Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Family and Studies and Social Work, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-38-Xx).

In 2013, 2 million people were newly infected with HIV, and 11% of those new infections were infants that obtained the disease from their mother. In resource poor settings, like Sub-Saharan Africa, infection rates from mother to child can range from 15-45%. With proper prevention of mother to child transmission (MTCT), these rates can drop to 5%. Proper prevention includes the use of antiretroviral treatment (ART) during pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum and breastfeeding. In 2010, WHO proposed a model that required all HIV positive mothers to receive ART. The model successfully increased the amount of women on treatment, and many countries also saw a decrease in the rate of MTCT, however barriers still exist. In my thesis, I explain how HIV attacks an individual’s immune system, and why it has been such a difficult epidemic to control in regards to mother to child transmission. I also examine how different models of prevention are successful, and why Option B+, proposed by WHO in 2010, has been the most successful. Lastly, I propose new additions to the model in an attempt to circumvent the barriers.

This research investigates what rural villagers perceive as important and develops recommendations for improved electrification project implementation centring on user-perceived values (UPVs). UPVs capture more than the basic definition of value in the sense that they include benefits, concerns, feelings and underlying drivers that vary in importance and act as the main motivators in the lives of project beneficiaries as perceived at a given time. Low access to energy continues in rural sub-Saharan Africa despite significant investment by the development community. One fundamental reason is that energy infrastructure adoption remains low, as evidenced by the lack of project sustainability. To counter this, the challenge for energy project developers is to achieve sustainable long-term interventions through the creation of value for beneficiaries, rather than the traditional approach of focusing on short-term project outputs. The question of what is valuable to people in rural communities has historically not played into the design and diffusion of energy infrastructure development projects. This research drew on design and marketing approaches from the commercial sector to investigate the UPVs of rural Ugandans. To better understand the UPVs of rural villagers a new method, consisting of a UPV game and UPV framework, was developed. This method is suitable for capturing, understanding and mapping what rural populations perceive as important. Case study analyses were carried out in seven villages across rural Uganda. The case studies included the UPV game supplemented by non-energy-specific and energy-specific interviews with villagers. Additionally, interviews with experts were conducted to verify the UPV framework and to identify the gap between experts’ opinion and villagers’ perception of what is important. The research demonstrates the effectiveness of the UPV game in deducing the values of rural villagers. The findings demonstrate a disconnect in the ability to accurately capture and design projects which resonate with and respond to the UPVs of recipients of rural electrification projects. A comparison between the villagers’ statements and experts’ opinion regarding what is most valuable to rural communities reveals striking differences that point to a fundamental misunderstanding of rural community UPVs which are likely to be contributing to widespread electrification project failure.

