Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

What About Sustainable Improvement? Current Efforts And Challenges In The Work Of The Municipal Government To Improve The Rights Of The Garbage Pickers In Fortaleza, Brazil, Shehzia Valiulla

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The government programs seek to improve the condition of the oppressed and the poor, but very few truly have a sustainable positive impact on the lives of the poor. This research, through a case study of a program, Pilot Project of Selective Collection in Jangurussu, run by municipal officers for the benefit of garbage pickers (catadores do lixo in Brazil), attempts to define what characterizes and ensures the sustainable improvement in the work-related rights of catadores in Fortaleza, a city in Northeast Brazil, through seeking perspectives from two important stakeholders, the catadores and the municipal officers. Organizing catadores into legal …

Mediation In Morocco: Current Uses And Future Possibilities, Rachel Markowitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the world is searching for more effective methods and implementation of conflict resolution, it becomes increasingly important to consider the traditional uses of mediation and current efforts at training in communities, organizations, and the government. The purpose of this case study is to describe the role of mediation as a form of conflict resolution for several groups in Morocco as well as to analyze the prospect for more effective formal mediation in the future through training mechanisms from observations and interviews with current and future leaders throughout Morocco.

Catholic Community Services In Fiji Solutions To Poverty Alleviation, Rebecca Richard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an attempt to research various Catholic community service programs in and around the Suva area of Fiji. I visited various Churches, religious orders, and Catholic organizations in the hopes to learn about their actions, and how their services affect the community and alleviate poverty. In the beginning of this paper, I stressed the religiosity of Fiji, and how many people are devoted to their faith, but only through ‘individual piety,’ consisting of prayer, reading the bible, and mass attendance. I speak of the role of the Catholic Church and its commitment to service via Catholic Social Teaching, …

History And Society: Fact, Fiction And Reform In The Serbian Education System, Valerie Ullrich

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

History instruction is a means of disseminating political and cultural “truth” in societies all over the world. History occupies only a small space in the educational schemes that socialize and politicize children to their societies, but it could be argued that it plays a disproportionate role in these processes. In societies with contentious historical records and/or histories of conflict, it is particularly important to examine the role that history instruction does in fact play, as it can have positive or disastrous consequences over the long term. Serbian society provides one example of the potential effects of incomplete, politically influenced historical …

The Road To Recovery: Economic And Social Development In Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Erinn Lachner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina is recreating itself. This municipality, located in the Republic of Srpska, is the setting of the 1995 genocide, which murdered 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Destroyed by the war, this municipality is rebuilding its economy, infrastructure and civil society from scratch. Srebrenica has made a large amount of progress in the past ten years, with the help of international and local donors. These donors have contributed millions of dollars to the effort. However, Srebrenica still faces many obstacles, namely, high unemployment, lack of physical infrastructure and poor attention to social welfare. While slow, progress is made everyday in …

The State Of “Differently Abled” People In The Western Cape, South Africa, Joshua Wade Paul

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project is a look into whether the current legislation and resources provided allow for the equality that is promised in the new constitution. I looked at legislation and community NGOs in order to establish what is being done in order to assure that people with disabilities have equal access to resources, including education, transportation, employment, healthcare, public awareness, and human resource development. In order to investigate these questions I worked with the Cape Mental Health Society and the Fountain House; I conducted interviews and observations looking at the community facilities of care. These community groups also provided insight into …

Facilitating Public Participation In The Eastern Cape Province: A Case Study Of The Centre For Governance In Africa, Paul D. Lemaistre

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Decreasing amounts of public participation threaten to undermine the legitimacy of democracy in South Africa. Numerous surveys, academic resources and Internet and print media indicate general trends among the citizenry that a disconnection and dissatisfaction towards government is prevalent. As a result, the South African public has extremely low levels of public participation for a nation with such a politically charged past. It has become the objective of many civil society organizations to help with the delivery of vital developmental goals, including democracy advocacy, on behalf of the citizens. This paper seeks to examine the efforts of a single NGO, …

