The purpose of this thesis is to explore how education in one girls' government school teaches understandings of citizenship and to identify potential links to the reproduction of identity-based violence in Pakistan. This in-depth qualitative case study was conducted in a girls' government model school. This study focuses on curriculum and school practices of the secondary school section. Data was collected through interviews with staff, a participatory workshop with teachers, focus groups with students, classroom observation, and informal discussions. I also analyzed the Pakistan Studies textbook used in the secondary section of the school. Using theories of critical education, intersectionality, and Galtung's violence triangle, I argue that despite recent political and curricular reform attempts, education in Pakistan reproduces a homogeneous concept of a legitimate citizen (male Sunni Muslim). While this evolved to unite an ethnically diverse Pakistan, it has contributed to identity-based violence (direct, structural, and cultural) against those that do not fit within this conception. In this school, the Pakistan Studies textbooks create an official discourse that promotes this gendered and exclusionary citizenship. I show how the Pakistan studies textbook uses history and constitutional lessons to promote citizenship that is based in a masculine Islam meant to oppose the Hindu ‘other' as well as to promote the exclusion of women and minorities from full citizenship. I also found that teachers own understandings of citizenship, which closely reflect the text, are deeply rooted in their understanding of their notions of the ideal Muslim woman. I find that the school rewards gendered behavior in both students and teachers. I then explore the extent to which the school reproduces other social divisions including religious, ethnicity, and class. I find that the school simultaneously reproduces, mitigates, and exacerbates these tensions. I then argue that the teachers' and students' understandings of the role of women to counter violence is rooted in the notions of middle class women's roles as mothers and supporters of men that are reproduced through school practice. This study furthers the knowledge on the links between education and violence by showing that promoting a homogeneous ideal of a citizen through education, while intended as a nation building project, can contribute to structural, cultural and direct violence against women and minorities, limiting their agency to engage in social transformation.

The continuing disadvantage that poor and marginalized communities face in low-income countries is well recognized but international initiatives and government policies still fall short of providing sustainable quality education. The recently published Global Monitoring Report 2013 – 2014 “Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All” recommends strategies for solving the quality crisis through attracting the best teachers, getting them where they are most needed and providing incentives to retain them. Few would dispute these strategies but their achievement is problematic, given the vastness of the challenge in a financially constrained global environment. This study is predicated on the acknowledgement that the strategies proposed provide too narrow a focus and that poor quality education is also due to contextual factors that have been relatively ignored. These contextual factors are investigated through this research. This research study explores community perceptions of school benefits as a lens through which to engage with marginalized rural communities' conceptualization of “quality” education. It utilizes Tikly and Barrett's (2011) framework for analysing quality education with its three key dimensions of inclusion, relevance and democracy. It investigates the factors and processes that are shaping perceptions of benefits within the three environments of policy-making, school and community. The research study uses a qualitative methodology, employing a critical stance, but engaging also with the insights of Bourdieu and Foucault viewing power as both repressive and productive. This research engages with the “regimes of truth” that have constrained social action as well as the process of discourse deconstruction and reconstruction that has shaped agency and facilitated social change. This is a multiple case study of four rural primary schools in marginalized communities in Sindh, Pakistan (two opened in 2002, two in 2007), using purposive sampling to maximize data heterogeneity. Data, mostly qualitative, was generated from semi-structured interviews with community leaders, school management committee members, parents and teachers. Focus groups were conducted with school graduates and teachers. Photographs were used as a participatory tool to facilitate interview and focus group discussions. The findings indicate that context-led policy, contextualized teacher training, pedagogy and curriculum and community leadership that facilitates agency are the key factors shaping perceptions of benefits. Emerging from these factors is both the employment of local teachers who can experience a transformational process that enables them to bring social change and a dynamic interaction between pedagogy and benefits. Positional benefits are highly valued with social skills being key to the development of social capital, which the findings indicate should be included in the discourse of “quality” education. The study provides empirical data demonstrating how the recent theoretical frameworks for quality education are being “fleshed out” in specific contexts and addresses issues raised in quality debates. It makes recommendations for the complementary role of non-government schools in the post-2015 EFA strategy and the provision of quality education in hard to reach areas characterized by poverty and marginalization in the global South.

