36 research outputs found
Relocating Home: Second-Generation East African Women\u27s Twitter-Use as sites of Homeplace, Identity, and Memory
Homeplace, a concept credited to bell hooks (1991), was conceptualized through the practice and resiliency of Black women as they historically transformed the home as a space for reclamation of resistance and freedom. Through digital and social technologies, home is capable of manifesting outside of heteronormative meanings regarding spatiality and assumed gendered roles. This study explores second-generation East African womenâs utilization of Twitter as a diasporic tool for homeplace, identity, and memory. This research incorporated a qualitative-phenomenological approach by interviewing ten participants from the ages of 18-26 in the United States, followed by a textual analysis of Twitter. Through coding cycles of transcriptions, key hashtags and phrases were pulled from participantâs interviews to guide the textual analysis. This research explores ways digital spaces are utilized and whether they provide adequate, fulfilling, and freeing manifestations of identity and home that are not often permitted to African diasporic communities in their realities
Origins, relevance and prospects of federalism and decentralization in the horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is the most conflict-ridden region in the African continent. Both inter-and intra-state
conflicts have dominated the region. In a bid to check intra-state conflicts and accommodate ethno-national
and religious diversity, federal or federal like models of governance have been proposed, discussed, and, in
some cases, adopted across the region. Focusing on Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, this article
discusses the origin, reasons, and prospects of the federal idea in the Horn. The article argues that the major
rationale for the federal idea in the Horn is the containment of communal tensions. Yet, the track record of
federalism in alleviating communal tensions has not been encouraging. This is partly related to design issues
that have undermined the efforts to use federalism to address communal tensions. More importantly,
however, the commitment to genuinely implement the federal idea has largely been absent
Freedom of religion and minority rights in South Africa
The South African Constitution contains an extensive list of rights, several of which are
relevant, directly or indirectly, to accommodate the needs of persons that belong to a religious
minority group in South Africa. This article examines the extent to which these protections are
utilized by individuals and courts and explores the interplay between these various sources of
protection that religious minority groups and their members can rely on. It will examine the courtsâ
case law on freedom of religion to determine whether the courts have relied on one or all of the
rights offered by the Constitution when dealing with claims made by persons belonging to a religious
minority group. The reasons for and impacts of the choices that the courts have made will also be
investigated. Equally important are the choices made by persons belonging to a religious minority
group when approaching courts to vindicate their rights
Ethiopia: Legal response to Covid-19
The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE),1
which was
promulgated in 1995, is the supreme law of the country which, among other things, defines
the Ethiopian state and government structures.2
It organized Ethiopia, a formerly unitary
state, into a federation.3
The Ethiopian federation is composed of a federal government and
10 states, and one constitutionally recognised self-governing city (Addis Ababa).4
The states
are Afar, Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Harari, Oromia, Southern Nations,
Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP), Somali, Tigray, and Sidama. Dire Dawa, another selfgoverning federal city, does not have constitutional recognition. Ethiopia is a parliamentary
system under which the Prime Minister is appointed by the lower house of parliament.The federal system is one that aims to accommodate the ethnic diversity of the Ethiopian
people. The subnational units of the federation, save for the two federal cities, are
structured along ethnic lines.6
Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, the two largest and multi-ethnic
cities, are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Local government, not
constitutionally recognised as a level of government, is within the exclusive competencies of
the states
Citizen science breathes new life into participatory agricultural research : A review
