Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 234-244).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Florida, 1986. / Completed through the joint cooperative program of the History Departments of the University of Florida and the University of North Florida. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-133).

Doctor Legum - LLD / Decentralisation of political, financial, and administrative powers to sub-national units has been, and remains to be, a major trend in both developing and developed states. Very often decentralisation is not optional for a state. However, a state has the option to choose what to achieve through its decentralisation programme. After choosing what it intends to achieve through its decentralisation programme, a state may design it in such a way that it may attain the intended purpose. Many countries design their decentralisation programmes with the purpose of ‘deepening’ democracy and empowering their citizens. Other states decentralise power with the purpose of achieving development. They do so based on the postulate that development is preferable when it is achieved through the participation of those who benefit from it and that decentralisation enhances the extent and quality of citizen’s direct and indirect participation. States also decentralise powers based on the assumption that decentralisation brings efficiency in planning and implementing development projects. Several states also use their decentralisation programme to respond to the ethnic, religious, or other diversities of their people. They use territorial and non-territorial arrangement to accommodate the diversity of their people. Therefore, in some cases they create ethnically structured regional and local units and transfer to such unit political powers including the power to decide on cultural matters. Like in so many countries, the wind of decentralisation has blown over Ethiopia. The country has been implementing a decentralisation programme starting from 1991. Ethiopia has selected to achieve two principal purposes through its decentralisation programme namely, to achieve development and to respond to the ethnic diversity of its people. It is axiomatic that the success of a decentralisation programme, whether for achieving development or accommodating ethnic diversity, is greatly impacted on by its institutional design. This thesis, therefore, examines whether Ethiopia’s decentralisation programme incorporates the institutional features that are likely to impact the success of the decentralisation programme for achieving its intended purposes.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Mary Doran, for the Master of Arts degree in Political Science, presented on October 30, 2008, Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: A discourse analysis of "Laïcité" and its effects on the integration of Muslim and Arab minorities in France. MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Stephen Shulman. What is the current status of the integration of minorities of Muslim and/or Arab origin in France? In this paper I attempt to answer this question by evaluating the assimilation of these minorities into French society through an examination of the current conception of "Frenchness" as it is understood by the French themselves. Numerous scholarly works have attempted to measure the degree of assimilation of the Arab/Muslim minorities in France; their theses often revolve around problems presented by the often presumed "cultural/religious identities" of the majority and minority populations. Others have studied the effects of discrimination on the assimilation of these populations. Few, however, have addressed the problematic concept of Frenchness itself in order to determine whether it is open enough to welcome these immigrant peoples and their offspring. (Laurence and Vaisse 2006, x) In this paper, I argue that, contrary to popular belief, events such as the 2005 suburban riots, the "Islamic veil affair" and the reaction to the 2006 caricatures of the Islamic prophet Mohammed constitute evidence of minority movement toward assimilation into French society. This movement, however, is not guaranteed. Through an examination of the French discourse surrounding the word "laïcité", which is a central aspect of French identity, I find two major obstacles to the full integration of Muslim and Arab populations in the Hexagon. The first is the contradiction of claiming government neutrality vis-à-vis religions while simultaneously insisting on the Catholic nature of the society. The second is the gap between the greatly revered ideal of "universalism" and the reality of negative discrimination aimed at Muslim and Arab minorities.

