The Master's thesis deals with China's increased engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa after 2000 and its impact on U.S. political and economic interests on the continent. In the first decade of the new millennium, China's search for natural resources, especially oil, to satisfy its growing demand, need to find new markets for exports, as well as China's aspiration to enhance its position at the international stage led Beijing to pay greater attention to Africa. China started to engage African countries through a combination of development assistance with no strings attached, except for the one-China principle, and high-profile diplomacy. The United States has become concerned that China might jeopardize its programs on democratization and governance and become a fierce economic competitor in Africa. In the first two chapters, the thesis describes the interests of China and the U.S, respectively, the main actors involved in the countries' respective Africa policies, and strategies and concrete policies these two world powers implement in Africa. The third chapter compares the U.S. and China's engagement in three case studies - on Nigeria, Angola and Sudan. The fourth chapter provides a comparison of the general features of the American and the Chinese policies towards Sub- Saharan Africa. The chapter...

<p dir="ltr">The spread and increasing prevalence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) has far reaching implications for natural resource management in Indiana. CWD is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that affects white-tailed deer and other cervids. This disease is invariably fatal in white-tailed deer, and there is concern that its continuing spread will cause populations to decline. White-tailed deer are also a culturally and economically important game species. Therefore, effective management of CWD must consider the epidemiologic, social, and economic dimensions of disease management. In Chapter One of my dissertation, I apply an agent-based model (ABM) framework to simulate how preemptive harvest increase and reactive culling affect CWD persistence and geographic spread. I found that preemptive harvest and reactive culling both had a small effect on preventing the establishment of CWD in the deer population. In Chapter Two, I test whether presenting deer hunters and non-deer hunters with results from CWD models and images of sick or healthy deer increases behavioral intention to engage in CWD mitigating behaviors. I found that using the web app did not change the behavioral intention of hunters and non-hunters. In Chapter Three, I conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis to identify the optimal combination of CWD surveillance and culling effort in terms of disease prevention. I found that testing 40% of hunter-harvested deer for CWD and culling 30% of deer within culling zones was most cost-effective in terms of disease prevention. In Chapter Four, I synthesize the results of the preceding chapters and discuss options for CWD management in Indiana.</p>

The study focuses on an evaluation of the anti-corruption initiatives in Botswana and their relation to Botswana’s development. An evaluation was needed to find out whether the anti-corruption initiatives were effective and whether there were a correlation between the effectiveness of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC) and the level of development in Botswana. This study showed that, the DCEC has succeeded to low corruption in Botswana through its most successful public education mandate and debatable good governance. The DCEC has helped to enhance service delivery in the public sector through the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Units (ACUs) within the Ministries aimed at tackling corruption in-house. Consequently, a significant slight improvement was registered in both public health and education sectors. However, that improvement was still minimal to the extent that it has been hampered by the challenging working conditions of the DCEC attributable to the inadequacy of legislation, lack of manpower, shortage of required skills and slow criminal justice system as well as the debatable independence of the DCEC, evidenced by its reporting and appointing lines. This implies that the impact of the DCEC in the development of Botswana has been minimal, as the country is still devastated by socio-economic disparities especially in rural areas. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

The pillars on which this study is based (stands) could be compared with the observations of Ejiofor (1981: 4), who says the modern-and-African political models have not been sufficiently discovered, developed, and operated in African states. One thinks that the social and political behaviour of African people are in conflict with the present day political structures and institutions. Political and economic actors fail to harness the knowledge, attitudes, and responses with the indigenous values. Own to these reasons the present political dispensations in Africa are misconceived and ill-adapted to their reality. Hence, the call for detailed study of home-grown African values as a means to redress these imbalances has become inevitable. This study is based on Igbo cultural solidarity as a means to address and achieve rural development in Africa. Meanwhile, this study attempts to re-ignite and re-echo ‘people-based’ and understood ‘home-based’ models of achieving rural development as focused on Okigwe-Owerri-Orlu political divisions among the Igbo of South-eastern Nigeria. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

This short paper considers all possible stakeholders in different stages of a sustainability transition and matches their behavioral features and diversity to policies. This will involve an assessment of potential or expected responses of stakeholders to a range of policy instruments. Following the Multi-Level Perspective framework to conceptualize sustainability transitions, we classify the various transition policies at niche, regime and landscape levels. Next, we offer a complementary classification of policies based on a distinction between social preferences and bounded rationality. The paper identifies many barriers to making a sustainability transition and how to respond to them. In addition, lessons are drawn from the case of Denmark. The detailed framework and associated literature for the analysis was discussed in Milestone 31 of the WWWforEurope project (Gazheli et al., 2012). / Series: WWWforEurope

