Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2006. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Arts. Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-340).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2009.

Academic studies of Bangladeshi Private Commercial Banks (PCBs) have identified issues of Corporate Governance relating to ‘crony capitalism’ and political influence. The thesis combines quantitative and qualitative methods. The research employs conventional econometric panel estimation and a novel method of estimating efficiency using a non-parametric bootstrapping technology. The results reveal significant performance differences. To understand the causes underlying the differences in revenue efficiency and profitability, multiple lenses from theories of Corporate Governance are adopted to design semi-structured interviews. Twenty in-depth interviews from a sample of banks, both managers and board members and industry stakeholders are supplemented with documentary analysis. The quantitative findings reveal a performance gap between 1st Generation PCBs and 2nd and 3rd Generation PCBs in terms of Efficiency and Profitability. 1st Gen PCBs perform worst whereas there is no statistical difference between Gen 2 and Gen 3 PCBs. Moreover, there is no sign of catch-up or improvement for the 1st Generation PCBs. The research demonstrates that an increasing amount of 1st Generation banks’ Non Performing Loans is the main reason for this performance gap. The interview data relate the performance gaps to inadequate Corporate Governance. The research identifies family dominated boards that have encouraged crony capitalism and featherbedding of employees resulting in excessive Non Performing Loans and higher overhead costs. Also, these 1st Generation banks are excessively large in terms of employees, rural branches and remittance earnings leading to a culture of invulnerability to takeover.

abstract: While women in higher income countries can expect to survive a diagnosis of breast cancer, women in lower- and middle-income countries such as Bangladesh have mortality rates near 50%, suggesting that there are significant barriers to care seeking for breast problems. Given limited literature on barriers to care among native, rural South Asian populations, this study thus sought to understand 1) the impacts of breast problems on women and their families, including the extent of abuse among women with breast problems, and 2) the barriers and facilitators of care for women with breast problems in rural Bangladesh. Sixty-three study participants (43 women and 20 men) were interviewed about their experiences. Interviewers elicited barriers to care, facilitators of care, and questions about the attitudes and behaviors of family and community members were in structured interviews. The study found that breast problems and their treatment put significant resource and emotional strains on the family. Furthermore, over a third of women in this study reported abuse of some kind, with emotional abuse, neglect, and abandonment being the most frequently reported. The study reinforced barriers to care identified in the literature for South Asian populations, but only a quarter of participants reported stigma of any kind. Lack of knowledge about breast cancer and inability to pay for care were the most frequently reported barriers, followed by access to care and fear of treatment. Facilitators of care among women who received a biopsy point to the importance of support by the husband and husband’s family, as well as the ability to identify economic support for and knowledge about care. This study contributes to the understanding of two overarching themes: structural violence and the value of women, as well as how these themes influence poor outcomes for women with breast cancer in rural Bangladesh. Suggestions for future studies and short and long-term interventions to address study findings are offered. / Dissertation/Thesis / Appendix E: Study Approval / Appendix B: Barriers to Care Table / Appendix H: Codebook / Appendix C: Study Instruments 1 / Appendix C: Study Instruments 2 / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2016

Country policies, responses and challenges to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goals 2, ‘Achieve Universal Primary Education’. Analysis comparison between Bangladesh and PeruEducation is society’s main instrument for reproducing itself and a compelling ingredient for lasting meaningful socioeconomic change. Therefore at the beginning of new millennium when the United Nations Member States was trying to reach a global consensus for global sustainability and development, issues related to universal primary education was a rational choice for them. This paper compares the status quoof this issue between Bangladesh and Peru, where ‘development’ takes place in reality. Mostly based on secondary research, this paper highlights the macro level comparative scenarios and challenges that how these two countries are putting their efforts and facing challenges in achieving universal primary education enrolment targets as part of their United Nations Millennium Development Goals commitments by 2015. / La educación es el principal instrumento de la sociedad para reproducirse por sí misma y es necesaria para un cambio socioeconómico sostenible y significativo. Y es desde los inicios del nuevo milenio, los Estados miembros de las Naciones Unidas están intentando llegar a un consenso mundial para la sostenibilidad yel desarrollo relacionado con la educación primaria Universal. En este trabajo se compara la situación actual de la educación primaria en Bangladesh y en el Perú. Sobre todo a partir de una investigación secundaria, el presente artículo presenta, en macro escenarios comparativos, los desafíos y el modo en que estos dos países se están esforzando por alcanzar el objetivo de la EPU como parte de sus compromisos en los Objetivos del Milenio de las Naciones Unidas para 2015.

