Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons^™

Protecting The Environment: Mine Clearance In Skallingen, Denmark, Martin Jebens

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Denmark has long been affected by landmines. Environmental factors such as landscape, wildlife and endangered species make mine clearance difficult. However, through environmental legislation and mine clearance, Denmark has reestablished areas in Skallingen for use.

Mine Risk Education In Uganda, Harriet Akello

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Although Uganda declared itself mine-free in 2012, explosive remnants of war (ERW) still contaminate the country. To prevent resulting deaths and injuries, ERW risk education must be accessible to civilians.

Impact Of Flooding On Mine Action In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Croatia, And Serbia, Milan Bajic, Tamara Ivelja, Emina Hadzic, Haris Balta, Goran Skelac, Zoran Grujic

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Devastating floods swept through Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia in May 2014. The destructiveness of the floods, landslides and sediment torrents on minefields resulted in significant environmental and security issues. These three countries’ mine action centers launched a joint project cofunded by the Republic of Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to develop effective and efficient methods and technologies that might improve the situation. Their research seeks to provide reliable assessments of the flood damage to minefields and generate accurate implications for potential hazardous areas.

Do No Harm In Mine Action: Why The Environment Matters, Ursin Hoffman, Pascal Rapillard

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Explosive remnants of war negatively impact the environment and some clearance methods used by mine action organizations can potentially lead to environmental degradation. Mine action organizations need to consider the negative impact potential of their operations and adopt mitigation measures to ensure they do no harm.

Clearance At Cultural Heritage Sites, Lindsay Aldrich, Suzanne Fiederlein, Jessica Rosati

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The most mine- and unexploded ordnance (UXO)-contaminated countries in the world have long histories of conflict, as well as histories rich with extensive archeological and cultural records. It is not uncommon for known historical sites to be littered with mines and UXO, especially in regions with hundreds and even thousands of years of rich cultural heritage, such as Central and Southeast Asia and the Caucuses. This presents an added challenge to project teams tasked with clearing and safeguarding the land while also preserving the integrity of cultural heritage sites.

Female Demining Teams In Tajikistan, Julieta Nikolova

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In addition to contributing to the safe release of landmine-contaminated land in Tajikistan, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has pushed norms and traditions by incorporating an all-female demining team into its operations. Less than a year ago, imagining an all-female demining team operating in a country with strictly-defined gender roles was difficult.

In Remembrance: Nazim Ismayilov, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Nazim Ismayilov of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) died 11 December 2014 at the age of 70.

Developers Win Mobile Apps Challenges, Blake Williamson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As more industries develop mobile technologies, demand for mobile applications (apps) increases. Within various humanitarian fields, mobile apps can serve a variety of special purposes, from providing users with the ability to communicate and share information wirelessly to facilitating disaster relief or humanitarian aid. The National Defense University saw a need for a landmine and explosive remnants of war reporting app, designing a contest to create one.

Forces Generated By The Free Fall Of Demichain, Christian Baras, Bernard Gautier, Robert Goepfert, Jean-Pierre Hancy, Rene Joeckle

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The free fall of an array of heavy chains (360 kg/sq m) generates extensive pressure in the depth of the ground. These pressures have been measured and compared to the threshold pressures that trigger anti-personnel landmines. When dropped from moderate heights (1 m), chains can generate enough pressure to set off active landmines buried 20 cm, provided that the area of their pressure plates is larger than a few square centimeters.

Distinctive Pattern Found In Ied Survivors’ Brains, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

New research offers insight into brain trauma incurred by improvised explosive devices (IED), a problem affecting survivors of blast-related injuries since World War I.

Issue 19.1 Endnotes, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Issue 19.1 Endnotes

In Remembrance: Tim Carstairs, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Former International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and Cluster Munition Coalition colleague Tim Carstairs passed away 6 January 2015, following a long illness.

Investigating Barriers To Early Cancer Detection For Rural Indian Women: A Qualitative Analysis Of Cancer Outreach In Dehradun, Uttarakhand, Blair Burnett

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines barriers to early detection for women’s specific cancers in rural India in and around Dehradun, Uttarakhand, within the framework of existing health outreach programs from tertiary hospitals in the state. The burden of cancer mortality within India is disproportionately affecting women living in rural populations considering the current health education and health care infrastructure in place. Barriers of knowledge, access to knowledge, economic condition, geography, and cultural norms are all examined within this study in the context of early cancer detection. National Indian health policy is currently framed to address the burden of cancer within India; however, …

State Spending On Public Higher Education: Do The Educational Histories Of Legislators Matter?, Megan Thiele, Kristen Shorette

Faculty Publications, Sociology

State commitments to public higher education vary widely and are determined in part by unique political environments. Based on research suggesting that policy-makers’ personal characteristics affect policy outcomes, this work addresses the following: Do states with a larger percentage of legislators with a public higher education degree spend more on public higher education than do other legislatures, all other things equal? To answer this question, this author will use a robust time-series dataset of the educational backgrounds of state legislators. Currently, there are 7,383 state legislators. In 2005, I compiled the first wave of this database, which included the educational …

