Socio-cultural support systems for the elderly and its implications for formal social protection programmes in rural Western Kenya
July 2015
The rising populations of the elderly and the various socio-cultural and economic changes that have taken place in the Luo community have had an impact on support systems for the elderly. However, there is little knowledge that shows this impact in relation to the functionality of the available support systems for the elderly. This study sought to examine socio-cultural support systems for the elderly in Malunga-West...
Peasant households’ livelihoods negotiation in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria
July 2015
Peasant households in the semi-arid region of northern Nigeria have to contend with the problems of low rainfall and desertification in their agricultural practices. They have also to contend with the problem of bioproductivity loss and inadequate capital. This research investigates the livelihoods negotiations of peasant households in the semi-arid region. The findings of the research show that peasant households have...
Globalisation, religion and religiosity in Tanzania
June 2015
This article examines the impact of globalisation on religion and religiosity in Tanzania in the face of the neo-liberal ideology taking hold of the country. It focuses mainly on christian groups and denominations influenced by pentecostalism in Tanzania. Thus, the discussion does not include other religions because since 1980s, it is evident that there has been an increase of new churches within christian groups....
Issa-Afar re-membering, re-presentation and dramaturgy of violence
May 2015
This paper presents the phenomenology of Issa-Afar protracted violence in Ethiopia from hitherto unexplored vintage points of remembering (subjective memory), re-presentation (narrative construction and re-construction of remembering), and dramaturgy (the discursive and performative utility) of violence. Issa-Afar violent conflict is one of the most protracted violent conflicts in the Horn of Africa that unabatedly...
Street vending as the safety-net for the disadvantaged people: The case of Jimma Town
May 2015
Jimma town is one of the largest towns in South Western part of the country; it hosts significant amount of people who make their life through informal sectors in general and street vending in particular. This study was aimed at exploring the street vending activities in urban informal sector in Jimma town with particular reference to three streets with too much concentration of street vendors. The general objective of...
The road to a better life: A critical perspective on human trafficking, global inequalities and migration from Mozambique towards Europe
May 2015
This work discusses the root causes behind human trafficking in the sex industry, from Mozambique to South Africa and, eventually, Europe. With examples taken from younger Mozambican women called curtidoras since 2007, social obligations towards poor families, awareness of global inequalities and dreams of going to Europe are major drivers of migration northwards and that current anti-trafficking policies do not take...
Drug situation in Iran, with emphasis on content analysis of newspapers
April 2015
Addiction damages compensation for the non-acceptance of the human population is below the break in economic, social, political, cultural life, increased crime and insecurity. Growing trend of drug abuse and promotion has occupied the mind. It is currently research in recent years. To get rid of addiction requires scientific and practical investigation. This study aims to describe how drug is used in the provinces of...
Planet Earth in the 21st century: Coordination failure in common pools governance?
April 2015
Marx argued, we recall that capitalist society suffered from in-built contradictions, which would lead to its demise in time. Today, the globe faces another major kind of contradiction: rapid economic development against ecological sustainability. The relationships between economic growth and environmental sustainability have been much debated: Can they be combined to give both prosperity and environmental...
Martyrs or terrorists: Suicide bombing in Islamic hermeneutics
April 2015
The contemporary world order has been created by non Muslim powers through the infiltration of the Muslim world by colonialism and neo-colonialism. The ummah of Islam was parceled into states by imperial powers thereby weakening the solidarity of the ummah. The collapse of the communist bloc no doubt made Islam to be the only challenging system to the remaining super power. There was no doubt from the statements of...
Indigenous way of seeing tourism and conservation in the Colombian Amazon
April 2015
This paper is about the way in which indigenous people changed their relationship with natural resources due to the creation of the National Natural Park Amacayacu in 1975, and the way in which indigenous peoples perceive the increase of tourists with the concession of ecotourism services in the same Park in 2005. The purpose of the paper is to show how indigenous people worked previously in the traffic of animal...
