Suicidal behavior and death by suicide are significant and pressing problems in the Bhutanese refugee community. Currently, Bhutanese refugees are dying by suicide at a rate nearly 2 times higher than the general United States population. Proper identification of risk factors for suicide saves lives and prevents suicides (Mann et al., 2005); however, if suicide risk is underestimated due to culturally inflexible risk assessments, preventable deaths may continue to needlessly grow. In a community sample of Bhutanese refugees resettled in Vermont (N=60), the current study aims to (1) test elements of a comprehensive conceptual model of incremental risk factors for suicide – adapted from the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide (IPTS; Joiner, 2005) – including suicidal desire, suicidal ideation, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness and (2) test the relative contributions of suicidal desire and suicidal ideation as risk factors for suicidal behavior. Participants attended a single study visit at which they completed self-report measures administered in an interview format via an interpreter, if needed. Key measures included the Beck Scale for suicidal ideation (BSS; Beck & Steer, 1991), Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ; Van Orden et al., 2012), Wish to be Dead Scale (WDS; Lester, 2013), Refugee Health Screener – 15 (RHS-15; Hollifield et al., 2013), Postmigration Living Difficulties checklist (PmLD; Laban et al., 2005), Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS; Gebauer et al., 2010), basic demographics questions, and qualitative questions about suicide within the Bhutanese refugee community. The analytic approach relied on the use of hurdle models, Fisher’s exact tests, hierarchical logistic regression, and independent samples t-tests to assess the relationships among aspects of our conceptual model. Although endorsement of suicidal ideation (n = 4, 6.7%) and suicidal behavior (n = 2, 3.3%; measured by combining the planning and concealment subscales of the BSS) was low in the sample, a substantial minority (n = 29, 48.3%) endorsed some desire to be dead. Perceived burdensomeness, but not thwarted belongingness, was significantly associated with both suicidal ideation and the desire to be dead. There was no evidence that the desire for death contributed additional risk of suicidal behavior, above and beyond suicidal ideation. Of participants with a history of suicide attempts (n = 4), none reported any suicidal ideation and 3 reported some desire to be dead. Neither desire to be dead nor suicidal ideation was significantly related to suicide attempt history. These findings have implications for suicide detection and prevention among resettled Bhutanese refugees. The cultural responsiveness of suicide screening in this population could be improved by assessing two constructs not typically assessed: desire to be dead (e.g., the WDS) and perceived burdensomeness (e.g., INQ). Explicit evaluation of these two constructs in Bhutanese refugees may increase the sensitivity of risk assessments without sacrificing specificity in comparison to assessments exclusively focused on self-reported suicidal ideation.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) validation experiment is conducted for convection flow from a heated plate in buoyancy aided and opposed orientations. The design of the experiment to meet CFD validation completeness standards is described. Previous experiments and simulations have been completed, but none measure or present to necessary boundary conditions to define the simulation boundary conditions. Experimental measurements of forced and mixed convection are presented, along with measured boundary conditions sufficient to compute simulations for validations purposes. Some simulation results are described, but a complete validation study is not included. Simulations are conducted to ensure all necessary boundary conditions are being measured. This document and the corresponding website will provide sufficient explanation and data to repeat the experiment and sped the setup of future validation experiments. The data and boundary conditions are available for download on a website dedicated to validation data dissemination. Along with the validation data, the response quantities provide some insight into the flow characteristics of the boundary layer for convective flow from a vertical flat plate.

