Other International and Area Studies Commons^™

A Qualitative Study Of Immigration Trauma, Posttraumatic Growth, And The College Experience Among Mena Immigrant Students, Braa A. Elkhidir

Dissertations

Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) immigrant students who are seeking to earn a higher education in the United States have to navigate acculturative stressors and systemic barriers. Prior research has focused primarily on the challenges MENA immigrant students experience without deeply exploring how these students adapt and grow. The focus in this qualitative study was to understand how MENA immigrant college students experience and make meaning of their academic journeys. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the academic experiences of seven MENA immigrant college students in the United States and assess how acculturative stressors, personal strengths, coping strategies, and …

Organizing To Engage: A Framework For Conflict Strategy, Paul Mason Carpenter

Dissertations

Conflict strategy can be exceedingly complex. While many of the basics are simple, even the simple can be highly complicated to execute. The Schlieffen Plan in World War I appeared straight forward, but execution was a great deal more complex. It failed and the result was years of trench warfare.  In addition, leaders entering conflict may not fully appreciate the full context, its effect, and the need for a long term result--a better state of peace.

Strategy and tactics may be challenging to transform as an engagement evolves. In addition, strategists must often commit to courses of action within very …

Policy Implications Of Managing Biodiversity And Natural Resources Across International Boundaries, Dillon Brown

Dissertations

Fisheries Management under the best of scenarios is a complex action. It requires thoughtful consideration of resources that tend to be out of sight, widely distributed, highly variable both spatially and temporally, and present dramatic variation in life history and ecology. No one management approach has been developed which can effectively incorporate all these variables. Add to this the issue of transnational boundary movements of these resources, and one discovers that this complex issue needs to be addressed by multiple entities, agencies, and nations to have any chance of success.

This research set out to discover ways in which fisheries …

Examining The Cross-Cultural Competence Of United States Christian Missionaries Engaged In Developing Indigenous Leaders: A Mixed Methods Study, Craig W. Goodman

Dissertations

For the past two millennia, missionaries have crossed from one culture to another to bring the Christian message to all cultures of the world. Questions about the effectiveness of these mission efforts have been asked and researched by many; however, one key question remains unanswered: what personal attributes help a person to be more competent at crossing cultures as they interact with people from other cultures? Although cross-cultural competence has been studied in a variety of fields over the past 50 years, the models and assessments used have never been applied to Christian missionaries.

To address this deficiency, this parallel …

Leadership Development In Saudi Arabia’S Private Sector: A Mixed Methods Approach, Khaled Hanaky

Dissertations

There is currently a proliferation of business-focused leadership development programs in Saudi Arabia. These programs represent a reaction to the shortage of qualified leaders who can drive and sustain both recent and future advances introduced by Saudi Vision 2030, the national transformation program that is introducing social and economic reforms. Importantly, business leadership development has not been studied in this context of contemporary Saudi Arabia.

This study examined the state of Saudi leadership development programs by employing an explanatory sequential case study design that focused on a particular leadership development program. Through the use of surveys and participant interviews, results …

Searching For A “Home”: Examining The Experiences Of Confucian Asian College Students With Third Culture Kid Backgrounds, Yuima Mizutani

Dissertations

Third culture kids (TCKs) spend their childhood and adolescence outside of their home countries. Because of their unique backgrounds, TCKs and adult TCKs face challenges including identity development, low self-esteem, lack of connection with their home countries, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, adjustment disorder, and others. Although the number of TCKs is increasing due to globalization, this population has been understudied. Moreover, most existing research has focused on TCKs in Western countries. Few researchers have studied Confucian Asian adult TCKs; that is, adult TCKs from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and others. Confucian Asian countries have collectivistic cultures …

Leadership Adapted: Towards An Understanding Of How Western-Developed Leadership Theories Are Translated And Practiced In The Modern Arab Middle East, Derek R. Olson

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to understand how western-developed leadership theories are translated and practiced in the Modern Arab Middle East (MAME). Over the past century the notion of leadership has progressed through phases of understanding, definition, and practice. This evolution continues today and is no longer contained to the academic and practice-oriented institutions of North America and Europe. Through western-styled educational institutions and professional industries, western-developed leadership theories have stretched around the globe, including the MAME. While this is known, what is much less understood is how these theories are adopted and adapted. This study’s objective is to …

Winning Public Hearts And Minds: Security And Development Aid In The 21st Century, Mohammad Ashraf

Dissertations

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, foreign aid has focused on winning public hearts and minds in the aid recipient states as a hedge against insecurity and means to achieve progress in the “war on terror.” Western donors, especially the United States, argue foreign aid is an effective tool to expand government capacity and control over territory, win public hearts and minds, and ultimately mitigate the need and significant military costs of deployment to counter insecurity, extremism, and terrorism in weak, fragile and failing states.

