Bøger udgivet af African Books Collective

This book argues that since the emergence of the Cameroon National Union (CNU) and the one-party state in 1966, Cameroonians have progressively degenerated into the syndrome of collective amnesia inspired by a culture of sycophancy, glorifying and deifying political leadership. These developments stand in stark contrast to what obtained in the nascent Southern Cameroons - the UN Trust territory administered by Britain until 1961 when its population voted overwhelmingly by 70.5% to gain their independence by establishing a federation with the then French-speaking Republic of Cameroon. From the late 1950s until the dismantling of the Cameroon Federation, Southern Cameroons and later West Cameroon had a vibrant parliament, a House of Chiefs (or Senate), an independent Judiciary, an ideal, corruption-free Public Service, a state government with ministers presided over by an Executive Prime Minister and, for a decade, West Cameroon provided the Vice Presidency for the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In what may be accurately described as Prof Anthony Ndi's seminal work, he contends and rightly so that solutions to the legion of problems that plague contemporary Cameroon may be easily found in the pages of The Golden Age of Southern Cameroons. Agents for this transformation do not have to be invented or imported from Mars; all we need is a patriotic spirit, political will, readiness to dialogue, transparency and commitment to democracy.

Healing Stings is an astonishing collection of poems that depict a society battling social, global and postcolonial challenges. Through a combination of terse and elegantly composed verse, this collection provides viable tools with which to overcome the hassles and possibly check the erosion of time-honoured moral values. Using the linguistic channels of distinction, perception and representation, the discourses of moods, subjectivity, atmosphere, generic hybridity amongst others, Healing Stings demonstrates that social ills like corruption, greed, intolerance, delinquency, chauvinism, gender-sensitive biases, and religious and cultural prejudices can be curbed and society made a better place. This is premised on the assumption that the right tools such as social dialogue, patriotism, love, tolerance, honesty, good governance, personal and communal creative initiatives, and the change of mentality should be harnessed for improvement, educating, mending, and governing. By changing our attitudes within the context of unity in diversity, we are guaranteed a set of resources that will bring about development, security, national unity and peace building.

Conducting social research requires an understanding of the general theories and principles of social science research. Such knowledge is essential for both social science students and all those undertaking research, evaluating, and designing different intervention strategies to existing social problems. The book is organized around seven main themes, namely: science; logic and objectivity in the social sciences; conceptualization, design and problem definition; types of social science research; sampling and research instruments; data processing and analysis; and theory building and presentation of research findings. Each chapter is treated at length, including illustrative examples from the literature and providing data from the author's own research experience, specifically drawing examples from a variety of Tanzanian social settings. Since the first edition of this book there has been an unprecedented rise of sophistication and diversification in the realm of social science research. The challenges, which continue to face researchers, include paradigmatic allegiances to definitional issues and sometimes lack of consensus about the standards of quality (in particular in qualitative research). This second edition, with suggestions from readers and peers, has been expanded to be more comprehensive, specifically developing practical aspects to facilitate students in the process of data collection, the role of hypotheses in the research process, and qualitative research.

Broad aspects of Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR)and Arbitration are covered in this book, with emphasis on the application of ADR to specific areas. It describes in very succinct manner the meaning of ADR, analyses conflict under ADR models, their advantages over courtroom litigation and why it should be embraced. Chapter 5 is a particularly notable contribution to the body of knowledge, where the author demonstrates how it can be used to resolve matters in the heart of society, commercial and political disputes such as investment and election disputes. The book is not only a handy textbook for use by teachers and students, but should also meet the increasing needs of practising lawyers, judges, other professionals and corporate practitioners, oil and banking industries, the trades unions and state agencies concerned with mediation, conciliation and arbitration.

The most extensive urban demographic transitions ahead will take place in Africa and Asia. These transitions occur in regions where the majority of inhabitants remain trapped in vulnerable employment, which limits the capacities to plan, save, invest, and afford critical amenities, as well as limits the horizons of what is considered possible. Yet, the aspirations for mobility, security, consumption, and attainment are enormous. How can different rationalities and practices of everyday sociality be more effectively connected to the prevailing concepts informing formal political and policymaking projects? How can incommensurable facets of urban life be folded into each other as a matter of an enlarged political practice? There is no pre-existent map that tells us how to link these equally important dimensions of urban life. Thus, any effort to consider the relationship between them is by necessity an experiment.

A Nigerian woman scholar addresses three main areas of literature in gender and women''s studies, a discipline which has become a vast field of research, teaching and activism in Africa and beyond. She situates African women''s studies in the context ofinternational feminism, regional political and institutional conditions. The study addresses recent publications in the general field of state and politics, from precolonial times to the present; reviews a range of material grouped under the heading of cultural studies; and considers the historical and contempoary literature on all aspects of women''s involvement in various sphers of work and the economy. Finally, the author questions the relationship between women''s studies and the women''s movement in Africa.

Bequeathing an enduring tenet for the creative enterprise, African Short Stories vol 2 boldly seeks to upturn the status quo by the art of narration. Whether they are stories of the whistle blower estranged and yet sounding the warning for heaven and earth to hear, or a ragtag army fleeing in the wake of a monstrous reptilian onslaught upon her peace, there pervades a sense of ultimate victory in this collection. We can feel the gentle kick of a baby in the womb of a maiden in desperation, or we can muse at the two adolescent genii on the trail of their dreams from the sunset of mutual deceit into the daylight of true becoming. Victory is laid out in that awesome kindness of a total stranger which affirms the divinity latent in even our most harrowing existence. With thirty five stories in two parts these literary experiments compel attention to the courageous hearts and minds that brighten the African universe of narration. Their vibrant notes coming from all corners of north, west, east and south fill us with encouragement and optimism for the contemporary short fiction in Africa.

Among the Igbo, Chinua Achebe reminds us, proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten. This is true of the Igbo as it is for most peoples across the African continent. In this revised and enlarged volume, Rev. Babila Fochang serves us with a generous blend of proverbs from all regions of the continent. With over 800 proverbs covering an exhaustive range of themes and topics, you won't have to repeat a proverb for over two years.

Today, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has gained international recognition and is widely used to complement the conventional methods of resolving disputes through courts of law. ADR simply entails all modes of dispute settlement/resolution other than the traditional approaches of dispute settlement through courts of law. Mainly, these modes are: negotiation, mediation, [re]conciliation, and arbitration. The modern ADR movement began in the United States as a result of two main concerns for reforming the American justice system: the need for better-quality processes and outcomes in the judicial system; and the need for efficiency of justice. ADR was transplanted into the African legal systems in the 1980s and 1990s as a result of the liberalization of the African economies, which was accompanied by such conditionalities as reform of the justice and legal sectors, under the Structural Adjustment Programmes. However, most of the methods of ADR that are promoted for inclusion in African justice systems are similar to pre-colonial African dispute settlement mechanisms that encouraged restoration of harmony and social bonds in the justice system. In Tanzania ADR was introduced in 1994 through Government Notice No. 422, which amended the First Schedule to the Civil Procedure Code Act (1966), and it is now an inherent component of the country's legal system. In recognition of its importance in civil litigation in Tanzania, ADR has been made a compulsory subject in higher learning/training institutions for lawyers. This handbook provides theories, principles, examples of practice, and materials relating to ADR in Tanzania and is therefore an essential resource for practicing lawyers as well as law students with an interest in Tanzania. It also contains additional information on evolving standards in international commercial arbitration, which are very useful to legal practitioners and law students.