The Arab Peace Initiative (former Saudi Initiative) was officially proposed by Saudi Arabia and has been (re-)endorsed by all 22 member states of the Arab League since 2002. Israel has not officially responded to the API but rather has generally ignored and by default rejected it. This thesis examines the reasons for the Israeli rejection by analyzing the structure of the Israeli government in relation to the position of the prime minister, both normatively and descriptively, and examining public opinion as a potential enabler or constraint on policymaking. It also explores mechanisms such as threat perceptions and framing to highlight cognitive influences that negatively impacted serious consideration of the API. Qualitative interviews with expert Israelis and Arabs contribute to a deeper understanding of the Israeli perspective of the API's shortcomings. The API is unlikely to be implemented under this current government unless Israeli public opinion significantly changes in its favor.

Title: Reducing the Trauma: Alternative Dispute Resolution in Disaster Relief Efforts Despite careful planning and preparation, natural disasters leave behind destruction and trauma in their wake. The Federal Government established the National Response Framework as a resource to help communities prepare for, recover from, and respond to these situations. Conflicts arise as a direct result of disasters as well as an indirect consequence. Using Galveston, TX as a case study because of its repeated experience with recovery from hurricanes, qualitative interviews were conducted to explore what is being done to help with conflicts that cause additional trauma. Alternative dispute resolution skills such as conflict styles, active listening, and reframing and summarizing are explored as a means of reducing the traumas amplified by conflicts that are revealed during a disaster.

A linguagem XML tem se tornado um padrão no intercâmbio de informações naWeb. No entanto, a maioria das organizações continua a armazenar seus dados em bancos de dados relacionais. Diante deste ambiente, surge a necessidade de se construir aplicações que permitam às empresas o intercâmbio de informações via XML, mas sem que estas empresas tenham que migrar suas bases relacionais. Neste trabalho, é apresentada uma técnica para importar e exportar documentos XML, focada em cenários entre empresas onde visões XML são extraídas de uma base de dados relacional e enviadas via Web (ou qualquer outro meio) para outra aplicação que as edita e as retorna. Através da edição da visão XML, a própria base de dados relacional é modificada, atualizando assim os dados da empresa. A base de dados relacional deve ser atualizada com as novas informações da visão XML. Neste tipo de transação tem-se as seguintes considerações: 1. A visão XML pode ser atualizada por qualquer aplicação. Editores de texto, banco de dados XML e aplicações específicas estão entre as aplicações que podematualizála. 2. A aplicação que recebe a visão XML fica de posse dela por um período não determinado, podendo inclusive não retornar a visão. Durante este período a aplicação pode ficar desconectada da base de dados geradora da visão XML. 3. Enquanto a visão XML está sendo editada, outras aplicações podem acessar e atualizar a base de dados. 4. Não existe conhecimento semântico específico sobre os dados contidos na visão XML. Portanto, para este tipo de aplicação, não é realista fazer um controle de concorrência baseado em bloqueios das tuplas contidas na visão. Da mesma forma, não é possível esperar que o usuário expresse, através de uma linguagem ou formato padrão, as alterações efetuadas na visão XML. Ocorre neste ambiente dois problemas: (i) identificar as modificações feitas na visão e (ii) identificar e resolver conflitos que possam ser causados por modificações na base de dados durante a transação. O objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver uma técnica para exportação e importação de visões XML que minimize estes dois problemas. Neste trabalho é proposta uma arquitetura que utiliza algoritmos de detecção de diferenças em documento XML e uma extensão do sistema de atualização de visões XML PATAXÓ, um sistema já existente de importação e exportação de documentos XML em bases relacionais. Também é apresentado, para o módulo de gerenciamento de transações da arquitetura, uma proposta de detecção e tratamento de conflitos baseada em regras geradas apenas sobre a estrutura da visão XML. / XML has become the standard format for exchanging information on the Web. However, many organizations continue storing their data in relational databases. In this context, it becomes necessary to build applications that allow companies to exchange information via XML without having to share their relational databases. This thesis introduces a technique for exporting and importing XML documents from relational databases in a scenario of business to business (B2B) applications. In the considered scenario, a XML view is extracted from a relational database and then sent via the Web (or any other means) to another separate application where the information is edited and then sent back after a certain period of time. Changes introduced on the XML view must be mapped into updates on the relational database, thus implementing business transactions etc. These types of transaction have the following considerations. 