Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health among Individuals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania(Tanzania Journal of Sociology, 2022-06-30) Shagembe, Magolanga; Kinanda, Jonas; Senga, Mathew; Ndaluka, ThomasThis study aimed at examining the impact of COVID-19 on mental health in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Specifically, this study was guided by the assumption that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted on individuals’ mental health in Tanzania in various ways. The study used a Social Cognitive Theory to illuminate insights generated from the empirical findings from the field. Using a survey questionnaire, the study collected data from a sample of 258 respondents. The findings have shown that COVID-19 affected individuals differently, with fewer symptoms of substance use disorders, depression, and schizophrenia experienced by the respondents interviewed. Overall, there were high symptoms of obsession and bipolar disorder. In conclusion, people’s cognitive perception influenced their view of severity of COVID-19 and consequently predisposed their behaviour. Given the changing nature of the virus globally, this study recommends for a country wide survey to determine the trend and magnitude of mental disorders in the country.Item . Faith in the Times of Covid-19: Integrating Religion in the Fight against Covid-19 in Tanzania.(Folklore, 2021-01) Ndaluka, Thomas; Shagembe, Magolanga; Kinanda, Jonas; Tarmo, VendelineWhen and where a crisis such as a pandemic arises, people turn to religion in pursuit/search of comfort, justifications, and explanations. This article describes the role of religion in Tanzania in the times of COVID-19. The data collected through a questionnaire from 258 participants asserts that COVID-19 increased the intensity level of religiosity in Tanzania. This was seen in peoples’ participation in religious activities, i.e., religious gatherings, frequent prayers, and other religious practices. This article has established that the process of de-secularization was strong, and religion became a provider of hope, unity, sol ace, and socialization. Moreover, COVID-19 has also facilitated the convergence of different religions and thus ecumenism and pluralism of faiths have been strengthened in the country.Item Is Mimetic Desire a root cause of religious violence in Tanzania? An analysis of Girardian – Mimetic Desire Theory(Tanzanian Journal of Sociology, 2020-06-30) Ndaluka, ThomasMimetic desire theory is widely available in the Western debates and has informed thinking and arguments in the disciplines of literature, sociology, anthropology, religion, theology, and political science in the Western Universities. Unfortunately, there are rare or limited debates on the application of the mimetic desire theory in Africa in general and Tanzania in particular. This article, therefore, attempts to [re]introduce the theory founded by René Girard – the Mimetic desire theory focusing on the causes of religious violence in Tanzania. The article uses information gathered from two case studies i.e. from Dar es Salaam and Geita Regions to argue that indeed religious violence in the country is the result of mimesis. The article argues that, Christians have imitated the act of slaughtering animals by Muslims, the resultant of which was violence between Muslims and Christians in the country. The article also adds that religion, however, was not the sole cause of violence in the country. Other factors such as economic marginalisation and power relations were at the core. Moreover, the masses actively and consciously chose the victims (scapegoats) for sacrificial purposes. The paper concludes that society must empower all citizens, regardless of their beliefs, to access the desired objects (scarce resources) in order to maintain peaceful coexistence. The article recommends more debate and studies on the analysis of the Girardian mimetic desire theory.Item Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Rangeland Governance in Northern Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Population and Development, Vol 23, No 1& 2, 2018.(Tanzania Journal of Population and Development, 2018-09-02) Saruni, KisiayaThe article examines the role of indigenous knowledge (IK) systems in the governance of common-property rangeland resources among pastoral communities in Northern Tanzania. It draws on the political ecology approach to examine the role and state of indigenous knowledge on rangeland governance in the changing socio-cultural, political and ecological context. It employs qualitative methodology to capture the narratives from the indigenous people. Using purposive (non-probability strategy) technique the study obtained a sample of 50 interviews and life histories combined, and four focus group discussions from four research sites. Findings indicate that forms of indigenous knowledge—such as rangeland rituals and cosmologies, rangeland