Digital Commons Network^™

Terrorism In Nigeria: Culmination Of Economic Disenfranchisement, Social Marginalization And Political Instability, Olalekan Afolabi

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

International Conventions And The Failure Of A Transnational Approach To Controlling Asian Crime Business, Mark Findlay, Nafis Hanif

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The paper argues that without a realistic understanding of criminal enterprise located against the commercial forces shaping contemporary Asian market contexts, then domestic, bi-lateral, regional and international control initiatives are not only likely to fail in their regulatory objectives, but the premises on which they are constructed may heighten the market conditions for crime business profitability.The international convention-based approach to regulating transnational and organized crime is the framework from which a critique of non-market centred law enforcement control concentrations is developed. This critique reveals the transposition of flawed normative control considerations from domestic to supra-national control contexts, and shows how …

Quick And Dirty: Some Psychosocial Costs Associated With The Dark Triad In Three Countries, Peter K. Jonason, Norman P. Li, Anna Z. Czarna

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The current study provides the first examination of the relationship between life history indicators and the Dark Triad traits in an international sample drawn from the U.S. (n = 264), Singapore (n = 185), and Poland (n = 177). In all three samples, the Dark Triad traits were associated with psychosocial costs, although there were more links in the Singaporean and Polish samples than in the American sample. In the U.S., the quality of one’s romantic relationships and psychopathy were negatively correlated. Narcissism was higher in the Polish and American samples than in the Singaporean sample. Men scored higher than …

The Minimum Wage, Decent Wages, And Time Sovereignty In The European Union, Kathleen A. Ragon

Student Publications

The minimum wage is a legally mandated relationship between money and time. Traditionally, studies of the minimum wage have focused on the money side of this relationship (e.g. how much do minimum wage workers earn) while ignoring its temporal aspects (e.g. how long someone has to work to receive a particular income). This is a significant oversight because it overlooks the temporal investments that minimum wage workers must make in order to achieve a specific sum of money (e.g. there is a significant temporal difference if a minimum wage worker can achieve an income above a poverty threshold by working …

The Influence Of University Personnel Upon Students' Spirituality At Selected Adventist Universities In West Africa, Isaiah Ola Abolarin

Dissertations

Problem and Purpose. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a deep concern for youth and young adults' spirituality. Hence the church established institutions of higher learning with the aim of restoring in youth and young adults the image of God in which they were created. There are programs and activities in these institutions to accomplish the aim, but there is still concern among church leaders and parents that young people will abandon their faith and exit the church. This study explored the influence of interactions between students and university personnel in selected Adventist universities in West Africa that, apart from programs …

Secularity, Religion And The Possibilities For Religious Citizenship, Lyn Parker, Chang Yau Hoon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Scholarly predictions of the secularization of the world have proven premature. We see a heterogeneous world in which religion remains a significant and vital social and political force. This paper reflects critically upon secularization theory in order to see how scholars can productively respond to the, at least partly, religious condition of the world at the beginning of the twenty first century. We note that conventional multiculturalism theory and policy neglects religion, and argue the need for a reconceptualization of understanding of religion and secularity, particularly in a context of multicultural citizenship — such as in Australia and Indonesia. We …

Corporate Social Responsibility As Corporate Soft Law: Mainstreaming Ethical And Responsible Conduct In Corporate Governance, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article explores corporate social responsibility ("CSR') as a viable mode of regulation and governance in the corporate arena. A starting premise is that good corporate governance must move resolutely beyond a compliance mindset to one which recognises that effective corporate governance must have an ethical backbone in which the dimensions of responsibility, transparency, and accountability are evident, recognised and supported. Regulatory endeavours and corporate governance reforms in the past decade have increasingly intersected with mainstream CSR motivations. CSR is increasingly inducted and mainstreamed into corporate governance thinking, characterised by the dual perspective ofrisk management and values-driven/principled governance and operations. …

Associative Duties And Immigration, Javier S. Hidalgo

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This paper evaluates an argument for immigration restrictions that appeals to the costs that immigration imposes on the citizens of a recipient state. According to this argument, citizens have associative duties to protect each other’s interests, immigration can damage these interests in certain cases, and the associative duties between compatriots justify immigration restrictions in these cases. Call this: the partiality argument for immigration restrictions. I argue that the partiality argument is unsound. Immigration restrictions violate negative duties to refrain from interfering with people’s liberties and these duties silence compatriots’ associative duties to one another. Furthermore, I argue that compatriots lack …

The Spirit-Mediums Of Singkawang: Performing Peoplehood Of West Kalimantan, Margaret Chan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Chinese New Year in the West Kalimantan town of Singkawang is marked by a parade featuring hundreds of possessed spirit-mediums performing self-mortification and blood sacrifice. The event is a huge tourist draw, but beyond the spectacle, deeper meanings are enacted. The spirit-medium procession stages a fraternity of Dayak, Malay and Chinese earth gods united in the purpose of exorcising demons from the neighborhood. The self-conscious presentation of the Chinese as brethren among pribumi [sons-of-the-soil] Dayak and Malay, proposes the Chinese as belonging to the ‘peoplehood’ of West Kalimantan.

