The drives to internationalise the UK curriculum and psychology students’ desires to work in comm... more The drives to internationalise the UK curriculum and psychology students’ desires to work in communities are brought together in this paper. International community–based learning (ICBL) links with many psychology students’ motivations to make contributions to others; with the potential to enhance students’ learning and cultural sensitivities. The recently–developed literature on international service learning highlights multiple benefits for students (and sometimes community hosts), as well as the potential tensions that need to be negotiated. With the intentions of creating global citizens interested in social justice, community–based engagement can sometimes reinforce preconceived notions. In addition, benefits to the host communities may only be short–term or questionable, with less research on community partners’ perspectives than on those of the students.This paper describes work with UK psychology students who undertook CBL in four different international settings (2008–2015)...
Alternation: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa, 2019
Community engagement (CE) has been noted as an important means of enhancing students' experiences... more Community engagement (CE) has been noted as an important means of enhancing students' experiences in undergraduate programmes, because this promotes interdisciplinary conversations. In addition, it has the potential to challenge the colonial forms of disciplinary knowledge that have dominated thus far, and may play an important role as we seek to Africanise the curriculum. The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Residence Programme is a CE programme at Rhodes University, where community partners from ECD centres engage with student volunteers, over a period of one year. Such programmes are co-managed between the Rhodes University CE (RUCE) Division and community partners, as well as between community partners and student volunteers from a variety of programmes of study. This, it is hoped, translates into the building of mutually beneficial relationships. However, what do these relationships actually mean for the students and partners, and what are their benefits and challenges? Using the ECD Residence Programme as a case study, this paper argues that CE at Rhodes University is centred on the ethics of Ubuntu. Findings from an initial round of interviews and a focus group illustrate that the community partners and student volunteers build long-term, meaningful, and mutually beneficial relationships that extend beyond the boundaries of the CE activities in which they are involved. These relationships are based on Ubuntu as a Fundamental Ethic of CE Partnerships 89 values that include communication, respect, love, and care. This paper illustrates how mutually beneficial relationships are key to building and sustaining successful CE partnerships. We further note the potential for Ubuntu in CE to be transformative.
In the South African context of high HIV prevalence, sexual relationships are entwined with risk.... more In the South African context of high HIV prevalence, sexual relationships are entwined with risk. This qualitative study in a rural context examined how young people negotiate sexual practices and engage with this risk. Data was gathered from men and women (aged 15 to 33) in eight focus groups and 11 individual interviews. Abdication of self-care and deprioritization of self in the negotiation of safe sexual practices are reformulated into an understanding of the varied investments that young people make in particular kinds of sexual relationships. Sexual activity was found to underpin social reputation and identity production. In the trade-off between health protection and group membership, identity was related to investments in relationships that secured status for both genders. Future health-related interventions would need to work with other constructions of self in sexual relationships.
As part of the UK government's 'Big Society' agenda, increasing policy drivers have encouraged pa... more As part of the UK government's 'Big Society' agenda, increasing policy drivers have encouraged partnerships between commissioners, service providers and local-level organisations and charities to organise and deliver educational, practical, and emotional support to vulnerable people within communities (National Council for Voluntary Organisation, 2016). Community-based projects require leadership to initiate and enhance service provision, hence the need to explore the experiences of founders of existing projects in order to uncover their accounts of their motivations. In this preliminary study, four project founders (aged 44-69) completed in-depth semistructured interviews, to identify the events that precipitated their involvement and the experiences that sustain their practices. A narrative analysis identified prominent themes and these were linked to ideas about generativity. This revealed that their leadership roles evolved in response to 'crisis' points in their life histories, located in tensions between personal values and dominant discourses. Leadership emerged as a way to navigate these conflicts, with participants drawing upon 'what worked for me' to create a community project that would embody their values in an enduring way. This study concludes that the narratives of the four community project founders are consistent with theories of generativity, and future research is needed to fully recognise and nurture leadership figures within communities.
This poster presented the process used to develop an occupational therapy intervention specificat... more This poster presented the process used to develop an occupational therapy intervention specification in mental health for clinical trials.
