Bluegrass has found an unlikely home, and avid following, in the Czech Republic. The music’s emergence in Central Europe places it within an increasingly global network of communities built around bluegrass activities. Lee Bidgood offers a fascinating study of the Czech bluegrass phenomenon that merges intimate immersion in the music with on-the-ground fieldwork informed by his life as a working musician. Drawing on his own close personal and professional interactions, Bidgood charts how Czech bluegrass put down roots and looks at its performance as a uniquely Czech musical practice. He also reflects on “Americanist” musical projects and the ways Czech musicians use them to construct personal and social identities. Bidgood sees these acts of construction as a response to the Czech Republic’s postsocialist environment but also to US cultural prominence within our global mediascape. / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1157/thumbnail.jpg

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This study looks at the broader transformations in Cuban history through the case study of a single, yet symbolic, man, and proposes a new paradigm for understanding the dynamics of Cuban society and culture. It also examines the implications for Cuba’s aspiring national identity at the turn of the twentieth century, by detailing the interplay between fact and fiction in the story of Alberto Yarini: elite born; well-educated; politically and socially well-connected; powerful; and celebrated Cuban racketeer and chulo (pimp). Yarini was described as vibrant and triumphant at a time when other nation-building forces in Cuba were weak and ambivalent. A century after his dramatic death, Yarini became the quintessential public man in Cuban lore who symbolized a cubanidad (Cuban national identity) not defined in terms of the ideological hegemony of class, race, or gender, and who through his actions dispelled the ambivalence that plagued Cuban nationalism. Using archival documents, contemporary newspaper accounts, court records, memoirs, and published works, this study analyzes the confluence of national events and individual action in the formation of Cuban national identity. It contends that for Cuba, the failure of nation-building experiments resulted in an ambivalent national identity based on failed philosophical and political ideals of equality and prosperity. These ideals played out within the context of the realities of racial discrimination, political dissonance, and class and gender barriers. Instead of a cohesive sense of national character, for Cubans the result was a competing set of identities including a populist version that was defined through identification with antitypes and pseudo-heroes such as Alberto Yarini y Ponce de León (1882-1910), a rising politician and celebrated chulo of the early republic. The telling and retelling of his story has given rise to what has been termed the island nation’s first national myth – one that continues to evolve and grow in the twenty-first century. For many Cubans, the Yarini antitype provided an idealized national identity which in many ways was—and many argue continues to be— the expression of an elusive and ambivalent cubanidad.

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Over recent decades, civil wars in Africa have taken millions of lives and caused widespread destruction of whole states and regions. The living standards of peoples residing in such states in Africa which have been devastated by war are often deplorable, with violence, disease and poverty characterising life there. Lawlessness is another feature of such wars, making these states optimal places for international terrorist groups to operate in, and from. For both the above reasons, the West should not turn a blind eye to this issue. These wars that have occurred in a number of African states, including Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan, have often become regionalised with surrounding states increasingly becoming involved. This is particularly the case when economic gain can be sought through involvement in the civil war. The introduction of regional actors into domestic civil wars frequently serves to intensify and prolong the conflict, through an increase of arms and troops entering the fighting. The surrounding state actors largely claim to be involved for political reasons, namely to provide security to their own state. However, numerous credible reports have shown that vast plundering of natural resources has been carried out in war-time by surrounding states in the war-torn state. Consequently, this thesis examines the motives of surrounding state actors when deciding to participate in domestic civil wars of their neighbours. To do this, I compile case studies on both Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo since both states had been ravaged by violent and drawn-out civil wars involving regional actors. Furthermore, the regional actors in both cases (Liberia in Sierra Leone, and particularly Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe in the DRC) have been accused of participating in the wars for economic gain. The case studies showed that while political motivations largely drive the initial decision by regional actors to participate in civil wars in their region, it is subsequently economic gain that both allows and compels them to continue their involvement in the civil war. Henceforth, in the final chapter, I put investigate policy suggestions for the future including: prevention of resources being used to fuel warfare through controlling their access to legitimate channels; the use of aid to reduce the likelihood of those in poverty turning to war in pursuit of sustenance, including opportunities to target aid and use compliance with particular peace agreements as a prerequisite for attaining the funding; diversification of the economies of these weak states through development assistance to reduce risks produced by a high dependency on primary commodity exports for income and financial sanctions in the form of freezing of assets or asset blocking. These policy suggestions seek to address both the political and economic motivations of the surrounding state actors in participating in civil wars in Africa.