This Side Of The Grave: Navigating The Quaker Plainness Testimony In London And Philadelphia In The Eighteenth Century, Patricia C. O'Donnell

Library Staff Works

For observant members of the Society of Friends in greater London and Philadelphia during the eighteenth century, navigating the Quaker plainness testimony involved material culture choices that might be viewed by non-Quakers as concealing motives of frugality or blurring class lines or as violating standards of decency and propriety. This was particularly true of coffins, which were carried through the streets from home to burial ground followed by family and friends. On this public stage, Quaker coffin choices satisfied the requirements for plainness while at the same time they demonstrated family values and fulfilled societal expectations.

Kenya’S Konza Techno City: Utopian Vision Meets Social Reality, Amina Johari

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper explores Kenya’s ambitious Konza Technology City. In 2008 the Kenyan government unveiled its plan to construct a city from scratch 60 kilometers outside of the nation’s capital, Nairobi. Konza Technology City is a flagship project for Kenya Vision 2030, the country’s development program covering the period 2008 to 2030. The new city is expected to relieve Nairobi of some of its traffic and overcrowding issues, and also support the country’s growing technology sector. Konza City is just one of many proposed city plans all over sub-Saharan Africa reflecting a growing phenomenon. Due to the challenges many African cities …

Tipping Point: A Study Of Tourism And Development In Cizhong, Collin Bradley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Over the past few decades, development in rural areas of China has been increasing rapidly due in large part to the growth of tourism throughout the country. My project analyzes this phenomenon using Cizhong, a Tibetan Catholic village in northwestern Yunnan, as a case study. Since 2006, the popularity of Cizhong as a tourist destination has grown slowly. However, thanks to recent government policies enacted to increase tourism and development in the area, this village is on the verge of experiencing extremely rapid growth. Over the course of three weeks, extensive participant observation was combined with nearly a dozen informal …

Ulaanbaatar’S Ger District Issues: Changes And Attitudes, David Engel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Several of Ulaanbaatar’s current issues are directly related to Ulaanbaatar’s sprawling Ger District. The Ger District is home to approximately 736,000 residents, 61% of Ulaanbaatar’s population (Galimbyek, 2015). The significant growth in Ulaanbaatar is shown by its 52.8% of residents who were born outside of the city, the majority of migrants moving into the Ger District due to a lack of housing. (Chilkhaasuren & Baasankhuu, 2012). The development of Ulaanbaatar has not kept up with the rapid growth leading to inadequate infrastructure in much of the Ger District. In turn, inadequate infrastructure has lead to high pollution levels, negatively affecting …

La Vida Es Un Conflicto, Pero Hay Que Llevar Soluciones: La Resolución De Conflicto En Comunidades Rurales De San Ramón Nicaragua A Través De Facilitadores Judiciales Rurales Y Mediación, Marlee Raible

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In rural parts of Nicaragua historically there has not been a lot of access to the justice system. Conflicts have been going unresolved for years leading to a high amount of violence as people take justice into their own hands. The recent implementation of the Rural Judicial Facilitators Program (RJFP) is an effort to provide access to justice directly in rural communities. These facilitators are trained to use mediation as their principal method to resolve conflict.

This study exposes perceptions of mediation and the RJFP from community members, facilitators, and judiciaries. It discusses the key role of the facilitator in …

Shelby County V. Holder: Nullification, Racial Entitlement, And The Civil Rights Counterrevolution, Albert L. Samuels

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

- 188 - Shelby County v. Holder: Nullification, Racial Entitlement, and the Civil Rights Counterrevolution Albert L. Samuels Southern University The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) which invalidated the “coverage formula” of Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 bears an eerie resemblance to the spirit of the Civil Rights Cases (1883). In a tone similar to the one exhibited by the Supreme Court in The Civil Rights Cases, Chief Justice Roberts cited progress achieved in electoral participation and office holding by African Americans as evidence that the special protections that the Voting …

The Rhetoric Of Ben Bernanke: A Grounded Theory Approach, Andrew Langellier

Honors Projects in Communication

The objective of this Capstone project is to determine how Ben Bernanke used rhetoric during his tenure as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2006 to 2013. The scope is limited to testimony delivered as opening statements to the Federal Reserve’s semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress and his prepared testimony during his Senate confirmation hearing. The research will attempt determine how Bernanke used rhetoric while testifying before congress, in particular how that rhetoric changes over the course of his tenure. While there is a substantial amount of research on the use of the …

Modernizing Nevada's Education Structures: Opportunities For The 78th Session Of The Nevada Legislature, Magdalena Martinez, David F. Damore

