Thesis (M.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2004. / "Report date September 2000." Includes bibliographic references.

In this study, I use visual and material culture that addresses the contemporary war in Afghanistan to critically assess the ways in which national conflict history is envisioned. I focus in particular on cultural production related to the involvement of Australia and Canada in the conflict. I do so to question the ways in which Australia’s and Canada’s engagements with this particular conflict are visualized in relation to their official narratives, which posit their military activities in Afghanistan as undertaken in the name of security, peacekeeping, and rebuilding. Such a query is important, because it allows me to investigate which visualizations contribute to the history and narrative of national engagements with conflict, and which are ignored. Moreover, it allows me to ask how visual and material culture not only constitutes, but also legitimates national conflict narratives. And finally, it allows me to locate examples within this field of cultural production that renegotiate, contest, subvert, and resist state representations. These lines of inquiry help to situate my study of visual and material culture by suggesting that such objects can act as lenses through which to address what Jon Stratton and Ien Ang describe as the “unstable, provisional and often jeopardous status of the national” (1996, 381). Following Stratton and Ang, I approach the concept of the “nation” as “a contested terrain between historically specific ‘cultures’ structured in relations of dominance and subordination to each other” (367). Using exhibitions and cultural objects produced post-9/11 in Australia and Canada (that is, after 11 September 2001), I analyze the visual and material culture of conflict within the “contested terrain” of national/ist narratives. The particular process of culture-making exemplified in exhibitions and cultural objects is crucial when it comes to advancing national/ist narratives, since as I argue throughout this study, it represents part of the larger historical transition from the state enlistment of cultural production in support of nation-building to the neoliberal mobilization of visual culture for the global marketplace. / Thesis (Ph.D, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2011-12-22 00:54:55.819

The production and processing of various chemicals and raw materials all around the world currently exceeds hundreds of millions of tonnes a year and is constantly growing. In addition, the spectre of produced materials is increasing, including relatively toxic compounds. It is absolutely clear that such production volumes lead to a risk of accidents with the leakage of chemical toxicants, and {--} depending on the toxicity of the relevant substances {--} these accidents represent a serious threat for human health, animals and the environment.Disasters involving chemicals drew public attention already in the 20th century, when ways were sought to guarantee the safety of production, storage and transportation of hazardous materials. This is also an essential prerequisite for the occurrence of an accident involving the leakage of chemical toxicants {--} the presence of such toxicants in the production, processing, storage or transportation.Whether during wars or in peacetime, there are situations when large numbers of people can be exposed to the effects of a wide spectre of hazardous chemical substances (NCHL). These situations include military operations, campaigns by the integrated rescue system (IZS), industrial accidents or acts of terror. In developed industrial countries, the capacities used for the production, storage, processing and transportation of NCHL are usually localized in urban industrial zones. The high concentrations of these hazardous chemical substances within these zones represent a potential health risk for the people nearby. Chemical safety is a challenge and a must. I find this issue attractive and therefore decided to analyse, in my thesis, the causes of mass chemical intoxication and their consequences on the affected population. The objective of this diploma thesis is to compare the forms of protection and liquidation of the consequences of such accidents and try to find, structure and unify the recommendations regarding the solution of emergencies associated with mass chemical intoxications. Another objective was to verify the hypothesis that regulations and existing procedures regarding the solution of emergencies associated with mass chemical intoxications do not correspond with today{\crq}s standards and the on-going development of chemical noxious agents.

Master's thesis China, India and the armed conflict potential in South East Asia is concerned with the current relations of mentioned countries and is trying to figure out, if an outburst of a military conflict between them could occur or whether they will rather cooperate. The thesis is based on the notion that these two world giants in the terms of number of inhabitants, area and even a GDP volume have an unresolved border dispute, ever since the India reached independence. Their mutual border has never been officially demarcated. The small skirmishes between the border patrols of both states are uncountable. In addition, in 1962 they waged a war against each other, which China won in very decisive manner. Both states have been disputing which side caused this conflict till today. Rising economic power of both states currently, together with supposed arming, development of military rocket and submarine technology capable to carry nuclear warheads and establishment of naval bases by China in the proximity of India could create a really effervescent atmosphere in the area. The thesis is divided into six chapters. First chapter introduces the topic. Second chapter establishes the theoretic framework, which is underpinning the research. The other chapters are empirical. The main areas of the analysis...

