The Coherence Dilemma in Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Systems

This article analyses the coherence and coordination dilemma in peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction systems, with special reference to the United Nations' integrated approach concept. It argues that all peacebuilding agents are interdependent in that they cannot individually achieve the goal of the overall peacebuilding system. Pursuing coherence helps to manage the interdependencies that bind the peacebuilding system together, and coordination is the means through which individual peacebuilding agents can ensure that they are coherent with the overall strategic framework. The article is focused on two areas where the lack of coherence provides the most promise for improving peacebuilding coherence. The first is the need to generate a clearly articulated overall peacebuilding strategy. The second is the need to operationalise the principle of local ownership. The article argues that without meaningfully addressing these shortcomings peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction systems will continue to suffer from poor rates of sustainability. African Journal on Conflict Resolution Vol. 8 (3) 2008: pp. 85-11

Landscape photography

ThesisThe true words of the expressionist landscape photographer, Yuan Li, "no image can be recorded in exactly the same way" (Li, 1989), is just what landscape photography is all about. What makes it so unique is the fact knowing that what you see at that particular moment when triggering the shutter of the camera, will never in time be the same again. Therefore, every landscape image is unique in its own way. Many amateur photographers do not succeed in making the image striking , most of the time it is as if there is a lack of something in the image, something that wili make the image stand out. When composing a landscape photograph the photographer must try to create a certain feeling towards the viewer that will attract his eyes and interest. Something that will make the viewer want to come back and look at the image again. That is what the photographer must try to succeed in when taking landscape photographs. This can be achieved by making use of the very basic rules when taking the photograph. Making sure the composition is right, depth of field is as acquired and focusing is perfect. These are just the very basics of what to look for when taking a landscape photograph

UNMISS County Support Bases: Peacekeeping–Peacebuilding Nexus at Work?

The initiative by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) to establish County Support Bases (CSBs) in 35 counties, in addition to the presence it already has in 10 state capitals, reflects a new interest in UN peacekeeping operations in pursuing a greater nexus between peacekeeping and peacebuilding, especially at the local level. In principle, the CSBs are a positive development, representing a move towards focusing on areas where the need is greatest – but they have also given rise to several concerns. Internally, UNMISS has had to reassess how fast it can move and what it can achieve with the CSBs. The CSBs are intended to ‘facilitate the extension of state authority’, and serve as a vehicle for integration with the UN Country Team (UNCT), who are the ones who can actually bring tangible development and peace dividends to isolated rural areas. Externally, the CSBs are expected to have an enabling effect on the extension of state authority through co-location of UNMISS staff with government counterparts in the counties. Given the delays encountered in CSB construction, it is not yet possible to fully assess their impact, although partial presence and air movement has already facilitated what is often the only link between state authorities and rural communities. This policy brief focuses on exploring the conceptual thinking and vision behind the CSBs, the efforts to achieve greater integration between UNMISS and UNCT, the challenges UNMISS has been facing in developing the CSBs, and how the UN plans to use CSBs in the future

"Enslaved to Serious Responsibilities": Gender, Labor, and Rights Anxieties in Men's Rights Media

The men&rsquo;s rights movement posits men as victims who have been denied their rights by a feminist &ldquo;gynocracy.&rdquo; Drawing on critical theories (namely historical materialism and feminism), this dissertation investigates a discursive nexus of anxieties around men&rsquo;s perceived lack of rights, as men, via their socio-economic exploitation or financial status. In other words, men&rsquo;s rights activists often frame men&rsquo;s apparent victimhood, qua men, in terms of their economic obligations and opportunities. Using discourse analysis of print and digital archives, as well as ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with men&rsquo;s rights activists, I find that socio-economic concerns and experiences are often leveraged to espouse a misogynist worldview in which women are oppressive, exploitative, manipulative, and parasitical. Moreover, this discursive nexus of anxieties has been present since the movement&rsquo;s nascency and persists today. Ultimately, I argue that we cannot combat contemporary misogyny by focusing solely on digital platform policy; we must consider both the tenacity and flexibility of misogynist discourses, across time and media, to persuade audiences of men&rsquo;s apparent victimhood.</p

Perversity on paper taboo, abjection and literature: Iain Banks' The wasp factory, Ian McEwan's The cement garden, and Irvine Welsh's Marabou stork nightmares