This dissertation uses case studies to explore the …

Accessibility To Resources For Homeless Documented Immigrant Families: A Case Study, Antaniece P. Carter

Dissertations

This study seeks to explore the experience of a homeless documented immigrant family attempting to access school and community resources. Research has shown that due to disadvantages including but not limited to lack of economic mobility, employment access, lone parent families, and cultural background, some immigrant families may face challenges accessing services (Arnold, 2004). Difficulty accessing services then can inhibit adjustment and may lead to homelessness.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the issue of homelessness as experienced by immigrants within an urban community. A case study will highlight the experience of a homeless immigrant family, as defined …

Social Capital In Indian Country: The Effects Of Bridging And Bonding On Job Acquisition, Stephanie Davison

Dissertations

Native Americans living in Indian Country continue to experience poverty due, in part, to a lack of sufficient employment opportunities. Indian reservations, often situated in rural areas, can be difficult to access and complicated land and political issues can make it difficult to attract outside investors. However, as is the case for most people, Native Americans living on or near their respective reservation communities do not necessarily want to leave home to find work. This study examined the social networks of a sample of Native Americans from two tribes in Montana. A social network analysis was conducted to understand how …

Educating Boys In Jamaica: In Search Of A New Lens, Marcia Sharon-May Chin

Dissertations

The need for innovative solutions to enhance educational outcomes for Jamaican high school male students is evident. For over two decades, national exam results demonstrate that these students have consistently underachieved. Using aqualitative research design, this study explores the possibility of scaling up a student leadership educational model, developed by one U.S. school that has proven successful in educating an inner city minority male student population, to a similarly placed Jamaican high school. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with stakeholders at an all male Jamaican school and with administrators at the Ministry of Education, to understand their perceptions regarding …

The Predictors Of Juvenile Recidivism: Testimonies Of Adult Students 18 Years And Older Exiting From Alternative Education, La Toshia Palmer

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative study was to identify and describe the importance of the predictors of juvenile recidivism and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent/avoid juvenile recidivism as perceived by previously detained, arrested, convicted, and/or incarcerated adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education in Northern California. A second purpose was to explore the types of support provided by alternative schools and the perceived importance of the support to avoid recidivism according to adult students 18 years of age and older exiting from alternative education.

Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive research design identified …

U.S. State Building And The Second Amendment, Darren Dale Gil

Dissertations

This dissertation used a comparative case study strategy employing a mixed methods thematic content analysis approach¹ to explore U.S. government support for Second Amendment freedoms as compared to other freedoms in the U.S. Bill of Rights in American-led state-building projects in Cuba (1898-1901), Germany (1945-1949), and Iraq (2003-2005). The dissertation tested for Republican and Democratic political party support regarding Second Amendment freedoms in U.S. state-building projects. Findings from the three case studies showed that the American government did not support individual arms rights in its state-building efforts as it did with the other nine Bill of Rights freedoms. Findings …

Remittances As Contributor To Risk Management And Poverty Reduction In Grenada, Dianne Jntl Rosemary Forte

Dissertations

A Small Island Development States (SIDS) viewpoint is underrepresented in the existing migration literature. That perspective is necessary because SIDS geography creates a unique set of social and economic circumstances that predisposes small states to high vulnerability to external shocks from environmental events and influences emigration decision making. Like other SIDS, Grenada is characterized by small land mass, small population, limited opportunities for productive labor, and limited resources to efficiently support all the requirements of modern institutions. This has resulted in high levels of emigration and a pattern of circularity as Grenadian households make rational decisions to manage risk and …

Choral Theatre, Albert Joseph Wolfe Jr.

Dissertations

Jamaica gained its independence from Great Britain in 1962, after some 300 years of colonization. Prior to Independence, the standard arts education curriculum was decidedly British and Western European. That which was labeled Caribbean or Jamaican “folk” by the British was deemed inferior and was not taught, demonstrated, or performed in formal settings. Thus, generations of Jamaicans never observed or imagined a Caribbean aesthetic in the visual and performing arts. Instead, pre-Independence Jamaicans were taught British and Western European music and performed it the “British” way.

Today, Jamaicans boast a number of artistic developments that are instantly recognized across the …

Capacity Building For International Development Practitioners Through An Off-Campus Graduate Education Program, Ralph Charles Wood

Dissertations

Problem

Andrews University offers a graduate off-campus program in international development, the Master of International Development Administration (MIDA). The stimulus for this study came from the fact that there had never been an extensive investigation of the capacity building impact on the graduates of the off-campus Master of International Development Administration of Andrews University. Coupled with this, there was a very limited body of research on the importance and effect of education in international development when it comes to building the capacity of the practitioners of international development. This study determined the alumni’s perceptions of experiencing individual capacity building and …

The Natural Resource Curse In Sub-Saharan Africa: Transparency And International Initiatives, Meaza Zerihun Demissie

Dissertations

The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region has become a classic case of the resource-curse phenomenon characterized by the abundance of natural resources, low economic development, and misuse of natural resources. Economic-development experts debate ways to overcome or avoid the resource curse to advance SSA countries into developed countries. Only one natural resource-rich country in the region, Botswana, has succeeded in becoming an upper middle-income country using its natural resources, making the possibility of replication of this achievement difficult. The literature aligns in the belief that the economic and political well-being of resource-rich nations depends highly on the actors involved. National and …