Female Genital Cutting (FGC) is practiced all over the world and impacts millions of women and girls every year. The negative health and social consequences of FGC have been well documented and many interventions to end the practice have been attempted. Policy makers and development planners continue the struggle yet still the practice remains. More recently, those who are involved in FGC eradication attempts have called for a better understanding of behavior change models and for interventions that are based in theory. This dissertation utilizes several analytic techniques including bivariate correlation and logistic regression to analyze data from the Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey of 2003 to assess the validity of one such theory of behavior change, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), to determine if it is an appropriate theory in the particular behavioral domain of FGC. The TRA suggests that attitudes and subjective norms predict intention and that intention in turn predicts behavior. This dissertation tests the first portion of this theory to determine if attitude and subjective norm do indeed predict intention in women in Burkina Faso. The results suggest that the TRA is indeed a valid theory for predicting women's intention to circumcise their daughters in Burkina Faso as both attitude and subjective norm are robust predictors of intention. Furthermore it was found that research based solely on identifying demographic variables should be discontinued as demographic variables for the most part did not predict intention. The one exception was religion with Muslim women being much more likely to circumcise than women who were not Muslim. The recommendations call for an expansion of the Demographic and Health Surveys to collect more information related to FGC, additional research on FGC utilizing the TRA, the discontinuance of FGC research based solely on demographic variables, and changes to current interventions so that both attitude and subjective norm are addressed and so that Muslim populations are specifically targeted. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2008. / June 4, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. / Petra Doan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles Connerly, Committee Member; Christopher Coutts, Committee Member; Doug Schrock, Outside Committee Member.

This paper applies six theoretical models of metropolitan decision-making to analyze the history of rapid transit planning in Charlotte, North Carolina. The political models employed include: the elitist model, the pluralist model, the class-dialectical model, the growth machine model, regime theory, and consensus building. The hypothesis under consideration is that none of these models fully explains Charlotte's decision to build rapid transit, but each one provides unique insights that, when combined, provide a rich understanding of the region's transportation and planning politics. To begin, I develop a set of expectations for how each model would explain Charlotte's decision-making. Next, utilizing information from technical documents, newspaper articles, and interviews with planners in the region, I describe the history of transportation and land use planning in Charlotte from the early 1980's to the late 1990's. Then I compare the historical events observed with the expectations outlined for each model to evaluate the power of the respective models to explain Charlotte's decision-making process. The comparison of observed events to theoretical expectations reveals that each of the models presents unique insights into the region's political process, but none adequately tells the full story, which unfolds over the course of nearly 20 years. Throughout the course of that history, different modes of decision-making seem to come and go, demonstrating the dynamism of metropolitan politics. However, there appear to be relatively consistent parallel streams of political momentum: one which seeks to corral elite interests in support of rapid transit, and a second that focuses on public involvement and neighborhood interests. The successful marriage of these streams by planners in Charlotte was a significant factor in the region's decision to build rapid transit. Finally, Charlotte's history demonstrates that transit planning does not need to operate in direct opposition to highway interests, and the coordination of transportation and land use planning can be achieved without significant state intervention. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Planning. / Fall Semester, 2008. / October 27, 2008. / Metropolitan Planning, Rapid Transit / Includes bibliographical references. / Gregory L. Thompson, Professor Directing Thesis; Jeffrey Brown, Committee Member; Richard Feiock, Committee Member.

The Western Australian Planning Commission, Planning Policy 3.2: "Planning for Aboriginal Communities" provides a framework for the planning of large permanent Aboriginal communities through Community Layout Plans. The policy also provides a basis for negotiation between Aboriginal communities and local government about planning control and fosters the development of cooperative strategies, which aim to minimize the need to use strict regulatory powers. This author proposes that the CLP process is one that should be considered for emulation among historically oppressed communities here in the United States. CLPs are successful due to the fact that they provide direct representation for residents, a formalized system of plan preparation, and are official in nature due to their state authorization. Of specific intrigue is the facilitation of citizen participation that is embedded in the process, and the affect it has on the community and finished product. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Planning. / Spring Semester, 2009. / April 7, 2009. / Planning, Aboriginal, Australia, Western Australia Planning Commission, Communities / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey Lowe, Professor Directing Thesis; Daniel Tope, Committee Member; Rebecca Miles, Committee Member.

This thesis was prompted by three major concerns. Firstly there is need for a structure of centres providing a wider range of facilities closer to home. Secondly, the Wynberg centre is slowly changing to become almost exclusively a shopping centre, and thirdly, the quality of the environment of the centre is also declining. The first aspect of the analysis was the establishment of what those qualities are that make a centre. Having examined the existing Wynberg centre structure and operation;and · the plans, mainly road schemes, presently proposed by the local authority it became apparent that with these influences the centre of Wynberg would definitely not develop into the centre which was needed. A further six alternatives were prepared to determine the possible future for Wynberg. In the first four alternatives, the involvement presently practiced by the local authority was considered to be a fix and the alternatives were mainly achieved by keeping or omitting one or both of the two road schemes to be built through Wynberg viz. the Wynberg ByPass and the Widening of the Main Road. The second set of alternatives was based on the premise that the Local Authority would become actively involved in the development of the centre, able to use economic and legal techniques to induce development in the direction of the goals. An economic and analysis was undertaken to give quantitive values to the alternatives.

