Browsing by Author "Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles."

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The changing role of media and its impact on conflict : an analysis of new media in the Arab Spring Uprising of Egypt 2011.
(2013) Janse van Vuuren, Danillé.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
The Arab Spring Uprising of Egypt, that took place from the beginning of January 2011, received a considerable amount of attention from the media and broader international community. The Arab Spring Uprising of Egypt is in reaction to decades of dictatorship, degraded and undervalued standards of living, high inflation rates, failing economies, corruption and high unemployment rates. The Egyptian Uprising included demonstrations by widespread provincial activity and spontaneous protests in order to raise awareness and increase pressure on the Egyptian government to fulfil the demands of its people. New media was identified as a catalyst for the Egyptian revolution, since it was used as a tool to inform Egyptians as well as the rest of the world about the condition of the Egyptian conflict, it provided evidence of the regime’s illegitimacy, and it provided Egyptians with a platform to air their grievances with the Mubarak regime as well as to promote pro-democratic protests. This study is concerned with identifying how new media was used in Egypt’s Arab Spring Uprising as a tool to obtain pro-democratic goals and whether it resulted in a constructive transition to democracy. A discussion of the history of the Middle East and Egypt is provided as well as the Arab Spring Uprising of Egypt. Two predominant themes, namely: conflict, and the media will also be discussed. Furthermore, Conflict Theory and The Mass Communication Theory is applied in this study in order to interpret the uprising of Egypt.
Coaching as an empowerment tool for financial advisors to transform the South African life assurance industry.
(2014) Nyamunda, John.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
Life assurance remains one of the most recognised effective mitigating tool to reduce risks faced in people’s daily lives (Naidoo, 2010). This is effectively done through a financial planning process conducted by financial advisors. In South Africa, 60% of financial advisors at present are white males 50 years and older, while only 10% of financial advisors are mostly black advisors under 30 years of age (The Institute of Practice Management, 2010). This is despite the fact that in the general population white people form only 8.9% of South African population (Department of Labour, 2013). Employment transformation in general remains slow and as of 2012, 72.6% of top managerial positions were occupied by white people (Department of Labour, 2013). This is despite the efforts being made by financial services companies through the Financial Services Charter, where they are paying 1.5% of payroll (in addition to the skills development levy) for training. Training provided by life assurance companies to Financial Advisors is mostly classroom style which focuses on the sales cycle, the law and product information. It does not take into account differences in financial advisor backgrounds. Using the current training methods being employed, more financial advisors from ‘suburb’ schools (mostly white) will have better outcomes compared to financial advisors from ‘township’ schools (mostly black) (Equal Education, 2011). This means transformation, as desired by life houses remains unachieved. Inequality that can be aligned with cultural, race, religious identity or ethnicity (horizontal inequality) is more likely to lead to conflict (Kanbur, 2007 & Steward, 2005). The majority of sales people reach their full potential through effective training and sales coaching (Rich, 1998, p. 52). Sales coaching of financial advisors is done haphazardly by life assurance companies as great emphasis is put on classroom based training. This thesis argues that life assurance companies should include coaching as a fundamental part of their training programme, if they want to achieve transformation. I suggest using a Gestalt approach to coaching of financial advisors. In this thesis, the conflict race theory (CRT) is used to have an in-depth understanding of conflict transformation in the South African life assurance sector.
An exploration of the holistic development and wellbeing of children at Clouds of Hope home KwaSani Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.
(2018) Andam, Nche Hostencia.; Dlamini, Siyabonga Innocent.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
Children wellbeing is strongly linked to their holistic development and both dependent to the parental support and environmental as well as socioeconomic situation of the country. South Africa is one of the third world countries where the number of orphaned children is growing following HIV/AIDS and the socioeconomic situation of the country is deteriorating. This study explored factors that promote the holistic development of children in Clouds of Hope Home (CHH) taking into consideration the quality of their diets, cognitive growth, psychosocial wellness and the children’s participatory contribution in their wellbeing. It used a case study of the CHH on the basis that the centre hosts children who formed part of the study. A qualitative methodology was adopted in this study and data were collected through 33 in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion. Data for the study was collected at the CHH in KwaSane municipality. Data was analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Findings in this research study suggested that children at the CHH are predominantly orphans and vulnerable. They face the day to day challenges of dealing with their situation both at school and at the centre. Their responses suggest that they are bullied at school and others face stigma and discrimination due to their HIV status that they live with. As reported during the focus group discussions, the children at CHH, indicated the need to be taken care of by a biological parent instead of a caregiver at the CHH, which unfortunately was impossible as many of the children are dominantly orphans. We conclude that rural South Africa continues to struggle with situations of orphans and vulnerable children. While their number is on increase, this research finding suggested that not much is being done for them to face their future if they failed to complete their studies. Moreover, the children in CHH had limited choices as to where to further their studies as they depended most on what the centre management could only afford.
