Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This study highlights the importance of national factors in explaining the wide variations in child malnutrition that exists among population groups in the three Central Asian Republics under study, and as an avenue through which the investigation of the processes by which other factors influencing child malnutrition can be executed. This study has been guided by the proposition that the effects of socio-economic, health and the environmental factors vary by province of residence. The suggested theory underlying this proposition is the structural violence theory, which stems from the evidence of differences in malnutrition levels among provinces of residence within the three countries under study. Against the background of this theory, the study explores and compares the effects, on child malnutrition of sixteen covariates of malnutrition within these countries. The study assessed, first, the nutritional status of children below 3 years using the three anthropometric indices, weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height. Secondly, it examined the confounding factors that influence nutritional status in the Central Asian Republics. The DHS data for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan were used. The data of the countries were combined in order to create a more usable dataset for multivariate analyses. This descriptive analysis was done on all relevant variables in order to get a better understanding of the dynamics involved in the data. A binary logistic regression analysis estimating models using the stepwise forward method (based on Wald statistics) on the pooled dataset was carried out controlling socio-economic, health and environmental characteristics. Separate analysis was carried out to study the odds of being underweight, and stunted among children in the study population. Analyses for the odds of being wasted were not performed because the percentage of wasted children was too low. The main results indicate that province of residence within a country, country of residence, number of people in a household, household wealth, birth weight, age of child, knowledge of ORT, maternal education, number of children under five years, and source of drinking water, are strong predictors of child nutritional status in the three Central Asian Republics. Furthermore, it has revealed that chronic malnutrition (stunting), which is long-term undernutrition, is most prevalent in all three countries but at varied levels. An unexpected finding is that fully vaccinated children were highly likely to be malnourished compared to children who were partially vaccinated. Since stunting appears in early ages in Central Asian children many of the children in this study may be stunted before they receive all the recommended vaccinations. This could also be influenced by the poor nutritional status of the mother who cannot provide nutritious breast milk. Another unexpected finding was that breast-feeding especially in children more than six months old had a strong negative association with stunting and underweight. Women who breastfeed longer may be doing so because they lack the resources and nutritional knowledge to provide their children with adequate nutrition. Another explanation for the observed adverse association of breastfeeding and nutritional status beyond infancy is that of reverse causality, where mothers continue to breastfeed children who appear small for their age. In summary, the results from both the descriptive and binary logistic regression analysis are similar in terms of the explanatory variables and the statistical significance in the models. The study recommends more area-specific (province) policies for the development of nutritional intervention programmes including closer attention to childcare and mother care programmes. / Thesis (PhD (Sociology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Sociology / PhD (Sociology) / Unrestricted

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Strains among the states of Central Asia caused by overuse of the region?s scarce water resources have been increasing in recent years. This is especially true for the relations between Tajikistan, upstream, and Uzbekistan, downstream, on the Amudarya River. Major controversy exists over constructing Rogun Dam on the Vakhsh River, a tributary of the Amudarya River. Construction of Rogun Dam, with a planned height of 335 m (1099 ft), began in 1976 but was stopped in 1991 with the breakup of the former Soviet Union. The intent of this dam is to supply Tajikistan with energy, but a side effect will be the changed flow regime of the Amudarya River to downstream states (especially Uzbekistan). The major impact will be on the agricultural sector of Uzbekistan. The objectives of this study are to estimate the monetary impacts of Rogun Dam and propose mitigation measures to minimize impacts. The study investigates the nature and extent of those impacts and indicates policy implications to mitigate negative consequences of the possible water shortage in summer by assessing the baseline situation and comparing that situation with future status-quo (no changes) level of water. Future water shortage could cost Uzbekistan annually over US $609 million economic loss in agriculture, reduce the country?s GDP by 2.2%, and result in 336,000 unemployed people. If Uzbekistan changes its present water use practice and increases water use efficiency, the future water shortage during irrigation periods will not as seriously affect the country?s economy, as adaptive management measures could cut the losses by 40%.