Les échecs successifs des partenariats et tentatives de coopération dans la zone méditerranéenne ont montré les limites aux modèles diplomatiques employés jusqu’à présent et ont révélé le besoin de renouveler la participation des divers acteurs en présence. Dès lors, il s’est agi de déplacer le centre de gravité de l’activité diplomatique en Méditerranée afin d’élaborer un modèle de « diplomatie collective durable », par lequel la région pourrait servir de vecteur de modélisation pour les régionalisations actuelles ou futures, seules véritables réponses à une mondialisation croissante. Par le biais de l’analyse historique et contemporaine de l’exercice de la diplomatie ainsi que de l’évolution de la définition de la politique étrangère et grâce à l’exposé de l’effervescence intellectuelle autour de l’ouverture de l’activité diplomatique à des acteurs non gouvernementaux, il a été permis de présenter l’articulation entre les notions de diplomatie et de Société civile dans l’histoire et dans la théorie et d’en exposer les manifestations sur le terrain de la zone méditerranéenne. De ces manifestations, il a été conclu à un véritable état de fait de la diplomatie des Sociétés civiles. Face à cette phénoménologie de la diplomatie des Sociétés civiles dans les relations internationales, encouragée par les instances supranationales notamment, a été étudiée l’existence de l’insertion formelle de la Société civile dans l’ordre international afin d’envisager les divers fondements juridiques de sa participation. Dès lors, des textes internationaux ont servi aux recherches et ont permis de retracer l’évolution des relations internationales initialement exclusivement statocentrées mais qui se sont progressivement ouvertes à de nouveaux acteurs. Par ailleurs, il a été essentiel de procéder à la détermination du sujet de cette insertion à l’ordre juridique international et d’identifier l’existence d’une « Société civile internationale », simple acteur des relations internationales ou véritable sujet de droit international. Étant donnée la particularité de la région étudiée et les nécessités spécifiques qui en découlent, la zone a révélé un vrai potentiel afin d’intégrer voire d’institutionnaliser ce renouvellement diplomatique. Véritable modélisation régionale, la Méditerranée pourrait servir de laboratoire aux propositions contenues dans la thèse et qui tendraient à faire d’elle une zone pacifiée et stabilisée. / The consecutive failures of the successive cooperation and partnerships in the Mediterranean region have shown the limitations of the current diplomatic models and has also revealed the need to renew the participation of various actors on the international stage. Therefore, the dissertation has aimed to move the center of gravity of the diplomatic activity in the Mediterranean (mainly intergovernmental) in order to develop a model of “collective sustainable diplomacy” by which the region could serve as a model for current or future regionalizations, sole real answers to the increasing globalization. Through historical and contemporary analysis of the practice of diplomacy by civil societies and also through the presentation of the intellectual ferment allowing the expansion of diplomacy to non-state actors, it has been possible to show the signs of an existing diplomacy by these actors on the Mediterranean field. Facing this phenomenon of a less intergovernmental diplomacy, greatly encouraged by supranational organizations, we studied the existence of its formal insertion in the international legal order and presented various legal bases of the participation of civil societies to the diplomatic process. This analysis revealed the lack of a legal status of the so-called “international civil society” and highlighted the denial by the states of an official diplomatic action of this actor. This conclusion led to elaborate a Mediterranean model of action, integrating all stakeholders for a more collective and thus, sustainable diplomacy. Given the peculiarity and special needs of the study area, the Mediterranean has revealed a real potential to integrate, nay, institutionalize this diplomatic renewal. As a real regional modeling, the Mediterranean region could be used as a laboratory for the proposals contained in the dissertation, which could tend to make it a pacified and stabilized region.

This study was influenced by two sociological theories namely: Durkheim’s Structural Functionalism and Relativism. In terms of Durkheim’s Structural Functionalism, I claim that the aspects of social structures, cultural norms and values, which are among its main components, are also among the main components of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). In line with Relativism, this study argues against Durkheim’s claim that social structures, and cultural norms and values determine human choices and behaviour. It is claimed that in line with my understanding of IKS in this study social structures, cultural norms and values are relative aspects, because they change and differ from context to context even if their carriers are the same, and human choice in different times and places play a vital role in determining decisions. These theories have been applied practically by examining the relationship between Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and good governance. The study asserts that IKS has the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policies at the local municipality level. Thus, the study has sought to understand the extent to which IKS is incorporated in the policy development and implementation at the local municipality level. This investigation has been undertaken in the thematic context of HIV/AIDS. I investigated the extent to which IKS is incorporated into policy development and implementation related to HIV/AIDS at the local municipality level. The study has argued that the extent to which IKS is appropriated into policy development and implementation relies on the power dynamics between the provincial and national spheres of government on the one hand, and the local municipality leaders and officials on the other. The study has found that local municipality leaders and officials have a strong affinity to the IKS due to their proximity to the local citizens. But, political leaders at the national and provincial spheres of the South African government exert influence on the local municipality leaders and officials to exercise their power with limited response to the IKS needs of the local communities. / Sociology / D. Phil. (Sociology)

