Economic liberalisation initiatives at the behest of international financial institutions and bilateral donors have been accompanied by regulatory reform. This requires adoption of a standard regulatory template through legislative reform by the recipient jurisdiction. This thesis argues that every jurisdiction, given its unique social, political, economic and cultural attributes, possesses a unique character which in turn requires customised regulatory solutions. This thesis argues that a simplistic legal instrumentalist approach to regulatory reform, disregarding the unique regulatory attributes, is unlikely to succeed in achieving its regulatory objectives. In other words, it is bound to have ‘less than intended’ effect. The thesis discusses this phenomenon of global diffusion of regulatory norms in the context of legislative changes incorporating the World Bank’s global regulatory template in the electricity sector in India. Since the sector is administered at the State level, the thesis focuses on the implementation of the legislative arrangements regulating the state and privatising the state-owned entities in the State of Andhra Pradesh. It argues that any regulatory reform initiative aimed at introducing a standard model is bound to encounter societal forces in the nature of co-option, resistance, uneasy co-existence etc. As a consequence, a standard model will not be able to bring about the intended social and economic changes and that the institutional and administrative processes associated with the standard model themselves undergo a transformation. It demonstrates that this was the reason for the reform measures not yielding the desired results in the State level electricity sector in India.

A considerable amount of literature examines the impact of the Internet and social media on the practice of democracy in liberal democratic contexts and on the democratization process in nondemocratic contexts. However, little is known about the rise and implications of using the Internet and social media platforms for democratization process in a hybrid political system, like that of Iraqi Kurdistan, which combines elements of both democracy and authoritarianism. This study asks: how does the rise of the Internet and social media platforms influence democracy and democratization in Iraqi Kurdistan? To this end, the study assesses both the relationship between the use of social media platforms by citizens, politicians, electoral candidates, and political parties, as well as political participation and political communication, which are selected as important elements of democratization. It specifically examines the use of social media through three case studies: the Slemani protest movement in 2011; political discussion between citizens and party leaders of two political parties, the Patriotic union of Kurdistan (PUK), and the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU); and the 2013 parliamentary elections. The study is based on original qualitative interviews with activists, politicians, and party leaders, and an analysis of relevant social media content in the Kurdish language, especially on the social media platform, Facebook. The thesis finds that social media platforms facilitate political participation and political communication in terms of reducing the constraints for organizing and coordinating collective action. They also facilitate political discussion between party leaders and citizens, and provide more access to relevant information for citizens. Furthermore, they expand the scope of freedom of speech by providing opportunities to discuss political issues and other issues of common interest, and facilitate the dissemination of information by electoral candidates and reduce campaign costs. However, the thesis argues that the increasing ease of political participation and political communication, as a result of social media usage, should not be equated with democratization. This is because those in power also use social media but in ways that are counter-productive to democratization. For example, security forces use social media to monitor and gather information about citizens and social movement activists; Political parties and their leaders also use online and social media platforms to distribute pro-party propaganda and to launch online attacks on political rivals, spreading a culture of hatred, violence and nondemocratic values, rather than promoting the discussion of policy issues and government decisions. Election candidates use online resources primarily to win a seat in parliament and empower their campaign rather than engaging with voters in a way that generates productive, healthy, rational, and deep political conversation.

