Thesis (M.S.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Oct. 4, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 76-84).

This study examines the effects of more lenient marijuana policy on recidivism rates. Using data of prisoners by state it examined the effect that more lenient drug laws by state on that state's recidivism rates.

This dissertation argues that conventional analysis of business-state relations fails to capture the nuances of networks shaping Egypt's neoliberal reform experience. Instead, it posits that both the 'business-state' and 'domestic-international' divides should be reconsidered - with categories better understood based on the nature of individuals' socio-economic capital (Bourdieu 1986). I argue that only by using such a framework can we make visible insidious forms of resource capture and economic exclusion. On the macro-level, this dissertation tells a story of elite resource capture that occurred alongside Egypt's experience of economic liberalization. While particular attention is paid to reforms of the 2000s, I also trace developments to roots laid by international partnerships and platforms established during the first IMF-led reform project of the Mubarak era in the 1990s. On the micro-level, this is a story of some of the central networks of 'globalizers' (Springborg and Henry 2010) - or individuals who rose to become chief mediators for internationally funded initiatives to empower Egypt's 'private sector.' I examine their ascent in the industrial policy-making space during the tenure of the first businessman cabinet member, Rashid Mohammed Rashid (2004-2011). I focus on the role of these networks in capturing the central 'business development' programs initiated alongside the reforms of the 2000s, which I argue served as platforms for accessing both immediate rent streams, as well as for shaping industrial policies to gain future rents. I then follow a handful of these individuals as they secure one highly controversial industrial policy: the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) trade agreement between Egypt, Israel and the US. In particular, I highlight the web of individuals and organizations mobilized in the process, providing close examination of the small cohort standing at the center of negotiations. I draw from targeted interviews and participant observation conducted over three years of fieldwork and triangulate findings with printed sources including corporate press releases, leaked US embassy cables and evaluations by international development organizations.

In this sector analysis I report on my investigation of the International Smallholder Tea Sector and its incorporation into global policy spheres. “Globally, tea smallholder sector covers 70% of the plantation area and produces 60% of the global tea production volume (UNFAO, 2017) Therefore, I argue that smallholder farmers should play a greater role in creating value through representation in dynamic policy discussions, such as the UNFAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea. I address how small landholders are economically developing and overall industry strategy. I suggest governance structures in order to address challenges and opportunities in future development and specifically look at the dynamic position of global policy making and industry trends, as they pertain to the potential for sustainability and long term-success of this important industry. My regional emphasis on South Asia provides a setting to focus on shared global trends as they pertain to social, cultural, biological production atmospheres.

Research is increasingly acknowledging the pivotal role of national human resource development (NHRD) in economic development. There is a growing call to conduct research in country-specific contexts to further explore this concept and the factors that influence its outcomes. The concept differs from one country to another; therefore, many HRD studies focus on one country. However, few have focused on the Middle East region, and there has been even less research on Oman. The aim here is to fill this research gap by analysing Oman’s HRD practices. Specifically, the intent is to identify the gap in skillsets in Oman and to develop an NHRD model that is appropriate for the country’s economic requirements for national skills development.

