title: The State and Sexual Politics: An Analysis of Abortion Discourses in Kenya

authors: Njagi, Jane Wambui

subjects: Abortion

abstract: Unsafe abortion, an issue that leads to over 2,000 deaths and health complications for more than 21,000 women annually in Kenya, remains largely unaddressed by the Kenyan state. Despite the significant public importance of abortion, there has been little or no scholarly attention directed at the role of the state in shaping sexual politics through its regulation of abortion. In this thesis, I undertake a feminist analysis of the Kenyan state to explore how the state, through its policy regime, shapes sexual politics.   
I argue that Western-based feminist theorisations of the state, although useful, do not fully account for the Kenyan state’s treatment of the issue of abortion. Consequently, I draw on the range of scholarship in feminist theorisations of the state and in African politics to develop the Critical African Feminist Perspective on the state. Using this perspective, I undertake a discourse analysis of archival material, policy texts, and interviews with key actors in abortion politics.  The analysis of the state over three phases – colonial, dictatorial, and democratic – reveals the neo-patrimonial character of the state, resulting in policies and practices that systematically ignore or marginalise issues affecting women. 
This study demonstrates that across consecutive governments, the Kenyan political elite, in an attempt to consolidate political power and popularity in the face of low levels of legitimacy and complex tribal politics, has deployed a tactic of “strategic ambivalence”, wherein the law criminalising abortion has been sustained but not enforced. State efforts have therefore been directed at presenting a positive image of itself to both pro- and anti-abortion actors, rather than substantively tackling the problem of unsafe abortion.
The study establishes that although neoliberalism, capitalism and patriarchy play significant roles, neo-patrimonial politics is the key impediment to creating policies and institutions that will ensure Kenyan women’s access to safe abortions. I note that although Kenya’s new Constitution guarantees women better access to legal abortion, it has not conclusively addressed neo-patrimonialism, which is therefore likely to continue to have negative implications for sexual politics and issues of gender equality in general.

text: The State and Sexual Politics: An Analysis of Abortion Discourses in Kenya Unsafe abortion, an issue that leads to over 2,000 deaths and health complications for more than 21,000 women annually in Kenya, remains largely unaddressed by the Kenyan state. Despite the significant public importance of abortion, there has been little or no scholarly attention directed at the role of the state in shaping sexual politics through its regulation of abortion. In this thesis, I undertake a feminist analysis of the Kenyan state to explore how the state, through its policy regime, shapes sexual politics.   
I argue that Western-based feminist theorisations of the state, although useful, do not fully account for the Kenyan state’s treatment of the issue of abortion. Consequently, I draw on the range of scholarship in feminist theorisations of the state and in African politics to develop the Critical African Feminist Perspective on the state. Using this perspective, I undertake a discourse analysis of archival material, policy texts, and interviews with key actors in abortion politics.  The analysis of the state over three phases – colonial, dictatorial, and democratic – reveals the neo-patrimonial character of the state, resulting in policies and practices that systematically ignore or marginalise issues affecting women. 
This study demonstrates that across consecutive governments, the Kenyan political elite, in an attempt to consolidate political power and popularity in the face of low levels of legitimacy and complex tribal politics, has deployed a tactic of “strategic ambivalence”, wherein the law criminalising abortion has been sustained but not enforced. State efforts have therefore been directed at presenting a positive image of itself to both pro- and anti-abortion actors, rather than substantively tackling the problem of unsafe abortion.
The study establishes that although neoliberalism, capitalism and patriarchy play significant roles, neo-patrimonial politics is the key impediment to creating policies and institutions that will ensure Kenyan women’s access to safe abortions. I note that although Kenya’s new Constitution guarantees women better access to legal abortion, it has not conclusively addressed neo-patrimonialism, which is therefore likely to continue to have negative implications for sexual politics and issues of gender equality in general.

year: 2013

title: Operant Methodology Out Of The Lab and Applied To Enrichment With Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes)

