Import substitution presents many economic development opportunities that can help regions achieve greater economic sustainability and self-reliance. Yet import substitution is largely neglected in economic development theory, practice and literature. There are few methods and resources available to planners trying to identify import substitution opportunities. However, impending economic challenges, such as energy market instability, climate change and carbon emissions regulation, mean that planners will be called upon with greater frequency and urgency to help regional economies adapt. This study offers and evaluates two methods for identifying import substitution opportunities within a regional economy. The first method is rooted in economic base theory, the dominant approach to regional economic development since the 1930s. The second method is derived from industrial cluster analysis, a much-used economic planning approach since the 1990s. Analysis of these two methods and their application to the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area suggest that: 1) both methods show promise as screening tools to help planners focus economic development resources on subsequent industry research efforts, such as surveys, which are essential to the development of effective policy initiatives; 2) the industrial cluster analysis method is capable of identifying a wider range of candidate industries; 3) the economic base theory method may be more effective in smaller regions; and 4) the economic base theory method is useful for estimating leakage. The study also demonstrates that import substitution integrates aspects of economic base theory, particularly the capability to identify leakage and opportunities to increase industry multipliers, with the facets of industrial cluster analysis that emphasize local interindustry linkages and value chain networks.

I nodi concettuali analizzati nel presente lavoro sono stati fondamentalmente due: 1) le politiche dello sviluppo in area mediterranea; 2) l'importanza che assumono in questo quadro i temi legati all'appartenenza e all'identità. In questo senso il concetto di sviluppo sostenibile è un altro punto chiave di questa parte. Al percorso teorico ha fatto seguito uno studio di caso presso l'arcipelago maltese. / This thesis is focused on two aspects: 1) the politics of development in the Mediterranean area, 2) the crucial role played by identity. The theoretical part is followed by a case study in the Malta archipelago, where we studied the development processes along with the identity dynamics through a multimethod approach.

This thesis applies role theory to understand how Uzbekistan's bilateral relationships became either conflicting or cooperative between 1991 and 2010. Roles are key elements of social interaction as they describe plausible lines of action in a particular subject-person. They are thus a helpful way of identifying actors and constructing narratives. Furthermore, if they are seen as metaphors for drama, one may argue that roles - as opposed to personal identities - encapsulate autonomous action, which, like a text, ascertains meaning beyond the author's intent. In other words, by separating action from intent, one may regard politics in a different light - as interaction emplotted by roles -, thereby revealing how actions contradict a set of roles and lead to conflict and crises in public credibility. This manner of emplotting relationships divulges an alternative story that, rather than focusing on Tashkent's strategic balancing and alignment, demonstrates how Uzbekistani leadership gradually developed an overarching self-reliant role set that shapes its actions. Moreover, Uzbekistan's cooperative and conflicting relationships are described less in light of strategic survival rationale than as the outcome of gradual role compatibilities arising through time. Therefore, unlike some other accounts, this thesis argues that, throughout Uzbekistan's first twenty years of independence, public disputes were crucial to understanding interaction and also that Tashkent was never actually aligned with Russia or the United States. To bring forth this argument, the following chapters expound the assumptions behind some scholarly research and develop the concepts of self-reliance, roles, action, public sphere, credibility and narrative. The discussion progresses toward self-reliance and how the concept captures President Karimov's roles, which are used to emplot Uzbekistan's interaction with the United States, Russia, Germany and Turkey. The first two are relevant for analyzing whether roles reveal more than the typical accounts based on security balancing. Germany is then included because its relationship with Tashkent was rarely conflicting in the public sphere, allowing it to increase bilateral trade and secure a military base in Uzbekistan after the 2005 Andijan Crisis. It was thus a relatively stable connection, unlike Tashkent's relationships with Washington and Moscow. Lastly, to control Germany's middle-power status, the case of Turkey is brought to the fore since Ankara's willingness to engage with Tashkent was not enough to foster cooperation.

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The United States’ electric macro-grid provides electricity for all people to sustain our lifestyle. The current governing institutions that generate our electricity limit community representation, causing procedural injustice particularly to communities of color. This thesis is a contribution to the Energy Democracy literature, describing a community-based electricity model that includes two components: property and people. I argue to include an in-depth study of John Locke’s theories on property, in addition to Elinor Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development Framework to promote local knowledge in understanding how physical space and governing bodies strengthen the Energy Democracy movement. In addition, I utilize the works from Karl Marx and Grace Lee Boggs to describe the process of local self-reliance to community empowerment. This Energy Democracy approach centering property and people aims to revolutionize a system that promotes equity and democracy.

The purpose of the current study is to revise the wording of the items in the Strong Black Woman (SBW) attitudes scale and investigate the psychometric properties of this revised scale (renamed the SBW Cultural Construct Scale, SBWCCS). Another goal is to determine if the scale predicts racial identity, stress, and social support. The sample consisted of 152 women of African descent, who were recruited from a community based organization. An exploratory factor analysis on the SBWCCS scale suggested a 3-factor model consisting of (1) caretaking, (2) affect regulation, and (3) self-reliance. These factors parallel those found in the original scale (Thompson, 2003). The internal consistency was adequate for the overall scale and the caretaking subscale, but somewhat low for affect-regulation and self-reliance. The SBWCCS scale predicted centrality of racial identity and stress (measured as perceived stress and number of stressful events). Specifically, women who reported higher levels on the SBWCCS also reported higher levels of centrality and stress. In addition, higher levels on the caretaking subscale predicted lower reciprocity of social support. Other aspects of racial identity (public and private regard) and social support (received and satisfaction) were not predicted by SBWCCS. Methodological limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

