Abstract The purpose of this essay is to shed light on why the democratic developments in Botswana and Zimbabwe, despite their many similarities, have gone in very different directions. By the time of their respective independence, both countries proclaimed themselves democratic states. However, only Botswana succeeded in the transition, while Zimbabwe soon fell back into an autocratic regime. The method used is a comparative case study. By comparing the cases Botswana and Zimbabwe in according to five selected democratic variables, this method makes it possible to explain why only Botswana succeeded. The research questions are: How have Botswana’s and Zimbabwe’s respective democratic transitions happened? What factors have influenced and guided the direction of the democratic development in Botswana and Zimbabwe? The following democratic variables will guide the comparison: “Economic development”, “Market economy”, “Strong middleclass”, “External influences” and “Political leaders dedicated to democracy”.                 The results show considerable differences between the democratic transitions of Botswana and Zimbabwe as regards all the selected democratic variables. The comparative method thus proved to be an effective tool to explain the democratic development in the two countries investigated in this case study. However, these factors potentially just scratch the surface and, in a theory-developing spirit, more democratic factors can broaden the explanation even more.

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing minority population in the U.S. requiring limited English proficiency services (Guglielmi, 2008). Many schools and school districts place heavy emphasis on high stakes testing. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires all children to have access to a fair, equal, and high-quality education. Many schools and school districts focus on individual students to show grade level performance for small populations such as limited English proficient (LEP) students. The purpose of this study was to examine the question, "What was the relationship between measures of school and student socioeconomic status, and reading and math achievement of Hispanic LEP high school students?" Guiding this study was the conceptual framework, the middleclass education concept. This concept suggested that underprivileged students attending an impoverished school had lower academic success than did underprivileged students attending a middleclass school with middleclass values. This study was developed from secondary data analysis of archived data from the Pinellas County School Board database. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed between the variables in this study. The correlation analysis was followed by a multiple regression analysis to estimate the capacity of the subsidized meal program, student absences, gender, grade point average (GPA), and the Norm Referenced Test (NRT) reading and math to explain reading and math achievement, as defined by the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in reading and math. The results of this study provided insight that the role played by indices of school and student SES may be different for Hispanic LEP students than for other minority students, such as African American and Hispanic or Latino high school students. The results showed that measures of SES were not as strong as expected based on the current research literature. GPA and NRT provided the strongest explanation of variability for FCAT reading and math scores. Other indicators such as student absences and gender were not statistically significant for explaining the FCAT reading and math scores. Thereby, indicating that the conceptual framework, the Middleclass Education Concept, may not apply to Hispanic LEP high school students and thus, further research for this population is needed.

<p>Denna uppsats baseras på en fältstudie genomförd i Faridabad, Indien våren 2007. Syftet är att undersöka vilken roll hinduiska gudinnor spelar för kvinnor. För att uppfylla det syftet studeras också de intervjuade kvinnornas underliggande uppfattningar om jämställdhet.</p><p>För att kunna uppfylla syftet med uppsatsen har en kvalitativ metod använts och 19 intervjuer har genomförts. Informanterna har fått svara på frågor som handlar om att vara kvinna i det hinduiska samhället och deras åsikter om hur kvinnors situation bör ändras. När resultaten från intervjuerna analyserats har jag inspirerats av tidigare forskning om genus och Hinduism.</p><p>I den hinduiska mytologin finns både gudar och gudinnor. Att dyrka gudinnor kan ses som en källa till makt och inspiration för kvinnor. Därför har jag studerat om informanterna ser på gudinnorna som förebilder. Resultaten visar att det är svårt att avgöra om så är fallet. Ungefär hälften av informanterna sade att det ser gudinnorna som förebilder. I motsats till tidigare forskning nämnde inte informanterna de gudinnor som representerar de egenskaper som den ideala hustrun ska besitta, istället nämndes stridsgudinnan Durga. Tidigare forskning visar dock att även de självständiga gudinnorna som beskrevs av informanterna som förebilder är en del av den patriarkala strukturen. Under intervjuerna framgick att rollen att vara en bra hustru och mor värdesätts högt av informanterna. Detta kan, enligt mig, kopplas till det mest framträdande resultatet som framkom i synen på vad jämställdhetsuppfattningen baseras på. Det gäller uppfattningen om att män och kvinnor föds med olika egenskaper. I motsats till genusteori förstås inte skillnader mellan män och kvinnor som främst socialt konstruerade.</p> / <p>This report is based on a field study that was carried out in Faridabad, India in the spring of 2007. The aim is to study what role the Hindu goddesses play for Hindu women. To fulfil this purpose I am also studying the interviewed women’s underlying understanding regarding gender equality.</p><p>To fulfil the aim a qualitative method was chosen and 19 interviews were completed. The informants answered questions about being a woman in the Hindu society and their opinions on how to change women’s situation. While analysing the results I was inspired by previous research on gender and Hinduism.</p><p>In the Hindu mythology there are both gods and goddesses. Worshipping goddesses can be seen as a source of power and inspiration for women. Therefore I wanted to study if the informants look at the goddesses as role models. The results show that it is difficult to determine whether or not that is the case. Approximately half of the informants said that they looked at the goddesses as role models. In contrast to previous research the informants did not mention the goddesses that are represented with qualities that the ideal wife should posses, instead Durga, the fight goddess, was mentioned. However, previous research also shows that the independent goddesses that were described as role models by the informants are a part of a patriarchal structure. During the interviews the role of being a good wife and a mother is described as the most important thing for the informants. This can, according to me, be related to the most significant result on what the understanding of gender equality is based on. This is the opinion that men and women are born with different qualities. In contrast to the gender theory, the differences between men and women are not understood as primarily socially constructed.</p>