The triple causes of African underdevelopment: Colonial capitalism, state terrorism and racism
March 2015
The paper attempts to inform Africans and the world at large of the triple evils of colonial capitalism, state terrorism, and racism and of different forms of African resistance in order to search for new ways of implementing universal human rights laws and the rights of indigenous people. Most indigenous Africans are immensely underdeveloped and have suffered for more than five centuries because of these triple evils...
Neighbours and drug addicts: An interface
March 2015
Drug addiction is a phenomenon by which all communities and countries are regularly affected. This has been an ever growing problem which has confronted each one of us within our families, at school, in work place or within our society in general. The present paper focuses on neighbours’ role in drug addict’s life. The area of study was in and around Chandigarh where community based de-addiction clinics were...
Falling sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir: Trends, determinants and consequences
March 2015
The 2011 Census has exposed some noteworthy and perturbing features with regard to regional pattern of sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir which necessitates some illumination. Since the beginning of this century, the sex ratio in the total population has long been low in Jammu and Kashmir. The provisional data in 2011 Census showed that the overall sex ratio came down to 883 females per 1000 males against 892 females per...
Gender inequality in reproductive health services and sustainable development in Nigeria: A theoretical analysis
February 2015
If policies for the promotion of gender equality are to be realizable their goals must include equitable distribution of health related resources in line with MDG goals 3 and 5 which focus on promoting gender equality, empowerment of women and family planning. This requires careful identification of the similarities and differences in the use of family planning as a component of reproductive health. It also necessitates...
Keeping religion out of a conflict: Learning from the Kenyan Church
February 2015
Religion can be argued to be back into the public sphere of society casting doubt on the secularization theories. Though religion is said to be largely ambivalent, when involved, it complicates conflicts. In our modern multi-religious societies, keeping religion out of the conflict can be of benefit. Kenya´s involvement in the war against terror in Somalia was initially against the militant group, Al- Shabaab but...
The over-indebtedness in action: An ethnographic research at NUDECON/Brazil
February 2015
This paper comes from an ethnographic study developed inside the Núcleo de Defesa do Consumidor - NUDECON, located at Rio de Janeiro’s Public Defender’s Office during April and May 2013. The aim is to understand legal categorization as a social construct, considered both in context and in action. To do so, we explore the interactions that produce over-indebted individuals who will be legally protected...
Engendering energy in Ethiopia: The role of solar energy in improving rural women’s socio-economic conditions in Tigrai Region
January 2015
This study was conducted on the role of solar energy in improving the socio-economic conditions of women in Tigrai region, Ethiopia. The specific objectives of the study were to assess the extent of solar energy use, to examine the role of solar energy in promoting women’s income earning strategies and access to social services; to document the perceptions and attitudes of women beneficiaries towards solar energy...
Urban ecology concept and its implication for studying social integration: Case study of the Palestinian refugees
January 2015
This article aims to analyze the phenomena of urban segregation and social integration in the Palestinian refugee camps. The arguments are based on a theoretical basis as well as findings from the author’s fieldwork taken where he used to live in the Gaza refugee camp. The main argument of this paper claims that residential segregation and the creation of informal settlements in the city boundaries are exclusively...
Gendered injustice: A comparative analysis of witchcraft beliefs and witchcraft-related violence in Ghana and Nepal
October 2014
Witch-hunt is an often overlooked but major social problem in many of the societies in the Global South. Ghana and Nepal represent two such societies where modern-day witch-hunt is frequently reported. This study examines the similarities and differences in witchcraft beliefs and practices in Ghana and Nepal as well as the perpetration of aggressive acts against putative witches in these two societies. Among the issues...
Ethno- medicine of Bhotia tribe in Mana village of Uttarakhand
October 2014
The present paper is based on field work conducted in village Mana in Joshimath subdivision of the District Chamoli, Uttarakhand, among Bhotias. The group of Bhotias residing in this village belongs to the Marcha Bhotia category and is transhumant in nature. The paper gives an ethnographic background of the Bhotias and then focuses on the major ethno-medicines which are used by these people. These medicines have been in...
