‘We are managing our own lives...’: life transitions and care in sibling-headed households affected by AIDS in Tanzania and Uganda

This paper explores the ways that young people express their agency and negotiate complex lifecourse transitions according to gender, age and inter- and intra-generational norms in sibling-headed households affected by AIDS in East Africa. Based on findings from a qualitative and participatory pilot study in Tanzania and Uganda, I examine young people's socio-spatial and temporal experiences of heading the household and caring for their siblings following their parent's/relative's death. Key dimensions of young people's caring pathways and life transitions are discussed: transitions into sibling care; the ways young people manage changing roles within the family; and the ways that young people are positioned and seek to position themselves within the community. The research reveals the relational and embodied nature of young people's life transitions over time and space. By living together independently, young people constantly reproduce and reconfigure gendered, inter- and intra-generational norms of ‘the family’, transgressing the boundaries of ‘childhood’, ‘youth’ and ‘adulthood’. Although young people take on ‘adult’ responsibilities and demonstrate their competencies in ‘managing their own lives’, this does not necessarily translate into more equal power relations with adults in the community. The research reveals the marginal ‘in-between’ place that young people occupy between local and global discourses of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’ that construct them as ‘deviant’. Although young people adopt a range of strategies to resist marginalisation and harassment, I argue that constraints of poverty, unequal gender and generational power relations and the emotional impacts of sibling care, stigmatisation and exclusion can undermine their ability to exert agency and control over their sexual relationships, schooling, livelihood strategies and future lifecourse transitions.

The Royal Army Education Corps in the Gulf Conflict of 1990-91

The official history of the Royal Army Education Corps' involvement in Operation 'Desert Storm', the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in 1991, their roles including prisoner of war interrogation, psychological operations, IT services and acting as interpreters for senior officers.

The colour, light and contrast manual - designing and managing inclusive built environments

Endorsed by the Society of Light and Lighting, this practical book offers comprehensive guidance on how colour, light and contrast can be incorporated within buildings to enhance their usability. The book provides state-of-the-art, clear guidance as well as a valuable information source for busy professionals involved in the design or management of new and existing environments. The ways colour, light and contrast are used within built environments are critical in determining how people interact with the space, and how confident, safe, and secure they will feel when doing so. They also have a major influence on a person’s sense of well-being and their ability to use the environment independently and without undue effort. Understanding how to use colour and contrast and how they are influenced by both natural and artificial lighting is vital for all those involved in the design and management of the environments and spaces we all use. In recent years there has been a considerable amount of work undertaken to further our understanding of how colour, light and contrast affect emotion and sensory abilities, and how they can assist or hinder people in their everyday lives. Other publications consider these issues individually but The Colour, Light and Contrast Manual: designing and managing inclusive built environments draws knowledge and information together to produce a unique, comprehensive and informative guide to how the three elements can work together to improve the design and management of environments for us all.

Mining, grievance and conflict in rural Tanzania

This paper provides an extended analysis of the tensions that have surfaced between large-scale mine operators and artisanal miners in gold-rich areas of rural Tanzania. The literature on grievance is used to contextualise, these disputes, the underlying cause of which is artisanal miners' mounting frustration over not being able to secure viable concessions to work. Newly implemented legislation has, for the most part, empowered foreign large-scale mine operators, while simultaneously disempowering indigenous small-scale miners. In many cases, the former have addressed mounting security and community problems on their own. Until the country's major mine operators extend assistance to marginalised small-scale mining groups, the likelihood of violent conflict unfolding between these parties will increase.