Digital Commons Network^™

New Institutional Economics : A Few Extensions, Murali Patibandla

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

This article traces out the development of the New Institutional Economics (NIE). It delineates the literature into two interrelated themes of institutional environment and institutions of governance. The rules of the game of institutional environment determine governance choices. Inefficient institutional environment results in inefficient governance mechanisms which causes misutilization of scarce resources. Institutional environment evolves over time. This article demonstrates the evolution of institutions in response to shocks with analysis of historical examples. The prevailing literature over glorifies the colonial rule of the West for the emergence of capitalist institutions. It fails to explain success stories of Japan, Mainland China …

Institutions: Facilitators Or Detractors Of Development?, Nikhilesh Dholakia, Deniz Atik, Zeynep Ozdamar Ertekin, Delphine Godefroit-Winkel

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue: Volume 6, Issue 2, Editorial Board

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

The second issue in the sixth volume of the Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal.

Shaping The Fabric Of Society: Middle Class Women As Imperial Consumers Of Calico In Pre-Revolutionary America, Elsa Cassell Toland

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

Through the Calico Acts of 1700 and 1721, Britain repositioned its Atlantic colonies as distinct imperial consumers of imported calico cloth from India. The resulting expansion of the cotton textile trade had profound impacts for class and society in pre-revolutionary America, as middle class consumers used calico to express their purchasing power, refined taste, and social identity. These patterns of class expression were especially relevant for middle class women. As the primary consumers of imported calico, women directed purchases of luxury textiles for their households in order to shape their families’ identities as members of the middle class. Ultimately, as …

Inverting "Doux Commerce": The Paradox Of Rhetoric Surrounding European Jewish Commerce, Isabelle C. Sampere

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This paper investigates the inherent contradictions in the "Doux Commerce" thesis as articulated by Montesquieu, which argues that commerce civilizes and morally enriches its participants, using the historical experiences of the French Jewish community as a case study. Despite the Enlightenment’s promotion of commerce as a path to societal gentility and tolerance, French Jews remained targets of economic and social marginalization, which persisted into the 19th century. The analysis centers on the rhetorical dissonance exhibited by philosophers such as Voltaire, who extolled the virtues of commerce for its ability to unify diverse religious and cultural groups, yet simultaneously endorsed and …

Privatisation And Toleration: How The Eighteenth-Century Enlightenment Impacted European Attitudes Towards Religion, Cody Mitchell

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

For centuries, scholars have debated the significance of the Enlightenment in its impact on European attitudes to religion. On one hand, many scholars immediately following the eighteenth century saw the period as a particularly anti-religious one. For many, particularly at the popular level, the supposed birth of toleration during the Enlightenment and the post-Renaissance rise of free thought and rationalism brought about a dramatic shift in opinions and attitudes towards religion—manifesting, particularly, in the widespread acceptance of irreligion. Today, most historians adopt a more cautious approach, recognising that rarely does history conform to such simple narratives. This paper seeks to …

"Uganda Unhinged": Re-Evaluating The Ugandan Asian Expulsion, Alexander A. Jordan

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This paper seeks to re-evaluate the Ugandan Asian expulsion of 1972 in terms of both chronology and culpability. Existing literature generally implicates Gen. Idi Amin as the primary, if not sole instigator of the expulsion crisis. Using Ugandan and Kenyan newspaper coverage from the pre-expulsion era, in addition to an analysis of Dr. Milton Obote’s economic policy, I argue that Uganda had already traversed far down the path to expulsion by the time Amin seized power. Dr. Obote initiated an economic campaign that targeted Asian merchants, in addition to issuing threats of expulsion as a negotiation tactic with world leaders. …

Korean Pioneers: The History, Identity, And Legacy Of The First Korean Americans, Evan Gravdahl

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

In examining Korean American history, the starting date for their arrival is conventionally recognized as 1903, when roughly 7,000 laborers migrated to Hawaii. This first wave consisted primarily of young men, many of whom didn’t plan to stay in the US. However, as their stays continued and other Koreans continued migrating, they began developing a unique cultural identity within the United States. This paper aims to determine the unique identities that developed during this first wave of immigration between 1903 and 1945, how they assimilated, and how they interacted with other ethnic minorities and later waves of Korean immigrants.

