This study explores and critically examines the role of indigenous mechanisms (the Inter-Tribal Reconciliation Conferences-ITRCs) in resolving tribal conflicts in South Darfur State of Western Sudan. The fundamental question raised by this study is: have these reconciliation conferences- 1989-2009- been able to address the root causes of the tribal conflicts and are they capable of serving the same role that they once did? Tribal leadership structures, such as Native Administration (NA) and their mechanisms of conflict resolution/management in Darfur, have been subjected to highly significant changes over time. The question is to what extent these changes further fuelled tribal conflicts and/or have negatively affected the capability of the NA and the ITRCs to deal with these conflicts? This thesis relies on archive records and reports of the ITRCs and data generated through interviews conducted with key informants. Through a detailed analysis the study: 1) presents a detailed account of the major conflicts and their causes in South Darfur; 2) identifies the changing identities of the protagonists and of the perceived causes; 3) assesses the effectiveness of the agreements reached by these conferences when considered alongside the causes identified. Analysis of the ITRCs shows that tribal conflicts in Darfur (from1980s), and South Darfur in particular, were connected to the wider political conflict in the Sudan and the region respectively. The analysis suggests that the history of neglect/marginalisation of the region by successive governments, and the political manipulation of the NA and local government, have negatively affected the performance of these institutions. The experience of the ITRCs indicates that they were unable to address the underlying causes of the tribal conflicts, such as land disputes, the manipulation of the NA and local government, rape and mass killings.

The purpose of this study was to examine the Ball State University collegiate student organizational structure and determine how leader and manager roles develop, :based on responses that student organizational officers and members provide on the Leadership Questionnaire (Burke, 1988) at two different times during the 1999-2000 academic year. This study also investigated the development process of student officer positions to determine whether transactional (management) or transformational (leadership) is promoted. Using thethe pre- and post-test data, the results showed that those subjects who were members decreased in leadership skill development, while officers increased in leadership skill development during a two month time span. The difference between the two groups was significant at the .064 level. (F (1,23) = 3.79, p = .064) The alpha level was chosen as .10 due to the exploratory nature of the study and the small data history. This data confirms our initial research hypotheses that 1) participation in authority roles develops leadership skills, and 2) those authority roles are experienced as leadership roles. / Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology

釣魚臺列嶼爭端是影響東海區域和平穩定的主要因素，該海域除蘊藏豐富生物及非生物資源外，更因其具有重大的地緣戰略利益，對亞太區域安全有深遠之影響。惟歷經歷史時局的演變，主權歸屬問題涉及中共、日本與臺灣等國，基於特殊歷史背景與國際間一中政策制約，使我國僅有海洋國家之名，同時影響我對於上述島嶼之主權主張。 中共挾著新崛起的大國氣勢，明確提出「海洋強國」之戰略目標，透過整合內部海上執法機關，展現維護國家海洋權益之決心，進而鞏固和擴大海洋維權成果。然囿於其海域被島鏈封鎖，戰略迴旋空間有限，為實踐其海洋戰略利益，面對周遭潛在的軍事威脅和海洋爭端，中共目前正積極拓展海上力量。臺灣應如何突破外交困境，並於維護國家尊嚴與人民福祉之間，尋求解決釣魚臺海域爭端之最佳途徑，作為在現今國際劣勢下，發展國家海洋戰略事務之借鏡，以達知彼知己，百戰不殆之效。 海上安全儼然已成為全球化新興環境的核心議題，在面對中共積極強化東海經營管理策略及戰略部署的同時，我國更應該思考如何強化海洋政策作為，藉此與世界接軌，構建與各大國間的等距平衡交往戰略，從中獲得外交自主性，以確保國家最大利益。 / The territorial disputes of Diao-Yu-Tai Islands are the decisive factors to the stability of the East China Sea (ECS). ECS has not only rich living and non-living resources, but also profound effects on the security of Asia-Pacific area due to the significant geo-strategic interests thereof. According to the evolution of historical events, the Islands’ sovereignty disputes among the neighboring countries of China, Japan and Taiwan. Based on the special historic background and constraints of the international realism of one China policy, Taiwan is merely a marine country and has a difficulty to claim the sovereignty right of the Islands. China, the rising power, specifically set out the strategy of establishing itself as a “marine power” by integrating the internal maritime law enforcement agencies to demonstrate the determination of maintaining its maritime rights and interests so as to consolidate and expand the outcome of safeguarded rights. However, blocked by the Island chain of Asian Pacific that leads to insufficient defense and response space, China actively reinforces the maritime power to fulfill its ocean strategic interests and manage the potential military threats and maritime disputes. Taiwan shall break through the diplomatic bottleneck to seek for the best solution on the disputes of the Diao-Yu-Tai Islands to assert the national rights and people welfare under the international adverse situation. The maritime security is the core issue of the Globalization development. Facing to the strengthened stewardship strategy and military arrangement in the ECS of China, Taiwan should think over the marine policy to synchronize with the world and seek for the balance among the neighboring countries. As a result, it is beneficial for Taiwan to win the independent authority in diplomacy to ensure national best interests.

The primary aim of my diploma thesis is the definition of the activity of the State Veterinary Administration of the Czech Republic (SVA). It is a public administration body under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic and it was established according to the Veterinary Act No. 166/1999 (the full statutory is Act. No. 286/2003). The main tasks of SVA are: protection of consumers from products of animal origin likely to be harmful to human health; monitoring of animal health situation and maintaining it favourable; veterinary protection of the state territory of the Czech Republic; animal welfare and animal protection. In the first part, the detailed activities on food quality control are analysed. In the next part I targeted the remedial measure, which can be used by inspectors and then discretionary remedies, by which operator can defend against. Finally I have described how heavy the penalties are not only in the whole Czech Republic, but also in particular regions.

The primary aim of this diploma thesis is to describe the activities of the State Veterinary Administration of the Czech Republic (SVA) during the control of foods of animal origin and to find out the results of controls in the years 1995 to 2008. In the first part, there is solved the question of food safety in the Czech Republic (CZ) and the whole European Union (EU). In EU as well as in the CZ there exist a lot of controlling mechanisms which guarantee food safety. The second part is concentrated on the system of controls called Hygiene Supervisor, which is executed by SVA, and the analysis of the results of the controls in each year.

Large organizations such as Portland State University (PSU) play an important role in the environmental impact and sustainability of a city, EcoDistrict and region. Through their resource use and operations, such organizations can assist in mitigating environmental damage, as well as educate their members and community. PSU does not currently have any formal policies that support sustainable operations, and there is room to improve the sustainability of campus operations. Feedback from PSU employees was solicited through two surveys, and these data were qualitatively analyzed to identify salient organizational issues that may serve to inhibit implementation of sustainable operations at PSU. Findings revealed the following: lack of collaboration, connectivity, and information sharing between departments and levels of the organization's hierarchy, and a perceived lack of top-down support in the form of operational sustainability guidance, policies, and resources. The PSU Green Team program and Climate Action Plan Implementation Team (CAP-IT) may offer opportunities to address these shortcomings, and if supported and well-utilized, these existing structures have the potential to promote sustainable operations and EcoDistrict development at PSU.