Thesis (Ph.D.)--The American University, 2005. / (UnM)AAI3187220. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-09, Section: B, page: 5110. Chair: Anthony H. Ahrens.

This thesis examines the relationship of labour mobility and socioeconomic transformation in the Solomon Islands, and proposes that one cannot be understood in isolation from the other. Explanation is pursued both at the levels of structure and of agency, and integration of these levels is attempted in some places. This is discussed in the first part of the thesis, within a general discussion of issues of theory and method. The second part of the thesis deals with the structural parameters of labour mobility. Through the twentieth century, the institutions of government, mission and capitalist enterprise have been central in shaping the Solomon Islands social formation. The roles of these formal institutions with implications for labour mobility have ranged from purveyors of ideology to employers of labour. Another major element in the social formation is an original Melanesian mode of production which influences labour mobility through village-level institutions such as the land tenure system, kinship, and household operation. Labour circulation is a major factor in linking village and non-village institutions, and more abstractly in articulating two different modes of production. The third part of the thesis considers the ways in which individual agency operates within structure. The data base are life histories and related information from the Mbambatana language group on the island of Choiseul. This is integrated with national, regional and village-level structural information. Education is important in the way it 'selects' individuals for certain kinds of employment. This selection process occurs within the wage economy generally, but is further refined within institutions of employment. This results in labour mobility 'streams' which have identifiable characteristics related to gender, education, and employment type. Movements within each 'stream' have typical temporal and spatial characteristics. Patterns of labour mobility, especially sequence, are affected by gender and life cycle factors. For men and women the most critical changes take place in the 20s age span, but individual behaviour varies according to marriage and childrearing patterns. From a village perspective, labour circulation is a logical response to the necessity of operating within two different economic systems typified by different modes of production. This process of articulation is manifest in other ways as well, and households or families may adopt different strategies in operating within two different systems. The particular strategy adopted depends on the labour power available, degree of access to land, and employment possibilities of individual members.

In this thesis, I discuss the constraints and mediations on political discourse in the Ethiopian Diaspora in North America. I use the amateur sports federation, the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) as a site for this analysis, looking both at the online media campaign carried out when a split occurred in the institution and its 2017 tournament. The sport’s federation is a space for the diaspora to unite and pass down the cultural forms that distinguish it to the next generation. I argue that the political discourse of the diaspora is constrained by how the diaspora continues to (re)define its self in relations to the memories and imaginations of its homeland and its desire to remain a united and distinct community. Chapter 1 provides an analysis of the migratory history of the Ethiopian diaspora in North America. This history pinpoints the diaspora’s reproduction of a unifying hegemonic Amhara national identity that is not supported by the current ruling party in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). This is the history fuels the memory and imagination of the homeland that informs the mythico-histories that it produces to define the types of politics are supported or tolerated in the diaspora. Chapter 2 discuss the use of mythico-histories by anti-government groups in their campaign to boycott against the All Ethiopian Sports Association One (AESAONE)’s tournament. These narratives reveal the formation of an alliance between the apolitical sports’ federation ESFNA and aggressively anti-government groups in the diaspora. Finally, in Chapter 3 I analyze the symbiotic relationship between these anti-government groups and ESFNA and some of the way it shapes the political discourse at the 2017 ESFNA tournament. The tournament is a mediated space in which ESFNA’s apolitical unifying mission and the anti-government group's message are able to exist together.

The concept of choice as it applies to the American educational system has been a topic of intense discussion in recent years. Since the development of this central institution, the freedom of scholastic choice has been an intricate part of the United States’ academic landscape. However, scholars have noted a recent shift as the country has started to take a more neoliberal approach to schooling. In order to better understanding of the concept of choice on a more individualistic level, I conducted a number of personal interviews with parents raising their children in the small rural town of Port Townsend, Washington. My exploration found that while the abundance of academic programs put strain on the educational system on a communal level, on a personal level the ability to have choices was vital for many families. Educational options are shaped by the needs community they serve, often providing flexibility and protection for families who simply want their students to have the best possible future. Thus, I conclude that while the concept of choice may be debated on a nationwide theoretical level, on a personal level it remains a complex but necessary tool for families to ensure their children’s happiness and success.