Denna uppsats baseras på en fältstudie genomförd i Faridabad, Indien våren 2007. Syftet är att undersöka vilken roll hinduiska gudinnor spelar för kvinnor. För att uppfylla det syftet studeras också de intervjuade kvinnornas underliggande uppfattningar om jämställdhet. För att kunna uppfylla syftet med uppsatsen har en kvalitativ metod använts och 19 intervjuer har genomförts. Informanterna har fått svara på frågor som handlar om att vara kvinna i det hinduiska samhället och deras åsikter om hur kvinnors situation bör ändras. När resultaten från intervjuerna analyserats har jag inspirerats av tidigare forskning om genus och Hinduism. I den hinduiska mytologin finns både gudar och gudinnor. Att dyrka gudinnor kan ses som en källa till makt och inspiration för kvinnor. Därför har jag studerat om informanterna ser på gudinnorna som förebilder. Resultaten visar att det är svårt att avgöra om så är fallet. Ungefär hälften av informanterna sade att det ser gudinnorna som förebilder. I motsats till tidigare forskning nämnde inte informanterna de gudinnor som representerar de egenskaper som den ideala hustrun ska besitta, istället nämndes stridsgudinnan Durga. Tidigare forskning visar dock att även de självständiga gudinnorna som beskrevs av informanterna som förebilder är en del av den patriarkala strukturen. Under intervjuerna framgick att rollen att vara en bra hustru och mor värdesätts högt av informanterna. Detta kan, enligt mig, kopplas till det mest framträdande resultatet som framkom i synen på vad jämställdhetsuppfattningen baseras på. Det gäller uppfattningen om att män och kvinnor föds med olika egenskaper. I motsats till genusteori förstås inte skillnader mellan män och kvinnor som främst socialt konstruerade. / This report is based on a field study that was carried out in Faridabad, India in the spring of 2007. The aim is to study what role the Hindu goddesses play for Hindu women. To fulfil this purpose I am also studying the interviewed women’s underlying understanding regarding gender equality. To fulfil the aim a qualitative method was chosen and 19 interviews were completed. The informants answered questions about being a woman in the Hindu society and their opinions on how to change women’s situation. While analysing the results I was inspired by previous research on gender and Hinduism. In the Hindu mythology there are both gods and goddesses. Worshipping goddesses can be seen as a source of power and inspiration for women. Therefore I wanted to study if the informants look at the goddesses as role models. The results show that it is difficult to determine whether or not that is the case. Approximately half of the informants said that they looked at the goddesses as role models. In contrast to previous research the informants did not mention the goddesses that are represented with qualities that the ideal wife should posses, instead Durga, the fight goddess, was mentioned. However, previous research also shows that the independent goddesses that were described as role models by the informants are a part of a patriarchal structure. During the interviews the role of being a good wife and a mother is described as the most important thing for the informants. This can, according to me, be related to the most significant result on what the understanding of gender equality is based on. This is the opinion that men and women are born with different qualities. In contrast to the gender theory, the differences between men and women are not understood as primarily socially constructed.