Plus du tiers des enfants non scolarisés dans le monde vit actuellement dans des pays considérés comme fragiles. Principalement localisés en Afrique subsaharienne, ces pays, pour la plupart, ne seront pas en mesure de réaliser les objectifs de l’Éducation Pour Tous d’ici 2015. Se situant à la croisée de l’éducation comparée, des sciences politiques et de la sociologie des organisations, cette thèse explore empiriquement les conditions d’achèvement de l’EPT dans les contextes de fragilités.Malgré les ambigüités qui l’entourent, la notion d’État fragile a été adoptée en 2005 en tant que concept opérationnel par la plupart des organismes d’aide. Si les définitions de l’État fragile convergent sur un ensemble de critères spécifiques (institutions dysfonctionnelles, instabilité sociopolitique chronique, accès limité aux services sociaux), la fragilité revêt des dimensions variées et connexes dont la sévérité rend la réalisation de la scolarisation primaire universelle singulièrement aléatoire. Dès lors, l’injonction faite aux États de fournir une édu-cation de base homogène aux populations, notamment aux plus pauvres, peut rencontrer des difficultés d’adaptation dans les contextes particuliers des États fragiles (chapitre 1). Les conflits armés constituent certainement la plus évidente origine de la fragilité des États et des pays. Les effets de ces conflits mettent à mal le développement éducatif et anéantissent toute perspective d’éducation pour une proportion d’enfants difficilement mesurable, parti-culièrement ceux issus de milieux pauvres et isolés. Les périodes d’instabilité signalent égale-ment l’impact des politiques des finances publiques ainsi que l’échec d’un gouvernement à investir dans des domaines sociaux tels que l’éducation, élément contribuant à l’émergence des valeurs d’un système politique à tendances démocratiques (chapitre 2). Dans la mesure où l’investissement éducatif est perçu comme une condition nécessaire, sinon suffisante, de sortie de la pauvreté, l’option d’impulser et d’accélérer le développement éducatif s’impose comme un critère d’opportunité pour la communauté internationale, quitte à exercer des formes d’ingérence. Les conclusions de notre analyse empirique montrent, dans la problématique des États fragiles, l’émergence d’une contradiction actuelle entre le caractère inclusif des objectifs de l’EPT et la nature excluante des paradigmes sur lesquels se fondent l’aide extérieure (efficacité et résultats). Cette situation conduit alors à s’interroger sur une approche de l’aide liée à une analyse morale écartelée entre les conséquences des actions individuelles ou communes et dont les critères et instruments financiers ne sont visiblement pas adaptés aux situations de fragilité (chapitre 3). / Currently, over a third of children not in school live in countries considered being as fragile. These countries, which are mainly located in sub-Saharan Africa, will not reach the objectives of Education For All for 2015. This thesis covers approaches across comparative education, political science and sociology of organizations. It explores empirically the condi¬tions of achievement of EFA within the contexts of fragility. Despite its ambiguities, the notion of fragile states was adopted in 2005 as an operational concept by most of aid agencies. Definitions of fragile state converge on a set of specific criteria (dysfunctional institutions, chronic socio-political instability, limited access to social services). Nevertheless, the former also cover various and related dimensions, whose severity makes universal primary education achievement particularly hazardous. Therefore, the in¬junction made to states to provide homogenous basic education for their population, espe¬cially in the poorest ones, may indeed encounter difficulties in the particular contexts of fragile states (chapter 1). Armed conflicts are certainly the most obvious cause of the fragility of states and countries. The effects of these conflicts undermine the educational system and destroy any prospect of education for a difficulty measurable proportion of children, especially those in poor and isolated environments. Periods of instability can also be seen in the impact of public finances policies and the failure of governments to invest in social areas such as education. The latter being an element that contributes to the emergence of values of a democratic political system (chapter 2). Insofar as investment in education is perceived as a necessary, if not sufficient, to vanquish poverty, the option to stimulate and accelerate the development of education constitutes an opportunity for the international community. Even if it means that the latter also has to ex¬ercise some forms of interference. The findings of our empirical analysis show, that within fragile states, the emergence of a current contradiction between the inclusive nature of the EFA goals and the exclusionary nature of the paradigms on which foreign aid is based (effec¬tiveness and results). This situation leads us to question the approach of aid which is torn morally between the consequences of individual actions or common actions where the finan¬cial criteria and instruments are clearly not adapted to situations of fragility (chapter 3).

A República Democrática do Congo tem sofrido, no período pós-Guerra Fria, os momentos mais trágicos de sua história. O país foi palco da Primeira Guerra do Congo e da Segunda Guerra do Congo – esta também chamada de "Guerra Mundial Africana", por ser o conflito armado que mais matou desde a Segunda Guerra Mundial (3,8 milhões de pessoas). Contudo, mesmo após o fim formal das conflagrações em 2003, o país vive um "estado de violência", no qual mais de 1,6 milhão de pessoas morreram e outras centenas de milhares estão deslocadas internamente, refugiadas ou têm sido vítimas de violência sexual. Destarte, a pergunta que a pesquisa procura responder é “por que, mesmo após a paz formal, o estado de violência permanece na República Democrática do Congo (RDC)?” O argumento aqui sugerido é que a guerra continua na RDC, pois não houve a definição militar do conflito, primeiro passo no processo de construção do Estado. Há a permanência de grupos armados que atuam contra as populações civis e o governo central, e em locais onde o aparelho coercitivo do Estado é ineficiente ou mesmo inexistente. Esta realidade se relaciona com o processo histórico de construção do Estado do Congo, bem como com a forma de resolução da Guerra Mundial Africana mediante mecanismos de paz negociada, ou power-sharing. O primeiro capítulo do trabalho trata de problemas teórico-conceituais sobre a relação entre guerra e Estado na África Subsaariana e no Congo. Os capítulos subseqüentes tratam sobre a relação entre guerra e construção do Estado no Congo pós-independência, estudando três guerras principais ocorridas no país e as suas relações com o processo de construção do Estado. A pesquisa sugere que a adoção de uma Reforma do Setor de Segurança voltada à construção do exército nacional pode trazer os benefícios da definição militar do conflito para os mecanismos de paz negociada. Como contribuição adicional o exército nacional pode gerar meios não-militares de definir o conflito, incentivando a formação da burocracia e da economia nacionais. / The Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered, in the post-Cold War era, the most tragic moments in its history. The country was the place of the First Congo War and Second Congo War – this one also called "African World War" because it is the armed conflict that killed more since the Second World War (3.8 million people). However, even after the formal end of the conflagrations in 2003, the country is experiencing a "state violence", in which more than 1.6 million people died and hundreds of thousands are internally displaced, refugees or have been victims of sexual violence . Thus, the question that the research seeks to answer is "why, even after the formal peace, the state of violence remains in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)?" The argument suggested here is that the war continues in the DRC, since there was the definition of military conflict, the first step in the process of nation building. There is the persistence of armed groups against civilians and the central government, and in places where the coercive apparatus of the state is inefficient or nonexistent. This reality relates to the historical process of state building of the Congo, as well as the resolution of the African World War through mechanisms of negotiated peace, or power-sharing. The first chapter of this dissertation deals with theoretical and conceptual issues about the relationship between war and state in sub-Saharan Africa and the Congo. Subsequent chapters deal with the relationship between war and state building in post-independence Congo, studying three major wars occurred in the country and its relations with the process of state-building. The research suggests that the adoption of a Security Sector Reform focused on building the national army can bring the benefits of military conflict resolution mechanisms for negotiated peace. As an additional contribution, the national army can generate non-military means of defining the conflict, encouraging the formation of the bureaucracy and the national economy.

