Digital Commons Network^™

Is There A Trade-Off? Infant Health Outcomes And Managed Care Competition, Shana L. Moore

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

This study offers insights into the impact of competition among Managed Care organizations (MCOs) on infant birthing charges and birth outcomes. Kentucky provides one of the nation’s first case studies to determine successes and failures of Medicaid MCOs, and by doing so, provides a prediction of the impact of Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) competition on healthcare costs and birth outcomes. An analysis of a natural policy experiment in the state of Kentucky reveals that infants insured by a Medicaid MCO stay longer in hospitals, are less healthy, and cost more than those insured under Traditional Medicaid prior to …

Determining The Significance Of Alliance Pathologies In Bipolar Systems: A Case Of The Peloponnesian War From 431-421 Bce, Anthony Lee Meyer

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The literature proposes that bipolar systems and international systems with nuclear weapons will not have significant issues with alliance pathologies. But are alliance pathologies really insignificant in Bipolar Systems? The problem is that the literature only describes bipolar systems with nuclear weapons, so one cannot discern whether bipolarity or nuclear weapons alone are responsible for the insignificance of these alliance pathologies. So to solve this problem, this paper will examine a bipolar system in Classical Greece during the time of the Peloponnesian War to isolate any possible influence that nuclear weapons may have on alliance pathologies. This will be done …

"U.S. – China Competition In Asia-Pacific Region: The Aiib And The New Global Order?, Insill Park

Dissertations and Theses

China’s initiation of the New Silk Road plan in late 2013 has a potentially huge impact on global development. The purpose of this thesis is to understand, the impacts of the Chinaled on the global financial system. This paper highlights key issues related to finances and governance at the AIIB. The paper focuses on China’s Silk Road Economic Belt framework and on how China’s efforts to increase its economic integration in Asia Pacific Region. The “One Belt and One Road” program is China’s major strategic measure in response to the emerging trends in economic globalization, with the objectives of increasing …

The Incongruence Of Development Assistance: An Overview Of World Bank Policies, Elizabeth Garcia-Polanco

Dissertations and Theses

In post-conflict countries were instability has intensified, it becomes apparent how inadequate development assistance can be and why even after large sum of investments development assistance has not been able to completely alleviate poverty. For agencies like the World Bank that provide first hand assistance, we question whether there are prerequisites needed in order for their policies to be effective and whether these policies are targeting the core reasons for the countries’ poverty dilemma. African countries continue to hold intricate predicaments that may at times be too complicated to be analyzed without sufficient resources provided by the international community. While …

Globalization, Tourism And Sustainable Development: The Multifaceted Impact Of Tourism On Development And Poverty Alleviation In Brazil, Gaëlle Lopes Saraiva

Dissertations and Theses

Globalization is a popular concept deeply embedded in our era that represents the widespread intensification of transnational connections emblematic of this century. In general, this study aims to clarify the contradictory effects globalization exerts on development by specifically analyzing the particular impact of tourism in the emerging economy of Brazil. It is argued that the unequal distribution of tourism activities between urban and rural areas, and the prevalence of specific sizes and types of tourism are the main factors involved in sustaining unequal patterns of development across the country. The study concludes that public-private partnerships in tourism should prioritize the …

Health, Education And Children’S Rights: A Comparability Analysis Of Kenya And Brazil, Charlette Lopez

Dissertations and Theses

Developing adequate health care and education systems has been an ongoing struggle for the governments of both Kenya and Brazil. Despite moderate improvements in health and education statistics for both of these countries, there is clear evidence that these states will have to be actively engaged in order to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. Kenya and Brazil may differ in geographical location, history, culture, and socioeconomic status, but both countries are congruent in the challenges they face to provide sufficient access to quality health care and educational resources to the upcoming generations of children who are being failed by …

Change And Continuity: Turkish Foreign Policy Since 2002, Under The Justice And Development Party (Adalet Ve Kalkinma Partisi - Akp), Ustun Yuksel

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis analyzes the changes and continuity within Turkish foreign policy since 2002, under the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi - AKP). In order to understand modern Turkish politics, it is important to realize Turkey’s aspirations of becoming a full member of the European Union and its subsequent push for strategic alliances with the Middle East and former Turkic republics from the Soviet Union. The evidence shows that Turkey has consistently strived to improve its relationship with the EU in its effort to become a full member state, but the EU’s reluctance to accept Turkey as an …