The involvement of external powers in the post-war period of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict (2009-2012)
(2012) Sivapalan, Meenadchisundram.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
This essay specifically focuses on how the conflicting and competing interests of regional and extra-regional powers shape or affect the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It offers a nuanced understanding of the contemporary Sri Lankan ethnic conflict in the context of external engagement. Looking at the historical background of the conflict, and cognizant of neo-realist and democratic peace theories, it explains why the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict still defies solution. Taking an audit of the Sri Lankan peace process, it elucidates how the shift in the global distribution of power upset the balance of power between the parties in Sri Lanka and led to the Eelam War-IV. Analysing the last phase of the war, it explains how the Sri Lankan Government managed to defeat the ‘invincible’ military force, the LTTE with the diplomatic, economic, and military supports of major powers. It assesses prospects of peace in post-war Sri Lanka in relation to external engagements. It finally argues that without concerted international pressure, Sri Lanka seems a most unlikely candidate for achieving positive peace. It ultimately makes some recommendations to the protagonists to the conflict as well as to the international community.
National unity or impunity : examining the impact off the Inclusive Government (IG) on the politics in Zimbabwe post 2005.
(2013) Dube, Thabani Ngoni.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
Since the colonial period, Zimbabwe has been a territory characterised by contestation. In the 2000s, Zimbabwe entered a period of severe socio-economic conditions; this period was also marred with several cases of human rights abuses and political violence. This period also saw the emergence of a new opposition party, the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC). In the mid-2000s, South Africa was vested with the task of resolving the political crisis in Zimbabwe by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Former South African President Thabo Mbeki managed to facilitate a Global Political Agreement (GPA), which was signed on 15 September 2008. This led to an Inclusive Government (IG) being formed on 3 February 2009. The IG brought the three main opposition parties in Zimbabwe into a power-sharing government with the Zanu-PF. This dissertation explores the role played by South Africa in brokering a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe, it also assesses whether “power-sharing” is an effective peace-building model. At the core of this dissertation is an assessment of the impact of the IG on the politics in Zimbabwe. Three themes are used to assess the politics, namely socio-economics in Zimbabwe, the rule of law in Zimbabwe and the perceived legitimacy of the government. The dissertation uses content analysis as the research method to analyse three newspapers, a South African newspaper, the Mail & Guardian and two Zimbabwean newspapers, the Sunday Mail and the Standard Newspaper. The period of analysis will be from 2005 to 2011. The dissertation offers a substantive analysis of the reporting of the three newspapers. The findings of this dissertation reveal that the socio-economic situation in Zimbabwe has improved since the implementation of the IG but is still in a dire situation. It also reveals that, despite the decrease in reports of human rights abuses and the cases of political violence, Zimbabwe is still devoid of the rule of law. It reveals that the legitimacy of the government is in Zimbabwe has slight improved since the implementation of the IG. The dissertation offers recommendations to the political crisis in Zimbabwe from the discipline of conflict transformation scholarship.
Non-governmental organisations' role in conflict transformation: the case of Zimbabwe since the inception of the Government of National Unity, 2009-2012.
(2013) Kuzhanga, Terry Tafadzwa.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
Zimbabwe as a country has successively been faced with a number of challenges that others argue to be a result of either poor governance or colonial imbalances. However, despite the contestation with regards to the cause of the crisis situation, several armed struggles continued to wreck the economy. This continuous collapse of the economy resulted in the ruling government slowly becoming unpopular to the people, thus it paved way to the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); an opposition political party to the dominant Zimbabwe African National Union –Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). The formation of the opposition party then triggered tensions, which later saw the March 2008 elections’ tension calling for a power-sharing agreement. Therefore, it is against this background that the research critically examines the role played by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in conflict transformation since the formation of the unity government. In addition, the study is also conducted against the background of scholarly interest to understand the relationship between CSOs and the Zimbabwean government, during the period that marked the introduction of the inclusive government 2009-2012. The study will also look at the key competencies of CSOs, which are complimentary to the process of conflict transformation and further outline the need for active participation from CSOs and other stakeholders to the process. In addition, it is worth noting that while CSOs make numerous attempts to vigorously participate in conflict transformation, factors such as restrictive government policies, lack of funding and government interference continually undermines their contribution. Autonomous and sustainable operations of CSOs in such limiting environments is virtually impossible hence, there is need for drastic measures to be employed in order to address this contradiction.