A República Democrática do Congo tem sofrido, no período pós-Guerra Fria, os momentos mais trágicos de sua história. O país foi palco da Primeira Guerra do Congo e da Segunda Guerra do Congo – esta também chamada de "Guerra Mundial Africana", por ser o conflito armado que mais matou desde a Segunda Guerra Mundial (3,8 milhões de pessoas). Contudo, mesmo após o fim formal das conflagrações em 2003, o país vive um "estado de violência", no qual mais de 1,6 milhão de pessoas morreram e outras centenas de milhares estão deslocadas internamente, refugiadas ou têm sido vítimas de violência sexual. Destarte, a pergunta que a pesquisa procura responder é “por que, mesmo após a paz formal, o estado de violência permanece na República Democrática do Congo (RDC)?” O argumento aqui sugerido é que a guerra continua na RDC, pois não houve a definição militar do conflito, primeiro passo no processo de construção do Estado. Há a permanência de grupos armados que atuam contra as populações civis e o governo central, e em locais onde o aparelho coercitivo do Estado é ineficiente ou mesmo inexistente. Esta realidade se relaciona com o processo histórico de construção do Estado do Congo, bem como com a forma de resolução da Guerra Mundial Africana mediante mecanismos de paz negociada, ou power-sharing. O primeiro capítulo do trabalho trata de problemas teórico-conceituais sobre a relação entre guerra e Estado na África Subsaariana e no Congo. Os capítulos subseqüentes tratam sobre a relação entre guerra e construção do Estado no Congo pós-independência, estudando três guerras principais ocorridas no país e as suas relações com o processo de construção do Estado. A pesquisa sugere que a adoção de uma Reforma do Setor de Segurança voltada à construção do exército nacional pode trazer os benefícios da definição militar do conflito para os mecanismos de paz negociada. Como contribuição adicional o exército nacional pode gerar meios não-militares de definir o conflito, incentivando a formação da burocracia e da economia nacionais. / The Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered, in the post-Cold War era, the most tragic moments in its history. The country was the place of the First Congo War and Second Congo War – this one also called "African World War" because it is the armed conflict that killed more since the Second World War (3.8 million people). However, even after the formal end of the conflagrations in 2003, the country is experiencing a "state violence", in which more than 1.6 million people died and hundreds of thousands are internally displaced, refugees or have been victims of sexual violence . Thus, the question that the research seeks to answer is "why, even after the formal peace, the state of violence remains in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)?" The argument suggested here is that the war continues in the DRC, since there was the definition of military conflict, the first step in the process of nation building. There is the persistence of armed groups against civilians and the central government, and in places where the coercive apparatus of the state is inefficient or nonexistent. This reality relates to the historical process of state building of the Congo, as well as the resolution of the African World War through mechanisms of negotiated peace, or power-sharing. The first chapter of this dissertation deals with theoretical and conceptual issues about the relationship between war and state in sub-Saharan Africa and the Congo. Subsequent chapters deal with the relationship between war and state building in post-independence Congo, studying three major wars occurred in the country and its relations with the process of state-building. The research suggests that the adoption of a Security Sector Reform focused on building the national army can bring the benefits of military conflict resolution mechanisms for negotiated peace. As an additional contribution, the national army can generate non-military means of defining the conflict, encouraging the formation of the bureaucracy and the national economy.