The purpose of the current study is to revise the wording of the items in the Strong Black Woman (SBW) attitudes scale and investigate the psychometric properties of this revised scale (renamed the SBW Cultural Construct Scale, SBWCCS). Another goal is to determine if the scale predicts racial identity, stress, and social support. The sample consisted of 152 women of African descent, who were recruited from a community based organization. An exploratory factor analysis on the SBWCCS scale suggested a 3-factor model consisting of (1) caretaking, (2) affect regulation, and (3) self-reliance. These factors parallel those found in the original scale (Thompson, 2003). The internal consistency was adequate for the overall scale and the caretaking subscale, but somewhat low for affect-regulation and self-reliance. The SBWCCS scale predicted centrality of racial identity and stress (measured as perceived stress and number of stressful events). Specifically, women who reported higher levels on the SBWCCS also reported higher levels of centrality and stress. In addition, higher levels on the caretaking subscale predicted lower reciprocity of social support. Other aspects of racial identity (public and private regard) and social support (received and satisfaction) were not predicted by SBWCCS. Methodological limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

This study examined the relationship between Bandura' s theory of self-efficacy and the rehabilitation outcome of spinal cord injured persons. The study elicited selfefficacy expectations from fifteen subjects on three occasions: admission and two and four weeks later. Patients rated how they expected to perform six weeks after admission on fifteen rehabilitation behaviors. Patients' ratings were compared to actual performance ratings made by the medical staff on the Barthel Index. Results reveal that subjects' predictions two weeks and four weeks after admission were accurate (r = .74, < .01; r = .89, p < .001, respectively). Findings support the limited applicability of Bandura's theory of spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Recommendations for future research include examining variables which enhance self-efficacy and using a larger, more homogeneous sample.

Refugee camps in Lebanon are harsh, continuously and rapidly deteriorating environments. In addition to poverty, numerous wars and the restrictions of civil rights, refugee camps that were not designed as a long-term settlement were made to accommodate their residents in addition to their descendents for a period that has lasted over 59 years. Since the establishment of the camps in 1948 the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have fallen victim to multiple wars and as a result most camps have witnessed major destruction of homes and infrastructure, and a few were entirely destroyed. Today, the planning and development of the camps are highly restricted by the local government, building material is banned from entering the camps and horizontal as well as vertical expansion is prohibited by Lebanese law. According to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have the highest rate of people living in "abject poverty" in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the refugee community and the international aid agencies working in the camps are caught in the dilemma of investing in the development of a sustainable environment in a settlement with a temporary purpose and an uncertain future. This thesis explores the problems facing the built-environment in the camps within the political and socio-economic context, and takes the camp of Burj El Barajneh as a case study for deeper investigation. It then suggests three possible solution approaches that address the environmental problems within different future scenarios. The thesis also looks at the feasibility and requirements of an energy generation plant to provide part of the energy needs of the camp of Burj El Barjneh. Finally, a set of conclusions and recommendations are derived that address the refugee community, the international aid agencies and the host country. The significance of this study is to mitigate a possible humanitarian and environmental crisis in the most dire of refugee situations in the Middle East, with the hope that conclusions drawn from this study can be applied to refugee communities elsewhere in the region.

Reform within food justice initiatives calls for emergent strategies and practices that align with pursuits of justice, health equity, ecological sustainability, and collective social change. Examining historical and contemporary Black geographies of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States offers valuable lessons on what grows and thrives in opposition to plantation logic. As both material and immaterial representations of the genesis of life, seeds serve as catalysts for understanding stories of praxis, where seedkeeping traditions and contemporary experiences radically reimagine and contest the imposition of colonial legacies. Theoretically grounded in Black feminist futurities, this research illuminated the relationship between radical tradition and radical imagination to understand the complex landscapes of Black liberation through stories of past, present, and future relationships to seeds. The everyday stories from Black seedkeepers articulate visions for equitable food systems and provide specific insights into how a seedkeeping praxis manifests and forms of community cultural wealth and self-determination that challenge the ongoing commodification of seeds. Focusing on the Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. where these geographies are deeply shaped by colonial sites with legacies of slavery, land theft, and a genesis of American agriculture that created the foundation for global capitalism, this project delved into the narratives of 17 Black seedkeepers from. By engaging with seedkeepers' memories and motivations this inquiry also lays the foundation for understanding how narratives articulate collective hopes for food sovereignty through seeds. / Master of Science in Life Sciences / Seeds hold the memories, stories, and imaginations of individuals that provide insight on the limitless potential to change. The idea of seedkeepers, as one word, combines the practice of saving seeds with the intention of growing them for the next harvest as well as the process of sharing the stories with these exchanges. This study explored he stories of Black seedkeepers in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., focusing on the Mid-Atlantic region, a geography deeply shaped by colonial legacies of slavery, land theft, and agricultural practices foundational contemporary systems of extraction. Through in-depth narrative inquiry interviews with 17 Black seedkeepers, this research uncovers intergenerational knowledge exchange and seed-sharing practices that envision more just, equitable, and cooperative food futures. Grounded in Black feminist futurities and radical imagination, this study provides a whole-systems perspective on the complex landscapes of Black liberation through past, present, and future connections to seeds. Using narrative inquiry as a methodology, the researcher delved into the lived experiences and perceptions of these seedkeepers. Their stories revealed how seedkeeping practices can serve as learning spaces that cultivates new understandings and stories about invigorating new forms of social action, and nurture imaginaries that challenge how we grow and exchange seed, food and more.