Digital Commons Network^™

Protection Of Foreign Direct Investment Under The Foreign Capital Investment Law (Promulgated By Royal Decree No. 50/2019) A Comparative Study, Ayat Salah Dakrouri

Sultan Qaboos University Legal Studies Journal

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a vital driver of sustainable development, contributing to high economic growth, job creation, and reduction of unemployment in host countries. International competition to attract FDI is intensifying, many countries are implementing laws to safeguard investors’ rights and create a favorable environment for capital growth and profitability. Oman has actively sought to attract FDI by enacting various laws and adopting measures to ensure a conducive investment climate. This paper examines the legal protections for FDI under Oman’s Foreign Capital Investment acts and comparable legislation in other countries. How to ensure legal protection of foreign direct investment, …

Operating Fund Budget/ Expenditure Summary Report 2025-26, Csusb Budget Office

University Budget Office records

No abstract provided.

Near Real-Time Monitoring Reveals Extensive Recent Forest Disturbance In Ghana’S Protected Areas, Luofan Dong, Xiaojing Tang, Foster Mensah, Bashara Ahmed Abubakari, Kelsee H. Bratley, Pontus Olofsson, Curtis E. Woodcock

Faculty Scholarship

The Protected Areas (PAs) in Ghana play a critical role in preserving the abundant biodiversity of the West Africa Green Belt. But recent changes in policies and regulations have facilitated logging and mining activities, which have accelerated forest disturbances. While there is a consensus that PAs are undergoing destructive change, the extent, rate, and locations of forest disturbances are undocumented. In this study, we applied the fusion near real-time (FNRT) algorithm that utilizes Landsat, Sentinel-1, and Sentinel-2 data and sampling to monitor forests in the PAs of Ghana. The results reveal that 704.74 (±177.24) km2 of forest in the PAs …

Ai Exposure And The Future Of Work: Linking Task-Based Measures To U.S. Occupational Employment Projections, Erik Vasilauskas, Michael Horrigan

Reports

No abstract provided.

Ethnographic Dilemmas And Reflexive Thoughts Of A Contemplative Jewish Anthropologist, Elazar Ben-Lulu Dr.

The Qualitative Report

During ethnographic fieldwork, anthropologists of religion grapple with various dilemmas regarding their participation in the rituals they study. How do they make real-time decisions between full participation and observational distance? Do they manage to participate harmoniously in religious activities even during moments of doubt or questioning of their own faith? Based on my three-year fieldwork in Israeli Reform Jewish congregations, which included observations and in-depth interviews, I demonstrate how my reflexive experience which exposes my internal Jewish dialogue, shaped my patterns of participation and motivation in engaging with various rituals. This autoethnographic description illustrates that my deliberate abstention or avoidance …

Market-Economic Decentralization And Governance In Hargeisa Local Government, Somaliland, Mustafe Mahamoud Abdillahi, Bella Oluka Benjamin

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

This study investigates the relationship between market-economic decentralization and governance within the Hargeisa Local Government in Somaliland. Market-economic decentralization, influenced by neoliberal principles, involves transferring decision-making authority to local levels to stimulate private sector engagement and economic efficiency. Despite comprehensive decentralization reforms initiated in 2001, Hargeisa continues to confront significant governance challenges, including institutional weaknesses, fiscal mismanagement, and corruption. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this research integrates quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with 269 local officials to assess the impact of decentralization on key governance indicators: accountability, transparency, and e-governance. The results demonstrate strong positive correlations between market-economic decentralization and improved …

Climate Change And Its Effects On Road Pavement Performance: A Review Of Current Research, Suleiman Aminu, Abdussalam Auwal Farouk, Abubakar Atiku Sadiq, Eberembu Adrian Oshioname, Hamma-Adama Mansur, Alhassan Hashim M, Ibrahim Muttaka Naiya, Isa Zahradeen, Baba Bashariya Mustapha, Babati Abuhanifa, Mshelia Musa Huranta

Platform: A Journal of Engineering (PAJE)

