This study examines women's employment in Iran between 1979-1997, analysing the changing position of the Islamic state in reaction to economic circumstances and women's responses. In making this assessment the interaction between economic circumstances, the institutionalisation of gender inequality and also the responses of women are examined. This study demonstrates that economic forces and women's struggle for change undermined the Islamic state's gender relations. The Islamisation of state and society which followed the 1979 revolution involved an attempt by the Islamic state to seclude women within the home in accordance with the state's gender and employment policy and practices. The power of the state to transform gender relations, however, was constrained by the Iran - Iraq war, as the survival of many families depended on women's earnings. The end of the war with Iraq and the return of men to the workforce did not result in women's return to the home. Economic reconstruction and inflation increased women's participation in the workforce. This study demonstrates that in 1997, women's participation in the labour force, despite a rigid sexual division of labour imposed ideologically by the Islamic state is no less than it was in pre-1979. However, the state continued to strengthen patriarchal relationships within the home, employment and wider society, thus maintaining that women's participation in the workforce is by nature temporary and that ultimately a woman's place is in the home. Women of different classes and with different levels of religiosity responded to the economic circumstances and the state's gender ideology. Their participation in the political movements and their active role in the economy has raised gender consciousness. The result is an alliance between religious and secular women in urban areas who have demanded reforms and forced the Islamic state to return to the position of the reforms of pre-1979 in relation to women and the family, and women's education and employment.

This thesis analyses the uses of the concept of a Leistungsgesellschaft to explore the breaks and continuities in the transition from Third Reich to Federal Republic as well as within the post-war era. Between 1933 and 1975, the 'achieving society' and the concept of Leistung became ever more widely used and criticised. The individual in the National Socialist period was pressured to achieve in the name of a politically and racially defined commonweal, or risk exclusion from the national community. By contrast, the post-war period witnessed a shift as Ordoliberalism emphasised the individual opportunity a focus on performance in a competitive market generated. However, Ordoliberal theory had a limited impact on policy, also failing to overcome the tension between endorsing individual achievement and the developing welfare state. As part of an increasingly international debate, sociologists assessed how far the opportunities of the market actually extended and gauged the consequences of the Leistungsgesellschaft. These discussions show the active role of researchers in moulding a mental map of a highly advanced 'West'. At the same time, a pattern that coheres with the model of the 'long sixties' is also present in these debates. The increasingly critical tone adopted by sociologists predated and prepared the way for the more radical ideas of the New Left. By the mid-1960s, activists and academics were highlighting the repressive emotional and psychological consequences of stressing achievement, prompting conservative efforts to defend Leistung. On the whole, a gendered line of exclusion and a trend towards Verwissenschaftlichung are the most striking continuities between 1933 and 1975. Racialized understandings of achievement are reframed in the context of debates about the 'underdeveloped' states. The thesis as a whole paints a picture of an increasing individualisation of Leistung as well as growing focus on the pressures and problems inherent in endorsing achievement.

This project involves the visual exploration of different social, cultural and spiritual experiences in both the Third World and the West, as a metaphor for the human condition. It draws upon the experiences of people living in various situations of poverty and hardship in both Western and Thirld World communities. Through this research program I have created a series of visual works, which explore and questions many of the different social, cultural and spiritual characteristics of groups of people experiencing situations of extreme poverty, neglect and hardship within both Western and Thrid World societies. The main research for this roject has involved creating crucial links between my art practice and my ongoing involvement in humanitarian/aid programs in Andhra Pradesh, India, working with people in impoverished Third World conditions, and social welfare work in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. By drawing on these two specific areas, this resear ch project explores the theme of poverty as a valid subject for the visual artist in establishing a broader metaphor for the human condition in the 21st century. This has involved testing new insights in this area in relation to contemporary fine art, the relationship between poverty and contemporary visual art and the investigation of the artist as a documenter of real life experiences in situations both inside and outside of the typical Western experience of living.

