International and Area Studies Commons^™

07. History, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

09. Sociology, University Of Central Oklahoma

Oklahoma Research Day Abstracts

No abstract provided.

The National Muslim Forum Nepal: Experiences Of Conflict, Formations Of Identity, Megan Adamson Sijapati

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

With Nepal's recent transition to state secularism, the politicization of Muslim religious identity has emerged with increasing vitality. One particular pan-Nepali Muslim organization, the Rastriya Muslim Mane Nepal (National Muslim Forum Nepal), offers a window into the complex relationship between national and religious identity that animates this politicization. Through analysis of the National Muslim Forum's earliest discourses, produced between 2005 and 2006, both immediately before and after the people's revolution that resulted in the declaration of Nepal as a secular state, this essay highlights the ways that experiences of conflict coupled with a national political transition shape and contribute to …

Culturally Responsive Methodologies At Work In Education Settings, Mere Berryman, Suzanne Soohoo, Ann Nevin, Te Arani Barrett, Therese Ford, Debora Joy Nodelman, Norma Valenzuela, Anna Wilson

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe culturally responsive methodology as a way to develop researchers. The aim is to illuminate the dimensions of culturally responsive methodology such as cultural and epistemological pluralism, deconstruction of Western colonial traditions of research, and primacy of relationships within culturally responsive dialogic encounters. An overarching question is: “How can we maintain the original integrity of both participants and researchers and their respective cultures and co-construct at the same time something new?”

Design/methodology/approach – Five case study narratives are described in order for readers to understand the range and types of studies …

Cultural Commercialization To Keep Indigenous Cultures Alive In Ifugao Society, The Philippines, Anniken Renslo Sandvik

Asian Review

This paper argues that commercialization of indigenous cultures may contribute to their continued survival. This is based on the findings from a case study in Ifugao, Philippines. Because of various factors like the conversion to Christianity, the adaptation of national systems of government and education, and the introduction of international mass media, the indigenous Ifugao cultural practices are vanishing. In an attempt to revive these practices, the municipal and provincial governments in Ifugao are arranging annual festivals showcasing indigenous culture. In this process Ifugao culture is commercialized, as the indigenous practices are being performed out of their original contexts as …

The Hybrid Spirit Animating Chinese Pentecostals In Malaysia, Eu Kit Lim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation interrogates the assertion in postcolonial scholarship, especially from the work of Homi Bhabha that the construction and performance of hybrid identities act as a form of resistance for marginalized communities against structures of oppression. While this study supports this assertion, it also critiques how hybridity fails to address issues of unequal power relations. This has led to an uncritical use of hybridity that reproduces the very idea of static identity which its proponents claim to transcend.

Through qualitative study of Chinese members of a Pentecostal church in Malaysia, this study argues that church members engage in "unequal belonging" …

Assessment Of The Performance Of A Resilient Hybrid Political System: The Case Of Malaysia, Siti Z. Razali

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Countries that come out of the "gray zone" during "third wave democratization," as ambiguous as they may seem politically, may not be a manifestation of a failed democratization attempt. Rather, their "hybrid" characteristics, portraying neither a full democracy nor outright authoritarian practices entrenched in the system, may plausibly serve as a panacea to governing, especially in a troubled state.

Many studies that have depicted the "hybrid" political system have focused more on its conceptualization and typology rather than how this kind of regime actually performs and functions. However, studying this regime type only at its surface does not help us …

Chinese Intellectuals And China's Policy Toward Japan, Wenting Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation aims at integrating two scholarships: state-society relation studies and Chinese foreign policy analysis. I created Two-level Perception Gap Model to analyze different intellectual groups' relations with party-state by confirming Chinese intellectuals play a role in CFP making in general, China's Japan policy in particular. This model is an alternative approach, instead of conventional wisdom patron-client approach, to explain and analyze the pluralized intellectual-state relations in China. This model first analyzed the role of two intellectual groups, namely think tank scholars and popular nationalist, in China's Japan policy making, and then based on these analyses it explains the interactional …