Master of Science / Computing and Information Sciences / Eugene Vasserman / The increase in penetration of Internet technology throughout the world is bringing an increasing volume of user information online, and developing countries such as those of East Africa are included as contributors and consumers of this voluminous information. While we have seen concerns from other parts of the world regarding user privacy and security, very little is known of East African Internet users’ concern with their online information exposure. The aim of this study is to compare Internet user awareness and concerns regarding online privacy and security between East Africa (EA) and the United States (U.S.) and to determine any common attitudes and differences. The study followed a quantitative research approach, with the EA population sampled from the Open University of Tanzania, an open and distance-learning university in East Africa, and the U.S. population sampled from Kansas State University, a public university in the U.S. Online questionnaires were used as survey instruments. The results show no significant difference in awareness of online privacy between Internet users from East Africa and the U.S. There is however, significant difference in concerns about online privacy, which differ with the type of information shared. Moreover, the results have shown that the U.S. Internet users are more aware of online privacy concerns, and more likely to have taken measure to protect their online privacy and conceal their online presence, than the East African Internet users. This study has also shown that East Africans Internet users are more likely to be victims of online identity theft, security issues and reputation damage.

No description available.

Esta tese de doutorado explora uma faceta ainda obscura nos estudos sobre a democracia e a participação, que consiste na difusão internacional de ideias e tecnologias de governança participativa. As pesquisas recentes sobre este tema têm insistido na influência de atores diversos para explicar o fenômeno da difusão, atribuindo ênfase especial às Organizações Internacionais. A indicação de modelos específicos da parte de tais instituições é frequente, como no caso do Orçamento Participativo (OP), que hoje conta com mais de 2800 experiências ao redor do globo. No entanto, seriam suficientes as orientações de instituições internacionais para explicar a difusão de ideias e tecnologias de governança participativa? Situada entre a análise de políticas públicas e o estudo das relações internacionais, a proposta da pesquisa de doutorado foi de examinar o processo de difusão do OP, por meio de metodologia qualitativa, combinando entrevistas em profundidade, observação participante e análise de documentos. O estudo foi desenvolvido a partir da análise de um caso de origem, Porto Alegre, e diversos casos de transferência na África Subsaariana e na América Latina. Os resultados de pesquisa apontam para a existência de um fluxo global, movimentos de difusão regional, como na região dos Andes, e movimentos pontuais de transferência, em que o OP se desloca de uma instituição à outra, como de Porto Alegre, no Brasil, para o município de Cotacachi, no Equador, ou ainda para Maputo, no Moçambique. Foi possível constatar que a ação de um conjunto de indivíduos foi fundamental para inserir o OP na agenda internacional, bem como para auxiliar nos processos de transferência no exterior. Uma vez que o OP se legitima no plano externo, as Organizações Internacionais passam a fazer mais diferença, pois financiam experiências, organizam oficínas de capacitação de quadros e produzem manuais de implementação. A técnica utilizada para realizar este estudo foi a do rastreamento do processo, que procura identificar as cadeias de mecanismos causais que afetam um determinado fenômeno. A dimensão empírica da pesquisa foi composta por fontes primárias. Para este estudo foram feitas mais de 120 entrevistas em profundidade em nove países (África do Sul, Brasil, Equador, Espanha, Estados Unidos da América, França, Moçambique, Peru, Senegal). Além disso, foi realizada observação participante em eventos internacionais e também foram coletados materiais in loco, como documentos oficiais, artigos da imprensa e arquivos multimídia. / This thesis explores an obscure facet in studies about democracy and participation, namely the international diffusion of ideas and technologies on participatory governance. Recent researches on the topic highlight the influence of various actors to explain the diffusion phenomenon, drawing particular attention to international organizations. These institutions often recommend the use of specific models, as in the case of the Participatory Budgeting (PB), which currently accounts over 2800 experiences worldwide. Nonetheless, do recommendations from international institutions suffice to explain the transfer of ideas and technologies on participatory governance? Situated between public policy analysis and the study of international relations, this doctoral research seeks to examine the transfer of Participatory Budgeting through a qualitative methodology, combining in-depth interviews, participant observation and document analysis. This research is based on the analysis of the key case of Porto Alegre and several cases of transfer in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Research findings indicate there is a global flow, a regional diffusion, as in the Andes, and also isolated transfers, in which PB streams from one institution to another, as exemplified on the transfer from Porto Alegre, Brazil, to the municipality of Cotacachi, Ecuador, or to Maputo in Mozambique. It was found that the actions of a group of individuals were crucial to make PB part of the international agenda. These actors have also assisted to promote transfers abroad. Once Participatory Budgeting becomes legitimate abroad, international organizations play a bigger role since they finance these experiences, organize training workshops for staff and develop implementation manuals. The technique used to conduct this study was the process-tracing, which seeks to identify chains of causal mechanisms that affect a particular phenomenon. The empirical dimension of this research is composed of primary sources. For this study, over 120 in-depth interviews in nine countries (South Africa, Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, United States, France, Mozambique, Peru, Senegal) were made. Furthermore, there were participant observations in international events and the collection of materials on-site, such as official documents, press articles and multimedia files.