Relative neocortex size and its correlates in dolphins : comparisons with humans and implications for mental evolution.
(1998) Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.; Budek, Michael.
The superior neocortex ratios in primates and their distinctive relationship with sociality among terrestrial mammals are well documented. However, there has been an absence of research into relative neocortex size, its evolution and correlates in marine mammals, such as cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales). This study uses the advanced radiological techniques of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging to establish neocortex ratios in dolphins and to re-assess these values for humans. It was found that freezing and defrosting did not significantly alter the neocortex ratios of dolphins and thus extra material as included in the analysis. Furthermore, equations for the estimation of neocortex ratios from eT and MRI have been applied to the cranial volumes calculated for 19 toothed whale species, in order to extend the range of analysis. Using these techniques, it appears that dolphin neocortex ratios are higher than those of other mammals, except for primates. A notable finding is that dolphin values lie between human and other primates and are closer to human ratios at 4.1, than to non-human ratios reaching 3.2~ (Dunbar, 1992). The highest delphinid neocortex ratio from MRI was 3.94 for common dolphins, while the highest estimated neocortex ratio was at 3.95 for killer whales. To establish the correlates of such high neocortex ratios in dolphins, their scores were related to variables representing foraging ecology, sound and sociality. Although delphinid neocortex ratios do not appear to be related to foraging variables, they are significantly related with sound and sociality variables. Of these relationships, the most substantial finding exists with respect to the relationship of delphinid neocortex ratios and their mean group size. The capacity to predict group size from relative neocortex size has not been noted in non-primate species, and has formed the basis for current theories of social intelligence and mental evolution. The findings of this study are therefore of considerable interest and may have substantial implications. These may impact on current theories of primate-human mental evolution and therefore it is strongly recommended that the mental capacities of other mammals, such as dolphins, be examined in greater detail to support or refute these claims.
The role of trauma support work in peace-building.
(2013) Khuzwayo, Khethokuhle.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
Current studies in peace-building suggest that effective peace-building approaches comprise of intervention strategies that value the interconnectedness of trauma and peace-building processes. However current research reports suggest that there is limited evidence supporting this notion. In addition, there is little information as to how to effectively integrate the two themes to achieve lasting peace. The research study aims to articulate the role of an integrated approach to peace-building to inform current practice and it serves to encourage the donor community to support initiatives which recognise the link between trauma and peace building. The research took a close look at experiences of participants who attended trauma recovery workshops conducted by Sinani (an isiZulu word meaning “we are with you”), the KwaZulu-Natal Programme for Survivors of Violence, the name of the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) for which the researcher works. In particular, it explored how participants who had attended these workshops could serve as catalysts to peace by examining their experiences of violence in relation to trauma and peace-building. In addition it attempted to explore experiences of participants who did not attend Sinani trauma recovery workshops and the possible implication this would have for trauma and peace-building. Furthermore it analysed recent research papers and reports which addressed trauma and peace-building from a psycho-social perspective. The proposed hypothesis is that if trauma support work is ignored in post conflict peace-building processes, certain survivors of past violence are at risk of becoming perpetrators of future violence. Integrating trauma support work in peace-building interventions will yield lasting peace. The emerging findings suggest several factors contribute to violence and peace-building. Children’s exposure to violence, the extent of trauma and certain aspects of the criminal justice system have been described by participants as factors that contribute to violence. Equally participants suggested a competent leadership collective, functioning safety and security structures as valuable contributions to peace. Other valuable insights were shared by participants on the role of spirituality as well as indigenous cultural rituals valuable in the trauma and peace-building field.
The state and ethno-religious violence in plateau state: developing a peace-building framework as a conflict prevention strategy.