Considered the king of poisons, arsenic occurs naturally in the environment being present in air, soil, water and food. Its presence in drinking water is of global concern. Initial chronic exposure is manifested by skin lesions. Additionally, arsenic consumption impairs certain visceral organs: bladder, liver, prostate, etc. More over, arsenic is a recognized carcinogenic substance.When in Bangladesh started the program to lead safe drinking water in the 60’s, they never imagined the catastrophic consequences. Water wells were drilled in the whole country. The arsenic problem was recognized recently in the 90’s.  In order to understand the nature of arsenic  in the environment and how it could possibly reach groundwater in Bangladesh, this work explains some chemical characteristics of arsenic, the geological formation of the basin, and its mobility.The origin of arsenic contamination in the Bangladesh Delta is due to the geologic nature of the basin rather than the possibility of an arsenic rich mineral. The profile of sediments shows that the Delta is not homogeneous, but rather heterogeneous even in closer areas. The driving process for arsenic mobility is mainly the reduction by iron oxyhydroxides coupled with organic matter, including other factors such as particle size, depth, morphology, metal content, as well

Despite extensive research on the effects of climate change on the displacement of populations, there is a lack of clarity in how environmentally displaced people should be conceptualized. As yet, there is no legal international definition agreed upon. There is however a broad debate on conceptualization, scholars whom argue that these people can be defined as environmental refugee whereas other scholars criticize the definition of a direct link between environment and displacement. This research explores this debate through a comparative case study that examines the implications of climate related displacement for two countries: (i) Bangladesh and (ii) Tuvalu. The case draws on the theoretical debate around displacement, together with a theoretically derived model of environmental displacement.   The findings consider how climate change will affect Bangladesh and Tuvalu and focuses on the countries’ national efforts to respond - efforts that call out for the international community to help and take responsibility. An analysis of the conceptualization of environmentally displaced people shows the difficulty of defining this status, due to the lack of an established international definition. In particular it means a lack in knowing who has the responsibility to protect these people now, and in the future. In a world where climate change will continue to affect both people and nature it is of importance to clarify these areas. By contributing to the topic of climate related displacement this study therefore brings forward the importance of the need for conceptualizing environmentally displaced people to give them the protection needed.

The Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, is the world’s fastest growing primate city, having nearly 15 million people and approximately 6 million living in slum areas. Their high population density and growth rates, coupled with inadequate and inappropriate water and sanitation (WatSan) facilities, are creating social, economic and environmental effects. Until recently, several attempts have been made to provide infrastructure services to those slums. But the extent of the services is unsatisfactory due to resource constraints and a burdensome concentration of slums that contaminates the city ecology on a broad-spectrum. In consequence, the trend of development ventures through government (GO) and non-government organizations (NGO) is not only disappointing but also questionable due to disastrous project histories. The complex social dynamics of these informal settlements, together with inappropriate or inadequate WatSan facilities and incompetent governance systems obstruct the pace of sanitation interventions. Apart from this, Bangladesh has succumbed to political indiscretion and bureaucratic intemperance which have severely diminished the capacity of the GOs and NGOs to perform at a reasonable level. The result is all round deterioration in the quality and adequacy of the urban basic services and people of the informal settlements are the worst sufferers. It is widely recognized that the poor communities mostly have no proven demand for improved sanitation facilities, as their basic priority, rather, is managing their next meal. In this situation, some NGOs have come forward with their ‘flexible’ and ‘tailor-made’ working strategies developed from previous project experiences whereas government agencies are more geared to ‘facilitation’ and continue with their ‘supply-driven' strategy, ignoring criticisms and pitfalls. As one of the most dysfunctional sectors in Bangladesh, urban sanitation is traumatized and its coverage is affected by several interconnecting factors while the government continues to bypass questions related to slum improvement arguing that the slums are illegal settlements and do not qualify for government services. Several NGOs have come forward to work in the urban sanitation sector and in most instances, the poor slum-dwellers have appreciated the NGOs’ participatory working strategies. In fact the dynamics of the ‘social-technological-governance’ system of the slum areas often determines the success of sanitation interventions. In this research, the vibrant dynamics of ‘social-technological-governance’ systems and the roles of GO-NGO service providers and beneficiaries in the selected slums are critically analysed through a qualitative methodology and a bottom-up approach that has the potential to identify inherent policy weaknesses and factors that facilitate or hinder the successful implementation of sanitation programmes. This research is entirely based on empirical evidences and the qualitative assessment of field data that were collected from five informal settlements of Dhaka city and associated GO-NGO sources. The outcome of this research suggests that the impacting factors are not equally weighted in WatSan projects as some could be defined as crucial and influencing factors that shape other interrelated factors. In order to smoothen the pathways of different WatSan projects it is necessary to carefully identify and restrict those problem-breeding factors on a priority basis. This research also describes different stakeholders’ practices and links with existing policies to identify the gaps between them. Here, the proposals are made for reality-based, short-term and long-term solutions and policy recommendations that might offer guidelines for addressing the overwhelming slum sanitation agenda in urban Bangladesh.

