Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 19 of 19

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Beyond The Economic: The Freedoms, Capabilities, And Social Capital Of Latin American Women Entrepreneurs In San Francisco, Melia M. Vilain Dec 2014

Beyond The Economic: The Freedoms, Capabilities, And Social Capital Of Latin American Women Entrepreneurs In San Francisco, Melia M. Vilain

Master's Theses

In light of the scholarly debate surrounding the goals and mixed effects of development programs, particularly in recent years in relation to microfinance, this study investigates the effects of economic development programs on Latin American women entrepreneurs in San Francisco’s Mission District. It demonstrates that microfinance, when combined with education, can provide important non-economic benefits that contribute to increased freedoms and capabilities for immigrant women entrepreneurs. Drawing on qualitative interviews with ten business owners, as well as a review of the existing literature surrounding development, immigration, and gender, this research argues that owning a business in the US can produce …


The Vientiane Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growt, Institute For Societal Leadership, Lai Cheng Lim Dec 2014

The Vientiane Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growt, Institute For Societal Leadership, Lai Cheng Lim

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Laos is a small, landlocked, mountainous country in Southeast Asia. As a country, it shares borders with Myanmar and the People’s Republic of China to the Northwest, Vietnam to the East, Cambodia to the South and Thailand to the West.


The Dili Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, Lai Cheng Lim Dec 2014

The Dili Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, Lai Cheng Lim

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Timor-Leste, Asia’s newest nation, is located in Southeast Asia, on the southernmost edge of the Indonesian archipelago. The country was colonised by the Portuguese for over 450 years, occupied by the Indonesians for 24 years and administered by the United Nations for two and a half years. As a nation, Timor-Leste has had a very traumatic birth.


The Yangon Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, John W. Ellington Oct 2014

The Yangon Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, John W. Ellington

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Since its independence from British rule in 1948, Myanmar has struggled with multiple obstacles, including a series of violent internal ethnic and sectarian conflicts, isolationist fiscal policies instituted by an increasingly distrustful military government and international sanctions and condemnation following government crackdowns in 1988 and 2007. In spite of all these setbacks, President Thein Sein’s decision in 2011 to liberalise the country’s political and economic systems has created a new wave of optimism for what was once commonly regarded as a failed state.


The Historic Inability Of The Haitian Education System To Create Human Development And Its Consequences, Patrick Michael Rea Oct 2014

The Historic Inability Of The Haitian Education System To Create Human Development And Its Consequences, Patrick Michael Rea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study aims to evaluate the role that a lack of literacy and education has played in Haiti's historic and presently low level of human development. The pedagogical philosophies of two educationists, Paolo Friere and Maurice Dartigue, are used throughout the study as lenses from which to read and interpret the history of Haitian education -its many failed attempts, and recurrent challenges- in creating a literate and educated population. The author concludes that mass literacy is prerequisite if the Haitian people are to achieve self-realization and actualization, which essentially equates to what the United Nations Development Program calls "Human Development". …


Tempering The Resource Curse In Sub-Saharan Africa: An Explanatory Analysis Of The Variance Of The Resource Curse In Nigeria And Botswana, Jody-Ann Suzette Jones Jul 2014

Tempering The Resource Curse In Sub-Saharan Africa: An Explanatory Analysis Of The Variance Of The Resource Curse In Nigeria And Botswana, Jody-Ann Suzette Jones

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The issue of the resource curse has been central to the academic debate since the 1990s. In recent years, we have witnessed a resurgence of the importance of this topic because of the discoveries of oil, natural gas, and other point source resources in several developing countries such as Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is important to note that while the resource curse is not solely limited to developing states, the main observation is that the majority of negative effects associated with the resource curse primarily afflicts poorer countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is reported that sub-Saharan Africa …


Singapore's Financial Market: Challenges And Future Prospects, David K. C. Lee, Kok Fai Phoon Jul 2014

Singapore's Financial Market: Challenges And Future Prospects, David K. C. Lee, Kok Fai Phoon

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Singapore has successfully developed into one of the leading international financial centers in a short span of less than half a century. The factors of success can be attributed to time, space, and people. Given the complexity and connectivity of today’s markets, there are many challenges in a fast changing environment marked by huge global capital flows and punctuated by crisis after crisis. This chapter will explain the success of Singapore’s financial market and provide the author’s outlook for the island state’s future prospects in the aftermath of the US debt crisis, the Euro crisis, and likely slowdown in emerging …


Fair Trade In Transition: Evolution, Popular Discourse, And The Case Of The Cado Cooperative In Cotopaxi, Ecuador, Robyn Michelle Odegard May 2014