Cultural Differences And Switching Of In-Group Sharing Behavior Between An American (Facebook) And A Chinese (Renren) Social Networking Site, Lin Qiu, Han Lin, Angela K. Y. Leung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Prior research has documented cultural dimensions that broadly characterize between-culture variations in Western and East Asian societies and that bicultural individuals can flexibly change their behaviors in response to different cultural contexts. In this article, we studied cultural differences and behavioral switching in the context of the fast emerging, naturally occurring online social networking, using both self-report measures and content analyses of online activities on two highly popular platforms, Facebook and Renren (the “Facebook of China”). Results showed that while Renren and Facebook are two technically similar platforms, the Renren culture is perceived as more collectivistic than the Facebook culture. …

Comparing Local Models Of Agrarian Transition In China, Qian Forrest Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The development of markets and the penetration of capital into agriculture have started the agrarian transition in rural China, which is transforming smallholding, household-based agriculture into various forms of capitalistic production. This again raises in a new historical and social context the long-debated question in the agrarian transition literature: Can family farms survive the onslaught of capitalist agriculture based on wage labor and what shapes the confrontation between family farms and agro-capital? I argue that it is the local political economy—rather than some natural obstacles in agriculture to the penetration of capitalism—that shapes this confrontation and gives rise to a …

Soldiers Of Science--Agents Of Culture: American Archaeologists In The Office Of Strategic Services (Oss), Despina Lalaki

Publications and Research

"Scientificity" and appeals to political independence are invaluable tools when institutions such as the American School of Classical Studies at Athens attempt to maintain professional autonomy. Nonetheless, the cooperation of scientists and scholars with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), among them archaeologists affiliated with the American School, suggests a constitutive affinity between political and cultural leadership. This relationship is here mapped in historical terms, while, at the same time, sociological categorizations of knowledge and its employment are used in order to situate archaeologists in their broader social and political context and to evaluate their work not merely as agents …

Culturally Responsive Methodologies At Work In Education Settings, Mere Berryman, Suzanne Soohoo, Ann Nevin, Te Arani Barrett, Therese Ford, Debora Joy Nodelman, Norma Valenzuela, Anna Wilson

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe culturally responsive methodology as a way to develop researchers. The aim is to illuminate the dimensions of culturally responsive methodology such as cultural and epistemological pluralism, deconstruction of Western colonial traditions of research, and primacy of relationships within culturally responsive dialogic encounters. An overarching question is: “How can we maintain the original integrity of both participants and researchers and their respective cultures and co-construct at the same time something new?”

Design/methodology/approach – Five case study narratives are described in order for readers to understand the range and types of studies …

Towards Aid Effectiveness : Contested Theories And Concepts : A Case Study Of Ghana’S Community–Based Rural Development Project, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The discussion of aid effectiveness continues to gain prominence in international development policy discourse and analysis. However, the question of why aid seems to be ineffective is far more complicated and remains largely unanswered. While the notions that aid drives donors’ interests and creates dependency are still relevant, this thesis confronts the problem, by examining the issues that influenced the operationalisation and effectiveness of aid programs in the context of Ghana’s Community-Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) (2005-2011). By arguing that aid dependency and “aid as a concept” are different, the thesis makes the most basic assumption that ‘aid’ is not …

Women's Mobilization In Latin America: A Case Study Of Venezuela, Brianna Russell

Master's Theses

Abstract

I examine the following elements in regards to women’s mobilization in Latin America and Venezuela from the late 1950s to the present: (a) the influence of the state and economy on times when women mobilized (b) class division within the movement (c) women’s demands during different time periods (d) the ways in which women were successful in working towards gender equality. This thesis reviews the literature on women’s mobilization in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth century. I find that women mobilized across class lines with the masses to end dictatorships. Women demobilized during transitions to …

Between Facebook And Boas: Kichwa Indigenous Identity In Alto Napo And Challenges To Multiculturalism In Ecuador, Anna Maria Fernandez-Marti