This research aims to investigate how sociocultural amorality has been portrayed in Malaysian films, and how can these taboos be alternatively portrayed cinematically to a Malaysian audience. Questions as to why Malaysian (mainstream) cinema is seemingly unable to produce films that connect with the Malaysian psyche and mirror its collective realities will be pitted against the notion that Malaysians themselves (as the primary audience) are not ready or unwilling to watch such films, and address the unattractive sides of their society onscreen. In order to investigate these questions, the work will experiment with alternative filmmaking techniques, film aesthetics and modes of representation that may depict taboos within a Malaysian context. It is envisaged that the findings of this research will lead to a more nuanced exploration of taboos within Malaysian cinema and Malaysian society. The approaches adopted by some Malaysian filmmakers in addressing difficult sociocultural issues in their work, and the locoregional challenges they faced in the process of making these films will be looked into in detail. These findings will then be compared with the filmmaking techniques used within a few unconventional non-Malaysian films which have dealt with taboos and difficult subject matters. The outcome of the analyses of both cohorts will then be utilised to inform practice - in this case the filmmaking portion of the work - and help shape the experimental feature film Haruan: The Snakehead which will form the majority of the final PhD submission. A parallel experiment of adopting an almost completely visual workflow using digital drawings - from the feature film’s early ideation, narrative, previsualisation to all the stages of its production process - will also be carried out within the practice component of the study. Two taboos which have raised significant concern within the Malaysian society due to the increase in their reported prevalence will be specifically addressed - infanticide/baby abandonment and incestuous rape - and the possible connection between the two. In interrogating how taboos - within their various sociocultural denominations - have been portrayed in Malaysian Cinema over the years, it is important to ascertain what taboos in the Malaysian context actually are. More importantly, do these so-called Malaysian-specific taboos even exist?

In our urban environment we are surrounded by strangers, observed via surveillance cameras and connected to millions via the global digital infrastructure. Our media is pervasive and immersive, implicit in everything we do, as the distinction between the real and virtual becomes increasing blurred. Whilst pervasive screens are becoming an essential personal tool, large format public screens form part of the furniture of our urban architecture. This study will ask how we can maximise opportunities for cultural engagement using urban screens and how this can impact on our culture. In the last ten years urban screens have been installed across the world, including in twenty-two cities in the UK funded by the BBC and Local Authorities for the Cultural Olympiad. The aim of the screens was to address local communities in order to reflect something of their respective location and community, “with a full programme of locally run community and sporting events”. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bigscreens) Urban screens have a huge potential to play a role in changing the way that the public engages in urban space. Lucy Lippard identifies “place” as a hybrid of communal memories (Lippard, L. 1997, p9) and proposes that artist play a key role in offering community a framework from which to tackle issues, and debate. Urban screens are usually located in busy shopping centers and are ideally located to attract a broad demographic to contribute to a memory of place embracing an inclusive multicultural and tolerant approach. Through this thesis I explore how interactive works for urban screens can offer opportunity for public participation in the urban environment. Kristine Stiles and Ed Shanken propose that a key factor in interactive works is that they offer “agency” which involves freedom to make choices and to be creative in order to make a difference. (Stiles, K. Shanken E. 2011, p32) Through my literature review and current creative practice, including urban screen projects in collaboration with telematics artist Paul Sermon; “Picnic on the Screen” for the Glastonbury Festival BBC Village Screen 2009 and “Occupy the Screen” for Connecting Cities Berlin/Riga 2014, I explore how interactive artists can optimise agency, opportunities for play, creativity and self-representation to a diverse audience in order to change the way that we engage in the urban environment. Through this PhD I have developed a framework for engagement with public audiences through play.

The sharing economy is a new promising trend with many positive outcomes on society and the environment, as it provides potential for sustainable solutions due to the reduction of resource consumption and less waste. However, research and practice show that sharing comes with its own share of problems. People often act selfishly, and in worst-case scenarios try to take advantage of others without contributing to the shared good. To achieve the higher goal of sustainability, it is important that conflicts in the sharing economy are prevented, and a setting is achieved that allows people to easily behave in a cooperative and sustainable way. The present research examines which conflicts emerge in sharing communities (study 1) and community gardens in particular (study 2), and whether regulation can prevent conflicts in large groups. Two exploratory studies were conducted. First, a qualitative study with consumers and non-consumers of the sharing economy revealed that regulatory systems are perceived as important for preventing the exploitation of other community members, but also that cooperation should not be enforced with strict controls and punishment. Rather, problems should be discussed in a democratic group setting, rules and goals should be set up together, and trust should be built. Second, a questionnaire study with community gardeners in Austria confirmed these results, and showed that trust is related to less conflict in community gardens, while harsh forms of regulation are related to a potential for greater conflict. Additionally, the results indicate that soft forms of regulation are related to fewer relationship and task conflicts, better conflict resolutions, a high sense of community, and greater trust in the community. We then discuss how these findings can be used to regulate sharing economy activities and give limitations and directions for future studies.