Investing In A Better World: A Study Of Country-Level Factors On Investment Outcomes, Richard Matthew Ostberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a design to examine the effects of environmental factors in a country such as education systems levels, corruption, and social freedoms on investment outcomes. The literature review suggests that countries with poor education at the secondary level tend to have lower standards of living, lower levels of freedom, as well as high levels of corruption which appear to have negative effects on their market economies. This study was designed to examine existing data from multiple sources along multiple dimensions, and use a hierarchical linear model, as well as a portfolio optimization model, to assess the impact of …

The African-American Islamic Renaissance And The Rise Of The Nation Of Islam, Patrick Denis Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines African-American Islamic culture from 1920 through 1959, a period I label the "African-American Islamic Renaissance" (AAIR). The AAIR is characterized by a significant increase in interest in Islam, extreme diversity in views about Islam, and the absence of a single organization dominating African-American Islamic culture for a significant amount of time. Previous works dealing with African-American Islam in this period have failed to fully recognize these features, particularly the last of these. As a result, explanations for the rise of the Nation of Islam (NOI) have not satisfactorily explained why it was only the NOI--and not other …

Spectacle, Sacrifice And The State: The Legacy Of European Fascism And The Revival Of Martyrdom In The Modern World, Gerald Robert Pace

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rise of political martyrdom in the contemporary world is not a new phenomenon but can be traced back to at least the early Twentieth Century with the rise of European Fascist movements. Both they, and the fascist-like movements of today, share a cluster of characteristics that allow for fruitful comparisons of the ways in which martyrdom spectacles are used to communicate with constituent populations, facilitate a culture of violence, perpetuate their revolutionary zeal and demonstrate the characteristics of the ideal citizen. Examining four major movements; Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, the Palestinian Hamas and the modern Iran, this dissertation argues …

Islamic Political Thought: Reviving A Rationalist Tradition, Hazem Y. Salem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work develops the foundations of an Islamic argument for secular, liberal democracy from within the Islamic discursive tradition. First, it challenges the presentation of contemporary Islamic political thought as a unified, continuous development of the classical canon by showing the influence of the now marginalized medieval rationalists in the development of Islamic political thought. The classical rationalist concern with divine justice forced the founders of Sunni orthodoxy to state their epistemologies and their positions on ethical ontology. The orthodox positions, and their related methods of legal-juristic reasoning, are shown to be incapable of accommodating the modern Islamic positions on …

Africom's Impact On International And Human Security: A Case Study Of Tanzania, Mikenna Maroney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The expansion of U.S. military engagement in Africa is based on American national security interests. The objective of this research was to add to existing evaluations of the U.S. Combatant Command for Africa (AFRICOM) by taking an in-depth look at its impact through a case study of Tanzania and sought to answer three questions: What is the impact of AFRICOM on executing U.S. national security policy in Tanzania? To what extent has AFRICOM addressed the conditions of human insecurity in Tanzania? What is the public perception about AFRICOM among the Tanzanian public? To answer these questions this assessment utilized secondary …

Covert: An Insight On The Politically Marginalized Armenian Minority In Iran During The 1979 Iranian Revolution, Arika Anastasia Khajetoorians

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to provide an insight of the politically marginalized Armenian minority in Iran based on the reporting of Alik.

The Recasting Of Twenty-First-Century Germany: An Opportunity Of Crisis, Gaspare Genna

Selected Works Temporary Series

No abstract provided.