Desecularization Of The State As A Resistance To The Globalization: A Case Study Of The Criminalization Of Blasphemy In Russia., Artem Profis

Dissertations and Theses

A cultural aspect of westernization remains in the shadow of widely discussed economic and political ones. While many states are conforming to the Western rules of the global market game, the cultural characteristics and differences are less mutable and thus less easily compromised and resolved than political and economic ones. The dissolution of the U.S.S.R. has left behind a void in the Russian identity. After unsuccessful attempts to assume a Western liberal identity during the first half of the 90s, Russia has opted for tried and tested Orthodox Christianity to fill that void and to form a new post-Soviet Russian …

The Refugee Convention And The Politics Of Domestic Rule Making In 44 Democracies: Where And How Do Institutions Matter?, Sean Christopher Anderson

Wayne State University Dissertations

I create a revealed preference decision model using markers of structural and ideational input factors informing the writing, passage, funding, and enforcement of domestic legislation in implementation of the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol within 44 democratic states. Where are domestic rules responsible for observed displays of compliance, and where are outcomes attributable to structural factors that render the domestic rule-making process effectively irrelevant? Where the outcome of the rule-making process is predicted to matter, elites may use the content of these rules toward the goal of continued policy influence and electoral …

The Effect Of State Capacity On Civil Conflict In India, Rimen Brar Singh

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to study the relationship between state capacity and civil conflict in India. This thesis provides insight on concepts such as state capacity, intrastate rebellious conflict, and greed and grievance, but the main focus of this thesis is on sub-national differences. The thesis attempts to demonstrate how sub-national differences may affect state capacity and influence intrastate conflict. Two aspects of sub-national differences are investigated: topography and roads. Specifically, data for topography and roads are confined within India. India is chosen to be a case study due to its diverseness in people and geography. The methods used to record …

A Formative Evaluation Of The Bloomington-Normal Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Emily Rego

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

This study serves as a formative evaluation of the Bloomington-Normal-McLean County, IL region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, which the development thereof is a tactical strategy outlined in the recently created Bloomington-Normal economic development plan (also known as BN Advantage). An entrepreneurial ecosystem is a network comprising of entrepreneurs, supporting organizations and entities such as investors, governments, universities and various other organizations with a focus on economic development. Vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems strengthen local entrepreneurial capacity, which then spurs economic development through job creation and growth, economic diversity and increasing a region’s competitive advantage. The methodology of this study involved combining qualitative and quantitative …

Responses To Change In The Global Political Economy Of Innovation – The Role Of Sub-National States In Industrial Transition, Dan Herman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation seeks to explore how sub-national levels of the state promote the development of new industrial sectors. To do so this dissertation builds on a series of theoretical perspectives on the role of the state in the economy and develops a unique view of how sub-national states coalesce and contrast within these perspectives. It does so through a series of empirical case studies focused on sub-national jurisdictions in North America that highlight diverse varieties of state actions that contribute, if not lead, industrial transitions and the development of new innovation-oriented industrial sectors. In so doing, the dissertation presents a …

Participation And The Poor: Social Accountability Institutions And Poverty Reduction In Brazil, Michael Touchton, Brian Wampler, Natasha Borges Sugiyama

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Democracy, according to a large body of research, contributes to human development by improving citizens' lives (Prezeworkski et al. 2000; Gerrign et al. 2012; McGuire 2010; Baum and Lake 2003; Gerring et al. 2015). Broad evidence demonstrates that democracies provide higher standards of living, on average, for their citizens than authoritarian countries (Boix 2001; Brown and Hunter 2004; Brown and Mobarak 2009; Besley and Kudamatsu 2006; Lake and Baum 2001). But what is it about democratic practice that enhances the quality of its citizens' lives? Proponents argue that democratic practices such as competitive elections, checks and balances, and protection of …

Lessons And Best Practices For Designers Of Fast Track, Low Value, High Volume Global E-Commerce Odr Systems, Louis F. Del Duca, Colin Rule, Brian Cressman

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The momentum behind development of global online fast track low value high volume dispute resolution (hereafter ODR) continues to accelerate. Consumer and business groups around the world are promoting fair, proportionate, effective, online, fast track redress for low value high volume cross border e-commerce disputes. As a result, there will continue to be increasing demand for a variety of effective ODR systems design and procedural rules. Best practices developed by entities like eBay and lessons learned from the work of UNCITRAL Working Group III can be helpful in developing framework models for fast track low value high volume e-commerce ODR …

The Political Theory Of Treaties In The Restatements Of Foreign Relations Law, John T. Parry

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Examining Human Capital Capacity’S Influence On Human Development And Poverty Reduction In Sub-Saharan Africa, Theodore J. Davis Jr.