This thesis provides a criminological perspective on the Australian state???s responses to unauthorised migrants. In particular, it attempts to build on recent criminological literature on state crime by contrasting the alleged deviance of unauthorised migrants with the organised and deviant human rights abuses perpetrated by the Australian state. The main argument of the thesis is that through the systematic alienation, criminalisation and abuse of unauthorised migrants, particularly refugees, the Australian state is engaged in state crime. While this can partly be measured by breaches of international humanitarian law, the acts in question are criminal according to the broader sociological understanding of state crime as ???state organisational deviance involving the violation of human rights???. The thesis develops this argument by locating the phenomena of forced and illicit migration within an increasingly globalised world economy in which the needs for international human migration are confronted by the restrictive migration policies of the dominant Western states. In this context, the Australian state has played a pivotal role in the development of three major Western exclusion zones, which are designed to contain unauthorised migrants in the developing world and are enforced by measures that systematically abuse human rights. The fundamental criminological dynamic of the Australian exclusion zone is its systematic assault on the movements and by definition, the rights, of forced migrants. This operates at a number of levels: unauthorised arrivals are alienated by their lack of legal status; they are denied access to a full refugee determination process; their status as refugees is subordinated to that of the resettled refugee; their experiences are denied and delegitimised through their construction as queue jumpers; they are criminalised through their participation in smuggling enterprises; they are punished and abused through the use of detention, dispersal and forced removal; and they are put at greater personal risk by the measures employed to enforce the zone. The thesis traces the development of this zone from the formation of the white Australia policy through to the Pacific Solution and critically analyses the ways in which current policy draws on and reinforces the exclusionist traditions of Australian nationalism.

This thesis addresses modeling transport phenomena in porous media with special attention being paid to convective characteristics of variable viscosity fluids in a homogeneous and isotropic medium. Two different categories of flows, with totally different driving forces, are considered being forced and free convection (both side and bottom heating, for a square enclosure, are studied). To account for property variation, the density is modeled by an Oberbeck–Boussinesq approximation while the viscosity is modeled by an exponential function. The limitations of the previous work, addressing the issue, are discussed in detail and improvements, in terms of thermo-hydraulic performance of the system are suggested. Dealing with the global aspects of the problem, the two major methods being the reference temperature and the property ratio approach are implemented. For natural convection problems, the former method is used; while for forced convection the latter is undertaken. New correlations, which are proved to be more accurate, are proposed for both forced and free convection problems. Besides, closed form solutions are reported for some cases of constant and variable viscosity. Convection visualization is also studied in detail where the concept of Energy Flux Vectors is put forward along with the application of heatlines and energy streamlines. It was mathematically shown that in two-dimensional space heatlines and energy streamlines, which were invented independently, are the same as each other. Moreover, the newly developed concept, energy flux vectors serve as a new tool for convection visualization with the main advantage that this new technique, unlike heatlines and energy streamlines, does not require further (and sometimes complicated) numerical analysis in addition to solving momentum and thermal energy equations. This, in its turn, reduces the time and computer resources required to see the flow of energy. Finally, in Chapter 7, the summary of the work along with the conclusions are presented. Finally, recommendations for future studies are put forward.

Migration and exile due to human rights violations have long been key topics in Latin American studies. In the Colombian context, a compelling corpus of texts has surfaced that deals specifically with the phenomenon of forced internal displacement. Colombia is second only to Sudan in terms of the number of victims––some four million people––who have had to leave their homes and communities because of civil unrest. In this dissertation, I consider the socio-political construct of the displaced to be a homogenizing term used by the media and official discourse to refer to those affected by internal exile. This study centres on the uses and impacts of this identity marker at individual and collective levels within a cultural studies approach. In Chapter 1, I discuss three different genres: a novel, which references testimonio accounts, and a play that is partly based on both. The sheer diversity of characters that become part of the displaced category exposes relevant racial, ethnic, and ideological alliances that emphasize us-them relations. An analysis of Luis Alberto Restrepo’s film La primera noche, Chapter 2 deals with the juxtaposition of the rural and urban so as to expose the ramifications of dispossession at multiple degrees of individual and collective identification and examines effects of marginality by contrasting the conditions of the displaced against those of other marginalized populations. In Chapter 3, I argue that music is a tool of both denunciation and declaration through an analysis of a collection of songs written and performed by members of Afro-Colombian displaced communities. I study these vallenato and rap songs, fused with unconventional lyrics and musical elements, as testimonial texts that contest issues of land rights vis-à-vis collective identity and agency. Finally, Chapter 4 is a cross-examination of the shelter within a series of photographs. I first read the refugee centre as a bio-political space where residents are subject to extreme inhumane conditions, and I then show the shelter to be a space that elicits movements of solidarity and resistance, and counters the notion of the displaced as a homogeneous group.