1) Any application may be used to edit the XML view. There is no need for a specific application to update it. 2) The application that receives the XML view retains its view during an indeterminate period of time having the option of not returning the view. During this period of time, the application is disconnected from the relational DBMS. 3) During the period of time in which the XML view is being updated, other applications may access and update the database. 4) There is no specific semantic knowledge regarding the data contained within the XML view. Therefore, with this type of application, it is not realistic to have a pessimistic concurrency control mecahnism based on data locking. In the same way, it is not realistic to expect a user to express the updates contained within the XML view through a specific language. Thus there are two main problems to be solved. Firstly, the identification of which modifications were made within the view, and secondly, identifying and solving conflicts that may arise due to updates in the database during the transaction. The objective of this thesis is to develop a technique for exporting and importing XML views that addresses these two problems. The thesis describes an approach to detect XML differences, as well as a extension of Pataxó, an already existing XML import/export system for relational databases. Additionally, the thesis describes the transaction management module that implements the proposed approach for detecting and handling conflicts due to updates on the XML view.

Notre projet de thèse suggère une lecture juridique, politique et sociale d'un conflit entre deux droits fondamentaux culturels. Plusieurs controverses existent aujourd'hui dans le monde occidental, dont l'objectif serait la légitimation éventuelle des restrictions de la liberté d'expression, et la liberté de l'art en particulier, au nom de la protection des croyances religieuses. Nous pourrions constater en effet un certain « paroxysme », qui aboutit, en dernier essor, à un conflit juridique, voire, un conflit réel. Au plan international, les premières indications de ce conflit apparussent peu ou prou au même époque que la controverse autour les « Versets sataniques » de Salman Rushdie. Quinze ans après, déclencha une autre « crise mondiale »: l'affaire des caricatures danoises, suivie, jusqu'aujourd'hui, par des dizaines de résolution du Conseil des droits de l'Homme et de l'Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies sur la diffamation des religions. Si l'on associe ce prétendu ‘conflit de valeurs' aux répercussions des attaques du 11 septembre et de la guerre contre le terrorisme, ainsi qu'aux politiques de discrimination constante à l'encontre des immigrés et les requérants d'asile en Europe, ou encore à la théorie de Huntington qui prône un supposé « conflit de civilisations », nous comprenons bien que la discussion est loin de concerner uniquement la liberté d'expression, ni, a fortiori, la liberté de l'art. Notre but est de proposer des approches « alternatives » aux conflits de droits, basées sur l'analyse des valeurs qui sont en jeu, et ciblant plutôt à la prévention de tels « conflits culturels », qu'à leur résolution formelle en faveur d'un droit ou d'un autre. / Our thesis project suggests suggests a legal, political and social reading of a conflict between two fundamental cultural rights. Several controversies exist today in the west world claiming the eventual legitimacy of the restrictions on artistic freedom, in the name of the protection of religious beliefs. We could even observe a certain ‘paroxysm' on this matter, which ends up at a legal, and virtually a real, conflict. From an international law point of view, the first indications of this kind of conflict appeared more or less during the notorious controversy around Salman Rushdie's ‘Satanic Verses”. Fifteen years later, in 2004, another ‘global crisis' appears: that of the Danish cartoons, followed by several resolutions on the subject of defamation of religions, issued by the UN Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. Associating this supposed “conflict of values” with the impact of 9/11 and the war against terrorism, as well as the discrimination politics against immigrants and asylum seekers in Europe, or even Huntington's theory concerning a pretended ‘conflict of civilisations', we realize that this ‘conflict' is not a matter concerning exclusively freedom of expression(FoE), and certainly not the freedom of the arts. Our aim is to propose alternative methods of conflict resolution techniques, based on the analysis of the values at stake and focusing on the prevention of such « cultural conflicts », rather then on their resolution, in favour of one right or the other.

