Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Field Notes Of An Rpcv: Reflecting On Development And Adolescence, Marissa Kelly

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

They say the Peace Corps is the toughest job you’ll ever love. In July of 2017, I began my service as a Peace Corps Youth Development Volunteer in Costa Rica. Nearly six years later, as I prepare to graduate with my master’s degree in International Development at Clark University, I reflect upon those Peace Corps years of service and the many lessons learned while living in community, implementing youth projects, and, specifically, working with adolescent girls. My interest in studying international development and, particularly, deepening my knowledge of gender and development is directly connected to the Peace Corps. Therefore, …

China’S "Greek Gift" To Africa: A Myth Or Reality, Chibuzo Uchechukwu Victor Obasi

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Two differing perceptions have dominated explanations of the relationship between China and Africa. The first is often held in the West and sees China as an exploitative force that has latched onto Africa's quest for development partnerships to exploit the continent economically. The second considers the China-Africa partnership more positively and views China as a trustworthy ally. Advocates argue that China has no history of colonial ambitions in Africa. Instead, China intervened in Africa to fill the financing gap and tackle the development challenges in Africa with no political strings attached. Perception of which view is mainly correct depends on …

Ghana Dier: An Analysis Of How Availability And Access Impact Food Security In Ghana, Aishat Doyinsola Jimoh

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the different causes of food insecurity, the solutions for them, and how Ghana sits on the scale of global food insecurity. Ghana is located in Africa, where food insecurity is the highest in the world, so it would be reasonable to expect food insecurity to be high in Ghana, too. In comparison to its neighboring countries, Ghana has the best food security, standing at number three in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper uses data to examine how Ghana has been this successful. Foundational frameworks in Ghanaian history developed the southern urban parts of Ghana, improving food security in …

Digital Agriculture In Africa: An Ethnographic Study Of Global Online Networking And Resource Mobilization On Mfangano Island, Ian James Muir Smith

Senior Theses

In one of the most isolated parts of Kenya, on an island in Lake Victoria, small-scale farmers are using newfound internet access in a unique and innovative way. New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are transforming agriculture around the world, and due to a political, infrastructural, and entrepreneurial environment conducive to ICT innovation, Kenya leads the African continent in this field, known in the media as “Digital Agriculture”. In the face of the climate crisis and environmental degradation, people living on and around Mfangano Island are using self-managed volunteering platforms, crowdfunding sites, and social media in order to network with …

New Institutional Economics: Political Institutions And Divergent Development In Costa Rica And Honduras, Maynor Alberto Loaisiga Bojorge

Honors Projects

For most of their histories, Costa Rica and Honduras were primarily agricultural societies with little economic diversification. However, around 1990, after the implementation of Washington Consensus reforms, the economies of both nations began to diverge. Costa Rica’s economy rapidly expanded for the following 30 years, while Honduras remained stagnant. Through a New Institutional Economics approach, I argue that institutional differences between Costa Rica and Honduras are responsible for the impressive economic growth Costa Rica has been able to achieve in the past few decades. Specifically, early political developments in Costa Rica have deeply imbedded relatively egalitarian values into the population, …

Platforms And Power: Transnational Guatemala, Eric Sippert

Doctoral Dissertations

Moving beyond studies of social movements and NGOs, this dissertation examines how grassroots groups in Guatemala use transnational flows of goods, ideas, and people to create new organizational forms and types of political action. This case study of an organization of returned migrants, former combatants, and indigenous youth demonstrates how marginalized groups create platforms that facilitate connections between disparate actors across nation-state and identity borders. Drawing on field research in Guatemala’s Western Highlands, I explore how these platforms emerged, threats to them, their effects, and what they can teach us about political organizing in crisis. I begin by tracing the …

Disease, Development, And Disorder: Examining The Effect Of Health On Subnational Development And Conflict In Sub-Saharan Africa, Dlorah C. Jenkins

Doctor of International Conflict Management Dissertations

Progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been uneven across and within countries - particularly in Africa, least developed countries, and low-income countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened to reverse much of the progress made towards achieving the SDGs, especially SDG 3, which aims to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.