Neurosensory deficit is a well-reported complication after lower third molar surgery. It is useful to know the outcomes of the available treatments for neurosensory deficit after third molar surgery. It is more important to prevent nerve injury from third molar surgery. This thesis aims1) to evaluate the outcomes of treatments for neurosensory deficit after lower third molar surgery; 2) to investigate the effect of permanent neurosensory deficit from the patient’s perspective;3) to identify radiographic signs as predictors of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) deficit in third molar surgery; 4)to monitor the long-term root movement and morbidities of the retained roots following coronectomy of the lower third molars. (1) A systematic search on treatment modalities and their outcomes of neurosensory deficit after lower third molar surgery was performed. 4 surgical treatments and 2 non-surgical treatments were identified. Significant improvement in sensation was found in the majority of the subjects who received surgical or non-surgical treatment. Complete recovery was uncommon in all kinds of available treatments. (2) Forty-eight subjects (24 cases) were recruited in a prospective case-control study comparing the general and oral health-related quality of life (QoL), life satisfaction and depression symptoms of patients with persistent lingual nerve (LN)or IAN neurosensory deficit (12 months or more) after third molar surgery with those who did not have such deficit. It was found that patients with persistent neurosensory deficit after third molar surgery have significantly poorer general and oral health-related QoL, worse life satisfaction and more depression symptoms than those without such deficits. (3) Twelve patients with neurosensory deficit after lower third molar surgery (10 LN, 2 IAN) who received microsurgical repair of the affected nervewere recruited in a prospective longitudinal observational study of the treatmentoutcomes. Most patients with pain wererecovered after surgery. Subjective symptoms including numbness, taste sensation and speech were improved after LN repair. Improvement was noted in all three objective neurosensory tests at post-operative 12 months. (3) Twelve patients with neurosensory deficit after lower third molar surgery (10 LN, 2 IAN) who received microsurgical repair of the affected nervewere recruited in a prospective longitudinal observational study of the treatment outcomes. Most patients with pain were recovered after surgery. Subjective symptoms including numbness, taste sensation and speech were improved after LN repair. Improvement was noted in all three objective neurosensory tests at post-operative 12 months. (4) 178lower third molars with one or more of the five radiographic signs suggesting of close proximity of their roots to the IAN were analyzed. It was found that radiographic signs of “darkening of root(s)” and “displacement of inferior alveolar canal by the root(s)” were associated with increased risk of intraoperative IAN exposure. In addition, “darkening of the root(s)” or co-existing radiographic signs were associated with an increased risk of post-operative IAN deficit. (5) A phase 4 clinical trial with 612 lower third molar coronectomies was conducted to monitor the long term safety of the treatment. It was demonstrated that the technique has minimal morbidity in terms of infection, pain, dry socket or development of pathologies. Most retained roots (90.9%) migrated upward with the highest migration rate in the first 6 months, which gradually slowed down and stopped to migrate at 24months. 2.3% of the roots became exposed in the oral cavity and required removal. Re-operation to remove the exposed root did not cause any IAN deficit. / published_or_final_version / Dentistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Education decentralization is sweeping many developing countries, creating massive regional disparities in education access and quality. Fiji provides education through the Community Based Approach, and although it is never referred to as being decentralized, it has all the same disparities occurring. A case study was conducted in the Yasawa Islands, Fiji, to evaluate the impact on surrounding communities of a newly opened (and privately funded) Secondary school. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-14 15:02:00.304

Over half a century ago the scientist and novelist C. P. Snow described a world divided into two cultures – scientists on the one hand, literary intellectuals on the other. Both played a significant role in shaping the world, but were unable to even hold a conversation (Snow 1971). This dissertation brings a sociological perspective to this divide (now seen as a divide between the sciences and the humanities) and hope for reconciliation, as it has been revisited in the more technologically saturated environment of the twenty-first century. The digital humanities combines computer science and the humanities and its impact on the humanities has been called “game changing” (Bobley 2008). Just as technology has revolutionized science, in fields such as astronomy or neuroscience for example, by allowing scientists to see and analyze objects and patterns they could not before, digitization allows humanities scholars to ask questions, and find answers, that were not possible in the past (Katz 2005; Kirschenbaum 2010; Kornbluh 2008). The digital humanities also promises to expand the reach of the humanities in terms of what is studied, who is able to participate, and who has access. This dissertation argues that the digital humanities is leading to the democratization of the humanities by expanding access to and participation in the humanities. In addition, although there are still divides between the two cultures, the digital humanities is a place where a third culture is fostered, as digital humanists are increasingly becoming experts in both the humanities and computing. Three case studies are examined: the Centre for History and New Media at George Mason University, The Orlando Project, a joint project between the University of Alberta and Guelph University, and the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California. / Thesis (Ph.D, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2011-12-31 17:50:49.587

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This is a case study of peasant farming in Maridi District, Western Equatoria Province, Southern Sudan. The object is to explore the impact and inter-relationship of economic, environmental and ecological factors on the changes that have occurred in 'traditional' farming in the study area. Special attention is paid to internal as well as external forces leading to changes, and peasant farmers' own understanding of the change processes, as well as the externally-induced explanations of change. It is hypothesised that agricultural development in Third World countries cannot be fully appraised without an understanding of the farming knowledge and attitudes of farmers whom it is supposed to benefit. Some basic concepts are reviewed and the hypotheses and methods of data collection and problems encountered are presented, A background survey of the nature of the physical and human environments in which farmers base their decisions is provided. The spatial organisation and nature of 'traditional' agricultural changes and their importance to households' sustenance is noted. Farmers' environmental and agricultural knowledge, and some of the hazards and pressures of agricultural change from the farmers' viewpoint, and how they interpret and respond to these constraints are outlined. The socio-economic characteristics of farmers and the current farming activities and the nature of change taking place, including farmers' involvement in a cash economy, are examined. Emphasis is laid on the adaptive rationality/of existing modes of production and the importance of the web of social and economic networks surrounding the individual farmer and influencing his activities. Changes in the pattern of 'traditional' agriculture in an historical and regional perspective are elucidated. A discussion of the existing patterns and processes of agricultural change, and the diffusion of innovations through the formal and informal channels, and farmers' attitudes and response demonstrating their rationality is shown. In a broad analysis of farmers' world-view, the individual's attitude to farming is studied including the extent of his farming knowledge, his degree of interest in this activity, his needs and problems, land-use trends, and desired changes. A case study of coffee as a cash crop innovation and its socio-economic impact on 'traditional' land-use systems now and in the .future is considered. A brief concluding section summarises research findings and some of the practical and theoretical implications for policy consideration. This study mainly concludes that only by identifying farmers' management strategies, circumstances and their analysis of problems on their own behalf can a development programme and research be formulated which has technologies appropriate to them.

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