Orientador: Héctor Luís Saint-Pierre / Banca: Janina Onuki / Banca: Suzeley Kalil Mathias / O Programa de Pós-Graduação em Relações Internacionais é instituído em parceria com a Unesp/Unicamp/PUC-SP, em projeto subsidiado pela CAPES, intitulado "Programa San Tiago Dantas" / Resumo: Com base no histórico das atividades de manutenção da paz e resolução de conflitos da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), analisamos de que maneira esta instituição reagiu à proliferação dos conflitos armados intra-estatais durante a década de 1990. O caráter multidimensional desses conflitos, que em certa medida não são tão novos quanto possam parecer, impôs uma série de dificuldades aos mecanismos tradicionais de manutenção da paz da ONU, que até então se restringiam ao envio de soldados desarmados ou fracamente armados para manter a paz entre Estados, com base nos fundamentos do respeito à soberania, imparcialidade, consentimento de todas as partes em conflito e uso da força somente em autodefesa. A partir do estudo das mudanças conceituais e operacionais das missões de paz da ONU na década de 1990, apontamos as dificuldades enfrentadas por esta organização para responder adequadamente aos conflitos intra-estatais, assim como discutimos os limites de sua atuação frente aos princípios tradicionais do sistema westfaliano - soberania, independência e não-intervenção / Abstract: Considering the historical development of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations, we analyze how this international institution faced the proliferation of intra-state armed conflicts during the 1990's. The multidimensional character of these conflicts, that are not as new as it seems, imposed a series of difficulties to the UN's traditional peacekeeping mechanisms, which were limited to sending light armed troops to create space for States to resolve their conflicts peacefully, according to the principles of consent, impartiality and minimum use of force. Following the study of the conceptual and operational changes in the UN peacekeeping missions in the 1990's, we examine the difficulties that this institution faced to adequately deal with intrastate conflicts, as well as we discuss the limits of the UN actions considering the traditional westphalian system principles - sovereignty, independence and non-intervention / Mestre

abstract: Communication skills within dating contexts are developed during the adolescent years, and are associated with a lifelong ability to have satisfying, enduring, and non-violent partnerships. As such, they are currently and increasingly implemented into both more general forms of healthy relationship education, as well as that targeting the prevention of teen dating violence specifically. Reaching Mexican American youth with culturally and developmentally appropriate relationship education, including communication skills, may be particularly important given their earlier transitions to marital and parenting relationships, acculturative stressors that present them with unique coupling challenges, and their higher rates of teen dating violence as compared to European American youth. We know very little about how Mexican American dating couples communicate about areas of conflict. This dissertation research utilizes Bell and Naugle's (2008) framework of interpersonal violence to explore how cultural and developmental considerations may be integrated in order to better understand how communication behaviors contribute to Mexican American middle adolescents' experiences with dating conflict. I use an observational study design in order to 1.) Qualitatively explore the communication strategies used by a sample of committed couples, including integration of culturally- and developmentally-relevant contexts, 2.) Quantitatively examine whether couple-level discrepancies in acculturation are associated with observed negativity, including whether this relationship may be mediated by dissimilar gender-related beliefs, and to 3.) Review empirical findings pertaining to the communication behaviors of Mexican American adolescents and to integrate ecodevelopmental theory in said framework as informed by Papers 1, 2, and literature specific to this topic area. The ultimate aim of this dissertation research is to generate findings that may improve the dating health of Mexican American adolescents living in the United States. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Social Work 2013

