This thesis will demonstrate that women and women's groups in the Muslim world could be a strong ally in reducing the influence and spread of Islamist ideologies. Women and women's organizations have proven that they are effective in resisting the impact of Islamism and have been able to role back some of its repressive policies as evidenced by the case studies of Iran, Algeria, and Afghanistan. Women and women's organizations or feminist groups are currently active in the Muslim world already and are a growing voice in the region. Therefore, it is of vital interest to the United States Government to engage these groups and women's interests as a means of challenging the spread of Islamist ideology and enlisting them in the war of ideas. / US Army (USA) author.

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This dissertation explores the representation of black masculinities in Claude McKay's novels, Home to Harlem (1928), Banjo (1929) and Banana Bottom (1933). I use the trope of marronage to theorize McKay's representations of black male subjectivities across a range of African diasporan spaces in the Caribbean, the USA and Europe, arguing that McKay's male characters negotiate these diasporan spaces with the complex consciousness and proclivities of maroons. I then examine the ways in which careful attention to the migration and settlement in various diasporan spaces of McKay's black male characters exposes some critical manifestations that profoundly alter how we think about the formation of black male subjectivities. McKay's representations predate by more than sixty years the present currency of difference, hybridity and multiplicity in postmodernist and postcolonial discourse, yet almost throughout the entire 20th century his work was not recognized in this context either in the USA or the Caribbean, both places where he has some degree of iconic stature. In fact, the maroon consciousness of McKay's men produces new insights on the issues of cosmopolitanism, race, nation, and migration in terms of how these affect black male subjectivity but more so how black male subjectivities work upon these concepts to expand their definitions and produce particular kinds of diasporan masculinity. Through the trope of marronage, the project will demonstrate how McKay's male characters use their maroon conditions to map, explore and define a black diasporan experience --- one, moreover, that is shaped by "creolizations"--- the various pushes and pulls of multiple forms of psychological and cultural crossover.;The Introduction places marronage in its historical and cultural contexts and defines who the Maroons were and what particular characteristics managed their existence. The trope of marronage, as an organizing frame for McKay's texts, is intricately tied to the understanding of how "creolization," a term that is integrally associated with the Caribbean experience of hybridity, as both an experience and a concept, structures McKay's sensibility and representations. Marronage and creolization are integral in understanding the range of black male subjectivities that performed under the umbrella of class, race, nation and gender, even as those same performances were producing, underground as it were, "other" narratives about black identity and migration during the 1920s-30s, the period in which McKay wrote. Furthermore, the term "subjectivities" rather than "identity" or the singular form, "subjectivity" merges so as to give texture and form to the ambiguities that abound in McKay's representation of the individual and collective experience of the characters in his novels.;Chapter One offers an interpretation of Home to Harlem as a narrative in which black masculinity is as much a subjectivity driven by the search for home as it is itinerancy. Chapter Two seeks to analyze McKay's Banjo or a Story without a Plot, through an examination of the protagonist Banjo, to see how his migrant or vagabond characters live as cosmopolites in Marseilles' metissage inclined port city. Finally, Chapter Three proposes to examine how Banana Bottom's Bita Plant represents a "masked" McKay, or McKay in drag, looking critically at a colonial Jamaica that restricted her/him with certain conservative ideas but which still appeals to McKay artistically because of its rich pastoral sensibilities.

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In 2012, Tanzania, the prevalence of HIV infection among Tanzanian women was 6.3%; that same year, 18% of Tanzanian children were born already infected with HIV. The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of prenatal care attendance on comprehensive knowledge of HIV mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), and HIV testing and counseling, as well as awareness of HIV testing coverage services, in Tanzania. The study population was Tanzanian women of childbearing, aged 15 to 49 years old. Guided by the health belief model, this cross-sectional survey design used secondary data from the 2011-2012 Tanzania Demographic Health Survey. Independent variables were comprehensive knowledge of HIV MTCT, HIV testing and counseling, and awareness of HIV testing coverage services; the dependent variable was prenatal care visit (PNCV) attendance. Findings showed that 69% of women had their first PNCV in the second trimester, meaning that they attended less than 4 visits. Multinomial logistic regression modeling assessed the association between independent variables and PNCV attendance after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Findings denoted that comprehensive knowledge of HIV MTCT after controlling for married vs. never married, maternal age, and wealth was associated with PNVC. HIV testing and post counseling, and awareness of HIV testing coverage services were also significant for women who attended their first prenatal visit in the 2nd trimester. These findings have positive social change implications by informing efforts to identify at-risk pregnant women through systematic HIV testing and counseling for early medical intervention; such efforts may reduce MTCT and encourage them to start their PNCV in the first trimester.

The idea of cooperation is not new to man. It is as old as man himself. Cooperatives are an almost universal form of organization today found in practically all countries and used by people in many ways. The cooperatives are formed to secure low cost credit, to purchase supplies and equipment for farming and household needs, to market products, even to secure many services, like electric power, irrigation, health, and insurance. Cooperatives can be used in many ways to benefit people in the everyday needs of life. The meaning of cooperation is that isolated and powerless individuals can, by combining with one another, achieve advantages available to the rich and the powerful so that they may advance not only materially but also morally. In other words a cooperative is a business organization that is owned by those who use its services, the control of which rests equally with all the members. It is voluntary and democratic and the moral element is as important as the material one. Furthermore, it recognizes social, educational, and community values. It is easier to understand the concept of the cooperative by knowing its specific objectives. They can be summed as follows: 1) They aim to provide goods and services. 2) They aim to eliminate the unnecessary profits of middlemen in trade and commerce. 3) They seek to prevent the exploitation of the weaker members of society. 4) They aim to protect the rights of people both as producers and consumers. 5) They promote mutual understanding and education among their members and people in general. Mr. W. P. Watkins of International Cooperative Alliance defines cooperation as: "A system of social organization based on the principles of unity, economy, democracy, equity, and liberty." 1

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<p>This paper gives an account of a study regarding virtual communities, and tries to answer the question of which aspects that contribute towards the growth and success of a community. The purpose of the study has been twofold: to survey and identify factors that are important for the success of a virtual community; and to investigate whether there are differences in the views of success factors between leaders and members in a virtual community. The study is based upon a theoretical framework which gives a definition of the term virtual community, and how experts suggest these congregations are built. In the study is also included an extensive case study of two virtual communities. Finally, a discussion is made regarding the results of the study, and it is concluded that factors such as purpose, policies, trust, feedback and leaders are heavily contributing towards the success of virtual communities.</p>

Writing groups are used regularly in the academic arena, but they are also used in the non-academic community. This paper is an exploration of the use of nonacademic writing groups in Salem, Oregon. In Chapter 2 I discuss the theory behind writing groups--what it is about writing and responding that is beneficial and useful. Chapter 3 explores the roots of writing groups in Salem including some self-improvement groups, which were the precursors of writing groups. Chapter 4 then includes detailed descriptions of the groups which are currently meeting in Salem, including their formats, purposes, and some examples of their processes. Based on this information, the paper discusses the educational and social benefits of writing groups and the role of these groups in the community of Salem, Oregon. / Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.