International Journal of African Development

The aim of this paper is to examine and expand our focus on human capital capacity building as a foundation for poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa. The data showed significant differences in the human capital capacity building characteristics as measured by demographic, education and gender equality characteristics. In analyzing select human capital capacity building markers, the findings suggest that the educational indicators were among the strongest in explaining the variation in human development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings showed that gender inequality was a serious inhibitor of human development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, the Sub-Saharan nations with the lowest level …

Which Came First, People Or Pollution? A Review Of Theory And Evidence From Longitudinal Environmental Justice Studies, Paul Mohai, Robin Saha

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

A considerable number of quantitative analyses have been conducted in the past several decades that demonstrate the existence of racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of a wide variety of environmental hazards. The vast majority of these have been cross-sectional, snapshot studies employing data on hazardous facilities and population characteristics at only one point in time. Although some limited hypotheses can be tested with cross-sectional data, fully understanding how present-day disparities come about requires longitudinal analyses that examine the demographic characteristics of sites at the time of facility siting and track demographic changes after siting. Relatively few such studies …

Causes Of Third Party Military Intervention In Intrastate Conflicts, Hailey Bennett

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Since the conclusion of World War II, the number of expansive interstate wars has decreased while devastating intrastate wars and conflicts have increased exponentially. The Cold War ushered in an era of international stability in the bipolar balance of power, but proxy wars, wars of succession and independence, genocide and civil war made the era anything but peaceful. These conflicts proved to be breading grounds for third party military interventions, which increased simultaneously. In this thesis, I attempted to determine what factors encouraged third party states to intervene militarily in the affairs of other states in the post-World War II …

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …

Brandishing The Cybered Bear: Information War And The Russia-Ukraine Conflict, Azhar Unwala, Shaheen Ghori

Military Cyber Affairs

Russia’s use of cyber power against Ukraine offered renewed insight to Russian cyber strategy and capabilities. This article dissects the Russia-Ukraine conflict by analyzing Russia’s strategic doctrine, tactical maneuvers, and capabilities in the information realm. Understanding the Russia-Ukraine conflict in this manner can inform and strengthen U.S. cyber policy and strategy. In particular, U.S. strategic planners and cyber professionals should consider internalizing Russian strategic thinking regarding cyber power and promote tactical improvements in resilience, intelligence, and information among itself and its allies.

Foreign Policy Rhetoric In The 1992 Presidential Campaign: Bill Clinton’S Exceptionalist Jeremiad, Jason A. Edwards

Speaker & Gavel

This essay examines presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s rhetoric regarding America’s role in the world during the 1992 presidential campaign. Despite the fact that foreign policy was George H.W. Bush’s strength during the campaign, candidate Clinton was able to develop a coherent vision for America’s role in the world that he carried into his presidency. I argue he did so by fusing together the American exceptionalist missions of exemplar and intervention. In doing so, Clinton altered a tension embedded in debates over U.S. foreign policy rhetoric. To further differentiate his candidacy from President Bush, Clinton encased this discourse within a secular …

U.S. Grand Strategy: Should America Come Home?, Joseph Riccardelli

Political Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Spike In Number Of Unaccompanied Children Entering The United States From El Salvador, Genesis Bautista

Washington Semester Program

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And Interpersonal Violence: A "Global" Estimate And Regional Inequities, Dennis Mares, Kenneth W. Moffett

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

This study estimates the predicted impact of climate change on levels of violence in a sample of 57 countries. We sample western and non-western countries and perform a multilevel ARFIMA regression to examine if warmer temperatures are associated with higher levels of homicide. Our results indicate that each degree Celsius increase in annual temperatures is associated with a nearly 6% average increase in homicides. Regional variation in this predicted effect is detected, for example, with no apparent effects in former Soviet countries and far stronger effects found in Africa. This variation indicates that climate change may acutely increase violence in …

Justice For Border Crossing Peoples, David Watkins

Political Science Faculty Publications

This chapter seeks to advance the conceptual and normative analysis of what Rogers Smith (2014) calls “appropriately differentiated citizenship” for a particular category of would-be border crossers who have so far been absent from the normative literature on immigration and exclusion: border crossing peoples.