Este trabalho teve por objetivo verificar evidências de validade para um instrumento de avaliação de estratégias de resolução de conflitos conjugais e investigar o uso dessas estratégias por casais residentes no Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, o trabalho foi dividido em três artigos. O Artigo I buscou evidências de validade para o Conflict Resolution Behavior Questionnaire (CRBQ). O Artigo II verificou o uso de estratégias de resolução de conflitos entre homens e mulheres, sua associação a variáveis sociodemográficas e do relacionamento. Por fim o Artigo III identificou perfis de resolução de conflitos, associando-os à qualidade conjugal. Os participantes foram 750 casais heterossexuais, residentes no Rio Grande do Sul, e que coabitavam há, no mínimo, seis meses. Os resultados do Artigo I demonstraram evidências de que a versão brasileira do instrumento é válida para a avaliação das estratégias de resolução de conflitos conjugais. O Artigo II indicou que há associação da resolução do conflito conjugal à prática de alguma religião, ao tempo de relacionamento e ao momento do ciclo vital. No Artigo III, quatro perfis foram identificados: Evitador, Validador, Hostil e Volátil. Os aspectos que podem favorecer o encaminhamento construtivo dos conflitos pelos membros do casal e os níveis de qualidade conjugal associados a cada perfil identificado são discutidos. / This study aimed to verify validity evidences for an instrument for assessment of marital conflict resolution strategies and to investigate the use of these strategies by couples living in Rio Grande do Sul. To achieve this objective, this study is divided in three papers. Paper I investigated validity evidences for the Conflict Resolution Behavior Questionnaire (CRBQ). Paper II verified conflict resolution strategies used by men and women, its association with sociodemographic and relationship variables, and identified conflict resolution profiles. Participants were 750 heterosexual couples, who lived in Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil and cohabited for, at least, six months. Paper I showed evidences that the Brazilian version of the instrument is valid for the assessment of conflict resolution strategies. Paper II indicated that marital conflict resolution was associated with religious practice, length of relationship and moment of the life cycle. Paper III identified four profiles: Avoider, Validator, Hostile and Volatile. The aspects that can promote constructive management of conflicts by spouses and the marital quality associated with each profile are discussed.

A linguagem XML tem se tornado um padrão no intercâmbio de informações naWeb. No entanto, a maioria das organizações continua a armazenar seus dados em bancos de dados relacionais. Diante deste ambiente, surge a necessidade de se construir aplicações que permitam às empresas o intercâmbio de informações via XML, mas sem que estas empresas tenham que migrar suas bases relacionais. Neste trabalho, é apresentada uma técnica para importar e exportar documentos XML, focada em cenários entre empresas onde visões XML são extraídas de uma base de dados relacional e enviadas via Web (ou qualquer outro meio) para outra aplicação que as edita e as retorna. Através da edição da visão XML, a própria base de dados relacional é modificada, atualizando assim os dados da empresa. A base de dados relacional deve ser atualizada com as novas informações da visão XML. Neste tipo de transação tem-se as seguintes considerações: 1. A visão XML pode ser atualizada por qualquer aplicação. Editores de texto, banco de dados XML e aplicações específicas estão entre as aplicações que podematualizála. 2. A aplicação que recebe a visão XML fica de posse dela por um período não determinado, podendo inclusive não retornar a visão. Durante este período a aplicação pode ficar desconectada da base de dados geradora da visão XML. 3. Enquanto a visão XML está sendo editada, outras aplicações podem acessar e atualizar a base de dados. 4. Não existe conhecimento semântico específico sobre os dados contidos na visão XML. Portanto, para este tipo de aplicação, não é realista fazer um controle de concorrência baseado em bloqueios das tuplas contidas na visão. Da mesma forma, não é possível esperar que o usuário expresse, através de uma linguagem ou formato padrão, as alterações efetuadas na visão XML. Ocorre neste ambiente dois problemas: (i) identificar as modificações feitas na visão e (ii) identificar e resolver conflitos que possam ser causados por modificações na base de dados durante a transação. O objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver uma técnica para exportação e importação de visões XML que minimize estes dois problemas. Neste trabalho é proposta uma arquitetura que utiliza algoritmos de detecção de diferenças em documento XML e uma extensão do sistema de atualização de visões XML PATAXÓ, um sistema já existente de importação e exportação de documentos XML em bases relacionais. Também é apresentado, para o módulo de gerenciamento de transações da arquitetura, uma proposta de detecção e tratamento de conflitos baseada em regras geradas apenas sobre a estrutura da visão XML. / XML has become the standard format for exchanging information on the Web. However, many organizations continue storing their data in relational databases. In this context, it becomes necessary to build applications that allow companies to exchange information via XML without having to share their relational databases. This thesis introduces a technique for exporting and importing XML documents from relational databases in a scenario of business to business (B2B) applications. In the considered scenario, a XML view is extracted from a relational database and then sent via the Web (or any other means) to another separate application where the information is edited and then sent back after a certain period of time. Changes introduced on the XML view must be mapped into updates on the relational database, thus implementing business transactions etc. These types of transaction have the following considerations. 