The recent emphasis on the importance of English language teaching and learning in public universities in Pakistan has resulted in the introduction of a new English as Second Language (ESL) programme including revised teaching approaches, content and assessment. However, to date, no rigorous and independent evaluation of this new programme has been undertaken particularly with respect to students' learning and experiences. This thesis seeks to address this gap by examining the effects of the new ESL programme on students' learning experiences, as well as teachers' perspectives and the broader institutional context. The study uses a qualitative case study approach basing its findings on the responses of purposively sampled students (n=17) and teachers (n=7) from the Institution of English Literature and Linguistics (IELL), University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan (UoSJP). Semistructured interviews, observations and document review were used as the main tools to collect a wide variety of data. The analysis of the data was informed by different theories including Symbolic Interactionism, Community of Practice, and Bourdieusian notions of habitus, field and capital. These theories offered an approach which bridges the structure and agency divide in understanding students' learning experiences. The study employed the concepts of institutional influences to examine the impact of UoSJP's policies and practices on the teaching and learning of the ESL programme. The concept of community, which is understood as the community of the ESL classroom, is used to examine the interactions of students-students and students-teachers. The notion of identity was used to examine the interaction of students' gender, rurality, ethnicity and previous learning experiences with different aspects of the ESL programme. In relation to institutional influences, the study found that UoSJP's institutional policies and practices are shaped by its position in the field of higher education, and in turn, these influences shape teaching and learning in the ESL programme. Specifically, UoSJP defines its capital as higher education for all, which in practice translates as admitting students who have been rejected by other universities and/or cannot afford private universities' high fees. In order to meet the language needs of disadvantaged students from non-elite English and vernacular medium schools, UoSJP offers the ESL programme. This initiative aims to improve students' English language skills in their first two years, and to fulfil requirements set by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). However, the university's treatment of the ESL programme significantly impacts on teaching and learning in terms of its policies and practices, in relation to faculty hiring, teacher training, relationship between the administration and ESL teachers, number of students in ESL classrooms, assessment criteria, ESL quality assurance, and learning support resources like up-to-date libraries. In relation to the community of ESL classroom, the study found that participation plays an important part in defining students' roles and their relationship with teachers and peers in the classroom. Teachers' pedagogic strategies and large classes were found to be influential factors affecting students' participation in the classroom. It was found that teachers use different pedagogic strategies, which define them as facilitators or knowledge transmitters accordingly. The facilitators allow students' full participation in the classroom by listening to their opinions, respecting their arguments, appreciating their feedback, acknowledging their contributions to the class, and demonstrating empathy to their problems. When in class with these teachers, students feel encouraged, confident and motivated to participate in the classroom. By contrast, the knowledge transmitters prefer monologue lectures when teaching ESL, and strongly discourage students' participation. Students are usually not allowed to ask questions or express their concerns to these teachers. In their presence, students revealed that they lacked confidence, and felt discouraged and demotivated from participating in the classroom. Moreover, in the context of large classes only students sitting on the front-benches are given opportunities of participation, while those at the back of the classroom are considered to be educationally weak, inactive, therefore ignored in interactive activities. The treatment of these students by teachers and students at the front of the class alike limits their participation in the classroom. In relation to identities, the study found that students frequently foreground their gender identities, rural-ethnic identities and identities as medical or engineering students in interaction with different aspects of the ESL programme. Some aspects of ESL textbooks including units which depict stereotypical gender roles conflict with female students' gender identities; units which are based on exclusively Western, urban contexts conflict with students' rural-ethnic identities, and units that are based on graph-comprehension conflict with students' identities as medical students. While others aspects of ESL textbooks particularly those units that are constructed on experiences and activities which are exclusively associated with men in Pakistan such as driving complement female students' gender identities; and those units which are set in a village, and focus on the culture and life of villages complement students rural-ethnic identities. Moreover, it was found that female students struggled in maintaining their role as ESL learners in comparison with their gender roles as sister and daughter. This thesis provides new insights into students' learning experiences and ESL in higher education. It also contributes to and enhances the literature on higher education in Pakistan. Furthermore, it enables policy-makers to reflect upon their policies, as well as provides suggestions to the UoSJP and its teachers.