An Oasis In Byron Shire: Factors In The Progress And Success Of A Local Greens Party, Adam N. Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Greens in Byron Shire on the North Coast of New South Wales gained four of ten seats on the Shire Council including the mayoral position in 2004, giving them a strong voice in the direction of the Shire. This degree of local success is incredibly rare for the Australian Greens or for any third party, and thus, the example of the Byron Greens is a significant case for anyone involved with local politics in Byron or anyone who is involved with third parties, specifically with the Greens. This study sets out to determine the factors in the success of …

Evangelization And Religious Conflict In Chiapas: In Search Of Common Ground, Katie Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The religious conflict in Chiapas can hardly be called religious; politics, poverty, and indigenous identity issues are a few of the many factors that have shaped the cultural climate here, and have contributed to the violence and tensions. The deeply divided communities, thousands of people displaced from their towns, and the gruesome murders of the past 40 years have all been attributed to the Catholic-Protestant rivalry. But the reality of political power struggles, US and Mexican government involvement, economic need, and the influence of indigenous community organizing/uprising are all informing the current religious climate. The culture wars are as much …

Abortion: The Reality For Women Of Praia Grande, Anna Tawse

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Under Brazilian law, abortions are prohibited in all cases except for pregnancies resulting from rape or sexual violence and pregnancies which present possible death or harm to the mother. Upon a closer look, however, it is obvious that regardless of the illegality, Brazilian women are getting abortions. In light of this, I conducted a research project to uncover more about the reality that Brazilian women, specifically located in Praia Grande (a small community on Ilha de Mare off the coast of Salvador), face given the simultaneous existence of the two situations listed above (which I refer to as the “abortion …

The Needs Of The Marginalized; Documenting A Crisis Defined As Such By The Catadores De Lixo Of Jangurussú, Jane Hudson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Catadore de lixo is a general term used by Brazilians to refer to those people who work with garbage. It encompasses those who work (and often live) in open landfills and scavenge for salvageable goods to consume, use, or sell; those who work in the street collecting garbage; those who collect only recyclables; and those who work within associations, companies, or cooperatives that sort, sell, and/or recycle refuse. Such a cooperative and the catadores who comprise is the focus of my research.

My objective for spending three weeks in the homes and community of the catadoras de lixo was to …

Facing Reality: The Story Of Icaro Amorim, Nicole Vengrove

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The harsh struggles and lack of basic necessities, which plague many low-income neighborhoods in Northeastern Brazil negatively impact children’s physical and emotional development. My research follows a 16 year-old boy, Icaro Amorim, who lives in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Fortaleza, Ceara, located in the Northeastern region of Brazil. Despite his hard life where food is never a guarantee, Icaro possesses a social awareness that motivates him to improve the life of his family and his community. This social consciousness is played out in Casa de Cultura, a project which Icaro and his peers started in their community of …

El Servicio Militar Obligatorio En El Marco De La Democracia, Meagan Michelle Elliott

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is the culmination of a month spent conducting interviews and researching the ways in which the armed forces and the civilian population of Chile relate to one another through the obligation of one year of military service for all 18 year-old males. Referencing Chilean history since the end of World War II, this paper overviews the arguments of progressive groups which constitute the movement against obligatory military service and discusses how they have come to understand the armed forces in the context of democracy.

The Political Economy Of Giving: Legitimacy, Welfare, And The Influence Of Foreign Ngos In China, Nathan Wallace

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the death of Mao and the rise of reformers in China, the world has eagerly awaited the results of changes sweeping through the developing nation. Deng Xiaoping and his successors have promised reform, which has come in the form of market liberalization. Now, after 20 years of reform, the Chinese people have seen a boom of economic prosperity. Their nation has joined the WTO and taken a central role in the world economy. Reform has also reduced political oversight of people’s daily lives and allowed the economy and society to exist in a less regulated environment. That being said, …

The Inter-Communal Relations Among Ngos Operating With Cyprus, Shelby Reneé Port

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research paper is to demonstrate the dynamics of the inter-communal relations established between Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating in northern Cyprus and NGOs operating in southern Cyprus fulfilling a similar purpose or serving a similar population in their respective communities.