The tendency for disease, underdevelopment, and conflict to occur concomitantly suggests potential causal mechanisms linking them. This study attempts to address two pieces of the puzzle: the causal effect of disease on underdevelopment and the impact of development on conflict risk. Focusing …

The Logic Of The Land: The Agrarian Roots Of Uneven Development In Brazil, Chris Carlson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation seeks to explain the highly uneven pattern of economic development in Brazil during the 20^th century. Stark development differences between the northern and southern regions of the country have long been a problem of concern to scholars and policymakers and have generated a number of studies over the years. However, none of these have gotten to the root of the problem, and state policy has never adequately addressed the regional disparities. This study puts forth a new theory of uneven development based on the different ways that agricultural production has come to be organized in different parts …

A City Divided: A Gis-Informed Study Of Urban Planning In Amman, Jordan, Ella Lawson

Honors Theses

Amman, the capital of Jordan, faces an impending infrastructure crisis. The city is plagued by water shortages, a lack of affordable housing, extreme traffic congestion, and dwindling open space. Over the past seventy-five years, several urban planning commissions have attempted to address these issues through policy change and other municipal directives. These plans help illustrate the different forces at play in constructing the city—whether they be the residents themselves, city officials, or international consultants. All the plans use neighborhoods as a primary metric for measuring need and organizing development. Likewise, all the plans focus on the importance of green and …

Spatial Assessment Of Urban Growth In Cities Of The Decapolis; And The Implications For Modern Cities, Wade A. Pierson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Levant’s Decapolis was a network of ten cities in Greco-Roman Israel, Jordan, and Syria that established a thriving economic community. The Decapolis was home to ancient and modern cities like Damascus (Dammásq) and Amman (Philadelphia). Despite the various origins of these cities, Roman administration and their city planners oversaw the implementation of idealized Roman city form throughout the region. Three Decapolis cities represent intriguing examples of the larger confederation. Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), and Gadara (Umm Qais) represent cities of common original urban form which developed drastically diverse urban morphologies over time.

Spatial analyses of these cities required working …

A Mass Of What's Departed: Analyzing The Influx Of Middle Class Homeowners And Luxury Development Sustaining The Housing Crisis In Former Brick Manufacturing Hub Kingston, Ny, Deirdre Frances Irvine

Senior Projects Spring 2021

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Building Baghdad: The Construction Of Urban Space In Iraq, 1921–1963, Andrew S. Alger

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the production of space in Baghdad during the monarchical and early republican eras (1921 – 1963). As the capital of the new nation of Iraq following the First World War, Baghdad expanded along the banks of the Tigris River into new residential and commercial spaces, establishing schools, boutique stores, sporting venues, electricity and running water that transformed how Iraqis conceived of the mundane activities associated with daily life. Employing a theoretical framework drawing on Henri Lefebvre’s production of space, I argue that participation in the creation of new neighborhoods and streets was uneven across differences of class, …

Remittances And Development: Local Empowerment And National Dependency, Abby Foy

International Political Economy Theses

Remittances, or money that is sent by a migrant to their home country, have been increasingly viewed as a potential way to economically develop low to middle income countries. Presently, the level of remittances sent is higher than that of official developmental aid. Considering that remittances are private capital utilized by locals, the intervention of a non-profit or large international financial organization to spur developmental projects is perhaps not needed. For countries that are reliant on remittances, there are a considerable number of tradeoffs associated with this inflow of capital. Firstly, although difficult to quantify on a large scale, remittances …

Girl’S Education In Africa: The Importance Of Culture And State Capacity, Hadley Olivia Hobbs

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Why is girls’ education participation notably below average in countries throughout both North and Sub-Saharan Africa? Previous research has concluded that the low rates of girls’ education in Africa are attributed to economics and more specifically wealth. While wealth needs to be addressed as a part of the discussion of issues surrounding girl’s education, it does not seem to be the primary cause of low participation outcomes. I argue that culture and governance are the primary factors effecting girls’ education in Africa. Moreover, government effectiveness and female genital mutilation are primary causes of the outcomes of girl’s education and appear …

Women's Empowerment In The Dominican Republic, Yisbell Lucia Marrero

Senior Theses and Projects

The term “empowerment" has in many ways been used imprecisely and in ways that can mislead the conversation we should be having as scholars but more importantly, policymakers. The term is more contested that a graph of numbers would like to show. For this thesis, I achieved gradual recognition of the social, economic, and political empowerment understanding of women in Santo Domingo and Santiago de los Caballeros and its involvement in overcoming many obstacles. Challenging, Global North and Western universal approach of the best way to progress empowerment on Third World women. In the preceding chapters, I explored the ways …

