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Who is 'the public'? The case of the EU's Public Diplomacy in the Eastern Partnership Master's Thesis - Kristin Aldag - Charles University, June 2021 Abstract For states and other international actors such as the European Union, public diplomacy is an important tool to achieve their political and economic interests abroad by communi- cating directly with foreign audiences. While the existing body of academic literature on pub- lic diplomacy is rich, few authors have thus far addressed the question of who actually consti- tutes the public, and which specific target groups can be distinguished. Using the EU PD prac- tices in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) from 2010-2020 as a case study, this thesis will thus attempt to fill this gap and contribute to the academic literature in the field by offering an overview of the various target groups within the European Union's public diplomacy. In a thorough content analysis of relevant primary sources, the thesis focuses on the policy objec- tives and practices of the European Union's outreach to different groups and audiences in the EaP region. The third chapter presents the results of this comprehensive research, which has shown that several distinct groups within the general public in the EaP can be identified, among them young people, media professional and...

Nigeria is rich country in terms of natural resources, It has one of Africa's largest economy, having being endowed with massive natural, human, renewable and non-renewable resources. With a population of about 160 million people which creates a large market for goods and services, rich soil suitable for commercial agriculture, deposits of natural resources including crude-oil, natural-gas, tin, and rock-salt, and cash crops including cocoa, kola-nut, cotton, groundnut and timber, Nigeria has the potential of being one of the largest economy globally and the political hegemony in Africa.1 However, the country has not been able to achieve sustainable development as a result of the deplorable state of infrastructure. Nigeria is confronted with the problem of immense infrastructure deficit which adversely affect national income, cost of production and distribution of goods and services, reduces Foreign Direct Investment(FDI), and result in poverty, unemployment, frequent youth unrest and fall in the general living standards.2 The poor state of infrastructure assets in the country is traceable primarily to the neglect by government and poor maintenance during the transition period from military rule to civilian administration. In an attempt to recover from the infrastructure decay, privatization was commenced in the late 90s through to the 21st century. Yet, there was no commendable improvements as the quality of public services dropped continuously and most of the enterprises were eventually wounded up as a result of corruption, poor maintenance and lack of skilled expertise.3 Furthermore, as a result of budget deficit caused by contraction in fiscal space, and continuous increase in demand for public services which correlates with population growth and rural-urban migration, public financing cannot facilitate bridging of the infrastructure gap. Also, having realized the success of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in other climes, government adopted PPP in 2005 to aid transition of the state of national infrastructure through private involvement in infrastructure financing. Unfortunately, for well over one decade of adopting PPP, Nigeria has not witnessed any commendable changes in her infrastructure assets. The poor performance of PPP in country has been traced to several factors including corruption, lack of transparency, and undue political interference. Central to the factors is the problem of regulatory deficit.4 Consequently, this study will examine the Nigerian PPP legal and regulatory framework to ascertain the problems responsible for the inability of the infrastructure financing technique to facilitate sustainable development through successful infrastructure projects. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2014 / gm2015 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

This study is situated within an International Political Economy (IPE) approach and centres on an analysis of the World Bank’s ‘development knowledge’. This is a term used in the dissertation to describe the pool of knowledge and understanding linked to development which the World Bank produces. The study also incorporates a case study of the World Bank’s development partnership with South Africa, particularly through the 2008 - 2012 Country Partnership Strategy (CPS). The World Bank- South Africa partnership is characterised by a knowledge sharing approach. Importantly, the study aims to provide an understanding of the ideology and norms that underpin the World Bank’s development knowledge. Reviewed literature points toward a preferred neo-liberal ideology of development knowledge in the Bank; this is the departure point for this study’s analysis. The study is based on two levels of analysis, examined through a critical theoretical framework and discourse analysis as a methodological tool. The first level of analysis considers the structural power dynamics in the international arena which influence the ideology of development knowledge in the Bank. This study categorises these power dynamics as internal and external levers of power. The former has more to do with the Bank’s financial clout and intellectual leadership, while the latter considers the influence of powerful states, particularly the United States of America (USA), over the production of development knowledge in the World Bank. The dissertation suggests that these levers of power establish the transmission mechanisms which diffuse the ideas of powerful actors into the development knowledge of the Bank, while limiting the influence of less powerful actors. The second level of analysis, which is the South Africa case study, aims to ascertain the presence or lack of a ‘normative convergence’ on development ideals between the World Bank and South Africa. Normative convergence means shared or unified beliefs relating to how development is conceptualised between South Africa and the World Bank. The aim of this level of analysis is to identify how the presence or lack of normative convergence bears upon the efficacy of the Bank’s knowledge sharing approach in the case of South Africa. The study concludes that there is evidence which points to a neo-liberal paradigm of development within the World Bank and South Africa. A normative convergence on development ideals between the World Bank and South Africa thus exists. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Political Sciences / MA / Unrestricted