Master's Theses

This qualitative study examines contemporary Kichwa indigenous identity formation in the Alto Napo region of Ecuador through Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital. Following an extended-case method, I analyze the articulation of indigenousness (as an idealized expression of tradition) vis-à-vis the power relationships of the actors involved in such process. A combination between participant observation, daily field notes and twelve tape-recorded interviews during a two-month research allowed me to deconstruct essentialist portrayals and stereotypes of Kichwa indigenous peoples in Alto Napo, and confirm that their identity is hybrid, multiple and shifting. A comparative analysis between urban and rural social dynamics in …

Re-Evaluating Peacebuilding In The Democratic Republic Of Congo: A Case Study In Dongo, Wilita Sanguma

Master's Theses

Re-evaluating Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A case study in Dongo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) is a country rich with natural resources centered in the heart of Africa. Since the colonial era, the country has seen more bloodshed than peace and development. From 1996 to 2003, Congo experienced the worst conflict since World War II, with over six million people dead. Despite having the largest United Nations peacekeeping troops present; Congo continues to be plagued by violence. This research thesis argues that the international community failed to promote a lasting peace in Congo because the international …

Oil, Power, And Discourse: How Chevron Evaded Its Dues To The Indigenous Communities Of The Ecuadorian Amazon, Kine Norland

Master's Theses

Abstract

The principal objectives of this thesis were to shed lights on the backside of oil and to question the great power of big corporations. I researched why Chevron refused to acknowledge its legal obligation to remedy the complex problems it has caused in the Ecuadorian Rainforest. The catastrophes the indigenous communities have been facing are about to change as a result of grass root mobilization against Chevron. By the use of observations, discourse analysis of the media, and the use of theories from Michel Foucault, I was able to explain how Chevron has managed to escape from the terrible …

Why Eu Work-Family Reconciliation Policies Fail In Italy: A Feminist Legal Analysis, Chrystal Orozco

Master's Theses

Following the establishment of the European Parental Leave Directive (96/34/EC), the female employment rate in Italy is still ranked the third lowest in the European Union (EU) and Italian women continue to do twice as much household work as Italian men. Parents, especially women, struggle to find a balance between professional work and their family lives in a society that encourages the traditional gendered roles of the housewife and the breadwinner. The following study is a theoretical analysis of the Parental Leave Directive and the potential domestic influences that may prevent Italy from progressing socially towards gender equality. This study …

Egyptian Civil Society (Transnational Vs. Local): The Distinction Between Theory And Practice, Jeremiah Davis

Master's Theses

Abstract:

The strength and dominance of political society, rather than the weaknesses of civil society, is arguably one of the primary reasons for massive civil uprising in Egypt led by independent, unaffiliated members of society. In many cases it appears that civil society was behind the Egyptian Revolution, although is this the case? Did the Revolution happen in spite of civil society? Just as the state can be a roadblock to development and democratization, civil society may also be detrimental to society’s growth. In this thesis, the development and civil society community is analyzed to discover the functions of CSOs …

Educating For A Common Collective : Pedagogies Of Sharing And Caring, Anita Rampal

South South Forum 南南論壇

Declaring an ‘educational arms race’ with India and China, President Obama warned his country against ‘unilateral disarmament’ with budget cuts, because ‘countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow.’ Militaristic jingoism leads to new terms such as ‘out-think’ and ‘out-educate’, reflecting a crassly competitive commodification of knowledge. This is contrary to the spirit of transformative education, which looks at education to reduce inequalities, to ensure sustainable development and to address social justice for all through collective action. Despite the Jomtien World Declaration on ‘Education For All’ with an ‘expanded vision’ - for the empowerment of children, youth and adults …

未来的维度 = The Dimension Of The Future, Jinhua Dai

South South Forum 南南論壇

在本论文中，笔者集中讨论21世纪语境中的“未来”作为一个议题及其参数。对于笔者说来，未来议题，不关乎时间，不是乌托邦的别称。“未来”之为议题的提出，针对着没有未来，即“末日”。笔者的问题是：资本主义的末日是否人类的末日？或者，如何避免资本主义的末日成为人类的末日？未来议题同时是关于革命及共产主义的再思考。

The focus of this paper is on “the future” as a subject of concern, and the parameters within which it is broached in the context of the 21^st century. For the writer, the question of “the future” is not really a temporal one, neither is it another name for utopia. Rather, it is moved by apprehensions of the disappearance of time altogether, that is, the looming of doom. My question is: is the end of capitalism the end of humanity? Or rather, how to avoid the fall of capitalism to bring about the fall of humanity, a question …