“The Gulag and Soviet Society in Western Siberia, 1929-1953” examines the history of forced labour during the Stalin era in Western Siberia, or present-day Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Kemerovo Provinces. The region was a key site of Stalin-era repression, as it was home to numerous Gulag camps including Siblag, one of the longest lasting and most economically diversified of the many prison-labour camps scattered throughout the former Soviet Union. Western Siberia was also one of the main areas of exile for peasants and, later, displaced ethnic groups. The dissertation traces the seeming contradictions in the development of the Gulag by juxtaposing the very modern, bureaucratic “Gulag” as it appeared on paper, with the “Gulag” on the ground that relied heavily on informal practices, data falsification, and personal connections. The Gulag is thus emblematic of the “neo-traditional” modernization of the Soviet Union under Stalin. The dissertation also examines points of illicit and condoned interaction between the Gulag and surrounding population centres, thus challenging Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s seminal and enduring depiction of the Gulag as an isolated archipelago of concentration camps. Illicit interaction included widespread black-market activity, the smuggling of correspondence, sexual affairs, and, surprisingly, even instances of locals sneaking into the camps to use camp facilities. Condoned interaction took place at the level of local economic planning (the transfer of prisoners for help with specific projects), a striking overlap in cultural and propaganda campaigns, the contracting out of prisoners to local enterprises, and the granting of unescorted status to large numbers of prisoners, who thus had the right to move outside of the camp zones without guard. Because many of Western Siberia’s camps were located in and around major urban centres, including Novosibirsk and Tomsk, the region is important for examining issues of interaction. The dissertation draws extensively on sources from four archives in Moscow and four archives in Siberia, as well as Gulag newspapers, published and unpublished memoirs, document collections, and archival collections available in the United States. Many of these sources are under-utilized, including Communist Party documents from the local camp administrations, personal files of prisoners, and NKVD operational orders.

Migration and exile due to human rights violations have long been key topics in Latin American studies. In the Colombian context, a compelling corpus of texts has surfaced that deals specifically with the phenomenon of forced internal displacement. Colombia is second only to Sudan in terms of the number of victims––some four million people––who have had to leave their homes and communities because of civil unrest. In this dissertation, I consider the socio-political construct of the displaced to be a homogenizing term used by the media and official discourse to refer to those affected by internal exile. This study centres on the uses and impacts of this identity marker at individual and collective levels within a cultural studies approach. In Chapter 1, I discuss three different genres: a novel, which references testimonio accounts, and a play that is partly based on both. The sheer diversity of characters that become part of the displaced category exposes relevant racial, ethnic, and ideological alliances that emphasize us-them relations. An analysis of Luis Alberto Restrepo’s film La primera noche, Chapter 2 deals with the juxtaposition of the rural and urban so as to expose the ramifications of dispossession at multiple degrees of individual and collective identification and examines effects of marginality by contrasting the conditions of the displaced against those of other marginalized populations. In Chapter 3, I argue that music is a tool of both denunciation and declaration through an analysis of a collection of songs written and performed by members of Afro-Colombian displaced communities. I study these vallenato and rap songs, fused with unconventional lyrics and musical elements, as testimonial texts that contest issues of land rights vis-à-vis collective identity and agency. Finally, Chapter 4 is a cross-examination of the shelter within a series of photographs. I first read the refugee centre as a bio-political space where residents are subject to extreme inhumane conditions, and I then show the shelter to be a space that elicits movements of solidarity and resistance, and counters the notion of the displaced as a homogeneous group.