L'objectif principal des autorités en Afrique subsaharienne est de créer une croissance durable en raison des récents ralentissements de la croissance. Une croissance durable pourrait être réalisée en réhabilitant les vulnérabilités internes et externes afin d'éviter les perturbations macroéconomiques. En Afrique subsaharienne, les vulnérabilités internes proviennent de la mauvaise gouvernance, des choix inefficaces des politiques économiques et d'autres facteurs tels que les guerres civiles. Leurs vulnérabilités externes sont liées à leurs forte dette et dépendance commerciale. Par conséquent, cette thèse se concentre sur l'atténuation des deux vulnérabilités. Le premier chapitre propose une comparaison de la résilience de deux politiques monétaires à plusieurs types de chocs. On considère le ciblage de l'inflation au Ghana et en Afrique du Sud et la caisse d'émission dans l'UEMOA tout en simulant des chocs sur le modèle FPAS. Le deuxième chapitre se concentre sur l'objectif de la résolution des vulnérabilités externes. On propose une stratégie d'ancrage du régime de change nominal et réel pour stabiliser le coût de la dette et promouvoir la compétitivité commerciale. On résout un modèle d'équilibre général pour trouver ses principaux déterminants tout en sauvegardant nos résultats en utilisant les estimations SVAR et MS-VAR. Ainsi, le troisième chapitre résout les vulnérabilités internes. On teste le rôle d'une politique monétaire régie par la politique fiscal et l'existence d'un grand taux de change parallèle dans la propagation d'une inflation élevée et chronique, dans un contexte de désordre civil en estimant un SVAR et un VECM dans l'état fragile du Soudan. / Sub-Saharan African policy makers’ main objective is to create sustainable growth as a result of the recent downturns of growth. Sustainable growth could be achieved by remediating both internal and external vulnerabilities to avoid macroeconomic disruption. In Sub-Saharan Africa, internal vulnerabilities arise from bad governance and institutions, inefficient choices of economic policies and other factors such as civil wars. As for external vulnerabilities, it is related to their balance of payment weaknesses due to their high debt and high trade dependency (high import to GDP level with low export diversification).Therefore, this thesis focus on alleviating both vulnerabilities.The first chapter proposes a comparison of two monetary policies’ resilience to several types of shocks. We consider inflation targeting in Ghana and South Africa and currency board in WAEMU countries while simulating shocks using FPAS model.The second chapter focuses on the objective of solving external vulnerabilities. We propose a policy-mix strategy where Sub-Saharan African countries undertake simultaneously a nominal and real anchor to stabilise the cost of debt and promote trade competitiveness. We propose a general equilibrium model to find its main determinants while backing up our findings using SVAR and MS-VAR estimations.The third chapter’s objective is solving internal vulnerabilities. We test simultaneous the role of a monetary policy governed by the fiscal policy and the existence of a large parallel exchange rate in propagating a high and chronic inflation, in a context of civil disorder. To do so we estimate an SVAR and a VECM model in a fragile state that is Sudan.