There has been a growing understanding in recent years of the links between conflict emergence and horizontal inequalities and increased focus on the role which development policies can play in both ameliorating and exacerbating the root causes of violent conflict. This study tests the empirical relationship between horizontal inequalities and conflict causation using the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict as a case study. The analysis shows robust support for the empirical relationship between horizontal inequality (which encompasses political, economic, social and cultural dimensions) and the emergence of violent conflict in Sri Lanka. In this context of inequality, Tamil leaders, who faced political exclusion, and their followers, who themselves experienced inequitable access to employment, education opportunities, assets, were inspired to mobilise and engage in armed violence. Thus, the ethnic conflict stemmed from the disillusionment, frustration and increasing radicalisation of Tamils in their attitude towards the Sri Lankan state, rejecting what they perceived as exclusionary policies. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) emerged as a key protagonist in the conflict, with an expressed view to establish a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka. While most post war development policies are strongly aligned to government objectives, there are very little steps taken towards the design and adoption of policies to ameliorate horizontal inequalities. Instead, the government has identified security issues and economic growth as the cornerstone in the post war development process, and they are given greater emphasis in policies compared to underlying causes of violent conflict: inequalities in access to political power, economic resources and/or cultural status. Most Sri Lankan state actors are either not mandated to address equality issues or prefer conflict sensitive approaches to post war development. In general, there is a weak approach to conflict sensitivity in early post war development and reconstruction strategies (from 2009 to 2013). Likewise, there is relatively little attention paid to other conflict sensitive causes and dynamics such as the nature of the political system ii and problems of human rights. The failure to address fundamental issues relating to minority Tamil grievances has the potential to re-ignite the conflict. / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

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Syftet med denna studie är att analysera hur tre banker; Swedbank, SBAB och SEB arbetar med Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) och hur deras kunder påverkas av och relaterar till dess CSR. Sedan framförallt börskraschen 2008, som till stor del skapades av bankers socialt och ekonomiskt oansvariga agerande, så har CSR begreppet ökat något enormt inom bankbranschen. Krisen har både skapats på grund av en avsaknad av CSR samt att CSR nu har blivit en lösning på den. Svenska Bankföreningen som företräder Sveriges banker menar att många svenska banker har kommit långt i sitt arbete med CSR. De beskriver bland annat hur bankerna arbetar med socialt ansvarstagande genom anställningsvillkor samt jämställdhetsfrågor men också hur bankerna jobbar med etiskt ansvarstagande för att motverka mutor och korruption. Forskningen inom CSR:s finansiella påverkan har visat på både positiva, negativa och neutrala resultat. Därför kommer studien att ta reda på hur banker arbetar med CSR och hur deras kunder relaterar till detta. Studien har triangulering som ansats. Tre personer har intervjuats, en per bank, genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. En enkätundersökning har genomförts centralt i Stockholm med totalt 111 respondenter och ytterligare 25 respondenter via en identisk internetenkät på Facebook. På grund av att studien har ett abduktivt angreppssätt har den teoretiska referensramen haft en ursprunglig form som sedan alternerats allt eftersom studien pågått för att skapa en grund till analysen. I slutändan består den teoretiska referensramen av CSR:s historia, CSR idag, Carrolls pyramid, Socially responsible investing (SRI), Screeningprocess.

Influenza A virus infections in pigs is a disease of concern to the swine industry and to the ecology and epidemiology of influenza viruses in humans. Pigs have been proposed as a “mixing vessel” for generation of pandemics via reassortment between avian and mammalian viruses. The H1N1pdm 2009 virus probably emerged from swine into humans though reassortment between the recent North American triple reassortant H1N2 swine viruses and Eurasian avian-like swine viruses. Swine influenza viruses of H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2 subtypes have been regularly detected in pigs in most parts of the world. Nevertheless, ecological and virological data on swine influenza is not available in Sri Lanka, and indeed, little documented data is available in the South Asian continent. The swine population in Sri Lanka is about 80,000, and live pigs are not regularly imported to the country. Swine husbandry is largely confined to four neighboring administrative districts in the country. Systematic virological and serological surveillance carried in swine abattoirs in Sri Lanka during 2009-2013 detected H1N1pdm 2009 like virus in local herds. Infection in pigs followed each of the H1N1pdm 2009 outbreaks in humans; October 2009 – January 2010, October 2010 – February 2011 and November 2012 – March 2013, respectively. Genetic, phylogenetic, and epidemiologic analysis of the human, and swine influenza viruses indicated spillover events of H1N1pdm 2009 from humans into pigs, with self-limited transmission and extinction within pig herds. The data also indicated that although H1N1pdm 2009 was able to spill over from humans to swine, it is not ideally adapted to establish sustained transmission among swine in the absence of further reassortment with other swine influenza virus lineages. Theses finding might reflect characteristics of swine husbandry in Sri Lanka, which has a low density pig population and remains isolated from global swine influenza viruses because of the absence of regular cross-border and cross-continental movements of swine. In contrast to some other parts of the world, we failed to isolate established lineages of swine influenza viruses, viz. Classical, North American triple reassortant and European Avian lineages. Sero prevalence to these endemic swine viruses was largely absent in local swine herds. In vitro replicative kinetic study indicated that H1N1pdm 2009 viruses isolated from swine have undergone some adaptation to swine led to decreased fitness for replication in human cells. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Master / Master of Philosophy

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-152). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xiv, 104 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm