The Bumpy Road to Democracy: Success and Failure in the Integration of Ethnic Armenians in the Republic of Georgia

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Carotenoid content of pandanus fruit cultivars and other foods of the Republic of Kiribati

Background: Kiribati, a remote atoll island country of the Pacific, has serious problems of vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Thus, it is important to identify locally grown acceptable foods that might be promoted to alleviate this problem. Pandanus fruit (Pandanus tectorius) is a well-liked indigenous Kiribati food with many cultivars that have orange/yellow flesh, indicative of carotenoid content. Few have been previously analysed. Aim: This study was conducted to identify cultivars of pandanus and other foods that could be promoted to alleviate VAD in Kiribati. Method: Ethnography was used to select foods and assess acceptability factors. Pandanus and other foods were analysed for beta- and alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene and total carotenoids using high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: Of the nine pandanus cultivars investigated there was a great range of provitamin A carotenoid levels (from 62 to 19 086 mu g beta-carotene/100 g), generally with higher levels in those more deeply coloured. Seven pandanus cultivars, one giant swamp taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis) cultivar and native fig (Ficus tinctoria) had significant provitamin A carotenoid content, meeting all or half of estimated daily vitamin A requirements within normal consumption patterns. Analyses in different laboratories confirmed high carotenoid levels in pandanus but showed that there are still questions as to how high the levels might be, owing to variation arising from different handling/preparation/analytical techniques. Conclusions: These carotenoid-rich acceptable foods should be promoted for alleviating VAD in Kiribati and possibly other Pacific contexts where these foods are important. Further research in the Pacific is needed to identify additional indigenous foods with potential health benefits.

Tradition, myth and the dilemma of Australian foreign policy

For a middle power with a relatively short history of framing a self determined foreign policy, Australia has actively sought to engage with both its immediate region and the wider world. Elite agreement on this external orientation, however, has by no means entailed consensus on what this orientation might involve in terms of policy. Consequently, two, often conflicting, traditions and their associated myths have informed Australian foreign policy-making. The most enduring tradition shaping foreign policy views Australia as a somewhat isolated bastion of Western civilisation. In this mode Australia's myth is pragmatic, but uncertain and sees Asia as both an opportunity and a potential threat which requires the support and counsel of culturally similar external powers engaged in the region to ensure stability. Against this, an alternative and historically later tradition crafted a foreign policy that advanced Australian independence through engagement with a seemingly monolithic and increasingly prosperous Asia. This paper explores the evolution and limitations of these foreign policy traditions and the myths that sustain them. It further considers what features of these traditions continue to have resonance in a region that has become more fluid and heterogeneous than it was during the Cold War and which requires a foreign policy flexibility that can address this complex and strategically uncertain environment.

Immigration, asylum and citizenship in Germany: the impact of unification and the Berlin Republic

In recent years, there has been much debate over whether post-unification Germany, often termed the 'Berlin Republic', represents a substantive change from the 'Bonn Republic ', that is, West Germany. This article analyses Germany's immigration and citizenship policy against this background by examining various dimensions of immigration before and after unification. The article argues that both unification itself and Germany's changed international environment have resulted in far-reaching changes in policy, which have forced a reappraisal of Germany's traditional self-image as a 'non-immigration country'.

Babies, bodies and entitlement: gendered aspects of access to citizenship in the Republic of Ireland

Since the mid-1990s, automatic citizenship for children born in the Republic has been a source of growing debate against a backdrop of increasing immigration and the peace process. In June 2004, the debate culminated in a referendum, opening the way to a constitutional amendment that attaches residence qualifications to the hitherto unfettered entitlement to citizenship available through ius soli. Arguments for the amendment were couched in terms of a threat posed by Third World women having babies in Ireland to obtain residence, and a putative obligation to the EU to harmonise citizenship laws. This article explores how pregnant foreign women’s bodies became a site of perplexity about the borders of the twenty-first century Irish nation. It is therefore suggested that neither the ‘racial state’ theories nor feminist theories of the nation-state account fully for this. On closer inspection, the seemingly sui generis case of the Irish referendum is therefore fruitful in that it demands further reflection in terms of bridging gaps in the existing theory.