(2015) Ettang, Dorcas Oyebisi.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
Contemporary states continue to battle with inter-group tensions, resulting in violent conflict. Ethno-religious violence in Plateau state in north central Nigeria is a case in point. While violent conflicts of an ethnic and religious nature have long existed, since 2004, conflicts in this state have become increasingly violent, more frequent and more deadly, calling for a comprehensive and strategic response. Academics and practitioners have identified peace-building as a potential response to resolve violent conflict in divided societies. The United Nations has relied on comprehensive peacebuilding frameworks to provide a holistic and strategic response to violent conflict and its causes. Guided by conflict transformation theory, this study aims to contribute to the debate on how peace-building can resolve sub-national complex identity conflicts by addressing their root causes and preventing direct violence. It develops a comprehensive and strategic peace-building framework for Plateau state as it grapples with high levels of ethno-religious tension and violent conflict between warring identities. While peace-building frameworks generally have a national focus, this study develops a framework with a sub-national focus. This is due to the fact that peacebuilding efforts tend to be centralised and focus on the national level and capital cities, while neglecting sub-national and local entities. The study will contribute to on-going research and practice on how peace-building can be practically applied to sub-entities or federating units within countries and what this implies for the design and implementation of peace-building processes at these levels. In pursuing this broad objective, the study mainly utilises conflict transformation theory. This theory broadly focuses on reducing violence, addressing injustices and rebuilding relationships in societies experiencing protracted conflict. Using focus group discussions and semi-structured key informant interviews with a wide range of actors and institutions, both at the top and grassroots levels in Plateau state, the study identifies relevant programmes, policies and institutions in the framework and avenues through which the state as the primary actor can address the underlying causes of the conflict and reduce violence. It also responds to the gaps in literature on the relevance and applicability of conflict transformation theory in Africa. The conclusions of this study can be summarised in two broad statements. Firstly, a peace-building framework is required to design and implement peace efforts that specifically target subnational levels. Secondly, peace efforts in Africa need to be decentralised and inclusive in identifying the most appropriate responses for conflict transformation.
Stress and psychosocial support for humanitarian personnel who work with child protection in emergencies.
(2014) Van der Walt, Sarah.; Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.
There is a high percentage of returning humanitarian personnel suffering from PTSD, burn out, psychosocial distress and secondary traumatisation. The 2012 study by the Aid Security Database saw the highest exposure of humanitarian personnel to life threatening situations. However a review of literature has shown that it is the accumulative exposure to the day-to-day stresses that has resulted in an unprecedented percentage of humanitarian staff suffering with distress, PTSD and burn out. This dissertation examines the different themes that humanitarian personnel experience in regard to psychosocial distress. The experiences of humanitarian workers appear to follow a rhetoric of feeling overwhelmed, lacking teamwork, role confusion resulting in disappointment to reach goals, ethical dilemmas, a heavy workload and limited preparation for the work and the conditions. Other stresses included are chronic fatigue, separation from family, and lack of adequate resources or skills for the expected job. In conjunction with this is the exposure to life threatening situations, where there is a daily risk of physical harm and injury, constant exposure to danger, chronic fear and uncertainty and a sense of helplessness. A review of the literature also found that the following positive aspects lessened the prevalence of PTSD in humanitarian workers. These were, self-efficacy, family support, positive job-related feelings such as satisfaction and accomplishment, adequate training and team support. The study is conducted through two theoretical frameworks, the first is general systems theory and the second, Moos‟s stress and coping theory. These two theories emphasise the importance of the environment, the context, overlapping variables and factors in order to offer adequate psychosocial support that maintains the wellbeing of the worker. The Moos stress and coping theory emphasises the current coping mechanisms that humanitarian personnel are utilising to recognise what else can be incorporated to ensure psychosocial wellbeing. This research is conducted to introduce a psychosocial wellbeing response for humanitarian organisations and personnel who work with child protection in emergency.
The use of neuroimaging in the assessment of brain size and social structure in odontocetes.
(1996) Tschudin, Alain Jean-Paul Charles.; Peddemors, Victor Marten.; Henzi, S. Peter.; Royston, D.
This study successfully utilised the non-invasive neuroimaging techniques of Computerised Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to establish that dolphins have high relative brain size values, transcending the primate range for neocortex volume and neocortex ratio. Bottlenose dolphins superseded human values of the neocortex ratio and common dolphins marked the upper limit of the range for the dolphin species under investigation. In addition this study was the first to find a correlation between sociality and neocortex ratio in dolphins (R.I.M. Dunbar, pers.comm), which supports the hypothesis of neocortical development in relation to sociality/group size (Sawaguchi & Kudo 1990; Dunbar 1992) and social/Machiavellian intelligence (Byrne & Whiten 1988; Byrne 1995). The study devised new measures of relative brain size, including the grey-white matter and higher cortical ratios and these require further research before verification of their efficacy. Equations were calculated to allow estimation of: (1) MRI values of total brain volumes from CT values, (2) total brain volume from cranial volume using CT, (3) cerebral cortex volume from cranial or total brain volume (CT) and (4) cerebral cortex and cerebellar cortex volume from total brain volume (MRI). The effects of freezing and defrosting on volume and density of CT and MRI values were investigated. Additionally, the relationship between relative brain size (EQ) and sociality was investigated for other dolphin research, using previously published figures, but no significant correlations were found. Finally, dolphin values were compared to primate values for neocortex volume and neocortex ratio with the finding that the only primate within the dolphin range of neocortex was the human, positioned higher than the solitary humpback dolphin, but below all of the other, more socially complex, dolphin species.