Many western nations have developed two complementary defence techniques based upon, firstly, civilian participation for local defence and, secondly, professional forces for external defence. it is postulated that the former is yet another function of urban society and should, in the same way as other urban functions, be catered for in locations of special appositeness to the urban fabric. external defence, however, required more remote access.

First, this study draws on a multidisciplinary social science literature on institutions to outline the concept of institutional informalism, which is then developed further into two related sub-concepts: urban informalism and bureaucratic informalism. The central thesis of both frameworks is that informality can be seen as a process of interaction between the institutional rationalities of the formal institutions of the state and informal institutions of society in which the former is shaped by the latter. Second, as part of the critical review of literature, the concept of `urban informalism' is used to analyze five empirical case examples drawn from the literature as a way to assess what the contemporary idea of urban informality means for policy and practice and the governance of local areas when considered in its alternative understandings as urban informalism. The critical review concludes that urban informality can be seen as a constantly ongoing institutional process in which urban informal actors in pursuit of everyday aspirations of city life knit and reknit the composite institutional fabric and appropriate the monopolized epistemic enactments of the city in an urban theater of unequal power. This can be seen in the infinite processes of experimentation, power play and institutionalization that sustain the effective governing framework in a constant state of flux and reinvention. Third, using the second sub-concept of bureaucratic informalism, I use qualitative methods of study to examine the transactional experiences of urban residents of Accra as it relates to the access to public sector services and opportunities and I identify the informal structures and relations that shape such public sector transactions. Firstly, consistent with theory and existing empirical work, the study finds that informal relational structures in the form of kinship, friendship and co-ethnicity play an important role in facilitating access to public sector services and opportunities. Secondly, the study finds new evidence regarding informal structures and relations of power associated with partisanship and the exploitation of incumbency and the leveraging of power by officialdom and the wealthy urban middle class. The study finds that such leveraging of power enables powerful individuals and their affiliates to obtain privileged access to services and opportunities in the public sector. Such leveraging of power also enables the powerful and the wealthy to appropriate legally and illegally the resources and protections of the law and public policy. It also enables them to play by different sets of rules and standards outside the framework of law and public policy. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2012. / October 26, 2012. / access to public services, informal governance, informal networks, institutional theory, institutions and governance in Africa, urban informality / Includes bibliographical references. / Rebecca Miles, Professor Directing Dissertation; Jim Cobbe, University Representative; Petra Doan, Committee Member.

This dissertation examines David Mamet's non-dramatic writings and interview responses to posit in an organized manner his theories about the power and potential of dramatic language in order to clarify his dramatic language strategy to improve the effectiveness of staging his plays. Mamet is a dramatic poet who uses his metaphorical language and speech rhythms to entirely create a new world for his characters to inhabit. Mamet characters create their reality through the use of labels, the physical act of speaking, gossip and lies. These Mamet theories are put to the test in an analysis of the script Speed-the-Plow. Mamet also uses dramatic language to create character. The actor creating a Mamet character focuses his/her analysis on three areas of analysis. The first is what do other characters say about the character? Second, what does the character say about itself? Third, what are the character's speech mannerisms? These areas are illuminated in an analysis of Oleanna. Mamet uses dramatic language to create society. Dramatic language creates a relationship between two characters. That relationship unit uses dramatic language to join a community. Those communities use dramatic language to communicate with other communities and form society. These theories are explored in the analysis of Boston Marriage. / A Dissertation submitted to the School of Theatre in partial fulfillment requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2011. / October 19, 2011. / Criticism, Dramatic Language, Theory / Includes bibliographical references. / Mary Karen Dahl, Professor Directing Dissertation; Karen Laughlin, University Representative; Kris Salata, Committee Member.

This multiple-case study looks at perceived tenure security in three informal settlements in Lahore and the effects of provincial government-driven tenure regularization program on perceived tenure security. It investigates the constituents of tenure security in the three settlements and the links between tenure security, home improvement, access to basic services and residents' capacity to utilize the economic benefits of their homes. Evidence suggests that tenure security is based on several factors that work in tandem, such as the historical evolution of the settlement, the presence of a de facto leader, and the presence of basic services. Tenure security, however, is not clearly related to the timing of home improvements, nor to whether residents are able to realize the economic value of their home. The economic means residents have available and the socio-political and spatial attributes of the settlement in which they live, are more important determinants of the economic benefits of property titling in these cases. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2012. / June 18, 2012. / Housing, Informal settlements, Lahore, Property titling, Tenure security / Includes bibliographical references. / Rebecca Miles, Professor Directing Dissertation; Ralph Brower, University Representative; Petra Doan, Committee Member.