authors: Vivian, Melanie

subjects: operant methodology

abstract: A group of socially-housed chimpanzees, maintained in a zoo facility, were given the opportunity to access each of several purpose-designed and built enrichment items. Each item was made freely available in the chimpanzees' regular setting, with their normal activities available. The time members of the group spent engaging with each item gave an assessment of their relative preference for the items. The group were shown to have the greatest preference for a foraging enrichment item (Screwfeeder) and the least preference for an audiovisual enrichment item (TV/Video). Individual preferences for the items were evident. The chimpanzees were then taught to operate a weighted lever to get access to an item. Once all chimpanzees had operated the lever for access to the items, the number of lever operations required for access to each item was systematically doubled over a series of 3 hr sessions until the chimpanzees did not gain any access to that item for two consecutive sessions. One item was presented for two series of increases. The group response rates for an item increased with increased response requirement and then decreased with further increases, reflecting data from individuals in other research. The highest response requirement that maintained the group behaviour differed over the items. The number of times an item was accessed (consumption) was plotted against the response requirement (price) on logarithmic coordinates. Lines fitted to the data (demand functions) were shallowest for a foraging enrichment (Screwfeeder) and steepest for the audio enrichment (Musicbox). There were not enough data points to fit a function for the audiovisual enrichment. Differences in individual's demand within the group were evident. In general, the rank order of preference for the items and the rank order based on the parameters of the demand functions (slope or elasticity and initial intensity) was broadly the same. Three individual chimpanzees were exposed to two series of increasing response requirement for access to the Screwfeeder whilst housed alone, in one hour sessions. Response rates were again bitonic and the linear demand functions for these individuals were steeper (more elastic) than the functions fitted to data for group responding and differed idiosyncratically from the data for these individual when responding as part of the group. Thus the change of social setting had a different impact on the behaviour of each of the individuals. These results show that an animals‟ demand for a commodity is altered by the environment in which it is tested.
ii
Overall the research provides the first example of operant methodology in a zoo setting with a group of chimpanzees. It is also the first research to show differential responding for access to different enrichment items by a group and how this relates to their preference (based on time allocation) for those items.

text: Operant Methodology Out Of The Lab and Applied To Enrichment With Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) A group of socially-housed chimpanzees, maintained in a zoo facility, were given the opportunity to access each of several purpose-designed and built enrichment items. Each item was made freely available in the chimpanzees' regular setting, with their normal activities available. The time members of the group spent engaging with each item gave an assessment of their relative preference for the items. The group were shown to have the greatest preference for a foraging enrichment item (Screwfeeder) and the least preference for an audiovisual enrichment item (TV/Video). Individual preferences for the items were evident. The chimpanzees were then taught to operate a weighted lever to get access to an item. Once all chimpanzees had operated the lever for access to the items, the number of lever operations required for access to each item was systematically doubled over a series of 3 hr sessions until the chimpanzees did not gain any access to that item for two consecutive sessions. One item was presented for two series of increases. The group response rates for an item increased with increased response requirement and then decreased with further increases, reflecting data from individuals in other research. The highest response requirement that maintained the group behaviour differed over the items. The number of times an item was accessed (consumption) was plotted against the response requirement (price) on logarithmic coordinates. Lines fitted to the data (demand functions) were shallowest for a foraging enrichment (Screwfeeder) and steepest for the audio enrichment (Musicbox). There were not enough data points to fit a function for the audiovisual enrichment. Differences in individual's demand within the group were evident. In general, the rank order of preference for the items and the rank order based on the parameters of the demand functions (slope or elasticity and initial intensity) was broadly the same. Three individual chimpanzees were exposed to two series of increasing response requirement for access to the Screwfeeder whilst housed alone, in one hour sessions. Response rates were again bitonic and the linear demand functions for these individuals were steeper (more elastic) than the functions fitted to data for group responding and differed idiosyncratically from the data for these individual when responding as part of the group. Thus the change of social setting had a different impact on the behaviour of each of the individuals. These results show that an animals‟ demand for a commodity is altered by the environment in which it is tested.
ii
Overall the research provides the first example of operant methodology in a zoo setting with a group of chimpanzees. It is also the first research to show differential responding for access to different enrichment items by a group and how this relates to their preference (based on time allocation) for those items.

year: 2008

title: Te Piringa

authors: Dickson, Matiu

abstract: Māori have an oral tradition, that is, the transfer of knowledge within and between generations, which was carried out orally by way of story-telling or the more formal speech-making. Ngā korero purākau are the stories and whaikōrero is formal talking on the marae or ancestral gathering places of Māori people. The value of public speaking is expressed in the saying: Ko te kōrerote kai a te Rangatira – (The chiefs thrive on talking and debating). This article looks at the transfer of knowledge to the next generation.

text: Te Piringa Māori have an oral tradition, that is, the transfer of knowledge within and between generations, which was carried out orally by way of story-telling or the more formal speech-making. Ngā korero purākau are the stories and whaikōrero is formal talking on the marae or ancestral gathering places of Māori people. The value of public speaking is expressed in the saying: Ko te kōrerote kai a te Rangatira – (The chiefs thrive on talking and debating). This article looks at the transfer of knowledge to the next generation.

year: 2010