“The Gulag and Soviet Society in Western Siberia, 1929-1953” examines the history of forced labour during the Stalin era in Western Siberia, or present-day Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Kemerovo Provinces. The region was a key site of Stalin-era repression, as it was home to numerous Gulag camps including Siblag, one of the longest lasting and most economically diversified of the many prison-labour camps scattered throughout the former Soviet Union. Western Siberia was also one of the main areas of exile for peasants and, later, displaced ethnic groups. The dissertation traces the seeming contradictions in the development of the Gulag by juxtaposing the very modern, bureaucratic “Gulag” as it appeared on paper, with the “Gulag” on the ground that relied heavily on informal practices, data falsification, and personal connections. The Gulag is thus emblematic of the “neo-traditional” modernization of the Soviet Union under Stalin. The dissertation also examines points of illicit and condoned interaction between the Gulag and surrounding population centres, thus challenging Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s seminal and enduring depiction of the Gulag as an isolated archipelago of concentration camps. Illicit interaction included widespread black-market activity, the smuggling of correspondence, sexual affairs, and, surprisingly, even instances of locals sneaking into the camps to use camp facilities. Condoned interaction took place at the level of local economic planning (the transfer of prisoners for help with specific projects), a striking overlap in cultural and propaganda campaigns, the contracting out of prisoners to local enterprises, and the granting of unescorted status to large numbers of prisoners, who thus had the right to move outside of the camp zones without guard. Because many of Western Siberia’s camps were located in and around major urban centres, including Novosibirsk and Tomsk, the region is important for examining issues of interaction. The dissertation draws extensively on sources from four archives in Moscow and four archives in Siberia, as well as Gulag newspapers, published and unpublished memoirs, document collections, and archival collections available in the United States. Many of these sources are under-utilized, including Communist Party documents from the local camp administrations, personal files of prisoners, and NKVD operational orders.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur lärare tänker kring och ser på arbetet i arbetslag och samverkan. Studien bygger på ett fenomenografiskt vetenskapligt förhållningssätt och är baserade på kvalitativa intervjuer för att ta reda på några lärares uppfattningar och syn på arbetet inom och utanför arbetslaget. Intervjuerna är utförda på tre olika skolor i två olika kommuner och 16 verksamma lärare har deltagit. Studiens teoretiska bakgrund beskriver det postmoderna samhället och en skola i förändring. Bakgrunden behandlar begreppen balkanisering och Self-efficacy, hur grupper ser ut och vad som påverkar dem. Vidare skildras olika former av samarbetskulturer och modeller som beskriver hur samarbetet kan se ut och vad som påverkar. I bakgrunden tas även Social Dominance Theory upp. Studiens resultat påvisar att arbetslaget fyller en viktig funktion för de intervjuade lärarna och att de individer som ingår i arbetslaget påverkar hur samarbetet ser ut. Resultatet visar även att det har betydelse hur gruppen är strukturerad och hur ansvaret är fördelad både inom gruppen och från skolledningen. De flesta intervjuade lärarna beskrev att det fanns en styrning i arbetet i arbetslag och att de såg hur samhället hade en påverkan på arbetet i arbetslag i form av ökade uppgifter från skolledningen. Studiens resultat framlägger bevis för att arbetslagen arbetar separerade från varandra och likaså att samarbete mellan arbetslagen i stort sett inte förekom. Slutsatser som denna studie visar är att lärare tenderar att själva gruppera sig efter stadieindelning eller fysisk placering, att uppdelning sker både inom och utanför arbetslaget och att gemensamma värden och normer inom arbetslaget är betydelsefullt för de intervjuade lärarna.

The following thesis is an investigation of the actors, the forces and the conditions contributing to the phenomenon of forced labor in the Brazilian countryside. The paper begins by providing a relevant historical background to the problem of coercive labor, starting with the colonial legacy of slavery, dating back to the 16th century and leading up to the present. The aim is to explore the role of local actors, in particular landowners, gatos and the ‘enslaved’ (or workers coerced into forced labor) in constituting and re-constituting this phenomenon. At the same time the influence of local actors is contextualized in light of broader transnational processes, such as the spread of capitalism and neo-liberal globalization.