Green bonds are a type of bonds that are designated for investment projects that have a positive effect on the environment. Such projects could be preventing climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, increasing energy-efficiency, or improving waste management. Green bonds have risen considerably in issued volume in recent years. Sweden has been one of the forerunners in this development and the interest towards these products seems to be high among individual Swedish investors. Initially, investors in green bonds have been mainly financial institutions, but there are an increasing number of mutual funds, which are aimed for retail banking customers as well. Previous research in socially responsible investing has not paid attention to green bonds from the perspective of the private, individual investor. This study is aimed to study potential individual green bond investors in Sweden. The purpose of this study was to answer the research question of who the typical Swedish green bond investors are, based on demographic characters. As research sub-questions, the thesis also answered questions regarding perceived risk and return on green bonds, and the effect of environmental attitude and behaviour on potential green bond investments. The study was carried out as an Internet survey by means of a questionnaire directed to Swedish investors. In total, 66 respondents answered the survey, which was analysed by bivariate and multivariate methods. Among the demographic factors, two were found statistically significant, age, and parenthood. In this sample younger investors (age less than 39), were found to prefer investing in green bonds, compared to older investors. Secondly, the fact of being a non-parent turned out to be a distinctive feature of current and potential investors in green bonds. The results regarding the first research sub-question, showed that the individual investors do not perceive green bonds to be more or less risky or give more or less return than comparable conventional bonds. The second research sub-question regarding environmental attitude and behaviour, showed a significant difference between those who showed a strong pro-environmental behaviour, as opposed to those who showed a weaker pro-environmental behaviour. The conclusion about the influence of environmental attitudes was that it did not have an effect on potential green bond investments.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were branded as the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in January of 2008. The Tamil Tigers are held responsible for perfecting the use of suicide bombers, inventing the suicide belt, being the first to use women in suicide attacks, and killing nearly 4,000 people in the one year prior to 2008. The LTTE is the only terrorist organization to have assassinated two world leaders, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa. They were also the first to acquire air power and their strike on Sri Lanka’s World Trade Center was the largest terrorist assault before the September 11 attacks in 2001. It took the government of Sri Lanka over thirty years to rid the country of this powerful terrorist group. This paper will investigate what caused the fall of the Tamil Tigers. In my second chapter, I will evaluate the policies and military strategies adopted by the government. My third chapter will look at the role of international actors in the conflict and their effects. Lastly, in my fourth chapter, I will examine key mistakes made by the LTTE that may have led to its own demise. In chapter five, I will analyze three possible causes for the defeat of the LTTE and what was the most significant in bringing its fall. It will also include its potential for replication in other countries and effects on foreign policy moving forward.

As corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investing practices have increased substantially over the past decade, the possible financial advantages have been examined in great depth. Utilizing firms from the S&P 500 I have investigated the possible outperformance of accounting based and market based measures. I did this by examining the relationship between ESG scores, a common measure of CSR level, and the following dependent variables: return on assets, total risk, systematic risk, and idiosyncratic risk. I obtained strong evidence that an increase in CSR levels are correlated with an increased return on assets.

This dissertation evaluates the water allocation challenges in the rural river basins of the developing world, where demands are growing and the supply is limited. While many of these basins have yet to reach the state of closure, their water users are already experiencing water shortages. Agricultural crop production in rural river basins of the developing world plays a major role in ensuring food security. However, irrigation as the major water consumer in these basins has low water use efficiency. As water scarcity grows, the need to maximize economic gains by reallocating water to more efficient uses becomes important. Water allocation decisions must be made considering the social economic and environmental conditions of the developing world. The purpose of this dissertation is to identify water allocation strategies that satisfy the above conditions, in the example of the Walawe River basin in Sri Lanka. In this dissertation three manuscripts are presented. The first manuscript takes a broad view of the current water allocation situation. The second manuscript develops a methodology to analyze water allocation under a priority-based approach with the use of network flow simulation techniques. The third manuscript analyzes the water supply-demand situation in the basin under future climatic conditions. The major findings of this study suggest that: (1) while up to 44% of water is still available for use, seasonality of inflows, poor water management, physical infrastructure deficiencies, and other socio-economic factors contribute to the irrigation deficits in the Walawe basin; (2) prioritizing irrigation over hydropower generation increases supply reliability by 21% in the Walawe irrigation system IRR 1. The corresponding annual loss in power output in less than 0.5%. Prioritizing the left bank irrigation area in system IRR 2 increases the economic gains from crop yields by US $1 million annually; (3) an increase of water use efficiency between 30-50% in agriculture can mitigate all water deficits in agriculture, urban water supply and industrial sectors; (4) the predicted 25% increase of rainfall over the Walawe basin in the 2050's allows for 43% increase in hydropower generation (with changes to power generation mode) and 3-16 % reduction in irrigation requirements; (5) network flow simulation techniques can be successfully used to evaluate different demand management strategies and improvements to the priority-based water allocation method.

