Why do refugees in Africa's Great Lakes Region refuse to repatriate? This thesis offers a detailed examination of this question through a comparative study of Rwandan and Congolese refugee communities across three countries: Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The policies of international agencies and local governments are assessed against the lived experiences, responses, and perceptions of refugees through first-hand research, undertaken in eighteen sites across the region during extensive fieldwork conducted between 2009 and 2013. The pervasiveness and intensity of reactions amongst refugees against repatriation is forceful and striking. Conversely, it is aggressively promoted and implemented by international actors, home, and host states. The thesis examines the interactions that occur as refugees seek to remain 'in exile', whilst international actors and regional states seek to coerce them to repatriate, and investigates the mechanisms that underpin this stalemate. The principal chapters of this thesis address the themes of (i) acculturation, de facto integration, and de jure segregation; (ii) conceptualisations of rights secured through refugee status; (iii) information concerning homelands and its diffusion in exile; and (iv) experiences of return. It is shown that refugee communities are adept at articulating past and present grievances, and are critically aware of their human rights in the context of their exile. The international protection of exile is perceived as a pseudo-citizenship that secures more rights than those accorded citizens in their states of origin. These communities maintain a wealth of information concerning their homelands, the diffusion of this knowledge being determined by connections between sites of exile, shaping it into accepted and collective communal narratives. This collective consciousness of status selectively reinforces refugees' resolve against repatriation. When repatriation is forced or frustrated, its experience is integrated into communal narratives of persecution, generating further grievance and reifying resistance to return.

Ground water is a critical element of the ecosystem in the Great Lakes Basin. It is an integral component of a dynamic hydrological system that is the lifeblood for this region's remarkable natural diversity. It is also an important human resource. Unfortunately, intensive ground water withdrawals are resulting in negative consequences that are often hidden from view but which are causing social conflicts and environmental degradation. This thesis considers the failure of courts and governments to implement laws for allocating ground water rights according to hydrological reality and the collective interests of affected communities. Legal mechanisms are rooted in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Despite rapid growth and the considerable pressure now exerted on ground water resources, courts and governments continue to allow, and even encourage unrestricted ground water withdrawals. The underlying ideology of state institutions within the Basin is contributing to the systematic undervaluation of environmental and long term interests of present and future generations. A reinvigorated concept of sustainability, one that is based on the ideals of deliberative democracy, would better represent these interests in decisions concerning the allocation of ground water. Through the process of ground water allocation planning, decision-making can be guided into a preventative and community-oriented approach that more accurately reflects the long term interests of the Basin. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-100). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is concerned with the conceptual foundations of environmental law and policy in the Great Lakes basin, the world's largest freshwater ecosystem. The Great Lakes regime is now widely recognized as one of the most advanced international environmental management regimes in existence. Over the past two decades, toxic contamination has emerged as a highly pressing ecological issue in the Great Lakes basin. In Canada and the United States, the ecosystem approach, a comprehensive and integrated approach to environmental management, has been adopted both bilaterally and domestically in the Great Lakes' complex environmental policy framework to guide the protection of ecological integrity. There has been extensive discussion of the ecosystem approach, particularly from scientific and managerial perspectives; however, the economic content of the concept has been largely neglected, despite the importance of considering all relevant perspectives in the development of law and policy. This thesis is divided into five chapters. After discussing in Chapter 1 the ecological and institutional contexts and methodological issues of the analysis, this thesis defends, in Chapter 2, the view that economic theory has relevance to issues of environmental law and policy. In addition to highlighting the main contours of welfare and environmental economic theory, a main conclusion, and an essential premise upon which the analysis proceeds, is that economics remains a useful analytical approach to environmental issues, despite some important criticisms. Subsequently, in Chapter 3, the analysis shifts to an examination of four bilateral and domestic Great Lakes instruments that form the core of Great Lakes toxic pollution policy: (i) the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; (ii) the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy; (iii) the Canada-Ontario Agreement; and (iv) the Final Water Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes System. After outlining key principles underpinning each instrument, the thesis underscores common themes running through the collective policy framework. The ecosystem approach constitutes a unifying concept in this framework. The ecosystem approach is examined from an economic perspective in Chapter 4. After identifying key elements of the ecosystem approach, this chapter highlights important parallels between fundamental welfare and environmental economic notions. One main conclusion is that economic concepts and approaches, such as environmental valuation, externalities, and self-interest, form an integral part of the ecosystem approach. Finally, Chapter 5 identifies some directions for further research. Given that, as the thesis seeks to establish, economic theory constitutes an important, albeit not sole, perspective on the ecosystem approach, a key challenge will be to facilitate interdisciplinary analysis and cooperation leading to effective operationalization of the concept.

The purpose of this descriptive exploratory study was to investigate and report patterns of participation and motivational orientations of Institutes for Learning in Retirement (ILR)participants enrolled in ILR programs in the Great Lakes region. In addition, the study sought to identify relevant demographic characteristics for this segment of the population and the effects of ILR upon participation and participants' perceived life satisfaction.The Great Lakes region ILR participant profile was most likely to be female, between the ages of 66 and 70, married and living with spouse. She shared a relatively high economic status and extensive formal educational experience and was affiliated with her ILP program 1 to 2 years.Motives for ILR participation were examined using the Educational Participation Scale (EPS) A-Form (Boshier, 1991). Two influential motives for participation emerged. The first was "Cognitive Interest", the joy of learning for the sake of learning. "Social Contact," having an opportunity to meet new people and make friends, was the second major reason for participation.The perceived life satisfaction or subjective well being of ILR participants was explored using the Life Satisfaction Index A-Form (LSIA) (Neugarten, et al, 1961). Overall respondents revealed a perceived positive life satisfaction. Positive indications of well being include hopeful outlooks for the future, social interactions and sense of accomplishment.Results of this study indicate that the pursuit of intellectually stimulating adult educational programs offered within- a socially stimulating environment appeal to lifelong learners enrolled in Institutes for Learning in Retirement programs. This study supports the conclusion of previous investigators that intellectual stimulation is a strong underlying motivation for participation. The second major finding with regard to reasons for participation in ILR programs was the importance of "social contact." / Department of Educational Leadership

This thesis is concerned with the conceptual foundations of environmental law and policy in the Great Lakes basin, the world's largest freshwater ecosystem. The Great Lakes regime is now widely recognized as one of the most advanced international environmental management regimes in existence. Over the past two decades, toxic contamination has emerged as a highly pressing ecological issue in the Great Lakes basin. In Canada and the United States, the ecosystem approach, a comprehensive and integrated approach to environmental management, has been adopted both bilaterally and domestically in the Great Lakes' complex environmental policy framework to guide the protection of ecological integrity. There has been extensive discussion of the ecosystem approach, particularly from scientific and managerial perspectives; however, the economic content of the concept has been largely neglected, despite the importance of considering all relevant perspectives in the development of law and policy. This thesis is divided into five chapters. After discussing in Chapter 1 the ecological and institutional contexts and methodological issues of the analysis, this thesis defends, in Chapter 2, the view that economic theory has relevance to issues of environmental law and policy. In addition to highlighting the main contours of welfare and environmental economic theory, a main conclusion, and an essential premise upon which the analysis proceeds, is that economics remains a useful analytical approach to environmental issues, despite some important criticisms. Subsequently, in Chapter 3, the analysis shifts to an examination of four bilateral and domestic Great Lakes instruments that form the core of Great Lakes toxic pollution policy: (i) the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement; (ii) the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy; (iii) the Canada-Ontario Agreement; and (iv) the Final Water Quality Guidance for the Great Lakes System. After outlining key principles underpinning each instrument, the thesis underscores common themes running through the collective policy framework. The ecosystem approach constitutes a unifying concept in this framework. The ecosystem approach is examined from an economic perspective in Chapter 4. After identifying key elements of the ecosystem approach, this chapter highlights important parallels between fundamental welfare and environmental economic notions. One main conclusion is that economic concepts and approaches, such as environmental valuation, externalities, and self-interest, form an integral part of the ecosystem approach. Finally, Chapter 5 identifies some directions for further research. Given that, as the thesis seeks to establish, economic theory constitutes an important, albeit not sole, perspective on the ecosystem approach, a key challenge will be to facilitate interdisciplinary analysis and cooperation leading to effective operationalization of the concept. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2008. / Thesis advisor: Peter A. Kyem. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in International and Area Studies." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-83). Abstract available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2004. / Vita. "October 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-197).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2004. / Vita. "October 2004." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-197).