The poor performance in mathematics of learners in schools in Namibia, especially in the grades where learners sit for the national examinations, has been a concern of everybody. Since independence, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with several donor agencies has been aware of the poor performance in mathematics in the country. Several international and local studies have been made in an effort to identify the problems that are hindering learners’ performance in mathematics in Namibia. The findings of some studies that were conducted in the country such as the Southern Africa Consortium Monitoring Education Quality (2004), the Presidential Commission on Education, Culture and Training (1999), and the Mathematics and Science Teachers Extension Program (2002) revealed that the inadequate proficiency of primary teachers in mathematics content could be responsible for learners’ poor performance in mathematics. This study, therefore, is aimed at investigating the mathematical proficiency of lower primary (LP) teachers in Namibia. The study used three instruments to collect data namely, a profile questionnaire – to collect teachers’ demographic data, a proficiency test – to test their proficiency level of mathematics using the content of Grade 4 and 5 learners’ mathematics syllabi and a semi-structured interview schedule – to get views about their own mathematics content knowledge, attitudes towards mathematics as well as problems that hinder effective teaching and learning of mathematics at LP phase. The study was conducted with 30 lower primary teachers from five primary and combined schools in the Ohangwena circuit of the Ohangwena region. The study found out that: (1) the mathematical proficiency of LP teachers is below the Grade 7 Mathematics content. Most teachers are not able to solve the content of mathematics at upper primary (UP) phase. (2) LP education is receiving very little support from the Ministry compared to other phases. (3) There are no workshops or training courses organised for LP teachers. They do not receive enough textbooks and materials, their classrooms are overcrowded and teachers cannot pay attention to individual learners. (4) There is a dire need for LP Head of Departments (HODs) who are specialised at LP; most HODs for LP at schools are not specialised in this area. When it comes to views about future content of mathematics that should be given to LP teachers in Namibia, respondents recommended that future LP teachers should have knowledge of mathematics up to at least Grade 10 but preferably up to Grade 12. They do not want to be restricted to LP mathematics, but would like to have a broader knowledge of mathematics content. This would make them more confident in solving their children’s problems in mathematics. Overall, participants recognised the value of mathematics and the role that it plays in society.

The introduction of security in airspace management presented an interesting problem as the United States inserted itself as the new arbiter of international aviation security. By its very nature, aviation security requires strict policing standards on both ends of travel, at both the departure and arrival airports. This requires unique territorial cooperation between states. But in a world of uneven power, one powerful state with network centrality has the capacity to impose its security demands on the system. How this is created, which I term conceptually as an "extraterritorial aviation regime," is what this dissertation seeks to explain. Hijackings and bombings of airplanes in the 1970s and 1980s culminated in a significant bombing in 1988: the destruction of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. This event became a critical juncture in the management of airspace. The U.S. state used its desire to impose certain security standards to create a new extraterritorial aviation regime, directly placing U.S. security personnel in the airports of other states, and regulating international air carriers, which were controlled and often owned by other states. My research argues that the U.S. used its centrality in the aviation network to institute a new regime for the security management of international airspace. But while security was a public motivation for this new regime, aviation deregulation and economics were also drivers behind the U.S. policy change. Understanding why the new regime was formed in Pan Am's wake helps to understand why the U.S. state became the security standard-maker in international aviation and what led the U.S. to assume control of other states' airports and airplanes under the rubric of U.S. law. / Doctor of Philosophy / The introduction of security in airspace management presented an interesting problem as the United States inserted itself as the new arbiter of international aviation security. Hijackings and bombings of airplanes in the 1970s and 1980s culminated in a significant bombing in 1988: the destruction of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. This new need for security in aviation created a critical juncture that led to a new extraterritorial aviation regime, with the United States at the core of regulating international airports and international carriers. My research question argues that the U.S. used its position in the international aviation network to institute a new regime, led by the United States. My research also uncovered the element of aviation deregulation and economics as a driver behind the U.S. policy changes in this space. Understanding why the new regime was formed in Pan Am's wake helps to understand why the U.S. state became the security standard-maker in international aviation and what led the U.S. to assume control of other states' airports and airplanes under the rubric of U.S. law.