Participatory research can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and scope of research processes, and foster social inclusion, empowerment and sustainability. Yet despite four decades of agricultural research institutions exploring and developing methods for participatory research, it has never become mainstream in the agricultural technology development cycle. Citizen science promises an innovative approach to participation in research, using the unique facilities of new digital technologies, but its potential in agricultural research participation has not been systematically probed. To this end, we conducted a critical literature review. We found that citizen science opens up four opportunities for creatively reshaping research: i) new possibilities for interdisciplinary collaboration, ii) rethinking configurations of socio-computational systems, iii) research on democratization of science more broadly, and iv) new accountabilities. Citizen science also brings a fresh perspective on the barriers to institutionalizing participation in the agricultural sciences. Specifically, we show how citizen science can reconfigure cost-motivation-accountability combinations using digital tools, open up a larger conceptual space of experimentation, and stimulate new collaborations. With appropriate and persistent institutional support and investment, citizen science can therefore have a lasting impact on how agricultural science engages with farming communities and wider society, and more fully realize the promises of participation
Human plague: An old scourge that needs new answers
Yersinia pestis, the bacterial causative agent of plague, remains an important threat to human health. Plague is a rodent-borne disease that has historically shown an outstanding ability to colonize and persist across different species, habitats, and environments while provoking sporadic cases, outbreaks, and deadly global epidemics among humans. Between September and November 2017, an outbreak of urban pneumonic plague was declared in Madagascar, which refocused the attention of the scientific community on this ancient human scourge. Given recent trends and plagueâs resilience to control in the wild, its high fatality rate in humans without early treatment, and its capacity to disrupt social and healthcare systems, human plague should be considered as a neglected threat. A workshop was held in Paris in July 2018 to review current knowledge about plague and to identify the scientific research priorities to eradicate plague as a human threat. It was concluded that an urgent commitment is needed to develop and fund a strong research agenda aiming to fill the current knowledge gaps structured around 4 main axes: (i) an improved understanding of the ecological interactions among the reservoir, vector, pathogen, and environment; (ii) human and societal responses; (iii) improved diagnostic tools and case management; and (iv) vaccine development. These axes should be cross-cutting, translational, and focused on delivering context-specific strategies. Results of this research should feed a global control and prevention strategy within a âOne Healthâ approach
Leveraging Swelling Polymer Nanoparticle Reversibility for Cargo Loading
pH-responsive polymeric nanoparticles are an exciting
class of
stimuli-responsive materials that can respond to changes in pH and,
as a result, have been developed for numerous applications in biomedicine,
such as the loading and delivery of various cargoes. One common transformation
is nanoparticle swelling due to the protonation or deprotonation of
specific side chain moieties in the polymer structure. When the pH
trigger is removed, the swelling can be reversed, and this process
can be continually cycled by adjusting the pH. In this work, we are
leveraging this swellingâdeswellingâreswelling mechanism
to develop a simple, fast, and easy loading strategy for a class of
cross-linked polymeric nanoparticles, poly-2-(diethylamino) ethyl
methacrylate (pDEAEMA), that can reversibly swell below pH 7.3, and
a dye, rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RITC), as a proof-of-concept cargo
molecule while comparing to poly(methyl methacrylate) (pMMA) nanoparticles
as a nonswelling control. A free radical polymerization was used to
generate pDEAEMA nanoparticles at three different sizes by varying
the synthesis temperature. Their pH-dependent swelling and deswelling
were extensively characterized using dynamic light scattering and
transmission electron microscopy, which revealed a reversible increase
in size for pDEAEMA nanoparticles in acidic media, whereas pMMA nanoparticles
remain constant. Following dye loading, pDEAEMA nanoparticles show
significant fluorescence intensity when compared to pMMA nanoparticles,
suggesting that the reversible swelling is key for successful loading.
Upon acidic treatment, there is a significant decrease in the fluorescence
intensity when compared to the dye-loaded nanoparticles in basic media,
which could be due to dilution of the dye when released in the acidic
medium solution. Interestingly, nanoparticle size had no impact on
dye loading properties, suggesting that the dye molecules only go
so far into the polymer nanoparticle. Additionally, confocal microscopy
images reveal pDEAEMA nanoparticles with higher RITC fluorescence
intensity in acidic media but a lower RITC fluorescence intensity
in basic media, while pMMA nanoparticles show no differences. Together,
these results showcase a size reversibility-driven cargo loading mechanism
that has the potential to be applied to other beneficial cargoes and
for various applications