The study focuses on an evaluation of the anti-corruption initiatives in Botswana and their relation to Botswana’s development. An evaluation was needed to find out whether the anti-corruption initiatives were effective and whether there were a correlation between the effectiveness of the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crimes (DCEC) and the level of development in Botswana. This study showed that, the DCEC has succeeded to low corruption in Botswana through its most successful public education mandate and debatable good governance. The DCEC has helped to enhance service delivery in the public sector through the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Units (ACUs) within the Ministries aimed at tackling corruption in-house. Consequently, a significant slight improvement was registered in both public health and education sectors. However, that improvement was still minimal to the extent that it has been hampered by the challenging working conditions of the DCEC attributable to the inadequacy of legislation, lack of manpower, shortage of required skills and slow criminal justice system as well as the debatable independence of the DCEC, evidenced by its reporting and appointing lines. This implies that the impact of the DCEC in the development of Botswana has been minimal, as the country is still devastated by socio-economic disparities especially in rural areas. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Die vorliegende Arbeit prüft unterschiedliche Einflussfaktoren und deren Auswirkung auf die Merkmale informeller Siedlungen. Hypothese ist, dass die Morphologie und weitere physischen Merkmale informeller Siedlungen trotz der Wirksamkeit lokaler und kulturspezifischer Rahmenbedingungen auf die Wirkung bestimmbarer Einflussfaktoren zurückgeführt werden können, die entsprechend erkennbarer und prognostizierbarer Gesetzmäßigkeiten wirken. Es werden die Gesetzmäßigkeiten geprüft, die mit informeller Stadtbildung in Verbindung stehen und sich in Morphologie und weiteren physischen Merkmalen von informellen Siedlungen äußern. Dabei werden konstante und variable Faktoren unterschieden, die bei der Ausbildung informeller Stadtstrukturen wirken. Die meisten Faktoren stellen sich als variabel heraus. Mit dem Verständnis über deren Bedeutung und Zusammenhänge kann daher die informelle Siedlungsbildung beeinflusst werden und Planungsempfehlungen können für schnell und informell wachsende Städte formuliert werden. Die Morphologie und bautypischen Merkmale informeller Siedlungen sind prognostizierbar und die Folgen bestimmter Entscheidungen einschätzbar. Die Beeinflussung der Einflussfaktoren ist insbesondere auf der Ebene von Politik und Gesetzgebung möglich. Fast alle Handlungs- und Planungsentscheidungen müssen das Bodenrechtssystem und die vorliegenden Verhältnisse des Bodeneigentums beachten. Als Fallstudien dienen fünf Städte in Afrika, die von einer Bandbreite an Rahmenbedingungen beeinflusst werden und die aktuell einem besonders rasanten, doch jungen Verstädterungsprozess ausgesetzt sind. In Afrika finden sich unterscheidbare Rechtssysteme, die zum Teil aus der Kolonialgeschichte hervorgehen. Die Wahl der Beispiele wurde während der Bearbeitung und Vertiefung des Themas getroffen. Vor allem fußt die Analyse auf Originalmaterial, das die Autorin durch eigene Aufenthalte zusammengetragen und erhoben hat. Spezielle Planunterlagen, Planungs- und Gesetzesinformationen waren im Allgemeinen nicht anders aufzufinden. Es gibt auch nur wenige vorangegangene, einzelne Analysen informeller Siedlungen aus architektonischer oder planerischer Sicht. Wie keine der wenigen vorhandenen Analysen beansprucht diese Arbeit nun das Erarbeiten der Zusammenhänge von Rahmenbedingungen und Siedlungscharakteristik unter Beleuchtung der Bandbreite informeller Siedlungsformen. Von Bedeutung ist daher die intensive Arbeit mit dem Kartenmaterial auf Siedlungs- und Bebauungsebene, dessen Betrachtung vor dem Hintergrund landesspezifischer Informationen und die Erkenntnisgewinnung aus dem Vergleich der ausgewählten Beispiele stattfinden. / This work examines the factors influencing the characteristics of informal settlements. Hypothetically, the morphology and other physical characteristics of informal settlements can be attributed to the effect determinable factors, which function with predictable regularities, despite a locally and culturally specific framework. Examined are those regularities, which are related to the formation of informal urban growth, and which are expressed in the morphology and further physical characteristics of informal settlements. Constant and variable factors are differentiated when examining their influence on informal urban morphologies. It is discovered that most factors can be influenced on the level of politics and legislation and therefore, the formation and the physical characteristics of informal settlements can be steered. Planning recommendations for fast, informally growing cities can be formulated and the consequences of planning and policy decisions can be predicted equally. Nearly all action and planning decisions must consider the local juridical system and specific conditions of land ownership. The research clearly shows that the physical form of informal urban development, i.e. morphology and townscape, is directly connected to the given land ownership system in a country in general, and to the land rights specifically for settled land. In other words, current as well as former land ownership conditions in a country influence the physical characteristics of the informal settlements. In principle, the land law determines type, extent and functioning of plot allocation and transfer processes; and indirectly, the type and degree of nonconformity to this legal defines the type, extent and functioning of the informal land market. The research is based on case studies in five African cities with varying legal, administrative, historic and cultural frameworks, and which are currently exposed to a rapid process of urbanization, which has started only recently. In Africa, there are distinguishable juridical systems, which partially result from colonial history. Above all, the analysis is based on original material, which was gathered by the author during field research. There are only few analyses of informal settlements, which take an architectural or planning perspective, and those are limited to individual settlements. This work now stresses the interrelation of different aspects in the framework with physical settlement characteristics, while analyzing the respective range of informal settlement forms for each case example.

