Corruption is a kind of behavior that undermines good governance. Current research has suggested that Jamaica's present anticorruption policy is ineffective, and needs strengthening. A civic organization in Jamaica has advocated for an independent anticorruption agency, with both investigative and prosecutorial powers to strengthen Jamaica's anticorruption policy. Little is known about the perspectives from the Jamaican business community on this concept. The purpose of this study was to discover and understand perspectives from the Jamaican business community on this concept. A framework included in this study is the principal-agent theory, which provides an understanding of the essence and relevance of perspectives from the Jamaican business community. Phenomenological research was used to gain a deep understanding of these perspectives. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 5 business owners and a focus group comprising of 6 business owners. The data were analyzed thematically. Two perspectives were that an independent anticorruption agency with both investigative and prosecutorial powers in Jamaica could result in an improvement in some social benefits for its people, but the agency itself could experience challenges. Participants also thought that a collaboration among societal actors in Jamaica could bring increased success in terms of corruption control. An implication for positive social change is that societal actors in Jamaica can use collaboration to achieve effective public policies for Jamaica.

Biculturalism in the Latino population in U.S. has been found to relate to positive outcomes in the literature. However, little is known about the development of bicultural adaptation. The constituent parts of biculturalism, acculturation, and enculturation were measured over several years as part of an existing longitudinal study along with several variables that held promise as predictors of acculturation and enculturation change. An additional data point for acculturation and enculturation was gathered along with other important demographic information. Change in both acculturation and enculturation was modeled revealing that acculturation and enculturation increase and decrease linearly. The trajectory for acculturation is much steeper than the trajectory of enculturation, providing support for orthogonal measurement and indicating real possibilities for interventions to increase bicultural adaptation. The best-fit model for acculturation included years in the U.S., preference for speaking English, and receptive English vocabulary. The best-fit model for enculturation included years in the U.S., preference for speaking English, and receptive English vocabulary.

abstract: This doctoral dissertation proposes an analysis of a selection of photographic series by a diverse group of Latin American photographers such as Argentinian Gustavo Di Mario, Brazilians Claudio Edinger and Alair Gomes, and Mexican Dorian Ulises López Macías. The analyzed material focuses on a revision of characteristics of masculinity and imperative heteronormativity in the discourses on their respective national identities. The projects put-fourth by these four artists represent a political proposal that unveals the homoaffective possibilities of their photographic referents. Susan Sontag postulates in her On Photography (1979) that “the powers of photography have in effect de-Platonized our understanding of reality, making it less and less plausible to reflect upon our experience according to the distinction between images and things, between copies and originals” (179). These artists understand the power of the image and, through its meticulous composition, they propose to not only photograph, but to also narrate the reality of dissident identities and their belonging to a collective national identity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2019

abstract: This doctoral dissertation analyzes the rendering of three complex concepts (otherness, alterity, and identity)—and their relationship— in three rewrites of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet and The Tragedy of Macbeth from America’s Southern Cone (Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile). By embarking in a close reading of Interrogatorio en Elsinore (Carlos Manuel Varela), La señora Macbeth (Griselda Gambaro), and Yorick: la historia de Hámlet (Francisco y Simón Reyes), this dissertation approaches otherness, alterity, and identity in three of its multiple dimensions (ideological, gender, and artistic subjectivity of the translator/adaptator vis-à-vis the writer). While several studies have explored these three concepts separately and mostly from a cultural standpoint, this is the first one to show how they interact between one another through its representation in three rewrites of Shakespeare in Spanish from Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile. The cultures and history of the countries in which these three translations/adaptations are immersed are just a layer of this research. In addition to it—and loyal to the spirit of the texts being analyzed—this study takes advantage of other disciplines (translation studies, psychoanalysis, philosophy, and gender and communication theory, just to name a few) to analyze in depth and systematically what is implied in otherness, alterity, and identity. The interdisciplinary nature of this dissertation leads to valuable conclusions that can be of benefit, not only for the type of societies portrayed by the rewrites being studied, but for others as well. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2019

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the way in which religious beliefs and practices are instrumentalized by a Muslim community in order to strengthen Afro-Colombian ethnic identity, in an urban context of social exclusion. The study aims to examine the relationship between ethnicity and religion, and the role they play in the process of identity construction, particularly the way in which religious concepts and behaviors can be used to fortify ethnic identity. Another aim of this research is to describe and understand the processes of social change in an ethnic-religious minority and, as a final goal, to analyze the history of the Afro-Colombian Muslim community of Buenaventura. The thesis is based on fieldwork, which includes observation activities and interviews with members of the Muslim community in Buenaventura. A total of 21 participants between the ages of 18 and 72 are included in this study, all of them of Afro-Colombian origin. It is clear that the religious conversion of Afro-Colombians to Islam took place within the complex socio-political context of the Colombian conflict. To be sure, the adoption of this new religious perspective did not evolve in an isolated manner, rather, it transformed the identity of the community by strengthening the value of ethnic differences in a place of segregation. In this way, this thesis analyzes the role of religion as an important element in the construction of ethnic identity. Departing from this paradigm, we will look into some theological concepts, such as the Islamic jurisprudence and rituals, which have been reworked, in order to accommodate local aspirations for social mobility and ethnic differentiation. It is important to keep in mind, however, that this cultural negotiation happens at the margins of the dominant society, which negatively views Afro-Colombian minorities, or simply ignores them. Other findings include the identification of key moments of the historical development of the community; the analysis of the processes of conversion to Islam in this population; and the description of the organization, institutionalization, and hierarchy in the community in accordance with the changes from the Islamic perspective they have developed through its five-decade history.

The purpose of this thesis is to give an outline of education and its progress on the island of Porto Rico, from the coming of the Spaniards through the years of American control. It is not written for experts on Porto Rican education, although it is the data of such experts, that has made this work possible. It is rather for those American students, who know little or not.hing of this possession, its early history, or its educational problems past or present; and yet who, like myself hear more and more of this island each year, so fast is it becoming a central force in the Unification of Pan American education and problems. This year marks the third decade of American control so that that portion dealing with educational progress since then, has been arbitrarily divided into ten year periods. This has been done merely for the sake of convenience, however, as the results of educational progress being abstract can never definitely be confined to periods. The writer is fully aware that this thesis i s only an outline of educational development but the subject is so broad, the years covered so extensive, and the modifications made in the existing systems so numerous, that many important phases have had to be treated summarily or eliminated altogether; but nevertheless, it is hoped that this study will give a comprehensible conception of these people, their struggle for enlightenment, and the success which they have achieved.

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