Fair Trade In Transition: Evolution, Popular Discourse, And The Case Of The Cado Cooperative In Cotopaxi, Ecuador, Robyn Michelle Odegard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The literature on the changing nature of fair trade suggests it is indeed evolving and changed from the grassroots movement it once was. One of the strongest arguments that comes out in this body of literature is that the message, values, and way fair trade can encourage positive socio-economic and community development is changing. What the scholarship does not address, though, is how this evolution is changing the way that fair trade is perceived? The answer to this question about the changing perceptions of fair trade can be extended to those who produce fair trade products, those who consume them, …


Volunteers' Cross-Cultural Experience In Tanzania And Zambia, Josephine Elaine Talarski May 2014

Volunteers' Cross-Cultural Experience In Tanzania And Zambia, Josephine Elaine Talarski

Theses & Dissertations

Despite a growing interest in international volunteerism, there is a scarcity of literature concerning returning volunteers’ cross-cultural experience in developing countries. The purpose of the study was to examine the phenomenon of volunteers’ cross-cultural experience of participating in immersion trips to Tanzania and Zambia. The study also explored whether volunteers believed their cross-cultural experience to be life changing. The following research questions were used to guide this study: 1. What motivated volunteers to participate in immersion trips to Tanzania and Zambia? 2. How has the immersion experience changed the volunteers’ beliefs about themselves while engaging in a cross-cultural environment? 3. …


Traveling Through Space: A Look At The Evolution Of Transportation In Vietnam And Its Implications, Joe Crook Apr 2014

Traveling Through Space: A Look At The Evolution Of Transportation In Vietnam And Its Implications, Joe Crook

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As a country that has only started rapidly developing in the last thirty years or so, Vietnam’s cities are still in throes of instating a comprehensive public transport infrastructure. During the French Colonial era in the early 20th century, Vietnam got a taste of its first mechanized form of transportation, the bicycle. These pedal-powered vehicles largely dominated the streets of Hanoi and Saigon until Doi Moi in 1986. Here, the motorbike came along and its rapid rise in popularity quickly pushed bicycles off the street. In the last twenty years or so, the motorbike population in Vietnam went from …


Alternative Tourism And Development: Implications For International Study Abroad And Volunteer Programs In The Global South, Avery E. Dwyer Apr 2014

Alternative Tourism And Development: Implications For International Study Abroad And Volunteer Programs In The Global South, Avery E. Dwyer

Senior Theses and Projects

Recent years have seen rising interest among Western travelers in the so-called “Global South” or “developing world,” especially through experiences that fall under the umbrella term of “alternative tourism.” Many travelers engage in this type of tourism through experiences in either one or both of alternative tourism’s most popular sub-genres: alternative study abroad and volunteer tourism. With many of these programs either implicitly or explicitly geared toward development, this paper discusses the possible development-related consequences upon the places in which they operate. It traces origins and causes of alternative tourism’s rise, and explains how it has come to be associated …


China's Unbalanced Development, And What We Can Learn From It, Manfredo F. Camperio Ciani Apr 2014

China's Unbalanced Development, And What We Can Learn From It, Manfredo F. Camperio Ciani

Senior Theses and Projects

This paper argues that China’s development is unbalanced, and to see the unbalance we must divide the concept of development into different categories representing its different aspects, such as economic, urban, social, and sustainable. By looking at the different characteristics of development through time, it is possible to see where the unbalance lies. Furthermore, we learn that by categorizing the nature of development, we can gain a more comprehensive insight into the development of individual countries. In conclusion, this paper proposes the creation of a possible Development Index, as it can provide greater understanding of each country’s development.


The Potential And Limitations Of Alternative Trade Practices On Improving Coffee Producer Livelihoods In Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Melanie Mazza Jan 2014

The Potential And Limitations Of Alternative Trade Practices On Improving Coffee Producer Livelihoods In Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Melanie Mazza

Summer Research

This research investigates the income disconnect between the producers and consumers of high-quality single-origin coffee through a case study in the producing region of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. By investigating the different schemes already in place to help improve the livelihoods of farmers, this research aims to uncover the ways in which these schemes succeed or fall short.