Food safety problems set an enormous challenge to China’s sustainable economic development. The Milk Scandal of 2008 brought public attention to the poor regulation and ineffective administration of the food industry. This highlighted the fact that food safety is relevant to the public health and the brand ‘Made in China’ in international trading. It also shows how food safety law and better environmental protection has arisen out of a crisis. The milk scandal brought an influx of foreign products into China and opened up the Chinese market to international influence and food standards that would not have been possible before the crisis began. Sustaining China’s environmental future is a work-in-progress with uncertain outcomes but there is an admission that without solving the food safety problem, China cannot achieve its sustainable economic development. This thesis examines China’s current food safety legislation in the aftermath of the milk scandal of 2008. The thesis raises the question of how China deals with its food safety crisis and regulates its food industry to cope with its sustainable economic development. It also considers how best for the Chinese and the rest of the world may be able to learn from the Chinese experience. In the aftermath of the Chinese food crisis, China found itself subject to imports from abroad. This had a two-fold effect. It brought international regulatory practices into Chinese life; the second effect was to awaken China to the demands of international trade and the need to conform to best practice. It also showed how China had to meet expectations that were informed by international experience, which China sadly lacked. A deeper analysis is that China was exposed to the dilemma of profit driven organisations failing to appreciate the role of regulation and the safety of ordinary people. The scandal exposed many institutional and organisational shortcomings while the lessons were clear for anyone who looked. Placing profits over the preservation of social order and stability resulted in short-term gains with few long term benefits. This research provides a comprehensive analysis and offers a perspective of the Chinese food safety problem from the legal, social and economic context of the problem. The causes of the food safety problem in China are complex. The food safety problem is not only caused by the defect of the food safety legislation itself. Other factors, such as environmental challenges and the irresponsible business activities, all contribute to the ineffectiveness of the food safety regulatory system. The thesis starts with the Milk Scandal of 2008 to examine the current food safety regulatory system in China. It addresses the main systemic problem, which leads to the weak implementation and ineffective administrations, and it also finds out that apart from the systemic defects, the environmental problem and the failure of the private sector all have an impact on the food safety regulatory system. Furthermore, the thesis also explores the new innovations in the 2014 Environmental Protection Law, which may potentially contribute to the food safety law in the future. The private sector has also been examined. The fact is found that Chinese companies are operated in an irresponsible way, which causes the consecutive food scandals in China. The role of corporate social responsibility is also considered to guide the business activities in practice. The interests of the stakeholders, such as consumers, need to be addressed in the decision-making. The final conclusion is China still has a long way to go to achieve its sustainable economic development. The legislation system needs to be completed and unified. The effectiveness of the administration needs to be improved and independent judiciary needs to be built up. Besides the systemic problem, the improvement of the environment and the responsible business operation also contribute to re-shaping an effective food safety regulatory system. The innovation in the Environmental Law of 2014 can also be introduced to the food safety system. The citizen-driven approach can be used as an important supplement to China’s traditional state-centred approach, to overcome the systemic weakness in the implementation of the food safety law. Many disasters in the world are discussed in terms of the experiences countries may gain from bad events. Bhopal and Chernobyl are two examples. The Chinese Milk Scandal stands in a line of disasters such as BSE in Britain that have re-oriented the regulatory map. Stakeholders and citizens have much to gain from learning the lessons of the milk scandal.

Tsoi Kwok Ho. / "September 2006." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-169). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