Electoral Systems And Congressional Malfeasance: Comparing Brazilian Senators And Deputies In The Supreme Court Cases (English Version), Taeko Hiroi

Selected Works Temporary Series

This article contributes to our understanding of the relationship between electoral systems and legislative malfeasance by examining personal vote, district magnitude, and electoral accountability. Studies emphasizing individual responsibility argue that personal-vote electoral systems promote good performance by elected politicians and constrain their malfeasance by enabling voters to identify, monitor, and hold responsible individual politicians. Another strand of the literature claims that large district magnitude ensures the availability of good politicians and electoral competition, which reduce malfeasance. At first glance, personal-vote systems with relatively large magnitude districts, such as open-list proportional representation, appear to combine the beneficial attributes of the electoral …

[Sabbatical Report], Clifton Brown

Sabbatical Reports

My sabbatical research took place in Seville, Spain studying the art of Flamenco dancing. Flamenco is a Spanish folk dance filled with vigorous and passionate movements that has a unique tradition.

The Impact Of Inter-Intra Clan Conflict On Women In Northern Israel's Patriarchal Arab Community, And The Impact Of Such Women On The Process And Outcome Of The Sulha (Settlement) Dispute Resolution Process, Doron Pely

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Inter-clan conflicts within Northern Israel's Arab community may pit dozens, hundreds, sometimes thousands of people against each other in revenge and counter-revenge cycles that can take years to resolve. Because disputants' clans often live in close proximity to each other, third party interveners- Sulha (Settlement) Makers, mitigate against possible revenge attacks, sometimes command the extended family of the perceived perpetrator to leave their homes and move to another village or town. This exile (tarhil in Arabic) often impacts dozens of family members (mostly women and children), and can extend years, sometimes decades. Such enforced exile has a severe impact on …

Assessing Ghana's Contemporary Tourism Development Experience, Kwaku Adutwum Boakye, Ferdinand Otibo, Foster Frempong

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The re-emerging acceptance of tourism as a pathway to development has culminated in widespread adoption of the trade by many poor countries. Ghana is one such country and, over the past three decades, has sought to use tourism as means of diversifying its econ-omy. The substantial amounts invested in tourism by the government make it imperative to continually evaluate tourism performance and outcomes as a tool for socio-economic development. Yet, to date, very few studies have placed Ghana’s tourism experience un-der the spotlight. This paper focuses on how the trade has evolved into a major economic activity. It assesses the …

Epilogue: Democracy In Ghana As A Model For The African Continent, H. E. John Dramani Mahama

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Address by the President of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, to mark the formal end of Kennesaw State University’s “Year of Ghana” celebrations and academic programs.

A Street Child's Revolt Against Her Mother And Society: Lessons From Amma Darko's Faceless, Philomena Yeboah Ama Okyeso

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The writings of Amma Darko rank among Africa’s great literature. In Faceless, Amma Darko uses conflicts that bedevil mother-daughter bonds to address larger issues such as streetism, patriarchy, government indifference, irresponsible parenting, and inefficiency in the police service. Faceless may appear to be primarily an investigation of the causes, effects, and solutions of streetism, yet it also has important things to say about both the destructive and regenerative potentials of mothers. The benefits of male–female collabo-ration in addressing developmental challenges are another topic that has acquired consid-erable space in this novel. It is these issues/topics that this study explores and …

Ua35/4 2012-2013 Annual Report, Wku International Programs

WKU Administration Documents

2012-2013 report of WKU International Programs & Study Abroad & Global Learning.

Culture, Reform Politics, And Future Directions: A Review Of China’S Animal Protection Challenge, Peter J. Li, Gareth Davey

Animal Welfare Collection

Incidents of animal abuse in China attract worldwide media attention. Is China culturally inclined to animal cruelty, or is the country’s development strategy a better explanation? This article addresses the subject of animal protection in China, a topic that has been ignored for too long by Western China specialists. A review of ancient Chinese thought asks whether China lacks a legacy of compassion for animals. The article then considers how China’s reform politics underlie the animal welfare crisis. Through its discussion of the welfare crisis impacting nonhuman animals in China, this paper sheds light on the enormity of the country’s …

Property Restitution And Sustainable Return: Lessons From Bosnia Herzegovina, Dragana Marinkovic

