This thesis examines the cultural characteristics of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (the BRIC countries), and the United States, in order to assess what these characteristics mean for U.S. Americans doing business with the BRICs. An in-depth review of the literature, both academic and popular materials, was conducted in order to analyze what is currently being said about the cultures of these countries. Country profiles are created that summarize the existing literature. These profiles are analyzed to see what themes, patterns, differences, and relationships may exist both within the cultures of the BRICs and as compared to the United States. It is discovered that the BRICs are becoming more Western in their values, behaviors, and beliefs, due to increased exposure to Western societies.

No description available.

博士(工学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

African immigrants in contemporary South Africa can be perceived as a problem – the threatening other. Based on a case study of the Johannesburg inner city, this thesis aims to deconstruct this notion. It does so by investigating the nature and types and contribution of African immigrant traders` businesses to the Johannesburg inner city. In deconstructing the perception that African immigrants are the threatening other, and being infinitely aware that perception issues and the experiential realities hospitable to its centred on the human subject, this case study adopted a humanist geographic and critical realist approach by deploying a qualitative in-depth interview technique of both African immigrant and South African traders. This thesis suggests three important outcomes. The first is that: to view all African immigrants as the threatening other is too simplistic an assessment of an otherwise complex and dynamic set of relationships and interrelationships amongst and between African immigrant and South African traders. Second, some African immigrant traders do make a meaningful contribution to the Johannesburg inner city, whereas others do not. Third, the activities of African immigrant traders that may be considered as a threat by a section of the population are treated as a benefit by another. These nuanced insights and findings in this study not only render any analysis that projects all African immigrants negatively as an incomplete appraisal, but also suggest that it can never be correct to view them as such without capturing the dynamics that this work suggests. Such a finding not only challenges distorted and partial reporting by the media and also questions policies, which may be built on the wrong assumption that all African immigrants are a problem, but also extends the study of migration related issues in a South African context. / Geography / D. Litt. et. Phil. (Geography)

This thesis is a search for the relationship between the church and SMMEs in the Tswaing Municipality, in the North West Province. It concerns the role of the church in supporting SMMEs in such a way that they benefit the whole community instead of individuals, thus contributing towards the building of the economy in selected areas of rural Tswaing. The selected areas are Khunwana, Atamelang, Manamolela and Gannalaagte/Vrischgewaagd. It is written in the context of the church that has come to understand that ministry to the poor is never complete without dealing with wealth creation, and in recognition of the fact that the church can offer alternative economic values. Small business development and support in rural communities is seen to be a key factor in the building of the community economy. It is argued that rural economies have generally collapsed due to various factors. First the apartheid policies which displaced communities from areas where agricultural ventures were thriving to areas that were not suitable for subsistence farming. Second was rural urban migration which caused some Tswaing community members to go to cities to find work, leaving behind elderly people and youth who could no longer or were not willing to live off the land. Whilst in the cities such migrants were marginalized and remained jobless. Research findings indicate that the Tswaing community have assets and entitlements that could be harnessed by the church and other stakeholders like Government and big business, using Kretzmann and McKnight’s approach to community development; that of building the community from the inside out to enhance the economy. Four areas of involvement have been identified for the church (i) engaging the three tiers of government by advocacy for small businesses and ensuring implementation of policy; (ii) promotion of development and support for SMMEs and (iii) that the church sets up its own development project. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.