1) Any application may be used to edit the XML view. There is no need for a specific application to update it. 2) The application that receives the XML view retains its view during an indeterminate period of time having the option of not returning the view. During this period of time, the application is disconnected from the relational DBMS. 3) During the period of time in which the XML view is being updated, other applications may access and update the database. 4) There is no specific semantic knowledge regarding the data contained within the XML view. Therefore, with this type of application, it is not realistic to have a pessimistic concurrency control mecahnism based on data locking. In the same way, it is not realistic to expect a user to express the updates contained within the XML view through a specific language. Thus there are two main problems to be solved. Firstly, the identification of which modifications were made within the view, and secondly, identifying and solving conflicts that may arise due to updates in the database during the transaction. The objective of this thesis is to develop a technique for exporting and importing XML views that addresses these two problems. The thesis describes an approach to detect XML differences, as well as a extension of Pataxó, an already existing XML import/export system for relational databases. Additionally, the thesis describes the transaction management module that implements the proposed approach for detecting and handling conflicts due to updates on the XML view.

For years there has been an ongoing conflict, geographically concerning the southern parts of Thailand. The Malay-Muslim inhabitants of the area state that they do not fully belong to Buddhist Thailand and therefore require independence in various forms. Along with the Muslims, the Buddhist inhabitants of the area also suffer from daily violence and killings. The counteractions over the years seems to have resulted in chaotic conditions where civilians die regularly. After many years of violence, this complex situation has not successfully been ended and is still current. This case study will examine the requisites for peace in southern Thailand. The conflict has been studied through a conflict management perspective, thereof the choice of theory; Svante Karlsson’s conflict management theory. The conflict has been described, discussed and applied to the chosen theory. Results presented in this study shows that it is possible to achieve peace in the southern provinces of Thailand, however cooperation between the parts is necessary. A combination of several conflict management methods by Svante Karlsson can possibly result in peace in southern Thailand.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / State practice and literature suggest that devolution of power can address the main challenges of underdevelopment, internal conflict and abuse of centralised power in developing states. However, this thesis advances the argument that the design features of devolved government for these purposes are not always compatible. Accordingly, while there are complementary and neutral design features in the three designs, trade-offs have to be made between the unique design features in order to ensure the effective pursuit of the three purposes through a single system of devolved government. Kenya, the case study for this inquiry, confirms the international trend as its major challenges over the last 50 years have been underdevelopment, internal conflict and abuse of central power. As such, development, ethnic harmony, and the limiting of central power featured prominently throughout the entire constitutional review process as purposes to be pursued by means of devolution of power. To this end, the devolution of state power is one of the central elements of the current constitutional dispensation in Kenya. There are trade-offs made in Kenya‟s devolution design in order to accommodate the three purposes of devolution. However, the overall result has been that the emphasis falls on development at the expense of conflict resolution and limiting central power. Nevertheless, regardless of the trade-offs and nature of the final design, the design‟s effectiveness or lack thereof may depend very much on factors external to the design. Lack of political will to make devolution work can negate the effectiveness of even the most perfect design; by same token, political will could make an apparently bad design effective. In practice, therefore, effectiveness depends on an array of other context-specific factors. / South Africa