Such peoples are defined by a longstanding history of crossing a particular international border for reasons — cultural, political, and/or economic — central to their collective identity. National territorial rights theorists such as David Miller argue that restrictive immigration policies can be justified via a collectivist Lockean analogy: Private property rights are to individuals as national …

Whether Turkey Is A Really Safe Haven Henceforward For Both Turkish And Syrians, Meltem Çelik Dirsehan

UBT International Conference

Turkey as a safe haven has been welcoming of more than two millions Syrian people without any ethnic or sectarian discrimination for four years. State institutions have spent nearly 6 billion dollars to set a life for asylum seekers in the best refugee camps and without any notable support of United Nations and other external agencies and countries. However, out of the camps, life and safety conditions of especially lower class Syrian people have been getting worse day by day because of security related problems emerging between citizens and Syrian asylum seekers, even in the border cities where local people …

“Imagine A World In Which”: Using Scenarios In Political Science, Naazneen H. Barma, Brent Durbin, Eric Lorber, Rachel E. Whitlark

Government: Faculty Publications

A crucial dimension of bridging the gap between international affairs scholarship and policymaking is the generation of substantive, policy-relevant research programs. We describe the use of scenario analysis as a valuable experiential and problem-based technique for developing innovative research ideas in political science. We focus especially on the scholarly and pedagogical potential of scenarios for doctoral students by describing the structured use of scenarios at the annual New Era Foreign Policy Conference. The features of scenario analysis that commend its use to policymakers also make it well suited to helping political scientists generate policy-relevant research programs. Scenarios are plausible and …

Engaging Global Civil Society: Shifting Normative Frameworks, Moral Diplomacy, & The Future Of International Relations, Jozef A. Kosc

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

The following exposition outlines a synthesized account of diplomatic relations in the 21st century, highlighting the crucial importance of engaging the Global Civil Society (NGOs and civil society) in an age of global communication, and stressing the importance of the development of a new system of diplomacy, drawing upon the best elements of existent theories. A comparative qualitative framework of analysis—cross-referencing historical cases, political psychology, as well as the writings of diplomatic practitioners—synthesizes the most accurate elements of two contemporary theories of international relations: Lyn Boyd-Judson’s Strategic Moral Diplomacy, and Mervyn Frost’s Constitutive Theory of International Relations. The paper concludes …

U.S. Pakistan Relations During The Cold War, Lubna Sunawar, Tatiana Coutto

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

Since the end of British India’s colonial rule in 1947 and the subsequent partition of the South Asian subcontinent, Pakistan’s foreign policy has been driven largely by geopolitical and ideological concerns. Located at the crossroads of the Middle East and South Asia, and relatively close to the Soviet Union (USSR) and Europe, Pakistan emerged not only as a potential bridge between the oil-rich Persian Gulf, energy-hungry East Asia, and the West[1], but also as a channel to ‘the Muslim World’. Such potential, however, has never been fulfilled: unsettled territorial disputes with India, along with irreconcilable national identity claims, weak intra-regional …

‘Capitalism A Nuh’ Wi Frien’. The Formatting Of Farming Into An Asset, From Financial Speculation To International Aid, Luigi Russi, Tomaso Ferrando

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This paper deciphers the formatting of farming into an asset by tracking the modalities by which financial calculation is enabled across different sites of agency.

The first focus of our analysis are commodity futures markets, which have witnessed a double spike in prices in 2008 and in 2012. In the paper, we look at these hikes as the outcome of endogenous dynamics, caused by the changing makeup of market participants after 2000, which turned futures markets into resources for hedging commodity index-linked derivative products.

We subsequently analyse the increasing reliance on financial actors placed by public development agencies that channel …