zonation, livestock taxonomy, water communism and pastoral mobility—regulate and maintain a harmonious relationship between indigenous people and the wider ecosystem. The article concludes that IK should be recognized as an integral component of local resource governance. Also, indigenous rangeland cooperatives should be formed to help the sustainability of IK systems and settling emerging rangeland disputes.Item Indigenous Institutions and Rangeland Sustainability in Northern Tanzania(Tanzania Journal of Sociology, 2018-06-01) Saruni, KisiayaThis study attempts to underscore the role of indigenous institutions on rangeland governance and sustainability among pastoral communities in northern Tanzania. Ostrom’s institutional approach to governance of common-property rangeland resources is used as a conceptual framework to analyse indigenous institutional arrangement in relation to rangeland sustainability. Qualitative methodology is employed to capture narratives from indigenous people. A sample of 54 interviews and life histories as well as four focus group discussions from four research sites were obtained using a purposive sampling technique. There is strong evidence to substantiate that indigenous institutions play key roles as custodians of rangeland governance and are responsible for instituting norms and rules governing access and withdrawal of common-property resources and solving rangeland disputes. Therefore, Indigenous institutions should be recognized as an integral component of local resource governance. Furthermore, indigenous rangeland cooperatives should be formed to help preserve indigenous traditional institutions, which are crucial for sustainable rangeland governance.Item Factors influencing adoption of facility-assisted delivery-a qualitative study of women and other stakeholders in a Maasai community in Ngorongoro District, Tanzania(BioMed Central, 2020-02-14) Saruni, KisiayaTanzania’s One Plan II health sector program aims to increase facility deliveries from 50 to 80% from 2015 to 2020. Success is uneven among certain Maasai pastoralist women in Northern Tanzania who robustly prefer home births to facility births even after completing 4+ ANC visits. Ebiotishu Oondomonok Ongera (EbOO) is a program in Nainokanoka ward to promote facility births through a care-group model using trained traditional birth attendants (TBAs) as facilitators. Results to date are promising but show a consistent gap between women completing ANC and those going to a facility for delivery. A qualitative study was conducted to understand psychosocial preferences, agency for decision-making, and access barriers that influence where a woman in the ward will deliver. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key-informant interviews were conducted with 24 pregnant and/or parous women, 24 TBAs, 3 nurse midwives at 3 health facilities, and 24 married men, living in Nainokanoka ward. Interviews and discussions were transcribed, translated, and analyzed thematically using a grounded theory approach. Most women interviewed expressed preference for a home birth with a TBA and even those who expressed agency and preference for a facility birth usually had their last delivery at home attributed to unexpected labor. TBAs are engaged by husbands and play a significant influential role in deciding place of delivery. TBAs report support for facility deliveries but in practice use them as a last resort, and a significant trust gap was documented based on a bad experience at a facility where women in labor were turned away. EbOO project data and study results show a slow but steady change in norms around delivery preference in Nainokanoka ward. Gaps between expressed intention and practice, especially around ‘unexpected labor’ present opportunities to accelerate this process by promoting birth plans and perhaps constructing a maternity waiting house in the ward. Rebuilding trust between facility midwives, TBAs, and the community on the availability of health facility services, and increased sensitivity to women’s cultural preferences, could also close the gap between the number of women who are currently using facilities for ANC and those returning for delivery.Item The Impact of External Institutions on Kuria Marriages in Tanzania(University of Dar es Salaam, 2014) Mhando, Nandera ErnestThis article provides an ethnographic attention to the interface between traditional Kuria marriages, socio-economic changes, and consequences of interventions by institutions of the state, foreign religions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) explicating themes of agency and lineage perpetuation. Attention is paid to continuities and changes happening in the described relationships, and how the changing market economy and new forms of economic interaction in Tarime District have given some women access to wealth, thereby enabling them to arrange their marriages. Additionally, other forms of marriage that are prohibited by law and religious institutions, such as marriage of young daughters still continue, and unmarried daughters continue to experience structural control. Overall, the current article points to the fact that, despite adopting foreign beliefs such as Christianity and Islam, Kuria tradition still plays a key role as a way of life.Item Helping Tanzanian Teenage Girls Avoid Pregnancy(2012) Pfeiffer, Constanze; Sambaiga, Richard F.; Ahorlu, Collins; Obrist, BrigitItem Ethnographic Study on Maternal and Neonatal Deaths in Dodoma, Tanzania.