This ethnographic dissertation examines contemporary perceptions of higher education within the context of a Tribal government. The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how Tribal community members perceive higher education as related to Tribal self-determination. This project was partially modeled around two specific research questions relating to Brayboy’s (2012) model of self-determination. Specific research questions for this dissertation included: (1) What are the perceptions of education in a Tribal community as they relate to sovereignty, nation building, and self-determination? (2) Are there differences among perceptions of education between groups (e.g., traditionalists v. credentialists)? In addition to addressing the specific research questions, this project also included a modified grounded theory to foster emergent theme development. Emergent theme development was intended to account for narratives beyond specific research questions. Participants were presented the following questions in one-on-one, open-ended interviews organized around the following questions: (1) How is formal education important for Tribal members? (2) How is formal education important to Tribal community development? (3) What formal educational credentials are most important to the operations of the Tribe? (4) What do you think formal educational credentials represent? (5) What tensions exist between a formal education v. cultural knowledge? (6) What do you think should be the ideal process of Tribal higher education? (7) How well do you think the current educational policies and practices of the Tribe complement self-determination? (8) What are the goals of a self-determination education? Results for this project were mixed. Narratives indicated a relative absence of conceptual constructs associated with Brayboy’s model of self-determination. Additionally, narratives also did not indicate a robust example of group dynamic. Results appeared to indicate an underlying presence of epistemological standpoints to frame Tribal higher education in terms of: (1) Formal Credentials; (2) Practical Experience; and (3) Cultural Experience. Finally, emergent theme development established how educational credentials are promoted, valued, and employed within the Tribal government setting. Narratives produced an extremely nuanced and dynamic landscape of perceptions, groups, utilities, tensions, obstacles, and reforms within Tribes. Narratives also indicated the presence of educational credentialism affecting self-determination in Tribal communities.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 11, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 242-257).

The general aim in conducting this research is to investigate the teaching and learning of Social Studies in Nigeria and to understand how it is taught and its role in fostering tolerance and appreciation for cultural differences. However, teachers of Social Studies often adopt different methods. Hence, it is important to understand how their teaching impacts upon the day to day lives of Nigerians. This study is made up three discrete studies, each building upon the one before, but all three studies tell a story. Several types of data collection methods were used to obtain the findings. These included interviews, questionnaires and a class-based study. The first study explored qualitatively how ex-students have used the knowledge they gained in Social Studies in their daily lives. The second study was conducted to examine the challenges that teachers’ faced in the delivery of the Social Studies curriculum while the third study focused on the effectiveness of a scaffolded approach in the teaching and learning of Social Studies. The findings revealed that there is a tension in the curriculum between how participants perceived Social Studies and the purpose of Social Studies as defined by the Government in Nigeria. The aims and objectives of the current Social Studies curriculum jar with the issues that some participants identified as being relevant to their daily lives. It also revealed that not all the teachers are Social Studies specialists, there are some non-specialist teachers teaching Social Studies. This may have accounted for diversity of teaching methods and opportunities. It was also reported that the curriculum content in Social Studies is not adequate for addressing the social issues and problems that face Nigeria today. The findings also show that using a scaffolded approach seems to have promoted students’ learning around issues relevant to their lives in Nigeria. The findings from this study revealed that there is a tension in the curriculum; it is my contention that it can be improved by using a scaffolded approach and by ensuring that Social Studies specialists deliver the content.

ABSTRACT The objective of this Grounded theory thesis was to apply the Harvard Project on Indian Economic Development’s Nation-Building model as a theoretical framework to examine Muskoday First Nation’s efforts to regain control over their lands and resources within the Treaty framework. Additionally, this model has generated discussion, but has not been tested to any great extent in the Canadian context. Muskoday First Nation was selected as case study because the community was one of the original signatories of the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management and had implemented its own Land Code. Additionally, Muskoday is the first community in Saskatchewan to successfully negotiate and implement a Treaty Land Entitlement Claim. The purpose of my thesis research was to determine what internal mechanisms contributed to Muskoday First Nation’s efforts to restore authority of their reserve lands and resources. The findings of the research indicated that Muskoday First Nation has a strong cultural drive for authority over the lands and resources and maintains collective ownership over lands as agreed upon in Treaty.

Ende 2013 begannen massive militärische Auseinandersetzungen in der Hauptstadt Juba. Hintergrund sind Machtkämpfe zwischen dem Präsidenten und seinem Stellvertreter. Dadurch sind die ethnischen Differenzen zwischen den Dinka und den Nuer wieder aufgebrochen. Innerhalb weniger Tage starben mehrere Hundert Menschen, Tausende flohen, internationale Helfer wurden ausgeflogen. Die Kämpfe griffen schnell auf andere Regionen des Landes über. Südsudan droht ein neuer Bürgerkrieg.

Several organizations, most prominently the United Nations and the World Bank, have emphasized that ex-combatant reintegration is crucial to consolidating peace after war. Strategic thinking about peace-building and opportunities for international involvement in post-conflict states after the Cold War have focused attention on programs to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate fighters. Despite the resources and effort invested in reintegration programs, however, the evidence from Namibia, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone shows that significant problems linked to incomplete reintegration persist after formal programs end. These problems include widespread unemployment among former fighters, ex-combatant involvement in criminality, re-recruitment into neighboring conflicts, and political and social polarization of reintegration grievances. Left unmanaged, such problems threaten security even if they do not lead a state back to war. The thesis explains the persistence of reintegration problems in terms of two variables: the capacity (defined as resources, operational expertise, and authority) and preferences (defined as the explicit and implicit interests and assumptions that guide programs) of reintegration actors. The capacity and preferences of these actors are aggregate independent variables that are themselves the product of endogenous (organizational and bureaucratic) and exogenous (systemic) pressures that literature on political economy and international relations theory helps to elucidate (i.e., helps to determine how reintegration actors' own behavior exacerbates or ameliorates problems). Drawing on documentation and interviews, the thesis constructs a narrative of reintegration in each case and employs process tracing within cases to identify reintegration problems, measure their impact on security, and determine whether and how the capacity and preferences of reintegration actors contributed to the persistence of reintegration problems. The thesis uses comparative analysis to generalize inferences about the variables observed, and suggests potential solutions to improve the management of reintegration problems and creation of economic opportunities. Unless deeper issues of reintegration governance related to problem management and opportunity creation are addressed, targeted remedies to improve program design will not succeed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, December 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 31, 2008). "Department of Political Science." Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-170).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 23, 2010). Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Emory University, 2005. / "UMI Number: 3201416"--T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references (p. 472-489).