Apanola Atolan Pah Mollo At The Margin: Power, Development, And Ngo-State Relationship In West Timor, Indonesia, Yuda Rasyadian

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines how power operates within the NGOs and how NGOs’ agenda interacts with local forces that transform local civic life and their relationship with the state. Using critical ethnography as an approach and methodology, this study investigates the relationship between the agenda that was developed by an NGO-like institution named the UGM and the Mollonese’s local politics that in turn affected the NGO-state relationship in West Timor. This study uses ethnographic data from two separate fieldworks in the district of North Mollo, Timor Island. The first was conducted from January 2016 to January 2017, the second was from …

The African State: An Illusory Vestige Of Colonialism, Muhammad K. Otaru

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In a 2006 Interview, prominent Nigerian author, and social commentator, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said; “…Nigeria was set up to fail. The only thing we Nigerians should take responsibility for is the extent of the failure….”1. Such a view about colonialism and the states it arbitrarily created is widely shared by many on the African continent, who have come to understand that the very creation and existence of the African state are largely to blame for the seemingly countless socio-economic and political issues faced on the continent.

1 Kimber, Charlie, Interview: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The Socialist Review. (Online, October …

Using Multi-Source Data To Assess The Dynamics Of Socioeconomic Development In Africa, Xuantong Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Frequent and rapid spatially explicit assessment of socioeconomic development is critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at both national and global levels. In the past decades, scientists have proposed many methods for monitoring human activities on the Earth’s surface on various spatiotemporal scales using Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime lights (NTL) data. However, the DMSP-OLS NTL data and the associated processing methods have limited their reliability and applicability for systematic measuring and mapping of socioeconomic development. This research utilizes Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) NTL and the Isolation Forest (iForest) machine learning algorithm …

The Future Development Of Reits In China, Jia Sun

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a type of trust fund or corporation that pools the funds of a large number of investors by issuing a certificate of income and invest the raised funds in real estate projects that are managed by a specialized investment institution. The real estate investment risk is moderate, and the rent is stable, but the capital threshold is high, and it is difficult for small and medium investors to enter the market. The invention of REITs aims to solve this problem, through the collection of funds, so that small and medium investors can enter the …

Evaluating The Relationship Between Conditionality And Foreign Aid Reliance, Rory Ann O'Neil

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

"We Get Nothing" : An Ethnography Of Participatory Development And Gender Mainstreaming In A Water Project For The Bhil Of Central India, Indrakshi Tandon

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Through the close examination of a state-sponsored watershed project being implemented by Association for Integrated Social Development (AISD) in the district of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, this dissertation project explores how current development approaches in water projects impact its intended targets, in this case the Bhil tribal community. A key aspect of this research is to analyze in detail how development narratives such as participatory or bottom-up approaches and gender mainstreaming often result in unintended consequences. With a focus on the gendered nature of participatory policies, I argue that popular development practices in India often lead to governing and managing target …

The Differentiation Of Smallholder Farming And Household Food Responsibilities In Northern Ghana, Siera Vercillo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the most urgent problems facing sub-Saharan Africa is that many people lack access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food, particularly in semi-arid regions such as northern Ghana. An important indication of this problem within Ghana is that stunting rates due to prolonged undernourishment are significantly higher in the northern regions than in other parts of the country, despite claims of an overall increase in the availability of food. Broadly, this dissertation employs qualitative case study research in the Northern Region (interviews N=109 and 12 focus groups) to describe the changes in access to resources, roles and …

Indigenous Tribes In The Brazilian Amazon: Finding A Balance Between Sustainability And Economic Development, Bernadette R. O'Donnell

Honors College Theses

The number of isolated indigenous tribes in Brazil is dropping due to a multitude of factors, including resource extraction. If these factors continue, there will be further reduction of the population of indigenous tribes which causes the loss of culture of the world’s oldest societies. This research establishes the roles that the Brazilian government, NGOs, and the international community should play to preserve indigenous tribes. The research question is: How can Brazil sustain isolated indigenous tribes in the Amazon without compromising its own economic development? The research method is the modified Delphi method which results in a consensus of experts …

Southeastern Tanzanian Benedictine Monasteries: Filling A Void Of Governmental Services For The Poorest Regions, John Christie-Searles

Dissertations

This research illuminates the partnership of a particular civil society actor, Benedictine monasteries, in achieving developmental goals and delivery outcomes for education and health in Tanzania. Faith based organizations (FBOs) like these Benedictine monasteries quietly persevered with their work. These monasteries without governmental support were able to achieve similar results in areas of Tanzania deprived of infrastructure and consistent governmental administrative attention.

