This ethnographic study is based on in-depth participant observation with five American-Born Asian Indian college students (hereafter referred to as ABCDs) in their early 20s. This term, ABCD is one that is normally used within the United States-based South Asian community but is used here in place of Second-Generation Asian Indian American because it more directly underscores the state of in-between-ness that the subjects studied expressed as applicable to their experiences. This study provides a partial portrait of the ways that ABCDs manage the tension between their families expectations and the dominant hostile mindset towards people who look Middle Eastern in Post-9/11 America. Indians in the U.S. are sometimes unfairly perceived to have divided loyalties in an era where patriotism and nativism have increased among the mainstream American middle-class. This thesis posits that the public treatment of ABCD individuals as both Model Minorities and stigmatized suspicious persons prejudice erroneously assumed against people who look middle-eastern results in angst that each of the informants navigates in different ways. The data analysis suggests that the physical separation from parents and the freedom of college creates space and time for a relatively unmonitored lifestyle. However, life at this stage is complicated for ABCDs who, since 9/11 have experienced prejudice based on misidentification. This post-9/11 hostile environment has created a complicated and contradictory space in which ABCDs have to negotiate their identity. Combined with parental pressure to excel, this produces anxiety and ambivalence.

In 2000, the United Nations presented the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the worlds leaders in a collective effort to promote poverty reducing initiatives including universal education. The goal of providing basic social programs such as education has been stressed in human rights initiatives and global development projects since 1948 and has been the focus Kenyas national development programs since its independence. During the Kenyatta and Moi regimes, collective harambee efforts between the local communities, the Kenyan government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were established to provide physical infrastructure and feeding programs in the public school sector. The Kenyan government was unable to instate a sufficient free primary education system until recently. In 2003, President Mwai Kibaki issued the Free Primary Education Act, abolishing all primary school fees for public schools in Kenya. Vision 2030 outlines the implementation and enhancement efforts proposed by the Kenya interim government in 2008 to secure the future success of the Free Primary Education (FPE) Act of 2003. The reality of this vision requires the involvement and guidance of supportive Non-Governmental Organizations in the area, especially in the aftermath of the 2008 post-election violence. This study was conducted in an effort to increase the data available on the relationships between the Ministry of Education, primary school educators, the community and NGOS in Kenyas education sector. Through interviews and focus groups with the Ministry of Education, teachers in private and public primary school systems and directors at SNV Netherlands, a Dutch NGO operating in Kenya, it is concluded that the involvement of NGOs in Kenyas education sector is inevitable if the government is to succeed in its promises of providing Universal free primary education.

This study examines the viability of two theories - constructivist theory (where norms interact with preferences to shape policy outcomes) and rational choice theory (where actors make decisions to further their self-interest) as a means to explain the European Unions (EU) implementation of international diamond regulation. The regulation in place, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), is a multilevel governance initiative designed to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. For decades, the illicit diamond trade has spawned human rights atrocities in countries where diamonds are procured, impacting the development of several diamond-producing nations. Seeing as over 80 percent of international diamond transactions occur within the EUs borders, this governing authority has a large stake in international diamond industry regulation. In recent years, EU scholars have explored the fruitfulness of constructivism in explaining EU policy implementation, in part because it accounts for the way in which the EU exerts its authority in our globalized world. That is, scholars have analyzed how the EU exerts its authority through values, norms and principles (i.e. upholding human rights abroad), as opposed to more traditional forms of power such as military force. My hypothesis states that diamond regulation implementation is a case for constructivist theory, as it best accounts for the underlying forces behind this highly complex and global supply chain. However, the findings in this study indicate that the theoretical explanations behind the EUs KPCS implementation are just as multifaceted as the diamond industry itself.

The dissertation set out to explore whether privatization led to the concentration of shares of privatized public enterprises in the hands of a few. To reach this objective three indicators were developed. The three indicators were: (1) the prominence of the stock market; (2) the prominence of the employees’ ownership shares of the privatized Public Enterprises (PEs); and (3) the prominence of the state’s ownership after privatization. Although, the researcher found that there was a concentration of PEs’ shares in the hands of a mutual fund and holding company, the presence of the state remained strong. The researcher also found that it was extremely difficult to conduct research regarding the concentration of economic resources in developing countries. In effect the systemic, methodological, and contextual difficulties that the researcher encountered in field work, data collection, data review and data analysis revealed that it was difficult to find out the organization or individual behind the transactions that have been undertaken during the privatization process. This limited greatly the significance of the study. The result is the dissertation was re-oriented to the theoretical and to the researcher’s normative discourse on equity and development in privatization.