Tropical forests of the world are fast disappearing and there is a race to understand patterns of species distribution in space and time. Studying species distributions can provide better frameworks for conservation of these ecologically important patches of floral and faunal diversity. The island of Sri Lanka is a well known harbour of unique and highly threatened biodiversity. Tropical lowland forest is remnant in the south-west of the island now mainly existing in small patches. While most are small disturbed fragments, Sinharaja Forest Reserve represents one of the largest remaining patches of this important ecosystem. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve, it has a dual role as a conservation area and a historically important resource forest. While the distribution of vegetation diversity has been well documented, analyses of invertebrate species distributions are lacking. This thesis investigated a key arthropod group, ground dwelling ants, in relation to environmental gradients within the forest. Cumulative results demonstrate the high diversity of the forest patch. In an area representing less than half the reserve, over 173 ground dwelling ant species were found in distinct assemblages throughout the forest. Since the forest is located upon a series of parallel ridges, ant species distribution was first analysed in terms of this small elevation change. Species richness declined over a vertical incline from 430 m to 660 m, highlighting a possible small-scale, mountain mass effect. This section of the reserve is also characterised by a patch of once-logged forest (30 years previously). A study was undertaken to investigate whether there were residual effects of selective logging on the reserve. / Significant differences between species assemblages in once-logged forest and unlogged forest add to growing evidence that selectively logged forests continue to remain distinct from unlogged forest even after decades of regeneration. Ant distribution was then analysed for their relationship with habitat heterogeneity and tree species distribution. Long-term research on tree species in the SFR has demonstrated a close relationship to habitat complexity. Ant species appear to respond more to the structural heterogeneity of the vegetation than to actual topographic variation within the forest. From a conservation perspective, maintaining the integrity of this highly diverse forest is imperative. The impact of anthropogenic land uses surrounding the forest was investigated in terms of ant assemblages along the forest edges. Significant differences were found between assemblages within the edges bordered by different matrix types. Even relatively large forest remnants can be affected by the surrounding matrix land uses and encouraging the growth of structurally similar vegetation and maintaining low disturbance along the borders should attenuate the effect of the edge. Overall, the highly heterogeneous distribution of ant assemblages within the SFR demonstrates the potential for other small patches to be harbours of further species diversity. Future research should be undertaken to assess the diversity and distribution of ant species within this region and encourage the protection of this remnant diversity.

This research explores the international evolution of the policy of integration (formalisation) of traditional medicine in health care systems. This concept first arose on the policy agenda of the World Health Organisation in the 1970s and then re-emerged in 2002 (with alternative and complementary medicines). The history of this policy at the global level and its transfer to national levels over this period is analysed, via the content, scope and outcomes of policy and programme documents. This analysis emphasises the roles of context and stakeholders (specifically interest groups). The context in terms of the economic, political and social environment surrounding the development of the policy is considered, and held to offer a potential explanation as to how and why the policy agenda on integration was set and the manner in which programmes were formulated and implemented. Interest group interaction (competition for resources) is concluded to play a key role in explaining the development of this policy on an international level, and its problematic transfer to national levels. A case study of Sri Lanka explores national level implementation in greater detail. An analytical framework to analyse the development and implementation of this policy has been created, from a synthesis of anthropological and political science tools. The combination of several theories into an analytical framework allows this policy issue to be understood as an intrinsically political exercise that has been stimulated by global social and economic forces. The analytical framework developed offers another tool for the analysis and consequent understanding of the health policy process and thus may have relevance beyond the health policy issue of integration. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis analyses the Tamil minority problem in Sri Lanka in the light of self-determination and state sovereignty. State practice with respect to self-determination is discussed, in particular cases of Aaland Island, Katanga, Biafra and Bangladesh. Historical background, location and composition, as it relates to the Tamil minority problem in the country, are described, and the specific issue of self-determination in the Sri Lankan context of secession is dealt with. The research attempts to ascertain the legal conditions which would warrant secession. / Master of Laws (Hons.)