This is a study on some controversial legal aspects of resorting to arbitration in disputes concerning administrative contracts with an international dimension – i.e. contracts between public authorities in the United Arab State (UAE) and foreign companies, as well as contracts concluded between local parties but indirectly generate results of international dimensions. In this study, I have adopted a descriptive methodology, meticulously describing the legislative and judicial status in the UAE compared to those of both Egypt and France. In addition, I have also resorted to an analytical approach to provide a concise analysis of the essence of legal provisions guided by the established jurisprudence and judicial opinions. Finally, I used the comparative approach to draw parallels and difference within the legislature and the judiciary between three legal systems, with an eye at making use of relatively advanced legal systems. According to the above, and through utilizing the three research methods mentioned, (the descriptive, analytical and comparative), we attempted to analyze the various relevant jurisprudence and judicial opinions, together with court rulings and legislative provisions. The ultimate objective is to draw scientific results from the detailed evidences drawn from the selected rulings, as well as deciding on the position of both local and international jurisprudence and judiciary on this regard. This is to consolidate the theoretical positions with existing practice. At the outset of the thesis (chapter one) this study begins with a discussion of the main concepts of the constitutional system of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with an explanation of the federal structure of the state and the nature of the UAE system of government. This is important because this study is mainly concerned with the UAE. This is followed by an illustration of the principles of administrative law within the UAE state. The study shows that the judicial system of the UAE state adopts a unitary judicial system whereby the same courts have jurisdiction on all sorts of disputes, both on disputes arising from administrative law and administrative contracts, as well as on disputes arising between private persons. This would unify the rules that apply to all disputes relating to the administration including administrative contracts with international dimensions. (Chapter two) attempts to define the concept of the administrative contract; the main focus of this study, and the criteria for distinguishing it from other types of contracts. It is concluded that the distinctive criteria for administrative contracts in the UAE are that: (i) one party to a contract shall be a public persona (such as the state, city authorities or municipalities); (ii) the contract shall be connected to the running or organization of a public facility (such as public institutions and authorities, security organizations and educational institutions) and (iii) it shall include exorbitant conditions which are unfamiliar in private law contracts. This distinction would help determining the nature of the legal rules to be applied on settlement of disputes, whether pertaining to the rules of administrative law or those of private law. (Chapter three) displays and critically reviews the main ideas related to arbitration in administrative contracts and shows the reservations and disadvantages that might arise from resorting to arbitration in this field. (Chapter four) This study comes to a number of conclusions in relation to these reservations and disadvantages. Despite the great importance of resorting to arbitration in administrative contracts as a speedy and distinctively confidential instrument for protecting the interests of the contractual parties, my opinion resorting to arbitration for settlement of disputes should be followed only if and to the extent it encourages investment in the UAE and it is respectful of higher administrative interests of the UAE state. The same limitation should apply to international administrative contracts and administrative contracts with international dimensions. Arbitration should be carried out without prejudice to the principle that a public authority in the UAE shall pursue a public interest without prejudice to private interests. This study argues that the legislator should intervene in an unambiguous manner to achieve the following results in relation to arbitration in administrative contracts with an international dimension and formulate proposals on how best to address these issues: 1. Determine the fields in which resorting to arbitration in administrative disputes should be admitted. 2. Specify the competent authority for approval of resorting to arbitration in this field (preferably the higher administrative authority within the state, such as the cabinet of ministers, the competent minister or authorized representative among public persona. No delegation is permissible, in this regard, for public persona assuming positions inferior to the above-mentioned ones because of their distinguished expertise which brought them to shoulder highly sensitive positions. Delegation in arbitration should be restricted to a very limited domain and only endowed upon those who assume the highest executive positions and qualified to shoulder high ranking positions and responsibilities. 3. The arbitration panel shall refrain from prejudicing the nature of the administrative contract, that is to refrain from prejudicing public interests, in order not to use resorting to arbitration as a means of evading application of the rules and regulations pertaining to the established administrative contract, which are stipulated to maintain public interest and public funds without prejudice to the rights and freedoms of private persons. Hence, it is pertinent to preserve the administrative nature and enforce the substantive regulations of the administrative contract. The contract should involve provisions for including arbitration, in addition to explicitly specify that the applicable law governing the contract should be the administrative law and the theory of administrative contract, which shall be applied in case of dispute. Arbitration should be restricted to administrative contracts with international dimensions, connected with public interest projects and leading to the encouragement of foreign investment and applying the principles of arbitration for conciliation in internal administrative contracts disputes only. The study concludes by arguing that legislative reform should be carried out to introduce legislative amendments, incorporating the above-mentioned arrangements, which are crucial to the settlement of administrative contracts disputes through arbitration. Resorting to arbitration should be restricted to certain types of contracts concluded by public authorities as an exception to the general principle of resorting to a judicial authority for looking into a legal disputes. These were put in place only to strike a balance between achieving public interests of the state and protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals.

Researchers across the globe have studied high school dropouts for decades and have identified various factors related to high school dropout rates. These factors have been found to be related to dropout rates among specific ethnic groups, including White, Asian, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Hispanic or Latino Origin high school students. However, the factors related to dropout rates among Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander high school students in the U.S. mainland have not been studied. This study was completed to better understand the factors related to dropout rates among Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander high school dropouts. The sample for this study was 13 males and 4 females that dropped out of high schools located in the Salt Lake and Utah counties in Utah. A qualitative analysis of the interview data indicated that peer-, personal-, family-, culture-, and school-related factors were associated with dropout rates among the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander high school dropouts in these two counties. The implications of these findings are explored.