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<p>Because of the impact on human health and sustainable livelihood, the topic of drinking water and sanitation facilities is becoming a seriously discussed issue among international organizations as well as developing agencies in industrialized countries. The importance of water and sanitation management initialized this master thesis.</p><p> </p><p>The aim of the project is to do an assessment of the drinking water quality as well as the sanitation situation in the village Condrita in the Republic of Moldova. This was done by studying the existing water and sanitation facilities, sampling the water, evaluating the reason for the poor water quality and mapping the current situation using ArcGIS. Furthermore, technologies for improving the drinking water and sanitation facilities are suggested.</p><p> </p><p>The work was carried out by doing a literature study on how water sources and sanitation facilities should be constructed in order to ensure people’s health and to meet their needs. Geographic coordinates and water samples were collected from twenty-two public wells and springs. Interviews on the water situation and sanitation facilities were performed. Furthermore, water samples were analysed with respect to nitrate, turbidity, electrical conductivity and coliform bacteria amongst others. Pesticide contamination was also taken into consideration when one of the wells was analysed. Water sources were classified as improved or unimproved according to definitions by WHOSIS. Moreover, the DRASTIC vulnerability model was used to evaluate the groundwater susceptibility to contaminants.</p><p> </p><p>In general, the water quality in the study area was poor and measured values of the analyzed parameters exceeded international or Moldovan standards for nitrate, hardness, electrical conductivity and total coliform bacteria. Four wells were contaminated with <em>E. coli</em> bacteria. Furthermore, turbidity measurements exceeded Moldovan standards in seven out of twenty-two water sources. No pesticide contamination was detected. Sampled water from the densely populated parts of the village as well as unimproved water sources proved to be of poorer quality. Map results showed that a majority of the groundwater within the study area was subject to a moderate or high risk of becoming contaminated. The current sanitation situation is that most families use simple pit latrines, which are placed far away from the dwelling-houses. Digging a new toilet when the existing one is full is a common practice in Condrita. Hand-washing facilities are seldom placed in proximity to the toilets.</p><p> </p><p>Pit latrines are believed to be the most important source of groundwater contamination in the study area. Other sources are agricultural activities and poor practice when abstracting water from the wells. A feasible solution to improve both the drinking water quality and the sanitation situation would be to install ecosan toilets. Improvements of the well’s features that are suggested include construction of an apron slab as well as proper lids for covering the well.</p>

The present study was designed to contribute to the application of human security principles in vulnerable populations, using the Bateyes (sugar mill camps) from the Dominican Republic (DR) as a case study. Following the Robin Hood principle of using resources allocated for the identification and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as a base from which to build infrastructure for other health and human security needs, this project sought to reduce inequalities and promote equal rights in a vulnerable population living in isolated rural areas of the DR. The impact of a human security model versus non-intervention (standard of care) was examined longitudinally in relationship to the outcomes (prevention of morbid events such as HIV, tuberculosis, diarrhea, dengue, malaria, and model impact on breastfeeding and vaccines rates). The project was implemented in three phases: baseline assessments, implementation of a human security model over a six month period, and evaluation of the interventions at six and twelve months after the initiation of the intervention. Qualitative evaluation methods were used to complement quantitative assessments. An economic analysis was also conducted to evaluate the costs of the intervention and potential sources of economic benefits. Overall, at baseline, the owners of the houses from Batey A (Case) were more likely to respond incorrectly than the residents of Batey B (Control) questions about knowledge, attitudes and practices, for the most prevalent infectious diseases of the southwestern area of the Dominican Republic. To control for baseline differences between the study groups, a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) score system was created. The KAP score system showed that the people living in Batey A had a higher percentage of right answers than residents of Batey B, six months after the intervention. These findings, however, were not observed at the 12 month follow-up visit, suggesting that future studies using the human security intervention model may need to be maintained for more than 6 months, to promote sustainability. Economic analysis revealed that the total cost-savings of the Program to the Ministry of Health and society overall to be 252,399USD. In addition, at the follow-up visits, morbidity and mortality rates of the study population were lower than the rates reported in a recent Demographic Health Survey conducted in the Southwestern Bateyes of the DR. The qualitative interviews allowed for the identification of community perceptions of the model, as well as the necessity for an interdisciplinary approach, including structural interventions (i.e. water pump, construction of latrines, etc) and monitoring community security-related issues through household monthly visits. The use of HIV resources demonstrated that the money allocated for HIV prevention could be utilized, not only to reduce the burden of disease, but also to invest in health systems and services. Applied to other settings, the design and outcomes of this study could have a beneficial impact on refugee and undocumented populations in other countries under the impact of the structural violence observed in the Bateyes of the DR.

My thesis will examine the life and political career of Georgian statesman Eduard Shevardnadze. I have chosen to examine Shevardnadze through a Machiavellian lens; I will examine Shevardnadze’s politics while considering Machiavelli’s central ideologies. I have attempted to provide a context by which to understand Shevardnadze’s life and how it has allowed him to become a modern day Machiavellian figure.