The empire beats on: Oyo, Bata drums and hegemony in nineteenth-century Cuba

The Lukumí people of Cuba, currently known as Yoruba, are descendants of one of the mightiest West African kingdoms, the Oyo, Empire. The Oyo-Yoruba were important cultural contributors to certain areas of the New World such as Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad, and to some degree Haiti and the Lesser Antilles. Anthropologist William Bascom has said that “no African group has had greater influence on New World culture than the Yoruba.” ^ After the devastation of the empire around 1825, two new Oyos resuscitated. The first, New Oyo, was established about 80 miles south of the ancient site around 1830. The second Oyo was instituted on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in the city of Havana and its surrounding towns. Much of Oyo lie, as ancient Oyo is now called, was transported to the New World, reformed and adapted according to its new surroundings, and, it preserved its reign over its “subjects” through the retention and dissemination of its cultural and religious practices. ^ Using an interdisciplinary approach, this investigation will argue that of all the African groups brought to Cuba, the Oyo-Yoruba were the most influential in shaping Afro-Cuban culture since their introduction in the nineteenth century. The existence of batá drums in Cuba and the cultural components of this musical genre will serve as one of many examples to illustrate the vitality of Oyo cultural hegemony over Afro-Cubans. It is arguable that these drums and the culture that surrounded them were very important instruments used by the Oyo to counter the acculturation of many Africans in Cuba. Likewise, this culture became acculturative in itself by imposing its religious world views on non-Oyo ethnics and their descendants. Oral histories and narratives collected among Lukumí practitioners on the island and abroad have been invaluable archives to supplement and/or complement primary and secondary sources of information. ^

Global factors affecting women's participation in leadership

This dissertation is a multi-level, cross-cultural study of women in leadership conducted with both macro-society data and individual-level data aggregated to the country level. The research questions are, “What macro and micro forces are hindering or advancing women into business or political leadership?” “How do these forces impact the level of women's involvement in business and political leadership in a particular country?” Data was collected from 10 secondary sources, available for 213 countries, and includes about 300 variables for business leadership (N=115) and political leadership (N=181). To date, most women in leadership research has been Western- or US-based, and little rigorous empirical, multi-level research has been done across countries. The importance of cross-cultural studies on women in leadership stems from the potential to better understand why some countries have more women in positions of both business and political leadership; and the factors that affect women's involvement in such positions in different countries. A “Levels of Women's Participation in Leadership” country model is tested using cluster and discriminant analyses. Results indicate that the factors that affect women?s participation in leadership in countries with fewer women leaders are different from the factors that affect women's participation in countries with high levels of participation. This dissertation proposes that initiatives to increase participation of women in leadership need to consider the relevant factors that significantly affect countries at certain Levels of Women's Participation in Leadership. ^

Islamist Cyber Networks in Spanish-Speaking Latin America

Despite significant concern among policy, law enforcement and intelligence communities in the United States (U.S.) over the possible spread of radical Islamist thought throughout the world as part of a global jihad movement, there has been little investigation into the growing cyber networks in Latin America that promote strong anti-Semitic and anti-U.S. messages. This paper offers an overview of that network, focusing on the structure of Shi’ite websites that promote not only religious conversion but are also supportive of Iran -- a designated State-sponsor of terrorism – its nuclear program. Hezbollah, and the “Bolivarian revolution” led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his allies in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua. There is also a smaller group of Sunni Muslim websites, mostly tied to the legacy organizations of the Muslim Brotherhood. Many of the Shi’ite websites are linked to each other consistently portray Israel as a Nazi State, and the United States as an imperialist war monger. The Palestinian issue is frequently juxtaposed with the anti-imperialist struggle that those states supporting Chávez’ Bolivarian revolution claim to wage against the United States. Some of the Islamist websites claim thousands of new convert, but such claims are difficult to verify. Most of the websites visited touted the conversion of one or two individuals as significant victories and signs of progress, implying that there are few, if any, mass conversions. While conducting this research, no websites directly claiming to be linked to Hezbollah were found, although there numerous sites hosted by that group that were active until around 2006. Several of the inactive links are supportive of Hezbollah as a political party. No websites linked to al Qaeda were found. Yet a substantial Internet network remains operational. Much of the outreach for Shi’ite Muslims, closely tied to Iran, is sponsored on numerous websites across the region, including El Salvador, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and Bolivia. Numerous Facebook forums for discussion are also hosted around Latin America. These links must be viewed in the context of the rapidly expanding diplomatic, intelligence, political and economic ties of Iran in recent years with the self-proclaimed Bolivarian states. Given the sparse literature available and the rich vein of un-mined information on the sites cited as well as others that one could find with additional research, the cyber network of Islamist groups remains one of the least understood or studied facets of their presence in Latin America and the Caribbean. It merits significantly more investigation.