Den här studien har undersökt telekomföretaget TeliaSoneras verksamhet i Uzbekistan. Företagets närvaro i landet har fått stor uppmärksamhet de senaste åren då de blivit anklagade för mutor, penningtvätt och för att ha samarbetat med regimen. Efter flera år med stora ekonomiska framgångar meddelade TeliaSonera hösten 2015 att de planerade att lämna landet. Detta arbete har studerat företagets marknadsinträde och etableringsprocess i Uzbekistan för att få förståelse för vad som egentligen hände i landet. Syftet med det här arbetet är även att få en uppfattning om vad som gick fel på marknaden och om företaget hade kunnat göra någonting annorlunda. Olika källor har sammanställts till en fallbeskrivning. Efter fallbeskrivningen följer en analys utifrån Blankenburgs nätverksprocessmodell. Modellen ser marknadsinträdet och etableringen som en process som påverkas av olika faktorer och aktörer över en längre tid. Analysen visade att TeliaSonera var aktiva och hade stora ambitioner att etablera sig i landet men att de var helt beroende av aktörer i det lokala nätverket som visade sig ha nära kopplingar till regimen. Man kunde därmed, utifrån Blankenburgs modell, se att företaget egentligen aldrig var etablerat på den uzbekiska telekommarknaden. Studien visade samtidigt att TeliaSonera inte hade kunnat bedriva verksamhet i landet självständigt från dessa aktörer.

The past decade has seen a transformation in the relationships among states in the Xinjiang-Central Asian region. The thesis is an analysis of this relationship, a relationship primarily built on economic and strategic interdependency. Within the thesis, the basis of the relationship is established; the extent of the relationship is ascertained, and the impact of this relationship is evaluated. The thesis differs from previous studies of this area in several ways. The most significant is that a group of Central Asian states and an autonomous region of China have formed into a unit of economic interdependency, which needs to be assessed as a group rather than as individual entities. Much of previous and recent scholarship tends to focus on issues within a particular country or part of a country, such as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. However, it is my contention that this is not an adequate representation of what is occurring in the region today. The focus needs to be widened to take into account the dynamics of this interdependent relationship which consists of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and several of the former Soviet Union states, primarily Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. All of these states with the exception of Uzbekistan are contiguous with Xinjiang. This relationship of interdependency has reached a level sufficient to influence decisions taken by governments within the region, and a prime factor of this has been the suppression of secessionist movements, principally Uygur separatist movements, among the Uygur diaspora residing in neighbouring states. Another highly relevant issue the thesis evaluates is sources of tension within the Xinjiang-Central Asian region and the impact these tensions have on the interdependency relationship. An assessment is made as to whether because of this interdependency, the sources of tension may not be adequately addressed by the respective governments to the satisfaction of the general populace. This is seen as due to the individual governments' hesitation to upset China by addressing such matters as border demarcation and transboundary water diversion between China and neighbouring states. An outcome of this scenario may be that many of the tensions are left to simmer and therefore bode ill for future stability in the region. Fundamentally, the thesis argues that the matters raised in the previous paragraphs need to be assessed on the basis of an ongoing relationship of interdependency encompassing Xinjiang and several neighbouring Central Asian states. The overlapping of multiple sources of commonality such as geography, ethnicity, culture, religion, economics and strategic matters, dictates that we should not assess issues on a country-by-country basis. Rather, it is necessary to consider the region as a whole, taking into account the prevailing conditions emanating from this relationship of economic and strategic interdependency.

