Sandra J.T.M. Evers

‘Staying active’ in confined living conditions: participation assessments of young asylum seekers (aged 12–23) in the Netherlands†

This article contributes to the critical literature on child participation discussing the positionings of young asylum seekers (aged 12–23) residing in a Dutch asylum centre. It queries participation as an institutional measure, outlining the informants’ perspectives on the creation of a youth council within the confines of an asylum centre. Contradictions and tensions in the wider societal context, in the asylum centre, and in the functioning of the youth council are identified. They demonstrate the gulf between theory and practice in the fulfilment of childrens participation rights. The authors scrutinize concepts such as ‘methodological immaturity’, ‘voice’, and ‘recognition’ and argue for the integration of the perceptions and practices of young asylum seekers through dialogue. This can assist in creating an atmosphere conducive to an ethically responsible and meaningful collaboration with young asylum seekers and adapted policy interventions to enhance participation against an on-going backdrop of insecurity, exclusion, and forced inactivity.

Africa for Sale

Africa for Sale? Positioning the State, Land and Society in Foreign Large-Scale Land Acquisitions in Africa analyzes the role of the state in driving, negotiating and facilitating (foreign) land deals, and examines the extent to which large-scale land acquisitions are conditioned by land policies and state relations.

Introduction: Contested Landscapes—Analysing the Role of the State, Land Reforms and Privatization in Foreign Land Deals in Africa

This introductory chapter of the book gives an insight into recent debates on foreign land acquisitions (FLAs) before analyzing the role of the state, land reforms and privatization in shaping foreign land deals and accompanying agrarian changes. It also traces the anatomy of other chapters, and shows how authors speak about the role of the state in transnational, foreign and domestic land acquisitions, land reforms and privatization. The chapter shows how new landscapes are being actively produced through dynamic encounters between various actors involved in a land deal, and how these transformations affect smallholders and their families reliant on land in Africa. Overall, though in different ways, the chapters demonstrate the central role of the state (encouraged by economic policy) in creating the fertile ground for large-scale land deals, in addition to highlighting the importance of detailed empirical studies to distill the rootings and becomings of these processes. Keywords:Africa; foreign land acquisitions (FLAs); land reforms; privatization

Lex Loci meets Lex Fori: Merging customary law and national land legislation in Madagascar

This chapter discusses the Malagasy legislation in terms of land registration and certification and attempts to identify some areas of possible future conflict due to the ongoing cleavages between positive law land legislation ( lex fori ) and land ownership based on custom ( lex loci ). It should be stressed right from the outset that the lex fori - lex loci distinction is analytical here, as in the day to day people draw discursively and practically from varied social and legal frameworks. In 2004, with the support of the World Bank, the Malagasy government launched the Programme National Foncier , (PNF), which is still in force and effect today. PNF envisaged a decentralized registration system, where people could obtain their land certificates in Local Land Offices (LLO). The PNF planned to convert provisional deeds of peasants into official certificates, which in turn could eventually become title deeds. Keywords: Local Land Offices (LLO); Malagasy government; positive law land legislation; Programme National Foncier (PNF); World Bank

Theatre elicitation: developing a potentially child-friendly method with children aged 8–12

ABSTRACT This article discusses the growing body of literature published in Children Geographies on the importance of involving children in research processes. Inspired by participatory creative methods such as photo elicitation and popular/forum theatre, we have developed a potentially child-friendly tool referred to as Theatre Elicitation (TE). The objective of TE is to use theatre forms as a means of data collection in the context of a negotiated research process. In a pilot project in which we explore TE, children shared their perceptions of happiness. This was inspired by a UNICEF Report [2007. Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries. Innocenti Report Card 7. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre] that listed ‘Dutch children’ as the happiest of the world. The focus of this article is the development of TE as an interactive research tool. Insights were gained into the meaning of ‘child-friendly’ research, shifting power relations between children, peers and adults, and how children’s own positioning in lived experiences contextualized concepts such as ‘Dutch children’.

Researching children's individual empathic abilities in the context of their daily lives: the importance of mixed methods.

In social neuroscience, empathy is often approached as an individual ability, whereas researchers in anthropology focus on empathy as a dialectic process between agents. In this perspective paper, we argue that to further elucidate the mechanisms underlying the development of empathy, social neuroscience research should draw on insights and methods from anthropology. First, we discuss neuropsychological studies that investigate empathy in inter-relational contexts. Second, we highlight differences between the social neuroscience and anthropological conceptualizations of empathy. Third, we introduce a new study design based on a mixed method approach, and present initial results from one classroom that was part of a larger study and included 28 children (m = 13, f = 15). Participants (aged 9–11) were administered behavioral tasks and a social network questionnaire; in addition an observational study was also conducted over a period of 3 months. Initial results showed how childrens expressions of their empathic abilities were influenced by situational cues in classroom processes. This effect was further explained by childrens positions within classroom networks. Our results emphasize the value of interdisciplinary research in the study of empathy.

Contest for Land in Madagascar

Land is the nexus of Malagasy livelihood and socio-cultural relations. Simultaneously, the Malagasy government and international stakeholders value land for its biodiversity, minerals and agricultural potential. This book provides vital background to the contest for land in Madagascar.

Allen Vincatassin: Negotiating Life In Mauritius And The UK

This book represents the first joint effort to document the historical background of the eviction (late 1960s, early 1970s) of the Chagosssians from the Chagos archipelago when the main island became an US-military base. It documents their eviction, resettlement, livelihoods, legal struggles and future aspirations.