Foreword

In order to provide an international structure for the humane and scientific study of peoples, problems, and issues in the world’s developing countries, with the ultimate goal of improving quality of life, the late Dr. Harold Isaacs, Professor Emeritus of History at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, GA, founded the Association of Third World Studies (ATWS), Inc., in 1983. ATWS is now the largest professional Third World Studies organization in the world with a global membership and chapters in South Asia and Africa.

ATWS began its history as an institution in 1991 when, under the newly ratified ATWS Constitution, elected officials assumed responsibility for the management of the organization. Since 1992 the Executive Headquarters have been located at Georgia Southern University (1992-2003), Mississippi State University (2003-2006), and Louisiana State University-Shreveport (2006-). Due to the dedicated and energetic leadership of Zia H. Hashmi and Paul Rodell at Georgia Southern, Shu-hui Wu at Mississippi State and, presently, William Pederson at LSUS, ATWS has made great progress as a global, professional organization. In 1995 the United Nations recognized the success of ATWS by granting it UN “consultative status,” thus enabling the Association to increase its direct impact on world development. ATWS has an established website on the internet. The address for the ATWS website is: http://apps.gsw.edu/atws/

Membership in ATWS is open to any person interested in studying the developing countries. Yearly membership dues are $60.00, which includes an annual subscription to JTWS. The yearly subscription rate is $60.00, and single copies are $30.00. Membership and subscription forms, as well as copies of JTWS, may be obtained by writing to the Association of Third World Studies, Inc., P.O. Box 1232, Americus, GA 31709-1232. Individuals interested in submitting articles and book reviews to be considered, or refereed, for publication by the JTWS Board of Editors, should write to the Editor, Dr. Gary Kline, at the above address.

Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and indexed in International Bibliography of Periodical Literature; International Bibliography of Book Reviews; International Bibliography of the Social Sciences; International Political Science Abstracts; Political Science Abstracts; Sociological Abstracts; Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts; Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life; Periodica Islamica; A Matter of Fact; Media Review; Consumers Index; Social Sciences Index; University Microfilms, Inc., PAIS Indexes; and CAB International. (CABI).

On behalf of all ATWS members and JTWS subscribers worldwide, the editor would like to express his gratitude to the associate editors of the Journal. Without the dedication and superlative scholarship, skills, and abilities of Yi Sun (Asia), Peter Dumbuya (Africa), Chaitram Singh (Latin America), and Michael Hall (Book Reviews), JTWS would not possess its present scope and quality.

Sincere appreciation and thanks are also extended to Sara Abernathy, our new editorial assistant. I have strong reasons to believe that she will contribute significantly to improving the quality of our journal. Tom Goodlett of Value Print and Media, LLC, also deserves thanks and praise for his excellent production work.