International Handbook of Peace and Reconciliation, 2012
This chapter focuses on views concerning the achievability of world peace in a sample of responde... more This chapter focuses on views concerning the achievability of world peace in a sample of respondents from seven African countries: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. We first outline a number of factors that may influence individual opinions of the achievability of peace, including colonial legacies, elite politics, ethnic divisions, resource conflicts, weak states, poverty, intra- and inter-state conflict, and geopolitics. We then present results from a survey of 201 participants, who gave their opinions on the possibilities of peace. Some respondents were skeptical, arguing that peace was idealistic, or impossible due to the actions of external actors or destructive human nature. However, most expressed agency, and cited peace as an achievable goal. They stressed the potential benefits of governmental responsibility, as well as individual actions, pro-social interactions, and positive interpersonal values such as understanding or acceptance. Results are discussed in the context of a modernizing, democratizing continent, looking to move away from its history of conflict.
International Handbook of Peace and Reconciliation, 2012
This chapter considers definitions of peace and reconciliation in eight African countries from No... more This chapter considers definitions of peace and reconciliation in eight African countries from North African countries touching the Mediterranean to the central and southern African countries spanning the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. We begin with the awarding of the 2011 Peace Prize to two extraordinary African women from Liberia as part of the context for the definitions of peace and reconciliation. We then consider how Vision of Humanity uses the Global Peace Index to rank order peace in the eight African countries highlighted in this chapter. Because Africa has been known for many atrocities and human rights violations in the past 40 years, our attention focuses on the attempts at reconciliation in many of these countries from South African to Rwanda to Liberia. Definitions of reconciliation and the process by which many of these countries have attempted to gain forgiveness but at the same time establish restorative justice are chronicled. All participants completed the Personal and Institutional Rights to Aggression and Peace Survey (PAIRTAPS), which included items asking for their definitions of peace and reconciliation. Nearly a third of the definitions of peace were coded for positive peace, while 47 % were coded for negative peace. More than 60 % of the reconciliation definitions identified reconciliation with processes rather than end states, with considerable emphasis put on uniting, including healing/uniting and building new relationships with a former enemy. The definitions of peace and reconciliation were considered in the context of the areas in which they originated; especially relevant is a discussion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa after the abolition of apartheid and the gacaca courts of Rwanda.
The drives to internationalise the UK curriculum and psychology students’ desires to work in comm... more The drives to internationalise the UK curriculum and psychology students’ desires to work in communities are brought together in this paper. International community–based learning (ICBL) links with many psychology students’ motivations to make contributions to others; with the potential to enhance students’ learning and cultural sensitivities. The recently–developed literature on international service learning highlights multiple benefits for students (and sometimes community hosts), as well as the potential tensions that need to be negotiated. With the intentions of creating global citizens interested in social justice, community–based engagement can sometimes reinforce preconceived notions. In addition, benefits to the host communities may only be short–term or questionable, with less research on community partners’ perspectives than on those of the students.This paper describes work with UK psychology students who undertook CBL in four different international settings (2008–2015)...
Alternation: Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Arts and Humanities in Southern Africa, 2019
Community engagement (CE) has been noted as an important means of enhancing students' experiences... more Community engagement (CE) has been noted as an important means of enhancing students' experiences in undergraduate programmes, because this promotes interdisciplinary conversations. In addition, it has the potential to challenge the colonial forms of disciplinary knowledge that have dominated thus far, and may play an important role as we seek to Africanise the curriculum. The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Residence Programme is a CE programme at Rhodes University, where community partners from ECD centres engage with student volunteers, over a period of one year. Such programmes are co-managed between the Rhodes University CE (RUCE) Division and community partners, as well as between community partners and student volunteers from a variety of programmes of study. This, it is hoped, translates into the building of mutually beneficial relationships. However, what do these relationships actually mean for the students and partners, and what are their benefits and challenges? Using the ECD Residence Programme as a case study, this paper argues that CE at Rhodes University is centred on the ethics of Ubuntu. Findings from an initial round of interviews and a focus group illustrate that the community partners and student volunteers build long-term, meaningful, and mutually beneficial relationships that extend beyond the boundaries of the CE activities in which they are involved. These relationships are based on Ubuntu as a Fundamental Ethic of CE Partnerships 89 values that include communication, respect, love, and care. This paper illustrates how mutually beneficial relationships are key to building and sustaining successful CE partnerships. We further note the potential for Ubuntu in CE to be transformative.
