Armed conflict and violence against civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has persisted for years starting in the 1990s. The Eastern, Western and North-Eastern parts of the country have seen the presence of a multiplicity of armed groups that have caused an escalation of the humanitarian crisis. The United Nations, in the interest of civilian protection, peacekeeping and security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a mission under The United Nations Organisational Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). In spite of this mission, civilians continued in the Congo to suffer attacks and to endure human rights abuses by the armed militants that are fighting government and the government forces in shape of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC). This study examines the problematique of the mandate of MONUC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in light of the challenges that have made its success debatable. The success of MONUC has become debatable in light of the fact that in spite of its presence and implementation in the DRC, between 2007 and 2010, conflict and the violence against civilians escalated to unprecedented levels. This study examines the causalities of the failure and observes its effect while making propositions towards amelioration of the challenges and the failure of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. / Political Sciences / M.A. (International Politics)

This study seeks to provide a brief overview of academic standards and performance of veterans of the United States military and civilians who attend the University of Central Florida. Whether a student is a veteran or a civilian, he or she must learn how to adapt to the requirements of an academic community in order to be successful in that environment. It may be difficult for some. In able for society to discern the importance of the academic performance of both veterans and civilians alike, research is vital. There are various assumptions about veterans. For example, it can be assumed vets do not know how to adapt after leaving the military. It is important to demonstrate that most military veterans are very good at adapting and overcoming stressful situations. Time is evident for adaptability for some. As veterans re-enter society, most make clear and decisive decisions as to the life they desire to have. The modus operandi of veterans is intrinsic as it pertains to an academic setting. This research compares the academic success of both veterans and civilians at the University of Central Florida to begin this conversation. While there has been some research conducted on this topic, there seem to be various ecological fallacies pertaining to conclusions of the research that has been conducted. Academic performance needs to be researched further as well as the effects of standards regarding the performance of veterans and civilians in an academic setting.

This research aims to illuminate how and why war challenges the limits of poetic representation, through an analysis of non-combatant poetry of the Second World War. It is motivated by the question: how can one portray, represent, or talk about war? Literature on war poetry tends to concentrate on the combatant poets of the First World War, or their influence, while literature on the Second World War tends to focus on prose as the only expression of literary war experience. With a historicist approach, this thesis advances our understanding of both the Second World War, and our inherited notions of 'war poetry,' by parsing its historiography, and investigating the role critical appraisals have played in marginalising this area of poetic response. This thesis examines four poets as case studies in this field of research-W.H. Auden, Louis MacNeice, Dylan Thomas, and Stevie Smith-and evaluates them on both their individual explorations of poetic tone, faith systems, linguistic innovations, subversive performativity, and their collective trajectory towards a commitment to represent the war in their poetry. The findings from this research illustrate how too many critical appraisals have minimised or misrepresented Second World War poetry, and how the poets responded with a self-reflexivity that bespoke a deeper concern with how war is remembered and represented. The significance of these findings is breaking down the notion of objective fact in poetic representations of war, which are ineluctably subjective texts. These findings also offer insight into the 'failure' of poetry to represent war as a necessary part of war representation and prompt a rethinking of who has the 'right' experience-or simply the right-to talk about war.

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