LL.M. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study is concerned with non-heterosexual women, who are commonly known as lalas in China. The conditions for non-heterosexuals in China have been improving since the beginning of the reform period. But despite that the life of lalas is still full of difficulties because how the government, family and market operate is under heavy influence of heterosexism. Compared with other non-heterosexuals such as gay men, the difficulties faced by lalas receive much less attention not only in society but also in academic communities. To address this important but understudied area, this research focuses on the social exclusion faced by lalas and the anti-exclusion strategies they prefer to use. No study has been done on these issues in a systematic way before. The findings of the study serve to enhance our understanding of lalas and develop effective anti-exclusion strategies preferred by them. Moreover, the discussion of the findings of this study is intended to contribute to knowledge advancement especially in identifying the grey areas of the studies of the welfare mix approaches and the adult worker models. Against this background, this research focuses on two main research questions (What are the patterns of social exclusion faced by lalas in China? What are the strategies preferred by lalas in China?) and two supplementary research questions (What are the implications of the study of social exclusion experience of lalas in China on the study of the welfare mix approaches? What are the implications of the study of the social exclusion experience of lalas in China on the study of adult worker models?) Thanks to the 20 lalas informants, this research project obtains their important views on social exclusion through in-depth interviews. Despite the unfavorable conditions for non-heterosexuals to share views about their life in China, the lalas informants provide valuable information about social exclusion (or inclusion) issues they face in their daily life in the past, present and future (such as discriminations in school, work and difficulties to get along with family members) and the ways they try to deal with these issues (such as making plans on contract marriage, migration and cohabitation). This information, supplemented by those obtained from reviews of formal and informal document, and participant observations, provides insights into the examination of the anti-exclusion strategies (such as the RED, SID and social detachment) preferred by them, and the discussion of the importance of developing welfare mix approaches and the adult worker models based on non-heterosexism Furthermore, the findings show the commonalities and differences between lalas in their response to social exclusion. It is important to note that there is a gap between the anti-exclusion strategies many lalas prefer and what they could actually use. It is equally important to note that some lalas could effectively deal with most of the life difficulties and become an invulnerable at least in some period of life. This discovery is useful both in gaining recognition of the unique life experience of each lala, and exploring the possibilities for lalas to tackle their shared problems in joint efforts.

No description available.

This study explores identity construction of ethnic minority (EM) language interpreters working for the Judiciary and law enforcement bodies in Hong Kong. It also examines how an act of incorporating cultural differences into interpreting emerges as an immanent aspect of EM identity. Interpreters' background and their close affiliation with a respective language and culture enables them to identify cultural differences in interpreting, thus such detection and potential mitigation through drawing attention and clarification, reinforces their EM identity in interpreting practice. Cultural mediation however, is determined by a number of elements intertwined within the field of practice: hierarchical positioning of interlocutors, existing system and interpreters' codes of practice, service providers' and interpreters' perception and attitudes, as well as interpreting competence and education. Therefore, identity construction of EM interpreters and their approaches towards cultural differences both remain a product of an on-going interaction between the mainstream legal system and existing mechanism in interpreting services on the one hand, and interpreters' insight on the other. Along the process of interpreting, interpreters' identities are constructed and reconstructed through negotiations between how they are perceived by others in terms of policies and daily practice, and how they see themselves as interpreters. While the study focuses on identities and cultural mitigation in interpreting, it provides the basis for identifying issues in interpreting in EM languages and further professionalising the interpreting services.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Eleven years into the South African democracy there are still huge challenges facing South African public schools, especially with regard to the notions of equity and redress. Increasingly historically advantaged and disadvantaged South African schools are entering into partnerships in an attempts to address the challenges facing them. This study focused on one such a partnership between two primary schools in an attempt to ascertain whether partnerships can in fact improve the situation. / South Africa

While multiple studies have been conducted assessing rape myth acceptance among Whites, few studies have examined rape myth acceptance among a broad range of ethnic minorities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess and examine rape myth acceptance among a diverse set of ethnic minorities. This study had 150 participants divided into four categories: Black, Hispanic, White, and Multi-Racial. Six scales were examined rape myth acceptance, own sex role satisfaction, sex role stereotypes, sexual conservatism, adversarial sexual beliefs, and acceptance of interpersonal violence. Participants were predominately single, young adult, low income, highly educated, African-American females who live in an urban area. Participants were heavily recruited through online social networks which included Craigslist, the root.com, BlackPlanet.com, and amightyriver.com. Also, participants were recruited at a private university in South Florida through posters sharing a link to the survey. Dr. Martha Burt's Rape Myth Scale was used and demographic information was obtained. Results showed that gender significantly impacted rape myth acceptance, adversarial sexual beliefs, and acceptance of interpersonal violence. When gender was held constant, race was significant with Blacks endorsing higher sex role satisfaction, sex role stereotypes, and sexual conservatism compared to Hispanics. Blacks had greater sex role satisfaction and sex role stereotyping compared to Multi-Racial individuals. Lastly, Blacks had greater sex role stereotyping and sexual conservatism when compared to White individuals. Additionally, Hispanic individuals endorsed higher sex role satisfaction when compared to Whites and sexual conservatism when compared to Multi-Racial individuals. These results could impact rape prevention programs and clinical work that targets rape myths.