School of Social Sciences

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    Facets of Cross Border Commuting in the Central European Region and the (Re)production of inequalities
    (2018-02-16) Wiesbock, L.; Tonah, S.
    ABSTRACT This presentation examines intra-European labour mobility from the perspective of social inequality and social stratification. The focus lies on cross-border commuters from the border regions of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary who work in Austria. The aim is to shed light on causes and forms of changes in inequality as a consequence of transnational labour involvement in the Central European Region (CENTROPE). This region is of particular interest, as it has a long history of cross-border mobility and social exchange, from the Habsburg Monarchy to the postwar period and after 1989, culminating in the accession to the EU in 2004. Since May 1st, 2011, all citizens were given the freedom to seek employment according to their skills in Austria. The superordinate research question of the study is: How do transnational labour practices in the Central European Region relate to the (re)production of social inequalities? In order to answer this question, the paper looks at influencing factors systematically linking both labour markets and mobility: the legal framework, the macro-economic context, the welfare state regime, the economic structure of the local region, employers’ practices and commuters’ life worlds.
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    Significance of Topaze by Marcel Pagnol from structuralist theory perspective
    (2019-11-01) Pande, A.
    There is limited literature about the fertility industry of assisted reproduction in the African context, partly because of the assumption that such markets and technologies are unsuitable for and unavailable in low-resource settings. However, with neo-liberalisation of healthcare and the rise of private-sector corporate hospitals, some countries in this region have become hubs for reproductive travel. Patients may fly to Kenya, Ghana and Uganda for surrogacy, and to South Africa for “egg safaris”, to get matched with South African gamete (egg and sperm) providers. More recently, there is the growing trend of white Afrikaner South African women flying to different parts of the world to provide their eggs and fulfil the need for making (white) babies for cheap in the global fertility market (Pande and Moll 2018). I argue that though the media and medical professionals frame these women as “naïve or greedy girls”, the frame of “biolabour” offers a far more complex lens for understanding their roles and responsibilities. Three key themes emerge: altruism and/or ambivalent maternity, responsible repropreuneurship, and cosmopolitan competency. As bio-labourers, the women find an opportunity to combine an act of responsible altruism with the opportunity for adventure. Bio-labour becomes a passport to see the world and become a global citizen. While a move away from the victim narrative to one of chosen (bio) labour challenges gendered assumptions, it also brings attention to the multiple forms of gendered risks and responsibilities embedded in these bio-markets.  
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    Employment good for psychological well-being, but what is the minimum and maximum number of hours of paid employment per week to reap the benefits?
    (2018-04-04) Burchell, B.; Annor, F.
    Economists, computer scientists and engineers predict that artificial intelligence, machine learning and robots may very soon be able to do much of the paid work that is currently being done by humans. Psychologists have long documented how employment is associated with much higher levels of well being than unemployment, and we need to draw upon this knowledge in planning for the future where there is much less employment. One option is retain a high level of labour market participation, but at markedly reduced hours per week for workers. This seminar will examine the main psychological theories concerning well being and work, and consider the question: What is the minimum amount of paid work needed to gain the psychological benefits of work?
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    Technological Transfer and Democratization of Education in Africa: Reflections on the Educational Television in Côte d’Ivoire
    (2016-09-09) Assié-Lumumba, N.T.; Abotchie, C.
    At the historical threshold of African countries’ independence, the stakeholders of education subscribed to the idea of its critical importance for development. At the 1961 Addis Ababa Conference on “the development of education in Africa,” African states adopted a resolution to achieve universal primary enrollment, working towards increased access to secondary and expansion of the higher education by 1980. Countries across the continent adopted their respective national policies toward their common goal. In the case of Côte d’Ivoire, a highly publicized educational television program was adopted in the early 1970s. This program was conceived as an effective technological innovation for the implementation of the common goal. Despite the confidence of the Ivorian policymakers and the solid international support for this educational television program, ten years after the beginning of the first experimental schools, the program was discontinued. However, it left behind heavy debt acquired through loans obtained to pay for the imported technology and the labor of the consultants and technical assistants who designed and ran the program. Even more important, the program produced a new generation and category of primary school graduates and early school leavers with a different learning experience. The thrust of this presentation is to analyze this educational innovation, with a focus on the potential benefits and perverse effects of technology in its application to education. ​
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    Shifting the focus of psychological intervention: From Freudian couch to Freirian community collaboration
    (2016-09-22) Naidoo, A.; Asumeng, M.