Political Process And Land Reform In Nepal = 尼泊尔的土地改革与政治过程, Arjun Kumar Karki

South South Forum 南南論壇

Landlessness and political struggles in Nepal are deeply inter-related. Landlessness in Nepal is rooted in a long history of feudal land governance, political inertia and nepotism. Furthermore, the skewed landownership patterns practiced were deepened by a deeply discriminatory and strictly hierarchical society that excluded women, ethnic minorities and tribal groups, especially, those of lower castes and classes. Due to this prevailing exclusion and discrimination, the call for land reform as a rallying cry has long been used by politicians as a tool for political mobilization and for garnering support in Nepal. However, despite several political developments and repeated political commitments, …

Agrarian Reform And Rural Reconstruction In The Philippines = 菲律宾土地改革与农村重建, Isagani R. Serrano

South South Forum 南南論壇

Agrarian reform is at the heart of rural reconstruction and both are essential to achieving sustainable development. It includes not only land redistribution but also empowerment of peasants as key actors in building the rural economy. Land is not only an asset to be owned and accessed but also as a natural resource with multiple uses for both economic development and protection of ecosystems. Land ownership has hitherto been a centerpiece question in Philippine development, indeed, in nation building. Land monopoly on one side and landlessness on the other have defined to a large extent the history and political economy …

梁漱溟乡村建设中心的当代实践 = Introduction Of Liang Shuming Rural Reconstruction Center, Lanying Zhang

South South Forum 南南論壇

梁漱溟乡村建设的核心思想是人的建设和社会的重建。在过去的20年里，一批年轻人在梁漱溟等先人思想的感召下，面对全球化带来的一些列社会问题的挑战，全身心地投入到乡村重建的工作中，从90年支持农民的维权行动，发展到2000年开展综合的新农村建设，坚持不懈地直到今天的生态文明建设的工作。梁漱溟乡村建设中心一直积极地参与到这些工作中，尤其是在组织大学生支农调研维权，到支持农民合作组织来建设农村的自治组织，通过社区支持农业来建构城市和农村互相支持的平台等方面发挥了重要的作用。

在多年的实践中，梁漱溟乡村建设中心意识到要实现乡村建设的目标是需要一个长期的努力过程，尤其是在培养人才，进而形成内生的自我解决社会问题的力量。在这个过程中，如何协助参与这个过程的人群的学习，不仅是我们自己，还有我们的合作伙伴-农民，作为主体能够意识到自身所处的小乡村的命运与大社会变革的关系，进而转化为主动型维护自身阶层利益的能力，是非常重要的，也是我们目前所面对的巨大挑战。

Liang Shuming’s core philosophy for rural reconstruction is human reconstruction and social reconstruction. In the past 20 years, a group of people, who believe the philosophy of rural reconstruction, have taken the challenges of globalization through supporting farmers’ legal appeal to protect their rights in the 1990s, supporting government’ new socialist rural reconstruction program in 2000s, and further to build ecological civilization in the society in 2010s. Liang Shuming Rural Reconstruction Center has actively participated in these three phases and has played key roles in the process of college students’ re-education by organizing rural research for farmers’ right …

当代乡村建设的实践与反思, Jiaen Pan, Xiaohui Yan

South South Forum 南南論壇

跳出生态看生态——以中国当代乡村建设实践为例 (潘家恩)

日益“时尚化”的生态议题绝不是少数人制造出来的末日预言，它是真实发生在我们身边的普遍现实，同时也是当代乡村建设的重要工作内容与面向，更是乡村建设结合其它工作进行深入思考的独特角度。所以，乡村建设必须直接回应生态与可持续议题，但需要结合以更广阔的整体视野。本文结合笔者所参与的三组当代乡村建设实际案例展开分析，希望将其放回具体和历史的脉络中，结合以经济、文化、政治等多种面向，尝试指出：生态有问题，不只是生态问题！乡村生态的改善之道自然不可就事论事。

As opposed to being an apocalyptic prophecy advocated by a small group of people, the increasingly “fashionable” ecological issues are not only popular realities happening in our daily life, but also important tasks and aspects of Contemporary Rural Reconstruction and a unique perspective for reflection in amalgamating discussions in Rural Reconstruction with other related tasks and disciplines. Therefore Rural Reconstruction must respond directly to the issues of Ecology and Sustainability but in doing so, requires the incorporation of a broader and more integrative and holistic vision. This paper analyses three of the case studies of Contemporary Rural …

乡村建设思想的历史起点, Xianming Wang

South South Forum 南南論壇

在近代中国思潮的起伏波动中，重商主义的倡导与中国传统的重农思想的冲突在所不免，由此引发了一场持续数十年的“工商立国”与“农业立国”之争。自1901年初《自强说》发表至1911年清朝覆亡的10年间，见诸报刊的讨论文字日渐增多，其观点则大致可分为工商为本论，农工商并重论，农业为本论三大类。1920年《农业立国意见书》的发表，标志着“农业立国论”将在未来的历史选择中开始拥有了独特的时代意义和价值。从某种意义而言，它形成了其后乡村建设思想的历史起点。

论卢作孚“乡村现代化”及“以经济建设为中心”思想及其启示意义 = Discussions On Lu Zuofu's "Rural Modernization" And "Taking Economy Building As Center" , And The Inspirational Meaning Thereof, Chonglai Liu

South South Forum 南南論壇

卢作孚乡村建设思想及实践探析之一

卢作孚主持的嘉陵江三峡乡村建设运动，是民国时期众多乡村建设实验中持续时间最长（1927~1949），成效突出的一个。其重要原因是卢作孚将“乡村现代化”作为其乡村建设运动的宗旨和理想目标；将“以经济建设为中心”作为实现“乡村现代化”的建设方式和实践方针。两者相辅相成，成为嘉陵江三峡乡村建设运动持续不衰的动力，也成为在民国时期众多乡村建设实验取得与众不同较大成就、较好成效的重要原因，对今天建设社会主义新农村和西部大开发具有现实启示意义。

An exploration of Lu Zuofu's thoughts and practices on rural reconstruction

Of the many rural reconstruction experiments that took place during the Republic Period, the "Jialing River Three Gorges Rural Reconstruction Movement " conducted by Lu Zuofu was the most long – lasting and had outstanding success. The major reason was that Lu Zuofu embraced "Rural Modernization” as the aim and ideal for the movement, and "Taking Economy Building as Center” to be the means and practical principle for realizing “Rural Modernization”. The two concepts complemented each other and became a sustainable, unwavering impetus behind the "Jialing River …

梁漱溟乡村建设思想与实践 = Liang Shuming’S Thoughts And Practices On Rural Reconstruction, Peishu Liang

South South Forum 南南論壇

No abstract provided.

晏阳初乡村建设历程 = Rural Construction Practice Of Yang Yangchu, Hongguo Yan

South South Forum 南南論壇

晏阳初先生是世界著名平民教育家，中国乡村建设运动的奠基人，在上世纪20年代初兴起的的中国平民教育和乡村建设运动中，他一枝独秀，在时间上坚持最长，从1926年定县实验开始到1990年逝世，长达70余年；在空间上扩展最广，从中国的华北（河北定县实验县）、华中（湖南衡山实验县）华西（新都实验县、华西实验区）到亚洲（菲律宾、泰国、印度）非洲（加纳）拉丁美洲（危地马拉、哥伦比亚）。他不但长期躬身实践，积累了丰富的实践经验，而且创造了完整的理论体系，被广泛地运用于世界乡村改造运动。

晏阳初的乡村建设的历程，可分为三个阶段。1926年开始的定县实验，标志着晏阳初领导的平民教育运动实现了从识字运动到乡村建设的（即兼及对人和自然环境、社会环境进行综合改造）的重大转折。这是一个质的突破，标志着平民教育运动发展到一个崭新的阶段。到1936年6月，定县实验才因抗日战争爆发而被迫停止。这10年，是晏阳初乡村建设运动的第一阶段。第一阶段的主要成果是创造了“定县经验”，找到了建设中国农村的正确方法，后来被证明也是适合改造世界贫困农村的正确方法。第二阶段包括湖南衡山实验县、四川新都实验县及华西实验区的工作，其中尤以华西实验区的工作为代表，历时13年。第三阶段是从上世纪50年代起将产生于中国大地，由中国人创造的乡村建设理论推向世界大舞台，经受了不同国度的人文环境、自然环境、政治环境的长期考验。这个阶段是以菲律宾的乡村建设为起始，扩展到亚、非、拉广大第三世界国家和地区，从1950年开始到1990年晏阳初逝世，历时40年。

Yang Yangchu was a world famous civil educator, the founder of national rural construction movement. He worked in this field for the longest time among his peers, since 1926’s Ding Xian experiment till 1990 when he passed away; also involved the most extensive range, from Northern China (Ding Xian, Hebei Province), Central China (Hengshan, Hunan Province), Western China (Xindu) to other Asian countries such as Thailand, India, Philippines; Ghana in Africa and Guatemala, Colombia in Latin America. Not only he practiced in the field, but also constructed a set of theories to be applied in the world wide …