The main goal of this master's degree thesis is research how possible is armed conflict between People's Republic of China and Japan. Both states which are important actors in Pacific region and also in the global scale, had a number of conflicts in history. Nowadays is visible sharp deterioration of relations due to territorial, political, military and economic disputes. The beginning of thesis is aimed to show historical background of the mutual relations that is a key for understanding nowadays disputes. The research is based on two theories - neorealistic balance of power theory and concept of commercial liberalism. The factors from these theories can measure relevance of threat and helps answer the question how possible is the emergence of armed conflict. According to the results of research maintaining of peace between China and Japan is more probable mainly due to interdependence of both countries. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

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Background: The military conflict in Ukraine that started in 2014 was accompanied with many changes in the political, economic and social spheres. It brought informal volunteering activities (i.e. one form of social capital) to emerge, function and later to be formalized, in order to support soldiers and their families. This situation is unique given the transitional setting of Ukraine, which has led to comparably low levels of social capital and negative indicators of health and well-being. This thesis aims to explore social capital during military conflict in contemporary Ukraine and to analyze the associations between social capital and well-being, as well as the distribution of social capital among Ukrainian women and men. Methods: The study combines a qualitative and quantitative research design. A case study was conducted using qualitative methodology. Eighteen in-depth interviews were collected with providers and utilizers of volunteering services. Grounded Theory and social action ideal types methodology of Weber were used for the analysis. The quantitative research utilized two secondary datasets. The World Health Survey was utilized to analyze the association between social capital and physical and mental well-being for women (n=1723) and men (n=910) by means of multivariate logistic regression. The European Social Survey (wave 6) was used in order to investigate access to social capital and the determinants of gender inequalities in the access with a sample of 1377 women and 797 men. Multivariate logistic regression and postregression Fairlie’s decomposition analysis were used to analyze the determinants of the inequalities. Results: The key findings of this thesis show that social capital transforms during military conflict and takes particular forms in transitional settings. There are positive and negative effects on well-being connected to crisisrelated volunteering. The associations between social capital and well-being vary for women and men in favour of women. Social capital is unequally distributed between different social groups. Some forms of social capital may have stronger buffering effect on women than men in Ukraine. Access to social capital can be viewed as an indicator for social well-being, and thus social capital can be used both as a determinant and an outcome in social capital and health research. Conclusion: Informal social participation, i.e. volunteering might play an important role in societal crises and needs to be considered in social capital measurements and interventions. Social capital measurements utilized in stable societies do not evidently capture these forms, i.e. it is not taken into account. The associations between social capital and well-being depend on the measurements that are used. Since social capital has both positive and negative effects on well-being, this should be considered in research, policies and practices in order to prevent negative and promote positive outcomes. In Ukraine, as well as in other settings, social capital is an unequal resource for different societal groups. Reducing gender and income inequalities would probably influence the distribution of social capital within the society. / Bakgrund: Den militära konflikten i Ukraina som startade 2014 fick många politiska, ekonomiska och sociala konsekvenser. Konfliktsituationen triggade bland annat framväxten av omfattande informella volontärverksamheter (en form av social kapital) som senare formaliserades, för att stödja soldater och deras familjer. Denna situation är relativt unik, med tanke på Ukrainas postsovjetiska historia med jämförelsevis låga nivåer av socialt kapital och negativa indikatorer för hälsa och välbefinnande. Denna avhandling syftar att undersöka betydelsen av socialt kapital under pågående militär konflikt i Ukraina, samt att analysera sambandet mellan social kapital och välbefinnande, såväl som fördelningen av social kapitalt mellan kvinnor och män i Ukraina. Metoder: Studien kombinerar en kvalitativ och kvantitativ forskningsdesign. En fallstudie genomfördes med hjälp av kvalitativa metoder. Arton djupintervjuer med volontärer samt mottagare av volontärstöd genomfördes. Analysen genomfördes med hjälp av Grundad Teori och Webers sociala idealtyper. Den kvantitativa forskningen är baserad på två sekundära datamaterial. Världshälsoorganisationens (WHOs) World Health Survey användes för att analysera sambandet mellan socialt kapital och fysiskt och mentalt välbefinnande för kvinnor (n = 1723) och män (n = 910) med hjälp av multivariabel logistisk regression. European Social Survey (våg 6) användes för att undersöka tillgången till socialt kapital och bestämningsfaktorer för ojämlikhet i tillgången till socialt kapital mellan kvinnor (n = 1377) och män ( n = 797). Analysen genomfördes med hjälp av multivariabel logistisk regression och post-regression Fairlie decomposition analys. Resultat: Resultaten i denna avhandling visar att social kapital transformeras under pågående militär konflikt och antar särskilda former i övergångssamhällen som Ukraina. Det finns både positiva och negativa effekter på välbefinnande relaterat till volontärarbete under pågående samhällskris. Sambanden mellan social kapital och välbefinnande varierar för kvinnor och män till förmån för kvinnor. Vissa former av socialt kapital kan ha en starkare skyddande effekt för kvinnor än män i Ukraina. Resultaten visar också att socialt kapital fördelas ojämnt mellan män och kvinnor. Tillgången till socialt kapital kan betraktas som en indikator för socialt välbefinnande och socialt kapital kan därmed användas både som determinant och ett utfall i studier om socialt kapital, hälsa och välbefinnande. Slutsats: Informellt socialt deltagande, dvs volontärarbete, kan spela en viktig roll i samhällskriser och behöver beaktas i såväl mätningar som interventioner av socialt kapital. Mätningar av socialt kapital i ”stabila” samhällen fångar nödvändigtvis inte dessa former av socialt kapital. Sambandet mellan social kapital och välbefinnande beror till stor det på vilka mått för socialt kapital som används. Eftersom socialt kapital har både positiva och negativa effekter på välbefinnande bör det tas i beaktande i forskning, policy och praxis för att kunna förhindra negativa effekter och främja de positiva effekterna. I Ukraina, liksom i andra samhällen, är socialt kapital en ojämn resurs för olika samhällsgrupper. Att minska klyftor mellan könen och inkomstgrupper skulle troligen påverka fördelningen av socialt kapital i samhället.