The …

Ronald Reagan And The Politics Of Tuition, Alyssa Dunlop

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This paper explores how Ronald Reagan, as governor of California, justified imposing tuition at the University of California, despite a near one hundred-year tradition of tuition-free education, by connecting tuition to the student protest movement of the 1960s. This paper argues that Reagan made the case for tuition by claiming that tuition would restore law and order on college campuses. Specifically, he contended that tuition would deter rabble-rousing individuals from attending college and improve the moral character of students. Consequently, this argument proved appealing for the majority of Californians, who expressed concern about the student protests, and thus the public …

Determination Of The Anti-Inflammatory Activity Of The Methanolic Leaf Extract Of Strelitzia Reginae (Strelitziaceae), Lyannah Deign Hearty Delantar Hinol, Miflor De La Cerna, Decethree Gocela, Aymah Macalonto, Junnin Gay Garay

Pacific Journal of Health

Inflammation is a biological response that, if unregulated, can contribute to various health disorders. The search for new anti-inflammatory agents has led researchers to explore the medicinal potential of Strelitzia reginae, commonly known as the Bird of Paradise. This study aimed to determine the phytochemical composition and anti-inflammatory activity of the methanolic leaf extract of S. reginae. Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenols, saponins, and steroids, while tannins were absent. The Croton Oil-Induced Ear Edema Assay in Swiss albino mice was used to assess anti-inflammatory activity, with Indomethacin as a positive control. Acute oral …

Stability Analysis And Extension Of A Discrete-Time Dynamical System For Scaffolded Learning, Kris H. Green, Bernard Ricca

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Van Geert and Steenbeek [16] proposed a coupled, delayed, discrete-time deterministic dynamical system to model scaffolded learning. We provide a detailed analysis of their model, whose global dynamics are complicated by the presence of intersecting lines of non-isolated, nonhyperbolic fixed points. We also interpret some of the trajectories in the system that have interesting dynamics in the context of the teacher-student interactions, and propose an extension to the model that simultaneously collapses the lines of fixed points to single, isolated points and is easily interpreted. These results provide the foundation for guiding the collection and integration of experimental data to …

The Evolution Of Global Gold And Copper Trade Networks, Oleksandr Hulianskyi

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Gold and copper have emerged as two of the most vital commodities in global trade. Despite serving distinct purposes, their international trade networks reveal interconnected patterns, critical to understanding the dynamics of global economics. This paper studies these attributes and their evolution during the last 36 years for both metals and finds correlations between them. The first part of the research is focused on the sustainability of networks through efficiency and robustness indexes; the second part is dedicated to interconnectedness – the Louvain and Bayesian SBM algorithms, partition, and modularity instruments are used. Community detection algorithms provide valuable insights into …

Exploring The Potential Of Large Language Models (Llms) To Simulate Social Group Dynamics: A Case Study Using The Board Game "Secret Hitler", Kaj Hansteen Izora, Christof Teuscher

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

This study explores the capacity of large language model-powered agents to simulate human-like behavior in multi-agent social systems. Using Secret Hitler — a hidden-role board game centered on trust, deception, and strategic communication — we evaluate how LLM agents navigate dynamic group interactions. Our findings show that agents exhibit human-like behaviors, including strategic temporal adaptation, contextual reasoning, and complex social cognition such as theory of mind and implicit coordination. Notably, 85% of agent decisions factored in at least two other players’ mental states, highlighting their capacity for multi-agent mental state inference. However, they struggled with key aspects of human gameplay, …

Clinical Inferential Process, Bady Quintar, Kayleigh White

Archives of Assessment Psychology

Previous studies related to psychological assessments focused largely on the various psychological assessment instruments used by professional psychologists to evaluate factors including personality functioning, intellectual abilities, attitudes and other behavioral activities. Recently, the seminal contributions of David Rapaport have influenced positively many of his colleagues and immediate followers to consider psychological assessments from a psychodynamic perspective; namely to realize that the examinee’s responses are influenced by the quality of the interpersonal assessment relationship. Consequently, guided by the psychodynamic point of view psychological assessment must be examinee-centered rather than test-centered.