An ethnographic study of Igbo naming ceremony (IBA NWA AFA)
October 2014
In 2002, as part of a larger study, the present researcher undertook an ethnographic exploration of the Igbo naming ceremony. The aim was to identify the vector quantities implicated in the practice of this ceremony as well as the symbolic and mimetic acts and fixed expressions that constitute the fabric of the ritual process of the ceremony. The second aspect of the study was to gain a hermeneutic perspective on the...
Revitalization of Gampong Institution in Aceh: Measuring the program of “Back to Gampong†in the middle of the changing society: A case in Aceh Besar regency
September 2014
The passage of UU No. 18, 2001 on regional autonomy and followed up with the issuance of Qanun No. 4, 2003 on mukim, and Qanun No. 5, 2003 on gampong and reinforced by UUPA No. 11, 2006 on Acehnese government is a history of social identity of Acehnese society, which has been neglected during the conflict. The regional government has made some breakthroughs and one of the breakthroughs was gampong revitalization through...
Value system and malnutrition in Coastal and Lowland Sasak communities
September 2014
Cultural value system includes a social standardization in certain communities. The meaning itself is a reflection of the value system. The meaning then shows the extent of a value system applied by members of the social system in their daily life. This paper will analyze the meaning of feeding toddlers and pregnancy. By assuming the system of cultural value through the meaning that triggers the occurrence of...
The situation of orphans and vulnerable children in selected Woredas and towns in Jimma Zone
September 2014
Orphan and vulnerable (OVC) children are children that are susceptible to various types of physiological, psychological and social problems. A qualitative research was conducted to assess the situation of orphans and vulnerable children in four woredas and two towns of Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia. 21 focus group discussions and 29 key informant interviews were conducted to collect data required for the study. The...
Health extension program as innovative health care service: The socio-cultural factors affecting its implementation in Jimma Zone, South Western Oromia
August 2014
Ethiopia’s Health Extension Program is an innovative community-based health care service delivery system that emphasizes the construction of health posts at village level and assignment of trained Health Extension Workersto improve the prevailing high disease burden and mortality that Ethiopians suffer from. The main objective of the study was to assess the socio-cultural factors that affect the...
Innovative approach to decentralized planning for backward area development in India
August 2014
The allocation of appropriate funds for any development sector is a major issue in which the three levels of rural development are involved, namely the Panchayats, its block and district. There is a huge disparity between the funds proposed under a bottom-up decentralized planning system from the Panchayat and block levels and the top-down release of funds from the district. The targeted beneficiaries are totally...
A study of tribal vs non-tribals – Culture and life of tribal population
August 2014
The Scheduled Tribes communities in India as well as in Orissa are characterized by economic and social marginalization, primitive existence, geographical isolation and educational backwardness. Tribal population is the aboriginal inhabitants of India who have been living a life based on the natural environment and have cultural patterns congenial to their physical and social environment. They have been...
Mushrooming appointed Caretaker Committee: A quagmire to grassroot democracy in Nigeria
July 2014
The inclination and imposition of non-elected local government council impoverished the political institutional structure of local government while many state governors have trampled upon the constitutional provision which vindicate and established democratically elected local council. Therefore, this study carefully examines budding appointed caretaker committee in Nigerian local government which has become...
The tradition to donate among women in Javanese rural areas: Reciprocity, food exchange and monetization
July 2014
In the history of the tradition to donate (Tradisi Nyumbang) in Javanese rural areas as reciprocity institution, food produce are the main form of gift. However, economic system has penetrated the social aspect of the tradition. Money use as the medium for donation replaced food produce is now a general practice in almost all villages. The research will show how women from underprivileged households in rural...
Influence of smoking and job stress on the nutritional behaviour of factory workers in Ibadan metropolis
June 2014
Healthy life style is considered a significant factor in the total fitness and wellness of individuals and groups in the society. Individual healthy nutritional behaviour is a key element in preventing diseases and improving health. The study investigated the influence of smoking and job stress on the nutritional behaviour of factory workers in Ibadan, metropolis. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. The...