International Studies Honors Projects

Bosnia's four years long conflict ended in 1995 with the signing of Dayton Peace Agreement and a hope that with international help and domestic cooperation, people of Bosnia will reconcile and work towards a more prosperous future. The conflict left behind not only 90 000 deaths but also around 2.2 million of displaced people. Country that used to be ethnically mixed before the war later became ethnically segregated into two regions, one with a Serb majority and the other one with Bosniak and Croat majority. In their search for safety during the war, many left their homes and cities and …

Measuring Poverty In Singapore: Frameworks For Consideration, John A. Donaldson, Jacqueline Loh, Sanushka Mudaliar, Mumtaz Md Kadir, Biqi Wu, Lam Keong Yeoh

Social Space

Singapore does not have an official poverty line. Should there be one? And what are the frameworks that have used or could be adopted for the measurement of poverty in this country? The Lien Centre for Social Innovation and SMU School of Social Sciences report on their investigation into the complex issue of domestic poverty.

Essays On The Digital Divide - Explorations Through Global, National And Individual Lenses, Maria Skaletsky

2013

The Digital Divide has emerged as an important research and policy issue during the past thirty years. The divide exists at different levels, such as global, regional and individual levels. While extensive research already exists on this subject, the complexity of the issue presents opportunities for further research. In particular, there is ample scope for significantly contributing to the literature by leveraging recent analytics techniques, all the more since most of the literature on the Digital Divide relies on descriptive methods or on simple or multiple regression models. Therefore, the motivation for this study is two-fold. First, the Digital Divide …

Facilitating War-Affected Young Mothers’ Reintegration: Lessons From A Participatory Action Research Study In Liberia, Sierra Leone, And Uganda., Miranda E. Worthen, G. Onyango, A. Veale, M. Wessells, S. Mckay

Faculty Publications

Young women and girls formerly associated with armed forces and armed groups face multiple challenges. Many become pregnant or have children while they are associated and face stigma and marginalization upon reintegration into civilian communities. This article describes a multi-year participatory action research study that took place in twenty communities in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and northern Uganda from 2006 – 2009 and included more than 650 young mother participants. We find that this community-based approach to reintegration improved the wellbeing of young mother participants and their children. We discuss the challenges and limitations of conducting participatory action research with war-affected …

Framing Resistance: How Hamas Uses Collective Action Frames To Attract And Maintain Human Resources, Thomas George Hagen

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to investigate the use of collective action framing mechanisms and processes by Hamas in order to aquire and maintain potential and existing human resources and to help researchers and scholars of contentious politics and social movement theory to gain a greater understanding of the role frames play in that decision by showing the ways social movement entrepreneurs use them to acquire, maintain, and motivate human resources for the purpose of collective action.

The Performative Speech And Silence Of Rape Trees: Staging Sexual Violence Against Migrant Women In The U.S.-Mexican Borderlands, Hana Masri

International Studies Honors Projects

"Rape trees"—trees and bushes in the U.S.-Mexican borderlands upon which hang bras and underwear—serve as a display of the sexual assault and labor exploitation to which marginalized migrant women are vulnerable. Women making the journey to and across the border contend with sexual violence, as well as the political and economic violences that both construct the economies of the border and compel migrant women to it. The continued performance and re-performance of rape trees attempt to reinstate the silencing of migrant women. They also shed light on the intricacies of power, citizenship, and subjectivity that migrant women confront at the …

Representations Of Argentine National Identity Via El Museo Nacional De Bellas Artes, Lindsay Newby

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

National identity is a concept that every nation constructs and celebrates through the remembrance of important events or persons, the projection of literary works, and the erection of monuments. Yet, in order to truly understand a nation’s self-imagery, one must examine and chart all of its different periods through time. This allows one to avoid narrow, static definitions by viewing a nation in a more holistic sense. In this study, it is hypothesized that museums function to preserve, assert, and disseminate a sense of heritage and, in the case of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, a sense of what …