This thesis is a study of interethnic relationships between the ethnic Uzbek and Kyrgyz on the eastern edge of the Ferghana Valley, the cross-border zone between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, from independence to 2005. It argues that strong ethnic tension between the ethnic Uzbek and Kyrgyz was present during 'the Yellow Revolution' and the Andijan massacre in that year. The economically dominant ethnic Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan played a role in initiating the opposition due to ongoing political marginalization by the government, while the opposition appealed to Kyrgyz ethno-nationalism and failed to draw wider political support from the Uzbeks or other minorities. As a result, there the ethnic minorities' lines were divided into pro-Akaev and pro-Revolution group. In the case of the Andijan massacre, the Uzbek government, after the arrival of the Uzbek asylum seekers into Kyrgyzstan territory on the eastern edge of the Ferghana Valley, had stirred latent fears amongst local Kyrgyz through their propaganda broadcasting. The economically marginalized ethnic Kyrgyz on the Kyrgyzstan side of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border on the eastern edge of the Ferghana Valley had subsequently turned against the refugees and the tension was not alleviated until the refugees were moved to Romania by UNHCR. Both cases exhibit that the ethnic tension between these titular ethnic groups has deeper roots, which could be taken back to the pre-1991 Soviet era. A range of dynamics affect interethnic relations: (1) the potential for harmonious relations between the ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz has been reduced by the rise of 'pure Uzbek' and 'pure Kyrgyz' ethnic-nationalism among these two ethnic communities in their newly created states; (2) a new economic aspect of the ethnic tension has arisen since 1991 in both eastern Uzbekistan and southern Kyrgyzstan as a result of the ethnic Uzbeks dominating the local economy in southern Kyrgyzstan; and (3) clan networks have strongly influenced the flow of post-independence politics. The revival of Islam and fundamentalist and radical ideologies, before and after independence had added complexity to the ethnic Uzbek and Kyrgyz relationships in the Ferghana Valley. Initially democratic nationalists and Islamic nationalists shared some goals, but this commonality faded as Islamic groups became to be seen as a critic and a threat to the Uzbek government and were subsequently banned. The ethnic Uzbeks express more religiosity than the ethnic Kyrgyz, while the majority of the supporters of Islamic fundamentalism and radicalism are the Uzbeks and a smaller number of ethnic Kyrgyz supporters. The failure of post-independence economic transitions of both countries have deepened rural poverty in eastern Uzbekistan and southern Kyrgyzstan, and gradually created collective poverty on the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border zone on the eastern edge of the Ferghana Valley. The ethnic Kyrgyz have been victimized by the deepening rural poverty on both sides of the border. As a result, creation of 'poorer Kyrgyz' vs. 'richer Uzbeks' dynamic has sharpened the conflict between these two ethnicities.

<p>Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, has faced water scarcity and low water during several years as a consequence of Uzbekistan’s extensive irrigation of cotton fields. The environmental status of the Mejdurechye Reservoir, which is the largest in the lower Amudarya Delta, is therefore of great local importance. This thesis quantifies pollutant mass flows through the reservoir, concidering for instance salt, DDT and Lindane (HCH). Surface water flow paths through Mejdurechye Reservoir are also conceptualized in order to provide suggestions for future a possible monitoring program.</p><p>Results show that chloride concentrations have decreased during July 2007-2008 with at least 10% in spite of a large specific evaporation and a reservoir volume reduction of at least 60%. The most important implication of this is that pollutants in the reservoir cannot have been subject of evapoconcentration during this period. DDT and Lindane have on the other hand increased with up to 50000% in concentration and 20000% mass compared to measurements dating back to 2002. A rough age estimation of DDT shows that the DDT has been mobilized recently. The results of this thesis may prove valuable when forming environmental policy plans and setting up future monitoring programs.</p>

Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, has faced water scarcity and low water during several years as a consequence of Uzbekistan’s extensive irrigation of cotton fields. The environmental status of the Mejdurechye Reservoir, which is the largest in the lower Amudarya Delta, is therefore of great local importance. This thesis quantifies pollutant mass flows through the reservoir, concidering for instance salt, DDT and Lindane (HCH). Surface water flow paths through Mejdurechye Reservoir are also conceptualized in order to provide suggestions for future a possible monitoring program. Results show that chloride concentrations have decreased during July 2007-2008 with at least 10% in spite of a large specific evaporation and a reservoir volume reduction of at least 60%. The most important implication of this is that pollutants in the reservoir cannot have been subject of evapoconcentration during this period. DDT and Lindane have on the other hand increased with up to 50000% in concentration and 20000% mass compared to measurements dating back to 2002. A rough age estimation of DDT shows that the DDT has been mobilized recently. The results of this thesis may prove valuable when forming environmental policy plans and setting up future monitoring programs.