This study examined the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the economies of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The study was based on the premise that the implementation of NAFTA would have negative consequences for the CARICOM economies. This was the prediction advanced mainly by political theorists, government officials and economic analysts primarily from the Caribbean region, who suggested that it would be in the best interest of both the economies in the subregion and of the United States, if NAFTA parity were granted to the former in order to alleviate or offset the problems they were likely to experience as a result of NAFTA. A case study analysis was used to analyze the textile/apparel industry in Jamaica, the sector which was most vulnerable to the consequences of NAFTA. A number of indicators/variables were utilized to evaluate the pre- and post-NAFTA impact on the industry. Evaluations of these variables were made based on data collected primarily from government sources in Jamaica and the U.S.. and from interviews conducted with Jamaican government and industry officials. The researcher found that there were existing problems within the industry in Jamaica prior to the implementation of NAFTA, that in some cases escalated after the passage of the Agreement. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that NAFTA could not be held accountable for the decline in performance of the industry, although it could have contributed to the worsening of the preexisting problems. The results of the study suggest areas that the CARICOM nations need to pay particular attention to in their efforts to survive in an environment where trade liberalization and globalization will increasingly play an important role in global trade.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between chemical threats in the physical environment and adverse health conditions among the residents of Soweto, South Africa. The chemical threats that were used in the analysis included lead, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (S02), and a chemical compound composed of silicon, oxygen, hydrogen, and various metal cations (asbestos). The adverse health outcomes and symptoms included heart attack or angina, stroke, emphysema/bronchitis, asthma, tuberculosis, cancer, less breath, short of breath, wheezing or tightness of chest, wheezing only with a cold, sleep interrupted by coughing, sleep interrupted by wheezing with cough and phlegm, and phlegm everyday for three months. The study demonstrated that, based on the available data, there are no statistically significant associations between exposure to chemical threats in the physical environment and adverse health outcomes in Soweto, South Africa. The study also demonstrated the importance of contributing factors and how limitations of the data on exposure to chemical threats and human health outcomes impacted statistical analysis. Further areas for investigation include analyzing exposure to agrichemicals and other chemicals; the role of the social environment and its impact on human health conditions; and the availability of data on chemical threats in the physical environment and adverse health conditions among the residents of Soweto, South Africa.

Most daily transmissions of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in sub-Saharan Africa occur among couples. Current interventions targeting women and men, separately, do not effectively address issues of power imbalance and couple communication that contribute to couples' VIlinerability to HIV. The purpose of this research is to determine the existing level of couple communication in sub-Saharan Africa and to establish the feasibility of applying a couple-based HIV prevention approach in this region. A meta-analysis revealed that a couple-based approach has a medium effect on couples' sexual behavior. Interviews with couples and key informants in Niger suggested that couple communication and power dynamics are influenced by socio-cultural factors. Recommendations included: further research into partner communication among various population groups in multiple sub-Saharan African contexts; targeting couple-based interventions at youth in order to achieve sustainable results; and influencing policy to promote sexual dialogue in schools and through national initiatives focused on HIV. the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

Since information technologies (IT) such as the "Internet" are being heralded as vehicles for increasing economic integration, the focus of this study is to determine ways that Internet technology can be used to increase West African subregional trade. The research design used both the survey and case methods to determine (1) perceptions of how the four independent variables (political, economic, social and technical) influence Internet adoption, and (2) whether Internet adoption has an influence on subregional trade in West Africa. The multilingual questionnaire (English, French and Portuguese) was based on an extensive review of literature and exploratory information taken from Internet discussion groups. The respondent sample frame was taken from embassy trade lists, commercial trade directories, and convenience samples of Internet discussion groups focusing on technological development in Africa. Questionnaires from seven countries were received. Case analysis consisted of a series of structured interviews which took place at a technology conference in Accra, Ghana. These interviews were conducted to supplement the survey response rate. After the data were tested for both reliability (alpha coefficient) and validity (factor analysis), five hypotheses were tested. The study found that (1) out of the four independent variables chosen for the study, only the political variable had a profound influence on Internet adoption and (2) Internet adoption is strongly correlated with subregional trade. Conclusions drawn from this study suggest that, despite the lack of ability to regulate the Internet, the government plays an important role in producing the a hospitable climate for its development. While cost is still a concern for most trade companies, awareness of the Internet is widespread and "technophobia" has been surmounted. Alternative power sources are needed to sustain growth and collaborative efforts are encouraged for subregional integration. Some recommendations are: formation of Internet advocacy groups to influence government technological initiatives; collaboration between subregional organs such as Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) and West African Enterprise Network (WAEN); proliferation of subregional "telecenters"; "West African Internetwork" topology using Internet and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to promote subregional integration.

This study examined the extent to which small businesses, with an international focus, are employing formaI business planning techniques and the extent to which such techniques contribute to the success of these businesses. The study was based on the hypothesis that small business success is associated with formal business planning. Indicators of both formal business planning, the independent variable, and small business success, the dependent variable, were developed. Survey research was conducted to generate and analyze data gathered from one hundred business owners/operators of small businesses, with an international focus, located within the Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). A five-page questionnaire was developed and a survey analysis grid was designed. The researcher found that those businesses practicing formal business planning techniques were more successful than those not employing them. The conclusions drawn from these findings suggest that formal business planning contributes to the success of small businesses with an international focus.

This thesis addresses the issue of the relevance of the North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO) in the Post Cold War era. It has been argued that due to the end of the Cold War, the diminished threat of a nuclear war, and the fall of communism, NATO may no longer be a relevant institution. A content analysis of information in the "Facts on File Yearbook" was done to examine the variables associated with NATO's involvement in 4335 critical international incidents from 1949 to 1993. The research measures NATO's involvement in international events during and after the Cold War. As a content analysis, this study provides an overview of NATO's involvement in aggressive confrontations from 1950 to 1993. The research found that NATO was involved in a substantial amount of non- Cold War, non-nuclear threat and non-Communist threat conflicts, thus leading us to conclude that NATO will be a relevant institution in the Post Cold War era. The examination of the factors associated with NATO's participation in world events, gives useful feedback on its impact, provides a basis for measuring NATO's relevance in the Post Cold War era and is a general contribution to the study of international conflict management and the field of International Affairs.