    The practice of psychology has been critiqued for being Eurocentric in its focus and application. In this presentation, I will present arguments for broadening the conceptualisation of psychological intervention beyond the traditional individual curative preoccupation and consider the broader spectrum of psychological interventions. Drawing from my experience in working in South Africa, I will describe initiatives of how service learning modules can be used formatively to encourage students to engage in indigenous, collaborative psychological community work on the one hand, and to transform the training agenda of a clinical psychology training programme.
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    The Impact of Internal Democracy on the Performance of Political Parties in Ghana: The Cases of Three Constituencies.
    (2019-02-27) Asekere, G.; Ayee, J.A.
    Internal democracy, also known as intra-party democracy, refers to the level and methods of including party members in decision making and deliberation within the party structure. The debate as to whether internal democracy enhances the performance of political parties in elections has left scholars divided. The subject of internal democracy has become important in Ghana because of the argument that democracy within political parties is a reflection of how democracy is organized within the state, largely because of the winner takes all politics. This study explores the extent to which internal democracy has affected the performance of Ghana’s leading political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), that have alternated power since the return to constitutional rule in 1993. Relying on mixed research methods and anchored on the philosophy of pragmatism, the study intends to examine the subject between 2000 and 2016 in three unique constituencies, Ledzokuku, Ketu South and Kwabre East; the first, a swing constituency, and the second and third, strongholds of the NDC and NPP respectively. Preliminary findings based on the literature reviewed are discussed.
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    Patriotism in Turbulent and Settled Times
    (2019-03-27) Asante, K.T.; Amoah, L.
    Patriotism fosters national cohesion. In turbulent times, such as during social revolutions, wars of liberations, or national catastrophes, patriotic sentiments are interwoven into narratives of violence and self-sacrifice for a nationalistic cause. In settled times, patriotism is channeled towards the task of state-building and anchored on the moral imperative of preserving a heritage won by sacrifice. Therefore, violent contentions and self-sacrifice are central to narratives of patriotism in both turbulent and settled times. To build my argument, I review theories of society and authority from scholars such as Max Weber, David Apter, Immanuel Wallerstein, and Claude Ake; highlighting aspects of social formations and structures of power which predispose individuals to self-sacrifice for group causes. This argument is illustrated by drawing on theories of state formation in the west and in former colonies. I propose the notion of politically useful deaths to highlight a variety of functions which patriotic sentiments play in settled times. This proposition is explicated by the following claims: Politically useful deaths 1) (re)orient citizens’ imaginations towards the state, acting as a reminder of its existence, 2) serve as a social glue which creates, nurtures, or reinforces the bond among citizens, and 3) provide a vent for politically salient sentiments. Self-sacrifice is a civic aspiration which relevant institutions attempt to inculcate in individuals through political socialisation.
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    Japan and Africa’s Economic Development: Where is the Public-Private Partnership?
    (2019-04-24) Ampiah, K.; Amoah, L.
    As a new developmental paradigm that focuses on the perennial development challenges facing the African countries, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) unravels an acutely observed narrative about Africa’s unfolding dialogue with modernization and economic growth. Since the first TICAD Summit in 1993 and continuing through to TICAD VI in 2016, the stakeholders involved in the process have explored different themes and facets of Africa’s development problems in an attempt to jump-start the region’s economic development. Despite Japan’s good intentions its economic presence in Africa (and indeed in Ghana) remains insignificant. Why is that so; why is Japan’s FDI stock in Africa negligible, what roles do the Japanese private sector play in Africa?