This thesis explores the notion of perversity in literature, specifically with regard to representations of taboo and abjection in Iain Banks‟ The Wasp Factory, Ian McEwan‟s The Cement Garden, and Irvine Welsh‟s Marabou Stork Nightmares. Julia Kristeva‟s Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection, as well as her notion of revolt, constitute the central theoretical framework for my analysis. However, I also draw upon the concepts of monstrosity, grotesqueness and the uncanny in order to explicate the affect of abject fiction on the reader. I posit, then, that to engage with literary works that confront one with perversity, abjection and taboo entails exposing oneself to an ambiguous or liminal space in which culturally established values are both disrupted and affirmed. The subversive and revolutionary potential of the aforementioned novels is discussed with reference to the notion of the perverted Bildungsroman since, in their respective transgressions of taboos, the narrators of these novels disrupt social order, and their narratives end on a note of indeterminacy or the absolute finality of death, rather than self-actualisation. Moreover, in exposing the binaries of sex and gender as arbitrary and fluctuating, these narrators‟ perverse sexual and gender performativities gesture towards alternative modes of being (beyond social sanction), and invoke Kristeva‟s notion of individual revolt as a „condition necessary for the life of the mind and society‟

Oktatási kihívás: vállalkozók az átmeneti gazdaságban

A tanulmány a dél-afrikai társadalmi-politikai/társadalmi-gazdasági átalakulásnak a hétköznapok gyakorlatában is megmutatkozó problémáiról, és megvalósuló eredményeiről számol be. Az átmenet feltételein belül kitér a kis- és középvállalatok szerepére, ehhez a vállalkozók oktatására, vállalkozói réteg kinevelésére, vállalkozói erkölcs megteremtésére

Application of meteorological satellite products for short term forecasting of convection in Southern Africa

Thunderstorms, due to their high frequency of occurrence over southern Africa, and their major contribution to summer rainfall are the primary focus of very short range forecasting and nowcasting efforts in South Africa. With a limited number of surface and upper-air observations and the limited availability of numerical model output most southern African countries are heavily reliant on satellite technology. In developing tools for the first twelve forecast hours the South African Weather Service has to address both the national and regional needs. Thus, the blending of techniques in an optimal manner is essential. This study initially describes how the Global Instability Index product derived from the European Meteosat Second Generation Satellite was adapted for South African circumstances using a different numerical model to provide background information – creating the Regional Instability Indices (RII). The focus of the study is the development of a new convection indicator, called the Combined Instability Index (CII), which calculates the probability of convection from satellite derived instability indices and moisture, as well as height above sea level early in the morning when the sky is relatively cloud free. Early morning CII values were evaluated statistically against the occurrence of lightning over South Africa, where a lightning network is available, as well as against satellite derived precipitation over southern Africa, later in the same day. It is shown that the CII not only performs well, but also outperforms the individual RII when compared to the occurrence of lightning. The CII will be beneficial to operational forecasters to focus their attention on the area which is most favourable for the development of convection later in the day.Environmental SciencesPh. D. (Environmental Sciences

Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation and Knowledge Management Approaches in Government to Government Partnerships: The Case of the Shandong and WCG Partnership

Government to Government (G2G) partnerships between countries in the BRICS partnerships have significantly increased and with it, the need for more effective evidence-based decision-making. In this process, improved M&amp;E and KM has become prominent. In this context, the study investigated the need for Monitoring &amp; Evaluation (M&amp;E), as well as knowledge management (KM) systems in partnerships. This study focused on the development management aspects of such partnerships and the article is based on research information obtained through the PhD study by Dr Ivy Chen as well as updated research perspectives.The article concluded that a need existed to establish more advanced M&amp;E and KM systems in G2G partnerships. The Readiness Assessment conducted regarding M&amp;E showed that a need existed for Results-Based M&amp;E that can be used to ensure evidence-based decision-making in the G2G partnerships. The Readiness Assessment showed that a definite need existed for Communities of Practice (COPs) beyond the formal meetings and that professionals and practitioners on both sides needed to exchange explicit and implicit knowledge. A need also existed for improved ICTs based-systems including dedicated portals where policy documentation, programme information and data, as well as M&amp;E results, can be loaded and shared by Governments