M.A. / In South Africa, high unemployment rates, uneven distribution of opportunities and poverty are major concerns for the government. Poverty is defined as the deprivation of people due to the lack of access, and their right, to certain commodities. In 2004, close to 15,4 million people were living below the poverty line. In addition to this, in 2005, 53 percent of South Africans, equating to 16,4 million persons, were excluded from formal financial services. Microcredit has been advocated as a tool to reduce poverty. A world renowned microfinance model, the Grameen Bank model of Bangladesh has had success in not only reducing poverty, but also allowing poor people access to formal financial services. The bank has 7,93 million borrowers, with 97 percent being female clients, and one third of its borrowers have crossed the poverty line. Four organisations in South Africa have replicated this model. These organisations are the Small Enterprise Foundation, Marang Financial Services, The Women's Development Businesses, and the South African National Zakah Fund. These organisations have achieved in reaching 130,000 clients across South Africa, and extended over R1 billion in loans. However, only four of the nine provinces in the country have been infiltrated effectively. The impacts on these borrowers lives, and their households has been exceptional. Many of the families now have increased selfworth, a stable income, job security and access to credit in order to advance their businesses. In addition, Grameencredit has allowed thousands of South Africans access to legal, formal financial services. Thus, Grameencredit has been advocated to be an effective method in the fight against poverty.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Angela Powers / The country of Myanmar started political reforms in 2010. Along with the process of becoming more democratic, peace and reconciliation have become very important due to the decades-long civil wars that continue to rage between ethnic minority groups and Myanmar Army. The Myanmar media have the potential to play a huge role in national reconciliation. One conflict between the Muslim and the Buddhist of Rakhine State of Myanmar has gained international attention. Research shows that media play a destructive or constructive role in conflict resolution depending on which news frames they adopt in reporting. This uses the theoretic peace journalism perspective, in which media take a careful, consistent and conscientious approach to report stories that create opportunities for society at large and emphasizes non-violent responses to conflict (Lynch, 2008). Using mass media framing theory and existing peace journalism literature, this study investigates the prominence of war and peace journalism framing in the media coverage of an ongoing conflict in the Northern Rakhine State of Myanmar between a group of Muslims and Buddhists who inhabit the region. This study employed a comparative analysis to examine war and peace journalism frames from stories published in four newspapers; two from Myanmar, one from Bangladesh, and one from the U.S. The analysis was guided by Galtung’s (1986) classifications of peace and war journalism and operational definitions derived by Lee and Maslog (2005). Findings suggest that war journalism frames are dominant in the coverage of the Rakhine conflict regardless of media origin. Even though not statistically significant, the government-run newspaper from Myanmar was revealed to produce more peace journalism stories than the other three newspapers. There was a slight difference in coverage of the conflict between English-language and Burmese-language newspapers in terms of peace/war journalism framing. English news stories were more likely to be framed as war journalism than peace journalism. In addition, news stories produced by U.S. journalists and foreign news wire services such as the Associated Press and Reuters were more war-dominant than stories produced by local/regional journalists of Myanmar and Bangladesh. This study calls for international and local journalists to reevaluate their current conflict reporting practices to promote their positive roles in peace processes.