In the South African context of high HIV prevalence, sexual relationships are entwined with risk.... more In the South African context of high HIV prevalence, sexual relationships are entwined with risk. This qualitative study in a rural context examined how young people negotiate sexual practices and engage with this risk. Data was gathered from men and women (aged 15 to 33) in eight focus groups and 11 individual interviews. Abdication of self-care and deprioritization of self in the negotiation of safe sexual practices are reformulated into an understanding of the varied investments that young people make in particular kinds of sexual relationships. Sexual activity was found to underpin social reputation and identity production. In the trade-off between health protection and group membership, identity was related to investments in relationships that secured status for both genders. Future health-related interventions would need to work with other constructions of self in sexual relationships.
As part of the UK government's 'Big Society' agenda, increasing policy drivers have encouraged pa... more As part of the UK government's 'Big Society' agenda, increasing policy drivers have encouraged partnerships between commissioners, service providers and local-level organisations and charities to organise and deliver educational, practical, and emotional support to vulnerable people within communities (National Council for Voluntary Organisation, 2016). Community-based projects require leadership to initiate and enhance service provision, hence the need to explore the experiences of founders of existing projects in order to uncover their accounts of their motivations. In this preliminary study, four project founders (aged 44-69) completed in-depth semistructured interviews, to identify the events that precipitated their involvement and the experiences that sustain their practices. A narrative analysis identified prominent themes and these were linked to ideas about generativity. This revealed that their leadership roles evolved in response to 'crisis' points in their life histories, located in tensions between personal values and dominant discourses. Leadership emerged as a way to navigate these conflicts, with participants drawing upon 'what worked for me' to create a community project that would embody their values in an enduring way. This study concludes that the narratives of the four community project founders are consistent with theories of generativity, and future research is needed to fully recognise and nurture leadership figures within communities.
This poster presented the process used to develop an occupational therapy intervention specificat... more This poster presented the process used to develop an occupational therapy intervention specification in mental health for clinical trials.
International Handbook of Peace and Reconciliation, 2012
This chapter focuses on views concerning the achievability of world peace in a sample of responde... more This chapter focuses on views concerning the achievability of world peace in a sample of respondents from seven African countries: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. We first outline a number of factors that may influence individual opinions of the achievability of peace, including colonial legacies, elite politics, ethnic divisions, resource conflicts, weak states, poverty, intra- and inter-state conflict, and geopolitics. We then present results from a survey of 201 participants, who gave their opinions on the possibilities of peace. Some respondents were skeptical, arguing that peace was idealistic, or impossible due to the actions of external actors or destructive human nature. However, most expressed agency, and cited peace as an achievable goal. They stressed the potential benefits of governmental responsibility, as well as individual actions, pro-social interactions, and positive interpersonal values such as understanding or acceptance. Results are discussed in the context of a modernizing, democratizing continent, looking to move away from its history of conflict.
International Handbook of Peace and Reconciliation, 2012
This chapter considers definitions of peace and reconciliation in eight African countries from No... more This chapter considers definitions of peace and reconciliation in eight African countries from North African countries touching the Mediterranean to the central and southern African countries spanning the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. We begin with the awarding of the 2011 Peace Prize to two extraordinary African women from Liberia as part of the context for the definitions of peace and reconciliation. We then consider how Vision of Humanity uses the Global Peace Index to rank order peace in the eight African countries highlighted in this chapter. Because Africa has been known for many atrocities and human rights violations in the past 40 years, our attention focuses on the attempts at reconciliation in many of these countries from South African to Rwanda to Liberia. Definitions of reconciliation and the process by which many of these countries have attempted to gain forgiveness but at the same time establish restorative justice are chronicled. All participants completed the Personal and Institutional Rights to Aggression and Peace Survey (PAIRTAPS), which included items asking for their definitions of peace and reconciliation. Nearly a third of the definitions of peace were coded for positive peace, while 47 % were coded for negative peace. More than 60 % of the reconciliation definitions identified reconciliation with processes rather than end states, with considerable emphasis put on uniting, including healing/uniting and building new relationships with a former enemy. The definitions of peace and reconciliation were considered in the context of the areas in which they originated; especially relevant is a discussion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa after the abolition of apartheid and the gacaca courts of Rwanda.
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Papers by Jacqui Akhurst