This study is an investigation into water management policies in South Africa, their effect on water users and the perceptions users have of these policies. The investigation begins with an exposition of concepts such as water demand management (WDM), as well as integrated water resource management (IWRM). A sub-discourse of the main theme is the societal tendency to neglect its common property. Garret Hardin's groundbreaking observations on the "tragedy of the commons" (1968) are explored in an effort to locate issues of relevance in effective water management strategies. In contemplating the commons, it is evident that aspects of morality and ethics are involved. The morality of a society be it in a global or national context, seems to manifest itself in legislation and policies, and in the way these are implemented. The relevance of good governance, hydropolitics and sustainable development is also discussed to provide the necessary theoretical background to an understanding of the relationship between consumers and the water commons. Access to safe drinking water is protected in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, 108 of 1996. Flowing from the government's obligation to take reasonable legislative and other measures to achieve the progressive realisation of fundamental human rights stipulated in section 27(2) of the Constitution, the challenge since 1994 has been to provide access to water for all inhabitants and to manage the available water resources effectively. Furthermore, the objective of subsequent water legislation such as the National Water Act, 36 of 1998 and regulatory plans, like the National Water Resource Strategy has been to incorporate international trends in water governance. The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs (DWEA) divided South Africa into 19 regions, called water management areas (WMA). In this study, attention is focused on what constitutes a catchment and how a catchment management agency (CMA) governs its water resources. A description is provided of the functions of water user associations (WUAs) and how ththe Lower Orange Catchment Management Area is, for example, the blueprint from which stakeholders develop their goals. In this study, the water situation in the Lower Orange Water Management Area is under scrutiny. The focus is on the three main institutional components of water management (the Lower Orange catchment management, the Upington Islands Water User Association [UIWUA] and the //Khara Hais Local Municipality). The progress of the establishment of the Lower Orange Catchment Management Agency is outlined over a period of five years. Meanwhile, the Upington Islands Water User Association was developed and this has grown in stature. The work being done by these institutions is investigated by looking at grassroots effects, especially in respect of irrigation activities. The unique water management circumstances of the //Khara Hais Local Municipality are then investigated along with the plans outlined in their Integrated Development Plan {lOP) and their Water Services Development Plane Internal Strategic Perspective (ISP) of(WSDP). Because local irrigation operations consume most of the available surface water in the Lower Orange Water Management Area, irrigation farmers and their activities warrant closer attention. A historical overview is given of the development of irrigation in the region followed by an assessment of the role of two of the most prominent historical figures in Upington, Reverend Adriaan Schroder and Abraham "Holbors" September. Ultimately, however, the focus falls on the current state of irrigation in the area. It is possible to distinguish between the approach of large commercial farming operations and that of smaller irrigation farming units to irrigation. Specific attention is given to the perceptions of irrigation farmers as far as the policies and legislation pertaining to water issues is concerned. This study will hopefully provide the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs(DWEA), //Khara Hais Local Municipality and organised agriculture with some recommendations on efficient integrated water management strategies. It might well be of value to other municipalities who are experiencing similar problems. The aim has been to identify typical problems and potential disputes between water management institutions and relevant role-players. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.