Univ., Diss.--Louvain-la-Neuve, 2007.

Thesis (D. Miss.)--Western Seminary, Portland, Or., 1998. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 312-318).

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-207).

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-207).

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-207).

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Visual Arts, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-102).

Thesis (D. Miss.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1993. / Abstract. Appendixes in French. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-177).

abstract: Great disasters can often serve as birthing grounds for national transformation. As communities work to recover and rebuild, opportunities to reassess of prevailing development theories and programs may arise. As traditional development programs, supported by top-down development theories and billions in foreign aid, have not changed Haiti's impoverished status, such an opportunity has been presented to the Caribbean nation. Just a few months removed from the devastating 7.0 earthquake of Jan 12, 2010, this study identified the emergent thinking about development as expressed by key informants (N=21) from six entity types involved in Haiti's rebuilding efforts - government agencies, social ventures, grassroots, diaspora, foreign, and hybrid nonprofits. Findings were supplemented by participant observation of a civil society meeting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) Framework was used as a lens with which to understand the causes of Haiti's social, institutional, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities. Modified grounded theory was used as the qualitative data analytical method from which five themes emerged: Haitian government, rebuilding, aid work and its effects, Haitian society, and international interference. Participants called for a refoundation, the building a nation from the ground up, of Haiti. Based on these findings, four transformative processes were identified as fundamental to Haiti's refoundation: 1) communication and collaboration with the Haitian government, 2) engagement of the Haitian people and the Haitian diaspora in the redevelopment work, 3) a broad vision of development for the nation, and 4) coordination and collaboration among NGOs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Community Resources and Development 2010

abstract: Haiti has witnessed high deforestation rates in recent decades, caused largely by the fuel needs of a growing population. The resulting soil loss is estimated to have contributed towards a decline in agricultural productivity of 0.5% -1.2% per year since 1997. Recent studies show the potential of biochar use through pyrolysis technology to increase crop yields and improve soil health. However, the appropriateness of this technology in the context of Haiti remains unexplored. The three objectives of this research were to identify agricultural- and fuel-use-related needs and gaps in rural Haitian communities; determine the appropriateness of biochar pyrolyzer technology, used to convert agricultural biomass into a carbon-rich charcoal; and develop an action-oriented plan for use by development organizations, communities, and governmental institutions to increase the likelihood of adoption. Data were collected using participatory rural appraisal techniques involving 30 individual interviews and three focus-group discussions in the villages of Cinquantin and La Boule in the La Coupe region of central Haiti. Topics discussed include agricultural practices and assets, fuel use and needs, technology use and adoption, and social management practices. The Sustainable Livelihoods framework was used to examine the assets of households and the livelihood strategies being employed. Individual and focus group interviews were analyzed to identify specific needs and gaps. E.M. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory was used to develop potential strategies for the introduction of pyrolysis technology. Preliminary results indicate biochar pyrolysis has potential to address agricultural and fuel needs in rural Haiti. Probable early adopters of biochar technology include households that have adopted new agricultural techniques in the past, and those with livestock. Education about biochar, and a variety of pyrolysis technology options from which villagers may select, are important factors in successful adoption of biochar use. A grain mill as an example in one of the study villages provides a model of ownership and use of pyrolysis technology that may increase its likelihood of successful adoption. Additionally, women represent a group that may be well suited to control a new local biochar enterprise, potentially benefiting the community. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Sustainability 2011

This dissertation explores the ways that Haitian Vodouisants are actively (re)working Vodou into a diasporic and transnational faith that can speak to localization of both homeland and new land. Immigrant communities are pushed and pulled between homogenizing frames of American religiosity and internal debates and dialogs that may fracture them in new, unique ways. The free market of religions in a disestablishment context such as America gives faith communities the ability to claim equal positioning but also opens doors to religious shoppers and converts. Vodouisants draw upon heritage identities, localization, and networks to make claims of belonging and power. Haitian- ness and blackness are identities of belonging that white initiates cannot claim despite redrawing moral geographies. Initiates are made into inwardly facing communities through the educational as if of ritual, creating possibilities for non-Haitians to belong at least marginally. Redrawing these moral geographies provides a way to construct diasporic faith communities disconnected from the sacred spaces of the homeland. However, redrawing boundaries also means building bridges to diasporic realities and localizations. For Vodouisants in Boston, this means plugging into the progressive narratives of feminism and LGBTQ equality using particular presentations of Vodou mythology and practice. Presentations at universities and work with academics help legitimize not only Vodou but also this diasporic focus. Legitimization in local Boston contexts may aid in claims-making towards belonging to larger American forms of religion, but it also creates problems with homeland identities. Creative accommodations of practice, identity, and narrative building may allow Vodouisants the ability to claim belonging in larger religiosities but at the same time threaten reputations and Haiti focused claims-making of traditionalism. This case study provides insight into what will be a longer and broader process of Vodou developing as an American religion.