MELO, Aquiles Chaves de. A metamorfose da questão do imperialismo nas configurações contemporâneas do Sistema do Capital. 2011. 56f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-graduação em Sociologia, Fortaleza (CE), 2011. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-03-29T12:34:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2011_dis_acmelo.pdf: 996596 bytes, checksum: 0433bcb01b5ddc05772f7fcaeba39f73 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-03-29T12:35:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2011_dis_acmelo.pdf: 996596 bytes, checksum: 0433bcb01b5ddc05772f7fcaeba39f73 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-29T12:35:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2011_dis_acmelo.pdf: 996596 bytes, checksum: 0433bcb01b5ddc05772f7fcaeba39f73 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Some authors note the disappearance of the term "imperialism" of contemporary political debates. This concept returns to the scene especially with the American entry into the Iraq war and Bush proclaimed fight against terrorism. However its meaning no longer holds any relationship to the economic basis of social structure, now being used in their conception of the nineteenth century, where it was seen as a great civilizing mission. What we perceive is that the various attempts to extinguish the concept of i mperialism were not fruitful for the interpretation of the dynamic reality of contemporary capitalism. Our hypothesis is that the maintenance of the international monetary system today, in the form of the floating dollar standard, creates an environment hi ghly conducive to the reproduction of capital by the hegemonic nation, where the United States, through the appropriation of the wealth of the peripheral countries , becoming the core of the contemporary imperialist nature. / Alguns autores apontam o sumiço do termo “imperialismo” dos debates políticos contemporâneos. Este conceito retorna à cena principalmente com a entrada americana na Guerra do Iraque e a luta proclamada por Bush contra o terrorismo. No entanto seu significado não mais guardaria relação com as bases econômicas da estrutura social, sendo agora utilizado na sua concepção do século XIX, onde era visto como uma grande missão civilizadora. Prova disso é a publicação da obra Império, de Negri e Hardt, onde seus autores apontam que o imperialismo acabara e que o mundo hoje seria dominado por uma nova forma denominada Império. O que percebemos é que as diversas tentativas de extinguir o conceito de imperialismo não se mostraram fecundas para a interpretação da realidade dinâmica do capitalismo atual. Para nós o imperialismo é algo imanente ao capitalismo e a compreensão da moderna lógica de desenvolvimento do capital perpassa pelo entendimento dos diversos mecanismos imperialistas utilizados pelos países centrais de se apropriar da riqueza dos países periféricos garantindo assim a manutenção tanto de sua posição de hegemon quanto o próprio processo de reprodução da ordem sócio- metabólica do capital. Nossa hipótese é que a manutenção hodierna do sistema monetário internacional, sob a forma do padrão dólar flexível, cria um ambiente extremamente propício para a reprodução do capital por parte da nação hegemônica, no caso os Estados Unidos, através da apropriação das riquezas dos países periféricos, tornando -se esse o cerne da natureza imperialista contemporânea

Submitted by Daniele Santos (danielesantos.htl@gmail.com) on 2017-02-23T18:14:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Monica.pdf: 4300075 bytes, checksum: cd2a9c923875e23e5781fe6c1201a184 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Janete de Oliveira Feitosa (janete.feitosa@fgv.br) on 2017-02-23T20:44:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Monica.pdf: 4300075 bytes, checksum: cd2a9c923875e23e5781fe6c1201a184 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-03T17:31:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Monica.pdf: 4300075 bytes, checksum: cd2a9c923875e23e5781fe6c1201a184 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-10 / China has been growing at a fastest pace than the rest of the world in the last two decades increasing the importance of its economy every day in the global field but sowing uncertainty and confusion among investors and the rest of the world due to the contradiction between its political and economic models. Economically, the People’s Republic of China has demonstrated to be more open to capitalism but its politics reveal a communist system in which there is no opportunity for a capitalist economy as it is originally conceived