Carbon Forestry: Pursuing Climate Change Mitigation And Poverty Alleviation Through Market-Based Forest Carbon Schemes In Chiapas, Mexico, Jonathan Otto Jan 2014

Carbon Forestry: Pursuing Climate Change Mitigation And Poverty Alleviation Through Market-Based Forest Carbon Schemes In Chiapas, Mexico, Jonathan Otto

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Forest carbon projects seek to alleviate rural poverty and mitigate global climate change by facilitating the flow of capital from actors looking to offset CO2 emissions to land managers willing to engage in offset-oriented reforestation, afforestation, and forest preservation activities. In Mexico, forest carbon schemes have been pursued within the country’s national Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) program, and through REDD+ pilot projects and separate voluntary initiatives. In this dissertation, I explore one voluntary project, Scolel’ Te, which is managed by the non-governmental organization (NGO), AMBIO. Focusing on the case of Scolel’ Te, I show how forest carbon projects undermine …


Meeting The Challenge Of Reconstruction And Development In Fragile States: Lessons From Aceh, Haiti, And South Sudan, Josef Leitmann Jan 2014

Meeting The Challenge Of Reconstruction And Development In Fragile States: Lessons From Aceh, Haiti, And South Sudan, Josef Leitmann

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

Reconstruction and development in poor, fragile countries present a double challenge: tackling the issues of poverty and underdevelopment as well as the constraints posed by instability, poor governance, and weak capacity. This context generates a range of problems that include: insecurity, insufficient planning, inadequate implementation capacity, poor financial management, misprocurement, corruption, a volatile fiscal environment, ineffective donor coordination, and negative environmental and social impacts. The paper draws lessons from positive and negative experiences in meeting these challenges in three conflict- and/or disaster-affected cases: Aceh Province, Indonesia (postdisaster reconstruction and postconflict development following the tsunami and earthquakes of 2004), Haiti (postdisaster …


Beyond Donors And Dollars: An Ethnographic Case Study Of International Aid And Its Agents In Mozambique, Carly Amanda Santoro Jan 2014

Beyond Donors And Dollars: An Ethnographic Case Study Of International Aid And Its Agents In Mozambique, Carly Amanda Santoro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Mozambique, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) work mainly in Mozambique's rural areas, with programs dedicated to the prevention of infectious diseases, education, access to food and clean water, gender equity, and many other concerns. Yet despite these efforts, Mozambican populations are critical of NGOs' missions and practices, and Mozambique remains one of the poorest countries in the world. To explore these issues concerning contradictions in aid in Mozambique, I employ the concept of cultural capital, which refers to cultural practices, perspectives, and beliefs in relation to one's ability to access symbolic and material goods. My thesis examines the degree to …


Norm Articulation In International Organizations: Democracy, Governance, And Participation At The Undp And The World Bank, Roni Kay Marie O'Dell Jan 2014

Norm Articulation In International Organizations: Democracy, Governance, And Participation At The Undp And The World Bank, Roni Kay Marie O'Dell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Constructivist analyses of international norm articulation assume that norm articulation happens through the process of international discussion and agreement, yet such works lack a rigorous analysis of how international organizations articulate norms for the world internal to the organization. Further, analyses of international organization norm articulation almost completely ignore the important influence of leadership. This dissertation analyzes two distinct norms of gender equality and participation in two international organizations, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. The theory developed here argues that the leader's ability to influence norm articulation is dependent on the organizational culture which reflexively impacts …


Nets Or Vaccines: Malaria Vaccine Research, David Ernenwein Jan 2014

Nets Or Vaccines: Malaria Vaccine Research, David Ernenwein

Pepperdine Policy Review

The global battle against malaria has seen many victories in the developed world but the undeveloped world and particularly Africa continue to suffer from this disease. The development of the RTS,S vaccine and ongoing research into additional vaccines have been touted as the solution to the crisis. However, the news of the successful RTS,S trial should be viewed with caution. Concerns over the effectiveness of the existing vaccine and the cost of further development may not be justified, especially given the known effectiveness of current treatment methods. This research must be watched carefully lest the allure of the vaccine blind …


Strategic Deployments Of ‘Sisterhood’ And Questions Of Solidarity At A Women’S Development Project In Janakpur, Nepal, Coralynn V. Davis Jan 2014

Strategic Deployments Of ‘Sisterhood’ And Questions Of Solidarity At A Women’S Development Project In Janakpur, Nepal, Coralynn V. Davis

Faculty Journal Articles

Linguistic uses of ‘sisterhood’ provide a window into disparate understandings of relationality among virtual and actual interlocutors in women’s development across vectors of caste, class, ethnicity and nationality. In this essay, I examine the trope of ‘sisterhood’ as it was employed at a women’s development project in Janakpur, Nepal, in the 1990s. I demonstrate that the use of this common signifier of kinship with culturally disparate ‘signifieds’ created a confusion of meaning, and differential readings of the politics of relationality. In my view, ‘sister,’ as used at this project, was a multivalent, strategically deployed, and divergently interpreted term. In particular, …