Climate change, marked by long-term shifts in temperature, precipitation, and other atmospheric conditions, significantly challenges pavement infrastructure. This review synthesises research on climate change effects on pavement performance, highlighting temperature fluctuations and altered precipitation patterns as key factors affecting pavement durability and functionality. Temperature extremes cause asphalt softening, rutting, and increased freeze-thaw cycles, which lead to cracking and structural damage. Precipitation changes, including heavy rainfall and droughts, weaken pavements and accelerate material deterioration. The review explores adaptation strategies, such as advanced materials (e.g., modified asphalt binders) and design adjustments (e.g., increased pavement thickness and enhanced drainage). It also highlights mitigation …

Biodiversity Performance Of Living Wall Systems In Temperate Urban Environments: Plant Selection And Substrate Effects On Multi-Taxa Communities: Biodiversity Performance Of Living Wall Systems In Urban Environments, Paul Lunt, Thomas Murphy, James Buckley

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Urban densification threatens biodiversity, yet conventional greenspace expansion is con-strained by limited land availability. Living wall systems (LWS) offer potential biodiversity enhancement through vertical green infrastructure, though their ecological value re-mains underexplored. This study evaluated the biodiversity performance of three LWS in Plymouth, UK, using multi-taxa surveys to assess invertebrate communities, bird assemblages, and bat activity. A scoping review of 2,638 publications revealed limited research on LWS biodiversity, with only 27% of biodiversity-focused papers referencing specific species. Field surveys employed standardized protocols including flower-visiting pollinator observations, spider assessments, soil invertebrate extraction using Tullgren funnels, acoustic bird monitoring, and bat emergence …

Faith-Based Transnationalism: Conceptualizing The Role Of Religion In Transnational Families, Evangeline Katigbak-Montoya

Asia-Pacific Social Science Review

This research brief introduces the concept of “faith-based transnationalism,” or the cross-border travels of religious practices, beliefs, identities, and moralities that not only connect migrants and their left-behind families but also lead to the reconstitution of relationships, spirituality, and landscapes. Faith-based transnationalism is an important analytical framework in the study of the intersections of geographies of religion/faith and transnational migration. This is crucial in contemporary times given the unabated and continuing flows of migrants across international borders, with implications on reshaping identities, consocialities, and places.

Coding Openai In An Open-Sourced Code Sharing Platform: Exploring The Collaboration Networks On Chatgpt Projects On Github, Jingyi Pu, Xinzhi Zhang

Human-Machine Communication

Amid rapid advancements in generative AI (GenAI) tools, individuals and organizations—including both professional and amateur developers—are actively sharing and collaboratively developing GenAI code on open-source platforms, driving the adaptation and creation of new applications. However, it remains unclear whether such collaboration disrupts existing technological hierarchies or reinforces them; addressing this question is crucial for assessing the democratizing potential of open-source practice and informing policies for equitable innovation. Drawing on world-systems theory, we examine owner-contributor networks in ChatGPT-related GitHub repositories since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, complemented by qualitative content analysis of major repository themes and code functions. We find that …

Assessing Justice In National Climate Policies: Indicators For Vulnerable Populations, Vagif Alizada

COP30

Throughout the last two decades, various researchers have continuously examined the way that climate justice principles are integrated within national climate policies, paying most attention to the extent of their impact on specifically vulnerable populations. Climate justice, encompassing distributive, procedural, recognition, and restorative dimensions, has become one of the central ideals when it comes to global climate governance. One of the major noticeable challenges faced in this field is the lack of standardised indicators to measure whether policies deliver equitable outcomes, making cross-country comparison and accountability difficult. However, despite increasing regulations and policy commitments, there is a major limitation on …

Land Struggles, Resistance, And Mutual Protection Along The Colorado-New Mexico Border: The Sacred Right Of Self-Preservation, José A. Rivera Ph.D

Faculty Publications

Mutual protection societies proliferated in the American Southwest during a period of rapid social change, 1870-1930, coincident with significant changes in the region’s political economy and increased competition for land and water resources. To resist encroachment and protect their natural resources, hispano communities in Colorado and New Mexico organized mutual benefit and protective associations known as mutualistas, with a large number concentrated in the San Luis Valley of Colorado as well as in many rural counties of northcentral New Mexico. The Costilla Valley of New Mexico is a prototypical hispano settlement initially established as part of the expansive Sangre …