This thesis deals with the analysis of novels Die Erziehung des Mannes and Die Liebe der Väter. Introductory part analyzes the father role and the role of a man in today's world. Next section offers a brief summary of both novels. Afterwards we inspect the main protagonists and the narrative of the two stories. Both novels are written in first person narrative. The main protagonist is the narrator in both cases. The plot is told from male perspective, an important theme of both books is fatherly love. In the summary of the thesis we discuss whether these novels are Bildungsromans. In both books there is a journey motif present. There is some development in relationships and in the main characters as well. KEYWORDS manhood, parenthood, relationships, partnership, breakup

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This research was designed to provide insight into South African financial companies’ activities among the poor or the BOP (Base Of the Pyramid). South African businesses should build resources and capabilities with a strategic intent to create and exploit the traditionally under serviced markets while delivering goods and services that are of value. In doing so, managers, marketers and business leaders should view the South African adult population as households and not individual decision makers. The aim of this study was to determine the applicability of an equal partnership model for the BOP engagement in the South African economy. In the investigation of the equal partnership model, it was found that the participants (including the BOP as producers or consumers, business, local community members, nongovernmental organisations and local government) could derive mutual value. This mutual value can be described as the enhancement in growth for the business, raising the BOP out of poverty, involving the poor in the economy and boosting national economic growth (through job creation, tax revenue and investment). Findings of this research supported the aspects of resource commitment, experiential preparation, innovation and technology use in product or services together with mutual value creation for all partners (especially the poor). In addition, there was support for the different levels of risk taken by the partners, responsibilities expected from participants, the sustainability of the collaboration and the required depth of understanding of BOP circumstances. Bank managers responded positively to there being value at the level of the poor (such as profits, poverty alleviation and improved reputation). The collectivist nature of the poor in South Africa (in that the poor carry out financial decisions at the household level) was not established in this research and needs further investigation. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This master's thesis is focused on the experiences of men with the transition to fatherhood during the pregnancy period of the partner and the first months of the child's life. The aim of the study is to explore their experience with this period and to understand how the father identity is formed in the proces of becoming a father. The theoretical part introduces the topic of generativity as a prerequisite for parenting and psychological concepts focused on the process of becoming a father. It also discusses the subject of becoming a father in terms of different time periods: preparation for parenthood, pregnancy, childbirth and the first year of the child's life. Subsequently, it is described which biological and psychological changes occur in men in the process of becoming a father, and what changes occur in a relationship with a partner. The practical part presents qualitative research of men who have recently become fathers. Semi- structured interviews were conducted to discover their experience. The research is done within the framework of the interpretative phenomenological analysis. Analysis of the interviews has shown that the topic of responsibility and commitment to the child, the formation of father identity, fatherhood and motherhood, changes in the relationship, and the management of...

