Despite the breakthrough of ‘women’s empowerment’ in the international development field and the continuous emphasis on its importance, there is still no consensus on the concept’s meaning. Many feminist scholars argue that this has affected the concept’s transformative potential as development institutions have tended to adopt overly simplistic understandings. The recent establishment of UN Women can be understood as marking an institutionalization of the women’s empowerment agenda as it was created through development institutions’ joint forces for the increased advancement of gender agendas. With this new institution and the still ambiguous meaning of women’s empowerment, this study examines how UN Women understands women’s empowerment and explores possible implications of this understanding for its practice of empowering women. Via ideal types this study uses feminist critique and visions as reference points to discuss whether UN Women has managed to change previous simplistic understanding of women’s empowerment. The study concludes that UN Women’s understanding of women’s empowerment is similar to the international development institutions’ often adopted understanding of the concept. The results therefore imply that despite the institutionalization of the women’s empowerment agenda via the creation of UN Women, the transformative project of women’s empowerment is likely to be absent.

Drawing from tourism studies, travel literature, and cultural studies, this dissertation uses textual analysis to explore the implicit ideological agendas of international development in a selection of popular narratives written to describe efforts of Spanish individuals to combat poverty in “developing” countries: Pura vida (1998) by José María Mendiluce, Una maestra en Katmandú (2002) by Victoria Subirana, Sonrisas de Bombay (2007) by Jaume Sanllorente, and Los colores de un sueño (2013) by Alba de Toro. This study provides a sociological framework for understanding the politics of production, distribution, and reception of such narratives and examines the discourse of individual altruism by juxtaposing the fields of mass tourism, international development and contemporary popular literature. Although development-themed narratives present themselves as depictions of charity work, they are also stories of touristic exploits. This dissertation explores how the colonial myth of the explorer is refurbished in narratives of altruistic development within the postmodern mood of “global consciousness”, which is triggered by globalization, commodification and a sense of uncertainty—factors that produce a relentless drive to “save the world”. Despite the postmodern gloss, however, these narratives exoticize “non-modern” scenarios in which the narrators (adventure development tourists) represent themselves as intrepid white saviors in the style of explorers, missionaries and survivors of the past. In this sense, these narratives depend on traditional travel literature tropes. The deliberate status of these popular narratives as commodities is highlighted, exposing their utility as marketing tools for NGOs. To this end, this dissertation connects the idea of “a good story” to a publishing objective. Reception is approached by exploring the role of interpellation: the subliminal ways in which readers become financial supporters within the context of “global consciousness” wherein altruistic impulses are commodified and incorporated into lifestyles. In this sense, literature plays a key role in formulating and naturalizing the discourse of development. This dissertation exposes the double mechanism at work in development-themed narratives: the pursuit of progressive development used to veil complicity with exploitation.

xiii, 161 p. : ill. / This study investigates the motivations, influences, techniques, challenges, and perceived opportunities of 11 food producers who are participating in an evolving localized food system near Eugene, Oregon. These producers are resisting the distanced anonymity and negative externalities of mainstream global food production. Interviews reveal participation in a move towards production and distribution that are not only geographically traceable, economically satisfying and ecologically sustainable but that also emphasize reflexive communication between the producer and consumer. Through initial surveying and in-depth interviews, producers identified that producing food for the local market allows them to pursue a meaningful livelihood, respond appropriately to the local environment, and engage more deeply in community. In short their practices and attitudes closely follow the "Civic Agriculture" model. Particularly their focus on local production for the local market, as opposed to a more distanced quality oriented supply chain audit model. / Committee in charge: Stephen Wooten, Chairperson; Galen Martin, Member; Harper Keeler, Member

abstract: Through critical discourse analysis, this thesis explores the construction of poverty and development within and across the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and the proposed post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals texts. The proposed post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals frame the international development landscape for the next 15 years, therefore it becomes imperative for civil society to understand their dominant economic schemes for poverty alleviation in order to adopt or oppose similar methods of poverty abatement. Deductively, this thesis investigates Keynesianism and neoliberalism, the dominant economic discourses whose deployments within the goals have shaped transnational frameworks for interpreting and mitigating poverty. It assesses the failures of the Millennium Development Goals, as articulated both by its creators and critics, and evaluates the responsiveness of the United Nations in the constitution of the proposed post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals in relation to these critiques through the lens of liberal feminist and World Social Forum discourses. These activist and oppositional social discourses embody competing values, representations, and problem-solution frames that challenge and resist the dominant economic discourses in both sets of goals. Additionally, this thesis uses an inductive approach to critically analyze both sets of goals in order to identify any emergent discursive frameworks grounded in each text that assist in understanding the problems of, and solutions to, poverty. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Communication Studies 2015