This study investigates children’s peer culture, social networks and the role that kids’ food plays in peer exchanges during middle childhood. During this stage children develop social competencies as they join peer groups with other children and become socialized into children’s peer culture. In order to immerse myself within children’s culture, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork at two afterschool programs providing care for elementary school children. I investigated friendships, social networks and exchanges among third through fifth grade children at the programs. The study included participant observation and participatory group interviews with a sample of the children at both sites. The findings reveal how children use exchange of snack foods, candy and toys to build social connections among peers. The results indicate that children are active participants and creators in their peer cultures. They manipulated adult norms to structure oppositional identities as children. One tool for identifying with peers and gaining social acceptance are kids’ foods, which are processed food items marketed for children. Kids’ food served as a form of social currency in expressing friendship and connection. For the children in this study, food provided for edible consumption, entertainment and symbolic connection to peers. The results of this research demonstrate the need to approach child nutrition promotion from a cultural and social view point of children, not only based on physical and health motivation.

This PhD by published work consists of: • two single authored articles in refereed journals; • four jointly authored articles in refereed journals; • one jointly authored editorial; • one jointly authored book, including four single authored chapters; They were published in the period 2003-2013. Philip Gilligan submitted the jointly written publications as part of his submission for the award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Published Work in 2013. This thesis identifies substantive findings, theoretical insights, new questions and practice/policy implications arising from the published work. The body of work has and continues to stimulate debate about the need to recognise and appreciate the significance and relevance of religion and related belief in the lives of people accessing health and social care services in the UK. It outlines the general relevance and impact of religion and related belief and explores questions and research concerned with the extent to which social work takes these matters into account in its practices, polices and professional training. It prompts practitioners to reflect on their own and others’ religious beliefs by providing a framework of nine related principles to assist them in their professional practice. One key finding is the need for service providers and policy makers to develop new services that are more responsive to the diverse needs of people living in the UK today by recognising and adopting some of the diverse helping strategies employed and imported by different communities.

Why do original/grassroots branding efforts occurring on a local level continue to proliferate despite the existing market saturation created by larger corporate entities? Using existing theoretical frameworks associated with “do it yourself” (DIY) culture, this thesis explores cultures and themes associated with skateboarding, including the production and consumption of brands of skateboarding products; the use of space and spatiality by skateboarders; and, finally, changes in skateboarding. I conducted ethnographic interviews within a network of skateboard entrepreneurs in the Florida skateboard community, seeking to understand why they start brands, their perceptions of their entrepreneurial efforts, and how these businesses operate. Drawing from historical, visual and interview data, I identify the roles that branding efforts play into the formation of skateboard culture. The project analysis creates an understanding of skateboard culture that explores skateboard identity at the intersections of consumer/citizen, individual/citizen and the politics of larger capitalist structures and the entrepreneurial efforts of local business.

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This dissertation develops a political ecology of suburban peasants to describe the lives of Haitian farmers residing in a neighborhood on the margins of Port-au-Prince. The category of suburban peasants has been well described for Chinese small-scale farmers but has yet to be applied elsewhere as an analytic category. Using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and in-depth, key informant interviews, an ethnographic account is provided of changes in agricultural practices made by Haitian peasants as a result of environmental changes that impact their ability to make a living in contemporary Haiti. Farmers’ primary concerns are related to an increased need for agrochemicals because of declining soil fertility, but increased fertilizer prices make this a significant barrier to their economic activities. In addition, the influx of non-Haitians into the neighborhood has resulted in less available land to farm. In many cases worldwide, these two challenges have led to out-migration patterns, either within-country rural-urban migration or to another country altogether. Yet, in the study site this is not happening. The changes in agricultural practices that the Dounet peasants have made, like changing to wage-based labor and occupational multiplicity, have also created greater poverty, in which they are more vulnerable to the risks associated with environmental change while at the same time rendered immobile in the face of future extreme environmental events. This study uses the suburban peasant concept to explore how environmental changes simultaneously intersect with urbanization processes like the enclosure of land and changes in rural land use.