Provision of basic urban services, such as potable water, sanitation and refuse collection is vital and instrumental to health and economic well being of any society. However, the delivery of adequate urban services in the cities of developing countries has not been successful due to a myriad of challenges including rapid urbanization, limited resources, urban poverty, informality, slums and squatter settlements, in addition to other socioeconomic and political forces. While numerous studies have documented the inability of the cities to provide adequate services, very few have explored how residents of the cities cope with the problems in service delivery. Using Abuja as a case study where data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 60 households, observation and review of documents, this dissertation conveys respondents' experience with the delivery of water, refuse collection and sanitation services. Second, the study explores household's coping strategies with unsatisfactory delivery of the services according to the Exit, Voice, Loyalty and Neglect (EVLN) model being the most dominant in the literature. Third, it evaluates the efficacy of the strategies. Fourth, it investigates the factors that influence the choice and efficacy of the coping strategies and lastly, it analyzes the sequences in the choices of the strategies. The study concludes that the centralized public sector approach is ineffective in providing adequate urban services in the city. As a result, informal alternatives such as getting water from vendors, boreholes, local wells, public buildings, rivers and rainfall and garbage disposal by self or informal collectors and septic system were devised for coping with poor urban services. Similarly, informal artisans like plumbers and masons were increasingly utilized for solving problems with service infrastructure and facilities rather than contacting utility officials. These coping strategies are mostly unsafe, costly and inconvenient to households, more especially children. However, this research found no evidence of residential relocation (Tiebout-exit) due to refuse collection problems but some renters expressed their intention to relocate due to severe water and sanitation problems. A few gated communities changed private refuse collectors and some households decided not to connect to public sewer but remain with their private septic system. Complaints to utility agencies by residents' associations were highly effective in getting service-related problems solved but it was less effective by groups of neighbors, while individual households often receive little or no responses from the agencies. The face-to-face mode of voice was found to be more effective than telephone calls or writing letters. Loyalty to the utility agencies was a result of improvement on service delivery or by comparing service performance with other cities. Refuse collection problems were often neglected, but problems with water and sanitation services were neglected only for temporary problems or those located away from homes. This study also deepens our understanding of the variety of factors that influence the choice and efficacy of the response strategies. Factors that are most relevant to this study are necessity of the services, health concerns and cost of employing the strategies. While housing and neighborhood conditions and inefficiency of the public sector recorded moderate level of influence, socio-cultural factors and city planning regulations are least important in determining the choice and efficacy of coping strategies. This dissertation reiterates the need to recognize quasi-exit as an independent form of exit and the most dominant strategy for coping with poor public services in the Third World. It also concludes that the existing EVLN model is deficient in explaining user response to publicly-provided services in the developing countries and as such, proposes modifying it by adding a new dimension, called "investment", to represent resources invested in improving the efficacy of the EVLN strategies used to cope with unsatisfactory provision of necessary public services like water and sanitation. Moreover, this study suggests that the modified EVLN model can be used as a tool for monitoring the performance of public services by utilities agencies. The research also informs planning practice by making policy recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the existing coping strategies. It also calls for establishing residents associations at districts as a means of improving service performance through collective action and proposes other ways of enhancing the delivery of basic public services in Abuja and other cities of developing countries / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2012. / August 16, 2012. / Abuja, Nigeria, Exit, Voice, Loyalty and Neglect strategies, piped/tap water, refuse/garbage collection, sanitation/sewer, urban/public services / Includes bibliographical references. / Petra L. Doan, Professor Directing Dissertation; Timothy S. Chapin, Committee Member; Ralph S. Brower, University Representative.

The three major research questions are: What factors influence ridership for different types of transit systems? Is there a relationship between transit system design and accessibility? Does one type of transit system design provide greater accessibility to transit dependent riders than choice riders? For answering these research questions the author first developed the transit demand model for the four different transit systems in the study area of the 5-county Atlanta region. Then the author calculated the accessibility provided by each of these transit systems to the transit dependent and choice riders and pointed out the areas that have a high ridership potential using the distance decay parameter obtained from the demand model. Lastly the author presented the findings from the telephone interviews of the region's policy makers, elected officials and transit agencies about their perspective and assessment of the transit system and its future which helps explain the difference in transit service quality that exists in the region. The author finds that multidestination bus riders are more likely to come from regions with lower vehicle ownership as compared to the riders of the radial rail, radial bus or express buses. Rail seems to provide the highest accessibility to the region but is very expensive to construct new or extend existing rail routes. The multidestination system provides the highest levels of accessibility among the bus systems and it is much less expensive to expand The interviewees consider the existing system to be fair, but suggest the need of image makeover and have hopes from the new leadership of MARTA. They also want to work together to build a truly regional transit system to compete with other growing world cities in attracting talent and businesses by providing them with better transportation options, but money and control issues crop up when collaborating for regional transit. Transit agencies do not want state oversight in local transit planning either. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 7, 2013. / Accessibility, Atlanta, Demand Model, Equity, Transit system design / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeffrey R. Brown, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gregory L. Thompson, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Mark Horner, University Representative; Keith Ihlanfeldt, Committee Member.