Monastic apostolate fervor is similar to the professionalism exhibited by international aid organizations and nongovernmental organizations in their desire to meet the needs of the poor. Motivations are complex and varied from evangelization to political and strategic agendas …

Urbanization, Land Rights And Development: A Case Study Of Waterfront Communities In Lagos, Nigeria., Gideon Olaniyi Omoniyi

Master's Theses

The aim of this study is to examine the root causes of forced evictions and displacement through the current urbanization process in Lagos, Nigeria. My particular attention is devoted to the legal complexities and how ethnolinguistic identities shape land laws, influence land tenure, and construct urban citizenship. Through this process, competing claims to land ownership provide fertile ground for forced evictions and displacement. Existing scholars suggest that poor urban residents lack rights to stay in their neighborhoods, while a powerful capitalist class has emerged and dispossessed the poor from their lands. Yet these existing approaches derived from the neoclassical and …

A Moment Became The Season: An Exploration Of Trauma Narrative Within The Community Development Context, Lydia Berry

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This research explores current methods of psychological trauma intervention within the community development context, namely the understandings that bound the clinical and diagnostic side of trauma, and the more recent victim centered approach: the trauma informed care method. The shortcomings of these approaches is that they individually lack the ability to establish the victim back into their sense of self or community, accordingly. This research argues that a narrative approach, a process by which a survivor of trauma has full agency to express their experience, used in conjunction with existing practices can rectify the shortcomings of both methods. The researcher …

Asset Assessment For Women: A Case Study Of Imasayi Village In Ogun State, Nigeria & Ngo Development: A Strategic Plan, Olamide Adeyinka

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

This paper presents the findings of an asset assessment performed with women in a village southwest of Nigeria, Imasayi Ogun state. This paper not only describes the process and results of a qualitative study, but also presents the implementation plan for an NGO that will work with the women of Imasayi to implement community-wide development projects. The research upon which this paper is based used the framework of seven capital domains, which are then used in turn to structure findings, recommendations and NGO planning and analysis. For the purpose of this paper, the marketplace is identified as significant for Imasayi’s …

Hanoi Vietnam’S Peri-Urban Space And Its Impact On People’S Livelihoods, Collin V. Sumera

International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE)

ABSTRACT

Hanoi Vietnam’s Peri-urban Space and Its Impact on People’s Livelihoods

Collin V. Sumera

Peri-urban is both a space and a process, yet there is no cookie cutter definition that may be applied to developing cities encountering this phenomenon. Each space is constructed differently, and each process has different actors. This paper examines the role that the Communist Party of Vietnam plays in the creation of peri-urban space in Hanoi, and how this space affects residential and former agricultural Land Use Right holder’s livelihood opportunities. The notion of the peri-urban space has not fully been developed for Hanoi, thus I …

Politics Below The Surface: A Political Ecology Of Mineral Rights And Land Tenure Struggles In Appalachia And The Andes, Lindsay Shade

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This dissertation examines how confusion and lack of access to information about subsurface property rights facilitates the rapid acquisition of mineral rights by mining interests, leaving those who live 'above the surface' to contend with complicated corporate and bureaucratic apparatuses. The research focuses on the first proposed state-run large scale mining project in Ecuador, believed to contain copper ores, and on the natural gas hydrofracking industry in three counties in north central West Virginia. Qualitative and visual methods, including mapping, are employed to determine (i.) how the geography of subsurface ownership patterns is changing, (ii.) links between changes in subsurface …

Comparative Analysis Of Development Strategies: Poland, Serbia, And Ukraine, Lubba Wintzer

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The following research project examines the development strategies in three Eastern European states after the fall of the Soviet Union. By examining the development path of each state, it is possible to evaluate successful paths toward development. The study researches not only economic development, but also social and political development. The three states chosen depict a variety of success rates in different areas. It will be important to notice that the state that has the most success developing economically is not the state that has the best equal rights for men and women. Finally, by exploring the different avenues for …