L’analyse des relations entre le gouvernement intérimaire rwandais et la communauté internationale durant le génocide de 1994 met en évidence la primauté du facteur politique voire géopolitique sur la prise en compte de considérations strictement juridiques et humanitaires de la part de l’ONU et des États tiers les plus impliqués dans cette crise (Belgique, France, États-Unis). La marginalisation progressive du gouvernement intérimaire sur la scène internationale, au moment où il sollicite une aide extérieure pour mettre fin aux massacres, ne s’est pas accompagnée d’un renforcement des effectifs et du mandat de la Mission des Nations Unies pour l’Assistance au Rwanda (MINUAR), qui constituait pourtant la principale demande des autorités rwandaises au Conseil de sécurité. Ce désengagement de la communauté internationale s’est effectué au détriment de la sécurité et de la protection des populations civiles menacées. Dans le même temps, la criminalisation de ce gouvernement a contribué à faire entériner l’acceptation d’une issue militaire au conflit souhaitée par la rébellion du Front Patriotique Rwandais (FPR), au mépris des accords de paix et de partage du pouvoir d’Arusha signés en 1993. La présomption de culpabilité à l’égard du camp gouvernemental a par la suite fortement impacté la justice internationale, le Tribunal Pénal International pour le Rwanda (TPIR) ayant échoué dans sa mission consistant à juger tous les auteurs de crimes commis en 1994 et à favoriser la réconciliation nationale, du fait de son manque d’impartialité et d’indépendance tant au niveau des poursuites et de l’instruction que du rendu de ses jugements et de leur pleine application. / An analysis of relations between the interim government of Rwanda and the international community during the genocide of 1994 demonstrates how political, even geopolitical, factors were given priority over strictly judicial and humanitarian considerations by the UN and the third-party states most implicated in this crisis (Belgium, France, the USA). The progressive marginalisation of the interim government on the international scene, at the time when it was soliciting external help to put a stop to the massacres, did not see a reinforcement of staff or of the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), which nonetheless constituted the principal demand of the Rwandan authorities to the Security Council.This disengagement on the part of the international community happened to the detriment of the security and protection of the civil population under threat. At the same time the criminalisation of this government contributed to the endorsement of a military outcome to the conflict ; the outcome desired by the rebellion of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), contravening the Arusha Accords signed in 1993. The presumption of guilt attached to the government camp subsequently had a strong impact on international justice, as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) had failed in its mission of judging all the perpetrators of crimes committed in 1994, and of favorising national reconciliation, due to its lack of impartiality and independence as much at the level of investigation and prosecution as at the level of the delivery of the judgments and their enactment.