Est-Ce Que Le Droit D’Asile Est Menacé En France ?(Is The Right To Asylum Being Threatened In France?), Ralph Delouis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

« Le droit d’asile en France existe en principe qu’en pratique. », un psychologue interculturel qui a travaillé avec les demandeurs d’asile. La France est un pays qui est bien connu pour beaucoup de chose. La France est un pays connu dans le monde entier pour sa culture, son art, sa philosophie, et sa gastronomie parmi autre. Une autre chose pour laquelle la France est très bien connu est l’occasion de trouver asile en France. La France a l’image d’un pays ou la république est très juste et très ouvert. Dans le passé elle est connu pour être accueillant aux …

Hope: An Ethnography Of An Alternative Orphan Care System In Mgange Dawida- Taita; A Case Study Of The Isuwirio-Tumaini Self-Help Group, Malaika M. Dosremedios

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

A Learning Process: The Implementation And Effects Of Returnee Policies In Post-War Bosnia-Hercegovina, Danielle Kuczera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Spirituality In Limbo: An Observation And Analysis Of Mongolia’S Modern Religious Climate, Dustin Saldarriaga

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is essentially a history of religion in Mongolia with the purpose of illuminating the present state of religion at a socially, culturally, and politically unique point in Mongolia’s history. It has only been fourteen years since Mongolia experienced a political transition from totalitarianism to democracy, and the country now finds itself in a kind of “Limbo” with respect to not only the political state of the nation, but also the spiritual state of its individuals. The result is a religious climate filled with uncertainty and speculation, but also with passion and love. I attempt to explore this current …

Fences In Mongolia: A Study Of Land Reform, Nicholas A. Kroshus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a feverish ten-hour van ride, my ISP topic and desire to study land privatization developed as I watched the landscape change with each passing kilometer. Sick from food poisoning and riding in the back of van resting on saddles, sleeping bags, and various boxes I realized I wanted to study something involving the economics of Mongolia. Mama Ulziii had recently mentioned the development of land laws and the corruption involving them sparking my flow of thoughts. As I lie in the back being jostled around, hitting my head, I was struck with the idea of discovering how an individual …

Multi-Culturalism In Ireland: Examining The Context Of And Debates Surrounding The Citizenship Referendum, Melanie Todman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this paper, I hope to explore Irish reactions to multi-culturalism through the highly controversial citizenship referendum. This referendum, through which the twenty-seventh amendment to the Irish Constitution will be made, is fundamentally changing Ireland’s citizenship policy from one of jus soli and jus sanguinis to one of just jus sanguinis. This change has been made amid current inflows of immigrants, many of whom are racially distinct and come from a variety of cultural backgrounds. The framing question for this paper is: Like other European countries, Ireland is making the transition from a racially homogenous society to a more heterogenous …

Leaving The Streets, Jane Slater

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Currently thousands of children and adolescents live in the streets of Managua, and this phenomenon is moving rapidly into the smaller cities of Nicaragua. In other countries around the world, civil war is a leading cause of street children, but in Nicaragua, physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, often committed by the father or stepfather, combined with poverty is usually why children and adolescents turn to the street. Street kids range in age from about 5 or 6 years old to 18 years old, and many kids living in the streets have children of their own. The majority of street kids …

The Maidens Of The Maiden City, Lauren Herman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Citizenship In The Republic Of Ireland: In The Context Of The European Union And The Citizenship Referendum, Cora Bruemmer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In a world of increased globalization, the importance of citizenship may seem less and less important. However, I would assert that political belonging is becoming ever more important and is undergoing radical changes. The European Union (EU) is rapidly changing people’s understanding of citizenship. Rather than calling themselves Irish, people may soon be calling themselves European instead. Borders between countries are weakening and movement between them is increasing. Today a citizen of Latvia can live and work in Ireland as long as he or she so chooses. These changes in citizenship may actually have great implications for citizenship policy in …