Women-led community development organizations (CDOs) in Miami-Dade County: A model of community development efforts impacting the economic security of women

Recent studies on the economic status of women in Miami-Dade County (MDC) reveal an alarming rate of economic insecurity and significant obstacles for women to achieve economic security. Consistent barriers to women's economic security affect not only the health and wellbeing of women and their families, but also economic prospects for the community. A key study reveals in Miami-Dade County, "Thirty-nine percent of single female-headed families with at least one child are living at or below the federal poverty level" and "over half of working women do not earn adequate income to cover their basic necessities" (Brion 2009, 1). Moreover, conventional measures of poverty do not adequately capture women's struggles to support themselves and their families, nor do they document the numbers of women seeking basic self-sufficiency. Even though there is lack of accurate data on women in the county, which is a critical problem, there is also a dearth of social science research on existing efforts to enhance women's economic security in Miami-Dade County. My research contributes to closing the information gap by examining the characteristics and strategies of women-led community development organizations (CDOs) in MDC, working to address women's economic insecurity. The research is informed by a framework developed by Marilyn Gittell, who pioneered an approach to study women-led CDOs in the United States. On the basis of research in nine U.S. cities, she concluded that women-led groups increased community participation and "by creating community networks and civic action, they represent a model for community development efforts" (Gittell, et al. 2000, 123). My study documents the strategies and networks of women-led CDOs in MDC that prioritize women's economic security. Their strategies are especially important during these times of economic recession and government reductions in funding towards social services. The focus of the research is women-led CDOs that work to improve social services access, economic opportunity, civic participation and capacity, and women's rights. Although many women-led CDOs prioritize building social infrastructures that promote change, inequalities in economic and political status for women without economic security remain a challenge (Young 2004). My research supports previous studies by Gittell, et al., finding that women-led CDOs in Miami-Dade County have key characteristics of a model of community development efforts that use networking and collaboration to strengthen their broad, integrated approach. The resulting community partnerships, coupled with participation by constituents in the development process, build a foundation to influence policy decisions for social change. In addition, my findings show that women-led CDOs in Miami-Dade County have a major focus on alleviating poverty and economic insecurity, particularly that of women. Finally, it was found that a majority of the five organizations network transnationally, using lessons learned to inform their work of expanding the agency of their constituents and placing the economic empowerment of women as central in the process of family and community development.

Global Factors Affecting Women's Participation in Leadership

This dissertation is a multi-level, cross-cultural study of women in leadership conducted with both macro-society data and individual-level data aggregated to the country level. The research questions are, “What macro and micro forces are hindering or advancing women into business or political leadership?” “How do these forces impact the level of women’s involvement in business and political leadership in a particular country?” Data was collected from 10 secondary sources, available for 213 countries, and includes about 300 variables for business leadership (N=115) and political leadership (N=181). To date, most women in leadership research has been Western- or US- based, and little rigorous empirical, multi-level research has been done across countries. The importance of cross-cultural studies on women in leadership stems from the potential to better understand why some countries have more women in positions of both business and political leadership; and the factors that affect women’s involvement in such positions in different countries. A “Levels of Women’s Participation in Leadership” country model is tested using cluster and discriminant analyses. Results indicate that the factors that affect women’s participation in leadership in countries with fewer women leaders are different from the factors that affect women’s participation in countries with high levels of participation. This dissertation proposes that initiatives to increase participation of women in leadership need to consider the relevant factors that significantly affect countries at certain Levels of Women’s Participation in Leadership.

Women-led Community Development Organizations (CDOs) in Miami-Dade County: A Model of Community Development Efforts Impacting the Economic Security of Women

Recent studies on the economic status of women in Miami-Dade County (MDC) reveal an alarming rate of economic insecurity and significant obstacles for women to achieve economic security. Consistent barriers to women’s economic security affect not only the health and wellbeing of women and their families, but also economic prospects for the community. A key study reveals in Miami-Dade County, “Thirty-nine percent of single female-headed families with at least one child are living at or below the federal poverty level” and “over half of working women do not earn adequate income to cover their basic necessities” (Brion 2009, 1). Moreover, conventional measures of poverty do not adequately capture women’s struggles to support themselves and their families, nor do they document the numbers of women seeking basic self-sufficiency. Even though there is lack of accurate data on women in the county, which is a critical problem, there is also a dearth of social science research on existing efforts to enhance women’s economic security in Miami-Dade County. My research contributes to closing the information gap by examining the characteristics and strategies of women-led community development organizations (CDOs) in MDC, working to address women’s economic insecurity. The research is informed by a framework developed by Marilyn Gittell, who pioneered an approach to study women-led CDOs in the United States. On the basis of research in nine U.S. cities, she concluded that women-led groups increased community participation and “by creating community networks and civic action, they represent a model for community development efforts” (Gittell, et al. 2000, 123). My study documents the strategies and networks of women-led CDOs in MDC that prioritize women’s economic security. Their strategies are especially important during these times of economic recession and government reductions in funding towards social services. The focus of the research is women-led CDOs that work to improve social services access, economic opportunity, civic participation and capacity, and women’s rights. Although many women-led CDOs prioritize building social infrastructures that promote change, inequalities in economic and political status for women without economic security remain a challenge (Young 2004). My research supports previous studies by Gittell, et al., finding that women-led CDOs in Miami-Dade County have key characteristics of a model of community development efforts that use networking and collaboration to strengthen their broad, integrated approach. The resulting community partnerships, coupled with participation by constituents in the development process, build a foundation to influence policy decisions for social change. In addition, my findings show that women-led CDOs in Miami-Dade County have a major focus on alleviating poverty and economic insecurity, particularly that of women. Finally, it was found that a majority of the five organizations network transnationally, using lessons learned to inform their work of expanding the agency of their constituents and placing the economic empowerment of women as central in the process of family and community development.