Lincy Institute Reports and Briefs

Nevada's educational outcomes – both K-12 and higher education – are woeful. The consequences of this for the state's present and future are myriad and alarming. Poor educational outcomes mean that the state receives little return on investment from current educational spending. High dropout rates and sub-par academic achievement fail to instill the foundational skills necessary to put Nevada students on a path for future success. The dearth of Nevadans holding advanced degrees or certificates hinders economic development. In this brief, Modernizing Nevada's Education Structures: Opportunities for the 78th Session of the Nevada Legislature, Drs. Martinez and Damore review research …

Bringing Flowers Back To The Cité Des Fleurs: A Geographical Study Of The Sôma Beach Development Project In Mahajanga, Elizabeth Isaac-Herzog

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mahajanga, Madagascar is currently watching one of its biggest development efforts unfold. The Sôma Beach project will transform the previously-bustling Village Touristique, degraded over the past decades by the ocean’s waves, into an accessible hotspot for national and international tourists. This study aimed to answer the overarching questions, “How is the Sôma Beach project being carried out?” and “How is it affecting the local population and spatial organization?” Interviews, spatial observation and analysis, and review of relevant documents were used during a month-long period in order to gather information on this topic. The study concluded that space was an influential …

Innovation And Institutional Quality On Economic Growth In Asia, Nguyen Tran-Nguyen

Honors Projects in Economics

When looking at the different effects of institutional quality on economic development, namely control of corruption, there are two different hypotheses that explain such effects. One is the “grease the wheel” hypothesis, which predicts that corruption is beneficial for growth, and the other one is the “sand the wheel” hypothesis, which says the opposite. Corruption is normally blamed for the slow economic growths in some countries, but some Asian countries’ exponential growths have proven the “grease the wheel” hypothesis otherwise. The “Asian experience”1 phenomenon occurs when corruption does not seem to hamper business activities in some Asian countries. This research …

Kansas Speaks Spring 2015 Statewide Public Opinion Survey, Bradley Pendergast, Gary Brinker Ph.D., Chapman Rackaway Ph.D., Amber Frazier, Joshua Wasinger

Docking Institute of Public Affairs

The Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University surveyed a random sample of adult residents of Kansas age 18 and older to assess attitudes and opinions regarding various issues of interest to Kansas citizens. The survey sample consists of random Kansas landline telephone numbers and cellphone numbers. From March 23 to April 1st, a total of 1,308 Kansas residents were contacted through either landline telephone or cellphone, and 519 of them completed the survey, resulting in a 40% response rate (519/1,308). At a 95% confidence level, the margin of error for the full sample of 519 is …

Fisheries Management Paper No.273 - Blue Swimmer Crab Resource Of The Peel-Harvey Estuary Harvest Strategy, 2015-2020. Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources managed by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries (the Department) are formal documents prepared to support the decision-making processes required to ensure the management of these resources are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA), Section 3, and the draft Aquatic Resources Management Bill 2013 (ARMB), Clause 9, which will replace the FRMA once enacted.

The publication of these strategies is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes for the management of specified aquatic resources …

Peacetrees' Eod Program In Vietnam, Claire Yunker

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

PeaceTrees Vietnam has explosive ordnance disposal programs in Dakrong and Huong Hoa, the two westernmost districts of Quang Tri province bordering Laos. Huong Hoa was the scene of the Battle of Keh Sanh in 1968. These mountainous districts lack sufficient infrastructure and are afflicted by extreme poverty. The districts include a large number of ethnic minorities who have no written language, do not speak Vietnamese and suffer injuries from unexploded ordnance at a higher rate than the ethnic Vietnamese in the region. The war severely impacted the two districts, and about 80 percent of the territory is considered contaminated.

Improving Access To Food Systems Among Communities Of Color: A Food Justice Issue, Alma M. O. Trinidad, Helen Camden, Anne Coleman

Center to Advance Racial Equity Publications and Reports

Food insecurity and access among communities of color is a major social and health issue. Limited studies rooted in Oregon exist to assist practitioners, policy makers, and scholars in understanding food insecurity and access among recent immigrants and refugees. Using a multiple qualitative methods approach, this study has three major aims: 1) to understand the food access issues, particularly barriers and opportunities, among refugees and immigrants; 2) to investigate the challenges and opportunities of immigrants and refugees in accessing systems that are culturally responsive to their needs and; and 3) to address the gaps of service delivery targeted for communities …

Stoning In Iran: A Sexist And Overlooked Practice, Megan R. Haugh

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

This paper seeks to dissect and expose the ancient practice of stoning in Iran, and to analyze the injustices that are built into this punishment.

Kittens And Nutella: Why Women Join Isis, Samantha K. Smith

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

On February 18, 2015 CNN published a reported stating that Western women were leaving their homes to join ISIS because of a social media campaign featuring pictures of kittens and Nutella. This reported propagated the notion that women who join jihadist organizations are brainwashed or feeble minded. The reality is not so simple. This paper explores the motives women may have for joining ISIS through comparison to the motivations that drove women to partake in other violent jihadist organizations' activities.