Sibling Species Differently Distributed Around A Co2 Vent Show Transplantation Proteomic Remodelling, While Displaying Metabolomic Signatures Associated With Their Origin, Lucy Turner

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The cellular homeostatic response (CHR) and cellular stress response (CSR) work together to maintain homeostasis. Studying phylogenetically closely-related species inhabiting different environments can help investigate the interplay between the CHR and CSR. We conducted reciprocal in situ transplant experiments in a natural CO2 vent (Ischia, Italy), using the sibling annelid species Platynereis cf.. dumerilii and Platynereis cf.. massiliensis which have been shown to have different preferential distributions around the CO2 vent. Following transplantations, we characterised the response of each individual’s proteome, metabolome, and lipidome, to short or long-term exposure to different pCO2 regimes (i.e., high and low), and confirmed its …

Chimes: September 29, 2025, Calvin University

Chimes

Calvin's international population remains high amid uncertainty by Ashley Hamons

Calvin celebrates 150 years with homecoming weekend by Ellery Johnson

When it rains it pours: Torrential rains bring flooding around campus by Maya Oeverman & McKenna Wilkinson

"Pioneers": Calvin's Triathlon team leaves lasting legacy after being cut by Zach Kern & Hendrik Beelen

Explainer: Creeds, Confessions and what they mean for Calvin by Joe Toly

The Invisible Chains: Framing Abuse Of Dominant Position In Labor Markets, Giulia Mangiafico

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

This paper examines how the concept of abuse of dominant position can be applied to the labour markets, where demand-side concentration and supply-side fragmentation generate monopsonistic dynamics that suppress wages, limit mobility, and reduce job security. It argues that traditional antitrust tools can be adapted to labour-specific contexts by redefining market boundaries through commuting zones, occupational substitutability, and recognition of artificial fragmentation. The study also addresses how exploitative practices such as non-compete agreements illustrate the concrete impact of employer power, and it highlights the need for a more coherent regulatory approach. Ultimately, it suggests that competition law, when enforced alongside …

The Sensitivity Of Future Hydroclimate Projections To Topography And Large-Scale Dust Forcing In The Luquillo Mountains Of Eastern Puerto Rico, J. Preece, C. Johnson, T. Mote, P. Miller, M. Williams

Faculty Publications

Precipitation over Puerto Rico is expected to decline in coming decades, threatening an important source of surface water supply. However, earth system models neither resolve fine-scale orographic impacts nor the radiative effects of Saharan dust aerosols on precipitation over the island's mountains. Here, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) to downscale global climate model projections to a convection-resolving 4-km resolution for both dust and no-dust scenarios. We compare the regional hydroclimate during three periods: historical (2014–2018), mid- (2045–2049) and end-21st century (2085–2089), using output from an RCP8.5 simulation of the Community Earth System Model, …

Public Transit And Walk Access To Non-Work Amenities In The United States—A Social Equity Perspective, Muhammad Asif Khan, Ranjit Godavarthy, Jeremy Mattson, Diomo Motuba

APC Fund Awardees

The primary goal of Transportation systems is to provide transportation accessibility to opportunities. Equitable access to essential destinations encompassing social, recreational, educational, and civic opportunities needs to be more consistent across different social groups. This study evaluates the disparities in social justice using social equity as a measure of transit access and walk access to non-work amenities. These non-work amenities include grocery stores, personal services, retail outlets, recreational venues, entertainment centers, and healthcare facilities in the U.S. Logistic regression models are developed using the 2017 National Community Livability Survey data. The results indicate regressive public transit access for socially disadvantaged …

The Concept Of Preeclampsia In Biochemistry: Molecular Mechanisms, Oxidative Stress, And Emerging Biomarkers, Dunia Abbas Khudhair, Ammar Hatem Abdullateef, Abbas Hamza Khudhair

