Suchergebnisse

This paper discusses certain political aspects of constructing local and regional identities, in order to grasp the ways these processes are related to different fields of power in society. It shows how local and regional identities are shaped in relation to state politics as well as to local traditions in concrete places, taking a marginal area of inland Sweden as an example. There is a marked and definite difference between the local and the regional in the construction of identity: at the local level, identity is formed through shared everyday practices and reflections, while at the regional level, it is part of a conscious and organized political process. Even if both types of identity may be interpreted as expressions of opposition, this paper shows that local identity seems to be of a refractory kind, while the more consciously organized regional identity may be viewed as an expression of resistance. In this second case, regional identity is undergoing a process of ethnification, creating a mythology of a people with rights to a specific territory.

Résumé Cet article examine le rôle de l'État providence en comparant deux communautés régionales suédoises dont les taux d'arrêts maladie sont très différents. L'une se caractérise par une forte idéologie égalitaire, une diversité culturelle quasi inexistante et un faible taux d'urbanisation. Le pourcentage d'arrêts de travail y est élevé et va de pair avec un fort sentiment de méfiance à l'égard de l'État providence. Dans l'autre, industrialisée et dépendante de l'économie mondiale, le travail est physiquement pénible, la structure sociale hiérarchisée et les immigrants nombreux. Mais cette région croit en sa capacité à faire face au futur, et une forte solidarité avec l'État providence s'accompagne d'un recours minimal à ses services.

People in northern Uganda are currently rebuilding their lives after a lengthy period of conflict. To facilitate this, the Ugandan government and donors have promoted investment in pigs as an important strategy for generating income quickly and ensuring livelihood security. In this context, animal health issues are an acknowledged challenge, creating uncertainty for animal owners who risk losing both their animals and income. This paper draws on policy documents guiding the veterinary sector, interviews with faculty staff at Makerere University and with veterinarians and paraprofessionals in northern Uganda, and ethnographic fieldwork in smallholder communities. The aims of this study were to contribute to an understanding of the structure of veterinary support and its dominant development narratives in policy and veterinary education and of the way in which dominant discourses and practices affect smallholders' ability to treat sick animals. Particular attention was paid to the role of paraprofessionals, here referring to actors with varied levels of training who provide animal health services mainly in rural areas. The results suggest that veterinary researchers, field veterinarians and government officials in agricultural policy share a common discourse in which making smallholders more business-minded and commercializing smallholder production are important elements in reducing rural poverty in Uganda. This way of framing smallholder livestock production overlooks other important challenges faced by smallholders in their livestock production, as well as alternative views of agricultural development. The public veterinary sector is massively under-resourced; thus while inadequately trained paraprofessionals and insufficient veterinary support currently present a risks to animal health, paraprofessionals fulfill an important role for smallholders unable to access the public veterinary sector. The dominant discourse framing paraprofessionals as "quacks" tends to downplay how important they are to smallholders ...

People in northern Uganda are currently rebuilding their lives after a lengthy period of conflict. To facilitate this, the Ugandan government and donors have promoted investment in pigs as an important strategy for generating income quickly and ensuring livelihood security. In this context, animal health issues are an acknowledged challenge, creating uncertainty for animal owners who risk losing both their animals and income. This paper draws on policy documents guiding the veterinary sector, interviews with faculty staff at Makerere University and with veterinarians and paraprofessionals in northern Uganda, and ethnographic fieldwork in smallholder communities. The aims of this study were to contribute to an understanding of the structure of veterinary support and its dominant development narratives in policy and veterinary education and of the way in which dominant discourses and practices affect smallholders' ability to treat sick animals. Particular attention was paid to the role of paraprofessionals, here referring to actors with varied levels of training who provide animal health services mainly in rural areas. The results suggest that veterinary researchers, field veterinarians and government officials in agricultural policy share a common discourse in which making smallholders more business-minded and commercializing smallholder production are important elements in reducing rural poverty in Uganda. This way of framing smallholder livestock production overlooks other important challenges faced by smallholders in their livestock production, as well as alternative views of agricultural development. The public veterinary sector is massively under-resourced; thus while inadequately trained paraprofessionals and insufficient veterinary support currently present a risks to animal health, paraprofessionals fulfill an important role for smallholders unable to access the public veterinary sector. The dominant discourse framing paraprofessionals as "quacks" tends to downplay how important they are to smallholders ...