The focus of this research is the cultural assumptions underpinning Africa’s strategies of economic development, taking the Lagos Plan of Action (LPA) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as case studies. It considers the issue whether the neglect of Africa’s cultural beliefs and values in African plans and policies of economic development may not lead to a development impasse. Accordingly, three major objectives are pursued. The first objective is to attempt a critical assessment of the two strategies of economic development, LPA and NEPAD, against the background of theories of economic development that informed them respectively and their cultural assumptions. Using both a theoretical reflection and an empirical approach, I argue that LPA and NEPAD relied on theories of economic development whose cultural foundations are not African. Consequently, although they were designed in Africa, their respective philosophical bases are not African. The second objective is to investigate the relationship between African cultural values and economic development and the extent to which the neglect of the African value system in African policymaking and planning could lead to a development impasse. Based on a theoretical reflection as well as empirical research, I argue that in both LPA and NEPAD, the beliefs and values that structure the African value system have been neglected to the extent of being ignored. The major implication of this neglect is that there is insufficient room for people’s participation in the process of their economic development. Participation makes possible the democratisation and the inculturation of economic development, and thus translates the universal conception of economic development to its local, cultural feasibility. The third objective is to propose certain philosophical premises that could guide development planning in Africa. I revisit the African value system and retrieve the Bantu concept of the human person as umuntu-w’-ubuntu / umuntu-mu-bantu in order to ground the future economic development of Africa on the African foundation. Using Sen’s capability approach which defines development in terms of the ability of people to lead the life they value and have reason to value, human agency and the expansion of capabilities (or real freedoms people enjoy), I suggest four philosophical premises which link African economic development to what Africans believe and value. The first premise consists of the shift from extroversion to the freedom of people to lead the lives they value and have reason to value. This premise deals with the spirit of extroversion which prevents Africans from appreciating their beliefs and values in the process of economic development. It emphasises the fact that development is not a project, but rather a process by which people create and recreate themselves and the conditions by which they can flourish fully. The second premise is the human agency. It deals with the shift from the conception of development as an autonomous process to the conception of development as an agency-based process. It emphasises that the development conceived of as an agency-based process, has as its starting-point and end-point the people. The third premise deals with the shift from the conception of development as an end product to development as an expansion of capability or the real freedoms people enjoy. This premise emphasises three major things. The first is that the expansion of people’s capability is both the end and the means of development. People’s capabilities are not only the primary end of development, they are also its principal means. The second is that development conceived of as the expansion of people’s capability is the concern of both the people and their structural institutions. The third is that the interaction between people and their structural institutions makes it possible to transcend the various dualities often observed in certain development approaches such as the bottom-up and topdown development. The fourth and last premise is the principle of baking the cake together. This premise follows from the fact that the capability approach leads to development as a participatory and inclusive process. It expresses the traditional practice of collaboration in the African community. It emphasises that the three major actors in the development process, namely, the state, the people and the market which tend to exclude each other, are all agents and must work together inclusively to achieve a sustainable economic development. These are the premises suggested to lead future economic development in Africa. Each of these assumptions has implications which are unpacked in the conclusion. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Philosophy / unrestricted

OBJECTIVE: In recent decades scientific advancements and improvements in treatment options have significantly reduced breast cancer mortality. Unfortunately, not all have experienced these improvements; there is a widening gap in mortality rates between Black and Non-Hispanic, White women. While race may be one factor in this disparity, the interactions between social, environmental, and economic circumstances and their differential impact across racial and ethnic groups invariably contribute to observed mortality differences. Socio-legal concerns are experienced often by patients at safety-net hospitals and have the potential to become barriers to care and impact the receipt of timely care. Regarded as basic life needs, socio-legal barriers are amenable to legal intervention but if the needs remain unmet, negative health outcomes may results. Understanding the burden of socio-legal concerns in at-risk populations is necessary to address these barriers to care. To date, systematic assessment of socio-legal concerns among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients has not been well documented. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of I-HELP survey data collected for Project SUPPORT, an RCT comparative effectiveness study that compared standard navigation to legally enhanced navigation at Boston Medical Center. The survey, administered in English, Spanish or Haitian Creole by trained Research Assistants at baseline, 3 and 6 months, systematically assessed participants socio-legal concerns within four categories: Employment, Disability Benefits, Housing and Utilities and Personal and Family Stability. Demographic information was extracted from participants’ electronic medical records, supplemented by surveys on health literacy and employment. Means, medians, frequencies and percentages were used to describe and quantify the burden, type and change in concern at each follow-up point. T-tests and Fischer exact tests were used to evaluate differences in socio-demographic characteristics on the presence, type and trends among the concerns. RESULTS: Overall 262 breast cancer patients enrolled in Project SUPPORT and completed the baseline I-HELP survey. The racial distribution of the participants reflects the diverse population served by Boston Medical Center with the majority of the participants (n=200, 76%) being non-white. Overall, 77% (201/262) of participants reported 1 or more concerns across all categories with 44% (115/262) reporting 3 or more concerns. Among the four categories of concern, the most frequently reported concern was related to housing with 61% (161/262) reporting at least one housing concern. Participants most likely to express any concern were 50 years old or younger, non-English speaking and employed. For the majority of participants, the burden of concern remained constant or increased during the first 6-months of treatment. Non-white women were most likely to experience a persistent concern over the first six months. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirmed that the majority of breast cancer patients experience some kind of socio-legal concern at the time of diagnosis. Also, socio-legal concerns persist throughout the course of treatment. The reported results emphasize the continued need for systematic assessment during cancer treatment. Additionally, collaboration between the medical and legal sectors in cancer care delivery at safety-net hospitals offers a means to address barriers to care and improve health outcomes.