Hilla University College Journal For Medical Science

Preeclampsia is a complex, pregnancy-related hypertension condition that significantly endangers mother and fetal health. While its clinical diagnosis is based on hypertension and proteinuria, its origins lie in a cascade of biochemical and molecular disturbances. This review highlights the central concept of preeclampsia from a biochemical perspective, with emphasis on abnormal placental development, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. Placental hypoxia and an excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are caused by inadequate spiral artery remodeling, which also leads to lipid peroxidation and systemic inflammation. A critical biochemical characteristic is the disparity between anti-antigenic (sFlt-1, sENG) and pro-antigenic (PlGF, VEGF) molecules, …

"Our River Is Full Of Trash And Many Fish Die" Children's Voices From Pasuruan, Indonesia: Discursive Strategies In Positive Discourse Analysis For Sustainability, Bambang Prastio, Ahsani Maulidina, Agung Rinaldy Malik, Achmad Tantowi Azis

The Qualitative Report

Addressing river pollution and understanding the role of children in environmental conservation are essential for maintaining ecosystem health and sustainability. This study used positive discourse analysis to explore children's discourse about river pollution in Pasuruan, East Java, Indonesia. Data were collected using walk-and talk ethnographic interviews with 15 children aged 7 to 11 years. The findings reveal that these children employed five discursive strategies: (1) nomination: metaphor, comparison, and cultural practices; (2) predication: positive attitude in the forms of disposition and behavior; (3) argumentation: contrast and parallelism; (4) perspectivisation, involving a type of religious representation that includes references to the …

Acute Care Of Patients With Moderate Respiratory Distress: Recommendations From An American College Of Emergency Physicians Expert Panel., Christopher W Baugh, Jim F Neuenschwander, Jesslyn Lenox, Jennifer Hoh, Kara Ward, Sara Muramoto, John Casey, Antonio Anzueto, Hajirah Ishaq, Jared Mount, Peter M Deblieux

Ambulatory and Primary Care Articles

INTRODUCTION: Patients with respiratory distress are frequently encountered in the emergency department (ED). Efforts to assess, initiate treatments, and stabilize these patients require a systematic and rapid response. Emergency physicians need a comprehensive and efficient approach for evaluating, treating, and managing patients presenting to the ED with moderate respiratory distress.

METHODS: The American College of Emergency Physicians convened an expert panel of academic and community emergency physicians, critical care specialists, respiratory therapists, hospitalists, and pharmacists to develop and subsequently disseminate consensus recommendations regarding the diagnosis and treatment of patients with moderate respiratory distress presenting to the ED.

RESULTS: A digital …

Panel 6 - Tax Sovereignty Asserted And Practiced, David Duff, Jonathan Farrar, Lyne Latulippe, Nicolas Proulx, Jinyan Li

A. Cockfield Memorial Symposium

Chair: David Duff (University of British Columbia)

Jonathan Farrar (Wilfrid Laurier University), Mapping Public Attitudes Toward Taxation: A Cross-National Study of Fiscal Citizenship

Lyne Latulippe (Université de Sherbrooke) and Nicolas Proulx, (Members of Parliament in Development and Adoption of International Tax Policy), Implementation of International Tax Policy by the Canadian Parliament – The case of the MLI

Jinyan Li (Osgoode Hall Law School) and Angelo Nikolakakis (EY), Shrinking Tax Sovereignty in Canada? Evidence from the Income Tax Act

Commentators: Sophie Chatel (MP); Shawn Porter (Deloitte)

Wmu Maritime Affairs Conference 2025 : Transforming A Maritime Future : Digitalization And Decarbonization, World Maritime University

Books

No abstract provided.