(Mkuki na Nyota, 2011) Lugalla, J. L. P.; Nyoni, J.; Sambaiga, Richard F.Item Between Condemnation and Resignation: A Study on Attitudes towards Corruption in the Public Health Sector in Tanzania(Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016-08-26) Camargo, Claudia B.; Sambaiga, Richard F.Item A Quantitative Analysis of Co-Management Success Across the Indo-Pacific(International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, 2010) Rabearisoa, Ando; Sambaiga, Richard F.; Wamukota, Andrew; Daw, Tim; Cinner, JoshuaThroughout the Indo-Pacific region, communities are increasingly empowered with the ability and responsibility of working with national governments to make decisions about their marine resources. In some instances, co-management arrangements have been successful at conserving marine resources by developing locally appropriate rules to limit overexploitation. These examples have often prompted widespread replication by governments, conservation groups, and sometimes communities themselves. However, this replication is often done without a fundamental understanding of why co-management may be successful under some conditions but unsuccessful under others. Thus a question of crucial importance to resource managers, stakeholders, and common property theorists alike is what factors enable some of these institutions to succeed while others fail? Drawing on common property and adaptive governance theories, we examine relationships between socioeconomic conditions, institutional design, and the effectiveness of collaborative management in 5 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific region. This innovative project takes a big picture comparative approach to a subject that has often been studied at a local scale.Item A Critical Review on the Major Conceptual Strands/debates on the Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and Improved Social Livelihoods(Macrothink Institute, 2016-03-11) Mukono, Danstan; Sambaiga, Richard F.The problem of climate change has attracted different approaches on how best to tackle it. Equally, at the level of theorization and conceptualization, it has attracted a fierce debate on how to interpret, analyze, and suggest the best approach which seems to improve the social livelihoods of the main actors who directly depends on forest resources. This paper intends albeit in a brief manner to synthesis various theoretical and conceptual issues which explicitly or implicitly inform REDD+ as a new sustainable intervention in conserving forest and improving people’s social livelihoods. At the same time, each approach is critically analyzed to see its strength and weakness in addressing the key issue of improving social livelihood taking into account power dynamics. And lastly, it points out the conceptual framework which at least illuminates the manner in which to apprehend the power dynamics and agency play out in REDD+ interventions.Item Globalisation, Coastal Resources and Livelihood in Tanzania(Trauner Verlag, 2012) Sambaiga, Richard F.; Sigalla, H. R.Item Global Markets and Coastal Resource Management in Tanzania(University of Dar es Salaam, 2011) Sambaiga, Richard F.; Sigalla, L. H.; Lema, G.; Simon, V.; Shemaghembe, E.Item Determinants of the Duration of Birth Intervals in Tanzania: Regional Contrasts and Temporal Trends(ICF Macro/USAID, 2013) Sambaiga, Richard F.; Yoder, S.; Lugalla, J. L. P.Item Helping Tanzanian Teenage Girls Avoid Pregnancy. Evidence for Policy Series(NCCR North-South, 2012) Pfeiffer, Constanze; Sambaiga, Richard F.; Ahorlu, Collins; Obrist, BrigitAdolescence can be a tricky period in our lives. But for teenage girls it is especially fraught with risk. If they become pregnant, they may be ostracised by their families or spurned by society. They also have a high risk of dying during childbirth. And many are condemned to live in poverty as single mothers. That makes the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents an important public health issue. To design better policies and interventions that will steer young people towards responsible parenthood, it is necessary to know more about how adolescents learn about and deal with sex. This edition of evidence for policy examines this issue, based on research in Tanzania.Item Theoretical Tendencies in Anthropological Research on HIV/AIDS: Is There Room for the Human Agency(University of Dar es Salaam, 2015) Sambaiga, Richard F.