Challenges and opportunities of female domestic workers in accessing education: A qualitative study from Bahir Dar city administration, Amhara region, Ethiopia
June 2014
Domestic workers have been in existence throughout the Ethiopian history. However, there is no detail study about the actual conditions of the domestic workers. This means information about domestic workers is quite absent. Hence, this research intends to fill this knowledge gap by studying at least the educational conditions of domestic workers in Bahir Dar city administration in Amhara region. The study employed case...
Estate Tamils of Sri Lanka – a socio economic review
June 2014
Indo-Aryan migrated from India in the 5th century B.C. to form the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka today, called the Sinhalese. Tamils, the second-largest ethnic group on the island, were originally from the Tamil region of Southern India. Until the British occupied Ceylon, Sinhalese and Tamil rulers fought for dominance over the island. Today, two sections of Tamils exist in Sri Lankan society: the Sri Lankan Tamils,...
Assessment of social and emotional care services for elders in Awira - Amba Community Elders’ Care Center, Ethiopia
May 2014
The main purpose of this study was to assess social and emotional care services provided for elders in Awira-Amiba Community Elders’ Care Center. Data were gathered through in-depth interview. The results revealed that some of the social needs of elders in the care were not met. That is, they did not adequately interact in the social networks with their children, grandchildren, and extended families....
Muslim/Christian politics of religion in Nigeria: The Sharī’ah application and the religious foundations of global Muslim engagement with modernity
May 2014
Contrary to the traditional modernist theories that development and progress can only be achieved through the western secular modernizing project, many Islamic societies are rejecting modernism and the modernization project, to borrow (Arnason 2003), “as an organic globalizing process” but not “as a globalizing civilization in the plural.” This paper differentiates between Islamic modernity and...
‘Women and Armed Conflict: Widows in Kashmir’
May 2014
The armed conflict in the state of J and K has touched the lives of all the people living in the Valley in some way or the other. Though, many women have become direct and indirect victims of this conflict. They have faced violence either indirectly in the form of loss/death of near and dear ones or become the direct victims of torture, assault etc. The paper is a sociological account of the experiences of the women who...
On how power is produced: The case of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in the Angolan electoral process of 2008
May 2014
Inspired by Luhmann’s concept of autopoiesis, this article will critically assess Angola’s process of political transition towards democracy by focusing on 2008 legislative elections. It aims to demonstrate that the development of the Angolan electoral process revealed the strategies by which the political hegemony of the MPLA constructed the necessary pre-conditions in order to secure its viability,...
Changes in the Lifestyle of Chinese Peasants over the Past 60 Years
April 2014
The lifestyles of Chinese peasants have changed remarkably since the foundation of the PRC. More than six decades addressed in this paper: from 1949 to today. The lifestyle of Chinese peasants has undergone revolution, politicization, collectivization, and urbanization with resulting synchronicity, imbalance, and disharmony. The first 30 years after the founding of the PRC, the material subsistence of Chinese peasants...
Understanding contributions of traditional healers to the prevention, care and support in the fight against HIV and AIDS Pandemic in Kariba, Zimbabwe
April 2014
The role of traditional healers in HIV management in Zimbabwe remains undocumented; thus the paper investigated the role of traditional healers in the fight against HIV and AIDS. Random sampling was used to select 80 community members who were recruited as study participants. Eight interviews were conducted with traditional healers who were conveniently sampled. The study used quantitative and qualitative techniques to...
Factors affecting the level of patronage of traditional herb Sellers (THSs) in Osun State, Nigeria.
April 2014
This study examined the factors affecting the level of patronage of traditional herb sellers (THSs) in Osun State. The sample of 120 randomly selected registered THSs (those who had full stock of herbal materials/animal parts in their stores) out of a population of 800 in the three senatorial zones of the State. Two hundred and forty members of the public (clients) were also randomly selected from the same senatorial...
Perspectives of sexuality and aging in the African culture: Eastern Uganda
April 2014
Ugandan people still regard sexuality for older people as taboo. While a good sexual relationship is seen as important to quality of life for the majority of older adults, the quantity of interpersonal relationships is even more important. Cultural biases have tended to stereotype older people as asexual, devoid of feelings or emotion. This is because a woman’s sexuality is often linked to the ability to bear...
