PHD training
As part of the Antwerp Doctoral School , IOB offers a multidisciplinary doctoral programme related to its institutional research agenda which leads to a PhD in Development Studies . It also cooperates with sister Faculties of Applied Economics and Social Sciences for disciplinary PhDs on development issues . During 2016 , a total of 36 students were preparing a PhD dissertation on topics linked to IOB ’ s research agenda . Twenty-eight were pursuing an interdisciplinary PhD in Development Studies at IOB ( six of them IOB junior researchers ), while eight were working towards disciplinary PhDs at IOB ’ s sister Faculty of Applied Economics ( three of them IOB junior researchers ). During 2016 , 1 student was admitted to undertake a PhD in Development Studies while one dropped out and 2 students were admitted to the Faculty of Applied Economics while one dropped out there as well . Seven of the PhDs in progress are joint or double PhDs : three with the University of Ghent ( UGent ), two with the University of Leuven ( KU Leuven ), one with Maastricht University in the Netherlands and one with Stellenbosch University in South Africa .
In 2016 , three students successfully defended their PhDs in Development Studies :
Nanneke Winters ‘ Contested connections . Mobility and migration as development experiences of translocal livelihoods in Muy Muy , Nicaragua ’ Supervisor : Prof . Johan Bastiaensen
PhD Katrien Van Aelst
Gender , households and climate change . Adaptation decision-making in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues on the development agenda for the coming decades and it is expected that developing countries , in particular , will bear the brunt of climate change induced risks . Against this background , there is a need for effective policies which acknowledge that adaptation to climate change is not only influenced by technological development but also largely shaped by social context , ( in ) formal institutions and norms that influence human behaviour . In light of this , this doctoral research offers a nuanced gender analysis of climate change adaptation in four rural villages in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania . Employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods , the study investigates how small-scale farmers are adapting to climate change and the role that gender and the household play therein . Farmers are facing local climate change impacts such as increasing unpredictability and unreliability of rainfall , increased occurrence of destructive rains , lower amounts of rainfall in certain months and rising temperatures . By taking local lived experiences of climate change as a starting point , this PhD argues that farmers perceive adaptation as a game of trial and error . Overall , few adaptation options are available to them and a number of barriers hinder their adaptation endeavours . Access to adaptation is , furthermore , structured by intersections of gender and marital status , and various types of female-headed and male-headed households therefore follow different adaptation pathways . This intersectional gaze unveils that while some categories of women and men may be disadvantaged in one adaptation area , they can experience easier access to other adaptation fields . The research describes various drivers of this unequal adaptation access , including access to and control over land , capital and education , and dependence on farming as a livelihood strategy . The study further examines the intrahousehold decision-making process with regard to adaptation . Using an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model , it investigates how spouses influence each other ’ s relative adaptation decision-making power . Distinguishing between different types of adaptation decisions , the analysis uncovers the role played by both wives ’ and husbands ’ income-generating activities , independent asset ownership , educational level and life cycle elements . Moreover , the research investigates how wives ’ participation in decision-making impacts households ’ adaptation outcomes . By doing so , this PhD offers a valuable contribution to the literature on climate change in Eastern Africa , as well as to the field of feminist economics .
14 • Annual Report 2016