Strategies To Improve The Financial Success For Minority And Small Business Owners, Kimberly D. Stone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although minority small business owners have a substantial influence on the U.S. economy, they often face significant financial obstacles. Minority small business owners are concerned with the history of unfair lending practices in the United States, as access to adequate capital is crucial to achieving business success. Grounded in Donaldson’s pecking order theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore effective financial strategies that some minority small business owners used to sustain their businesses. The project participants were six minority small business leaders who had more than 5 years of experience from various industries in South Florida. …

The Effect Of Mesoscale Frontal Waves On Landfalling Atmospheric Rivers And Their Associated Precipitation Over The Green River Watershed, Washington, Joseph Michael Riedl

Dissertations and Theses

In this study, the effect of mesoscale frontal waves (MFWs) on extreme precipitation (EP) in the Upper Green River Watershed (UGRW), Washington is investigated. 205 EP days (>95th percentile) are identified in the UGRW between the years 1980 and 2021. To characterize the range of large-scale meteorological conditions associated with EP days, the self-organizing map (SOM) approach is used to cluster daily integrated water vapor transport (IVT) on EP days. To further diagnose the meteorological drivers, composites of several other diagnostic fields are constructed for each SOM node and the preceding days. Together, these results illustrate common orientations of …

Unraveling Crop Nitrogen-Water Dynamics With Hyperspectral-Thermal Sensing In Northern Central Valley, California, Shahryar Fazli, Surendra Maharjan, Wenzhao Li, Joshua B. Fisher, Rejoice Thomas, Fernando Romero Galvan, Gabriela Shirkey, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Ensuring global food security in the face of climate change requires optimizing crop water use and nutrient management. This study investigates the relationship between canopy nitrogen (N) and evapotranspiration (ET) across sunflower, rice, walnut, alfalfa, and plum crops using advanced remote sensing technologies. High-resolution hyperspectral data from NASAs Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) and thermal multispectral data from the Landsat-based OpenET system were analyzed over 1,135 km² in California. Regression analysis revealed strong spatial association between canopy N and ET for sunflower (R² = 0.82), rice (R² = 0.71), and walnut (R² = 0.68), …

Identifying The Big Questions In Paleontology: A Community-Driven Project, Tracy Aze

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Paleontology provides insights into the history of the planet, from the origins of life billions of years ago to the biotic changes of the Recent. The scope of paleontological research is as vast as it is varied, and the field is constantly evolving. In an effort to identify “Big Questions” in paleontology, experts from around the world came together to build a list of priority questions the field can address in the years ahead. The 89 questions presented herein (grouped within 11 themes) represent contributions from nearly 200 international scientists. These questions touch on common themes including biodiversity drivers and …

Do Our “Window And Mirror” Books Leave Shards Of Broken Glass?, Brianne R. Pitts, Jill Hermann-Wilmarth

Michigan Reading Journal

In this article the authors apply Bishop’s (1990) windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors as an analytical framework that, along with critical literacy practices, can be used to enhance the social studies and literacy instruction. The stories we share in elementary classrooms teach students about their future possibilities. As teacher educators, we wondered about our students and our complacency with powerful ideas from foundational scholars in literacy and education. Using Bishop’s (1990) metaphor as an analytic tool, students’ critical disciplinary literacy projects are assessed for future instructional goals, leaving readers with eight practical tools for classroom instruction and critical assessment …

Full Issue: Volume 58, No. 1

Michigan Reading Journal

No abstract provided.

The Usability And Implementation Of Flood Prevention Strategies In Response To An Evolving Climate With Insights From Hurricane Harvey And The Kerala Floods., Morgan Greenleigh

COP30

This literature review combines literature on global flood prevention, hard engineering, Nature-Based Solutions, IFRM and policy to examine current strategies and case studies. It begins by examining the key role that hard engineering plays in the current main forms of flood prevention and then analyses its weakness when it comes to the increasing frequency and severity of weather events. The review then explores the growing importance of NBS and how its development can significantly reduce flooding whilst also having a plethora of other benefits. A portion of the review is dedicated to emerging technologies such as EWS and IFRM. The …

A Global Mutirão In The Classroom: A National Curriculum Policy For Bangladesh To Build Youth Capacity For Green Jobs In Alignment With The Saa And Ace, Shariful Islam

COP30

As one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, Bangladesh faces a serious threat that widely impacts its large youth population. This policy paper points out a main gap: the country's national curriculum does not properly teach students about climate change. This makes young people unprepared for the future and for new jobs in the green economy. This paper looks at successful climate education programs in other developing countries, like Kenya and the Philippines, and suggests a new policy for Bangladesh based on those examples. The paper recommends a strategy that combines a national law with local, hands-on learning. The main …