewaare - they are coming' Dagaare songs and dances from Nandom, Ghana and 'In the time of my fourth great-grandfather ... ' Western Sisaala music from Lambussie, Ghana. These same publications also consider the roles and function of the music within its culture. Music as a cultural artefact, its transmission and preservation, particularly in relation to formal education, is the focus of the two articles in the British journal of Music Education, the Music Teacher publication, the article in Cahiers de Musiques Traditionelles, and the ESEM conference paper. Pedagogical issues and materials form the basis for Music of West Africa, Kpatsa, and the symposium papers.

This dissertation project is a preparation for development of a method for teaching traditional Ewe culture to people of Western or non-Ewe background, using dance ethnology as an approach to conducting research, and digital video recording as a means for documentation. The study focuses on one of the Ewe's oldest and most powerful religious dance and music ceremonies, Adzogbo, as it is performed by the Mawuli Kpli Mi Adzogbo Group from the village of Aflao in Ghana, West Africa. / Adzogbo, originally from Dahomey (now Benin), was brought to Ghana in the late 19th Century, and was formally performed for the Dahomeyan war gods to transmit pertinent information to warriors preparing for battle. It is still considered one of the most complex dance and music systems, having intricate polyrhythmic texture and specific relationship between the master drummer and the vigorous and articulated movements of the dancers, which are emphasized by their elaborate costume. / Presently, the dance functions as a recreational ceremony and is performed during specific special occasions. It is used to display mental, physical and spiritual power and still carries some of its original war dance characteristics. / This project consists of a written thesis document and one hour digital video documentary of the Adzogbo Dance Ceremony, outlining its background and importance, form and structure, and a comparative analyses of the organization and structure of both the dance and music. The text provides information on Ewe culture, including their historical, social, and geographical background, their dance, music and related activities and an exploration of Interactive multimedia technologies to in future develop electronic educational material.

Thesis (M.A.)--Kutztown University, 1989. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2923. Abstract precedes title page. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 140).

Zugl.: Hohenheim, Univ., Diss., 2005

Zugl.: London, Internat. Faith Theological Seminary Univ. College, Diss., 2006

Thesis--Göteborg. / Extra t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. i-iii).

Thesis (S.T.L.)--Catholic University of America, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83).

Zugl.: Bremen, Univ., Diss., 2008