The Japanese oyster Crassostrea gigas is commercially grown in bays and estuaries of the Pacific Northwest. The oyster's complex, ciliated, plicate gill is responsible for removing particles from surrounding waters for ingestion. In order to determine how this is accomplished, structural interrelationships of gill components were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Particle movement was observed directly on both isolated gill sections and intact gills. Feeding data were obtained by comparing initial to final concentration and size of algal particles in a Coulter counter.

This thesis details the lived experiences of ten first-generation Latino students at a large public university in the Pacific Northwest. Their experience and adjustment reveal that they relied on their friends and family, especially their parents for the male participants, for support and encouragement. The help these students received in the form of caring and social capital from faculty and staff during their freshman year ensured that they made a successful adjustment to college. Participants cite influential people and programs that motivated them to succeed and become comfortable in the college student role.

People of Pacific Island descent are afflicted by obesity and diabetes more than other populations. Although interventions have succeeded in reducing these conditions among other groups, they have been unsuccessful among Tongans and other Pacific Islanders. Furthermore, little is known about the cultural perspectives of this population with a high rate of obesity and diabetes. Accordingly, this descriptive phenomenological study was conducted to investigate the lived experiences of Tongans with obesity and diabetes in a western metropolitan area of the United States to understand their predisposition toward these conditions and suggest appropriate interventions. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 11 Tongans, 18 years or older, with obesity and diabetes. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using open-ended questions. Data analysis consisted of verbatim transcription and splitter coding, which identified 5 emerging themes. The findings indicated that cultural customs have created an emotional attachment among Tongan participants to their native foods and that they feel obliged to eat abundantly at food-related social events. Moreover, they mistrust their healthcare professionals, which results in non-adherence to medical advice. The findings align with Martha Rogers' theory of the science of unitary human beings and Bandura's model of reciprocal determinism that there is a strong relationship between people and their cultural environment. This study's findings provide an understanding that may lead to positive social change in designing culturally specific preventive programs to decrease obesity and diabetes and ensure a better quality of life for Tongans.

Patterns of vegetation use by black bears (Ursus americanus) on Long Island, Washington were documented using radio-telemetry in 1973-74 and 1980-81. Secondary succession altered the vegetative compostion of clearcut areas through this time, reducing the areas dominated by productive brush species by nearly 50%. Seasonal food habits, consisted primarily of grasses and forbs in spring (den emergence-May) and flowers and fruits of shrub species in summer (June-September) and fall (October-den entrance). Bears selected for clearcuts (5-21 years of age) over all other vegetation types for feeding but preferred areas dominated by large trees when inactive during both the day and night. Inactivity in clearcut areas occurred most frequently in clearcuts offering the greatest amount of horizontal cover. Although preferred in all seasons, clearcuts received the greatest use during the summer months when flowers and fruits of shrubs species were most abundant. Tidelands and meadows were used more in the spring than during other seasons and conifer stands received the greatest proportionate use in spring and fall. Old growth timber (200 +years of age) was used similarly to mature second growth. Adult males were less influenced than other classes of bears by availability of horizontal cover and proximity of cover provided by adjacent vegetation types when feeding in clearcut areas. Adult females with cubs fed in timber stands and clearcuts with abundant horizontal cover more than other bears and generally remained in close proximity to bordering timber stands when feeding in clearcuts. Subadults, as well as adult females with cubs, appeared to use available habitats in a manner that allowed them to avoid other bears. Areas in large timber stands that were long distances from clearcuts were used by bears more during the 1980-81 phase of the study, apparently because of the increased competition for declining resources in clearcut areas. Home ranges of the adult females present during both phases of the study were similar in both size and location.