abstract: This mixed-methods research study examined the level of collective action that is occurring among non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in maternal and child health in Haiti. This study takes the view that health, and by extension, maternal and child health, is a global public good; global public goods are most efficiently provided by the means of collective action. Therefore, to the extent that maternal and child health services are provided efficiently in Haiti, collective action should be occurring. This study utilized a semi-structured interview approach to gather both qualitative and quantitative data. A total of 17 participants who were managers or executives of NGOs working in maternal and child health in Haiti were interviewed. The interviews also gathered quantitative data that characterized types of cooperation that were occurring among NGOs. The qualitative data that were collected in these interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis, and quantitative data were analyzed using social network analysis. The findings concluded that while there is cooperation occurring among NGOs in Haiti, the cooperation levels are low, networks are not very dense and there is overall general consensus that more cooperation is needed / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Global Health 2017

Purpose: This research intends to shed a light in the practice of project portfolio management in the non-traditional – although project oriented – aid sector. The research aim is to study the decision-making structures supporting the prioritization of projectsand/or programmes in multilateral organizations, which play a determinant role in the development aid sector. Research Methodology: Through an in-depth and-holistic case study, the empiricalresearch investigated how the UN coordination practitioners perceived the role of thecontext in the implementation of the Delivery as One Approach, which comprehends aset of standards and procedures (SOPs) supporting the management of multiple UN entities at the country level, to enhance effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and impact. A total of 9 semi-structured interviews were conducted with current and former employees in the UN resident coordination office in a range of countries in Africa, LatinAmerica and the Middle East. From the collection of qualitative data, the researchers wereable to grasp the nuances of the data set through the elaboration of templates, which based the further discussion and conclusions of the work. Research Findings: The empirical findings confirmed the relevance of a number of constructs identified in the theoretical framework, defining how the context influences the decision making that takes place in the prioritization of programmes in the development aid sector. Specifically, the results highlight the relevance of the governancestructure, the bounded rationality of decision makers, specific characteristics of the decision, country peculiarities, and the different sources of uncertainty. Moreover, the relationships between these factors were highlighted through a relationship network diagram that clearly identifies the complex interrelations between these factors and theirsub-themes. Research Delimitations and Limitations: The delimitations in this study are characterized as the choices made by the researchers on the parameters considered and mentioned, setting the boundaries for the investigation. From a methodological standpoint, by using the single case study method, the findings and conclusion of the present research applies majorly to the organization studied. Originality / Value: This research advances the portfolio management literature on the field of international development aid and expands the understanding of how the aspects of this unique environment influences the decision making of assigning priorities to projects and programmes. Furthermore, the research draws attention to the different sources of uncertainties originating from the context, inherent of these types oforganizations.

Historically there have been various discussions on how to achieve development from different scopes and spaces. The vision of development from a global space has undergone a significant evolution to the present day, in particular after World War II, in the context of international development cooperation. Within a regional space, economic cooperation mechanisms have shown to be dynamic and positive for development. This paper aims, firstly, to set forth a review of the evolution of the development vision from a global and regional perspective. Secondly, to analyze contributions in commerce from a regional development perspective through a comparative analysis of the Pacific Alliance and the Latin American Integration Association between 2005 and 2014, as economic cooperation mechanisms in Latin America and the Caribbean that seek development within the same region. / Históricamente han existido distintos debates para alcanzar el desarrollo, desde diferentes ámbitos y espacios. La visión del desarrollo desde el espacio global, ha tenido una importante evolución hasta nuestros días, principalmente después de la II Guerra Mundial, a través de la Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (CID). Desde el espacio regional, los mecanismos de cooperación económica han reflejado ser dinámicos y positivos para el desarrollo. Por ello, el presente trabajo pretende en primera instancia, realizar una revisión de la evolución sobre la visión de desarrollo desde un contexto global y regional. En una segunda fase, busca analizar las aportaciones comerciales, desde una visión del desarrollo regional, por medio de un análisis comparativo de la Alianza del Pacífico (AP) con respecto a la región y a la Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración (ALADI) para el periodo 2005-2014, como mecanismos de cooperación económica en América Latina y el Caribe (ALyC) que buscan un desarrollo dentro de la misma región.

Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders’, and for that reason, it is considered important by researchers and practitioners alike to understand how to develop effective leadership skills and characteristics. The purpose of this research was to explore concepts of leadership including leadership development (LD) within an international development through sport context. The Commonwealth Games Association of Canada’s (CGC) International Development through Sport (IDS) administration team created a program called the Capacity Support Program (CSP). The CSP is an internship program offered to recent university graduates to assist in various initiatives intended on building sporting capacity within partnering Commonwealth countries. Participants also known as Capacity Support Officer’s (CSO’s) were immersed within an international environment with a host sport organization (e.g., Barbados National Olympic Committee) for approximately fourteen-months. In this study, interviews were conducted with IDS administrators to clarify and provide further detailed information about the program. In addition, archival material (e.g., pre-departure training manual, website articles, DVDs), interviews with CSO’s, and a debrief focus group session with the CSO’s which discussed their experiences and the various concepts of leadership and LD within an international development through sport context was conducted. Data was recorded and transcribed verbatim. A grounded theory approach, specifically the inductive coding technique was utilized throughout the content analysis procedure. Findings showed that concepts of leadership and LD were 1) a fundamental component of the program and 2) linked to various existing literature on leadership theories (e.g., authentic leadership). Further, findings demonstrated the program design and training were significant components of LD and that the cross-cultural context accelerated LD. These findings and others will culminate in a discussion regarding future studies of leadership and LD.

If we understand development as an emergent property of a complex system, then effective development assistance needs to adapt and evolve in-context. This thesis explores how learning and adaptation practices might help aid organizations apply complexity thinking to improve their effectiveness. Based on a new framework of organizational practices, this study uses a mixed methods approach to assess the extent to which 12 small and medium international aid organizations in Haiti learn and adapt. The study supports the assumption that learning and adaptation contribute to effectiveness, and finds that organizations vary significantly in their learning and adaptation practices. It finds that development organizations employ more learning practices than humanitarian assistance organizations, and that organizations are generally better at collecting information and adopting learning attitudes, than they are at establishing the structures and processes they need to be truly adaptive. The research also finds that the barriers that make learning and adaptation more difficult for organizations are largely structural and related to aid system dynamics, while organizations benefit from enablers that are largely attributed to individual agency. This thesis argues for the important role that aid organizations can, and must play in making aid more effective – at the project, organization, and aid system levels. However, the aid system itself does not encourage learning. International aid organizations will therefore need to actively engage in learning if they are to play an effective role in development, and be a meaningful part of the system-level aid effectiveness dialogue.

Background: This thesis presents three research papers that evaluate the current tools and methods used to assess the availability of health resources and services during humanitarian emergencies. Methods: A systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted to locate all known health facilities assessment tools currently in use in low- and middle-income countries. The results of this review were used to generate a framework of essential health facilities assessment domains, representative of seven health systems building blocks. Using this framework, a field-based evaluation of tools used to assess the availability of health resources and services in emergencies in Haiti and the Darfur states of Sudan was conducted. The collected assessment tools from these countries were compared against the framework from the systematic review, as well as the Minimum Standards for Health Action in the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response, and the Global Health Cluster’s Set of Core Indicators and Benchmarks by Category. A coding system was developed using all of these frameworks that enabled the comparison of the assessments collected in both countries. Field-based interviews were conducted with key informants using a convergent interviewing methodology, to gain perspectives on data collection and the use of evidence in formulating health systems interventions in emergencies. Results: 10 health facility assessments were located in the systematic review of the literature, generating an assessment framework comprised of 41 assessment domains. Of the included assessments, none contained assessment criteria corresponding to all 41 domains, suggesting a need to standardize these assessments based on a structured health systems framework. In Haiti and Sudan, a total of 9 (Haiti, n=8; Sudan, n=1) different assessment tools were located that corresponded to assessments of the availability of health resources and services. Of these, few collected data that could reasonably have corresponded to the different assessment domains of the health facilities assessment framework or the Sphere Standards, nor could many have provided the necessary inputs for calculating the Global Health Cluster’s indicators or benchmarks. The exception to this was the one tool located in Sudan, which fared reasonably well against these criteria. The interviews with participants revealed that while evidence was viewed as important, systematically-collected data were not routinely being integrated into program planning in emergency settings. This was, in part, due to the absence of reliable information or the perceived weaknesses of the data available, but also due uncertainty as to how to best integrate large amounts of health system data into programs. Conclusions: Greater emphasis is needed to ensure that data on the availability and functionality of health services during major emergencies is collected using methodologically-sound approaches, by field staff with expertise in health systems. There is a need to ensure that baseline data on the health system is available at the outside of emergency response, and that humanitarian health interventions are based on reliable evidence of needs and capacities from within the health system.