A socio-technological analysis of cybercrime and cyber security in Nigeria
March 2014
The Global Information Infrastructure creates unlimited opportunities for commercial, social and other human activities. However, it is increasingly under attack by cybercriminals; as the number, cost, and sophistication of attacks are increasing at an alarming rate. This study sets out to examine the sociological and technological factors that impact cybercrime and cybersecurity and thereby articulates the relevant...
Disposition of senior secondary school students towards career in Sociology: A study in Abeokuta Nigeria
March 2014
This study examined the disposition of senior secondary school students towards career in Sociology. A total of four hundred (400) respondents were randomly selected from eight (8) public secondary schools in Abeokuta metropolis. Data were generated through the use of both questionnaire and oral interviews. Data generated through questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive technique such as frequency counts and...
Sex, custom and population: A Nigerian example
March 2014
Sex determines most of what happens in the rest of the social life of the Orring, a minority ethnolinguistic group in Nigeria’s Southeastern districts. Like in most so-called simple societies, rules on sexual conduct also govern such relational principles as marriage, descent and kinship. But here they go a little further than this because propriety or otherwise of sexual conduct is not limited to the acts of...
The impact of market penetration on social capital changes at the fishing community in Small Island: A case in Barrang Lompo Island Makassar City, South Sulawesi Province
March 2014
This paper is based on one of the topics in a dissertation “Capital Social, State and Market in Fisherman Communities in Small Islands (a Case Study in Barrang Lompo Island Makassar-South Sulawesi Province)”. The research was conducted approximately in one year and specific for this paper, the research lasted for six months. Data were collected through in-depth interview and limited observation on twelve...
‘Forgotten and forgiven’? Calvinism and French Society
February 2014
This paper identifies and addresses a curious and persisting omission in the sociological literature on Calvinism, as specifically expounded in sociological journals. The omission consists in the failure of explicitly specifying or restating what originally Calvinism is from the standpoint of societal origin and framework, that is of which society it is the collective creation, on the implied assumption that this is...
African indigenous religious rituals and magic in Ibadan politics: Issues for the democratisation process in Nigeria
February 2014
The wind of democracy is blowing everywhere in Africa and particularly Nigeria. One remarkable aspect of this is that there exists a blend of indigenous religious rituals, magic and politics. These rituals in the ancient Yoruba kingdoms were used for checks and balances, deposing a bad ruler and protection of the citizenry. This is an important aspect of Nigerian demo¬cratization process that requires urgent...
Violence against women in Igboland, South-east, Nigeria: A critical quest for change
February 2014
This paper examines some violent cultural practices such as widowhood discrimination, female genital mutilation, wife battery, and early girl child marriage perpetrated against Igbo women in the three senatorial districts of Ebonyi State, South-east Nigeria. To achieve the purpose of this study, four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The questionnaire was one the instruments used for data collection. The...
Child’s growth and nutritional status in two communities-Mishing tribe and Kaibarta caste of Assam, India
February 2014
Physical growth and development studies were carried out among the populations of both tribal and non-tribal in eastern India by different scholars in different milieu and environmental factors from the eighties and onwards. Since then, the inhabitants of those areas have been doing agriculture, fishing, etc as prime occupation, but after a few decades in the same region, demographic and socio-economic changes took...
The role of religion in modern society: Masses opium or tool for development: A Case Study of Saw-Mill Area, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria
January 2014
This paper discusses the role of religion in modern society. Religion no doubt in the perception of faithful is truly the opium of the masses, it cushions the effects of living in a problem-stricken world characterized by faithlessness and hopelessness. It is the task of religion, once the other-world of truth has vanished, to establish the truth of the world. It is the immediate task of philosophy, which is in...
Child marriage in Bangladesh: Socio-legal analysis
January 2014
Child marriage is a strong social custom, particularly for girls in Bangladesh. There are many reasons for child marriage. But most vital reasons among them are poverty, superstition, lack of social security and lack of awareness. According to UNICEF report, ‘the State of the World’s Children, 2009’, “Early marriage is pervasive in Bangladesh, with 64 percent of girls married before age 18. Early...
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