A comparison of the impact of trained media specialists and untrained media personnel in junior colleges in the Republic of China

From educational, communications, psychological, and technical points of view, the renovation of pedagogy in media education is based upon the promotion of "educational technology." The promotion of educational technology relies upon the appropriate availability and knowledge of different educational media made available by the trained media personnel.^ In the past three decades most of the junior colleges in Taiwan set up educational media centers to help students learn through the use of media which enables them to obtain optimum benefits in a short time. What are the roles the media personnel play in the media center? What responsibilities have they to bear in the center? What differences are there when a trained and untrained media personnel are presented in junior colleges media center in Taiwan? What do the trained and untrained media personnel feel toward the importance of each media service in the area of media center's administration, media production, specialized media duties, and the training of staff in media use? These are the questions addressed in this study.^ Through the study of the related literature and a survey conducted in the junior colleges in Taiwan, recommendations are offered to provide improvement of the services and training of media specialists in Taiwan that are appropriate for a changing work and environment. These recommendations are for media specialists to be formally trained to effectively serve the changing needs of school library media so as to make optimal use of media in the junior colleges. ^

Structural adjustment and labor in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic

Statement of the problem. It seeks to examine whether structural adjustment in Jamaica produced the desired developmental effects for labor--both organized and non-unionized--and if there is any significant difference in the Dominican Republic, which did not undergo that economic transformation. The research hypothesis is; "Structural Adjustment leads to Marginalization of labor."^ Methodology used. The methodology is mostly a straight cross-sectional analysis using data sets and publications from the UN, ILO, World Bank and IDB, as well as local statistical sources. The dissertation is primarily an historical to contemporary analysis of the Jamaican experience under structural adjustment, as it related to labor. To a greater extent it involves a straight cross-national comparison on the historical experiences of each country and a discussion of the relative similarities and differences between them, and the impact these features had on labor.^ Summary of findings. In the end, the question is asked as to whether internal factors are important in the relative success or failure of development strategies. From the data there is some indication that under structural adjustment there has been limited economic benefits for labor in Jamaica while labor standards have not improved. In the Dominican Republic the economic performance has been similar but the labor standards have improved significantly. This thus leads to the conclusion that structural adjustment may have been a factor in the resistance to labor's empowerment.^ Nevertheless, the study also shows that there may have been a causal role which local power relations had. The suggestion from the study is that in analyzing the phenomenon, attention must be paid to internal as well as external dynamics and variables. ^

Defense Expenditure: Central America and The Dominican Republic

It is often speculated that the high allocation of funds to retirement pension systems has influenced the capacity of Central American and Dominican Republic military to modernize. Yet, the comparative study of the allocation of pension and social funds in these particular countries suggest that there is not direct linkage between the poor funding of military modernization plans and the allocation of funds to military pension systems. The research conducted on this subject shows the following results: 1. The Dominican Republic is the only country that has embarked on a considerable procurement of modern equipment and still reports the largest proportion of social expenditures. 2. El Salvador’s defense budget allocates minimal funding to Social Welfare Institute, which as alternative sources of funding. In 2009, El Salvador increased 15 percent funding to the military to respond to increased role in domestic security issues. 3. The Guatemalan defense expenditure on social programs is fairly low, but it has grown during the past six years due to processes of demobilization. However, the Military Social Welfare Institute is administered by a decentralized institution funded directly by the Ministry of Finance. If it were to be considered as a part of the defense budget, its social expenses would account for almost 16% of it. 4. The Honduran Defense Budget has faced a considerable enlargement during the past four years, with social spending expenses taken precedence over modernization efforts. 2 5. The Nicaraguan system of military pensions is administered by a decentralized entity (IPSM) through a system of salary deductions. Information on the funding of this entity is inconclusive. The Nicaraguan Defense spending on social services has reported a drastic 90% drop since the year 2007.

Between the Colony and the Revolution: The Formation of the Cuban Nation through Children's Literature of the Republic (1902-1958}), Lecture by Zeila Frade

This flyer promotes the event "Between the Colony and the Revolution: The Formation of the Cuban Nation through Children's Literature of the Republic (1902-1958} Lecture by Zeila Frade".

Between the Colony and the Revolution: The Formation of the Cuban Nation through Children's Literature of the Republic (1902-1958), Lecture by Zeila Frade

Literary researcher and professor Zeila Frade gives a lecture analyzing the relationship among children's literature, ideology, and cultural identity in Cuba.