Alternate Form Reliability Of Nine Possible Four-Subtest Combinations Of The Cognitive Proficiency Index For The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Iv (Wais-Iv) In A Clinical Sample, Joseph J. Ryan, David S. Kreiner, Charles Golden, Gordon Teichner, Samuel T. Gontkovsky

Archives of Assessment Psychology

Performance on the core working memory (Digit Span + Arithmetic) and processing speed (Coding + Symbol Search) subtests of the WAIS-IV is summarized by the Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI). If a working memory subtest is spoiled, Letter-Number Sequencing is substituted. An invalidated processing speed subtest is replaced by Cancellation. These tasks are supplementary. The core and supplementary subtests yield nine four-subtest composites. Using the standardization sample, Campbell, Rossini, and Johnson (2022) demonstrated that all CPI tetrads had excellent alternate form reliability. In the present study, a clinical sample (n = 90) produced equally high reliabilities. Four of the new …

Snack Time, Joshna Maharaj

Stirring Words

"'I'll never get through everything in the grocery store,' I said to my classmate Rebekah, 'could you curate some of your favourite Irish snacks for us international students?' This little request grew into a beloved class ritual..."

My Granny's Apple Tart, Nichola Clare

Stirring Words

"'Granny, can I help?' I hop up on the kitchen stool eagerly so I can get a better view..."

A Well Rolled-Out Life, Joshna Maharaj

Stirring Words

"Throughout my childhood we would have rotis when we had Indian food. These flatbreads were made with atta, a durum wheat that came out of a big plastic tub in one of the cupboards in our kitchen..."

An Eloper's Cake, Vicky Gonzalez

Stirring Words

"There was no cake at my wedding, if you can call it that..."

Sizzling Chives, Matthew Teo

Stirring Words

"This film was a thriller for the ages..."

A City Named After Boiled Beans, Madhura T. Ravindra

Stirring Words

"Whenever I find myself in a foreign country for a long period, people ask me:

'Do you miss your country?'

'Not really, but I do miss my city,' I respond, longing for home..."

Before Dawn, Natasha Kilcoyne

Stirring Words

"In the pre-dawn darkness at two a.m., I leap from bed enthusiastically as if it were my first day on the job. At this unconventional hour, my daily drive is only fifteen minutes from home in the 14th arrondissement district of Paris. The route south takes me to Rungis Wholesale Market, known as the Belly of Paris..."

What The Duck?, Emily Grayson

Stirring Words

"We are paying our bill and I feel like any minute we are going to get our award for biggest group of suckers in Vancouver. Dinner was ludicrously expensive and also absolutely terrible..."

A Shop Where You Can Find A Piece Of Yourself, Mehmet Gökay Citak

Stirring Words

"My first days in Dublin were, unsurprisingly, very hard for me..."

Confessions Of A Recovering Chef, Áine Budds

Stirring Words

"Cooking is a messy business. You should know this sooner rather than later. Life in a kitchen is punctuated by sticky fingers and even stickier situations as the hours unfold in a somewhat orderly scramble..."

A Change In Palate, Cloe Walsh

Stirring Words

"'He's not gonna talk to me, is he?' Conor said, with a slight tremble in his voice..."

Max Snax, Elizabeth Boodhoo

Stirring Words

"'Let's book the shitty train. It's not so bad. bring your own food and water and it's ok.'

'You know I'm going to bring snacks...'"

Roots Of Control, Ross Mcgovern

Stirring Words

"The earth, so rich, her bounty vast

A feast for all we thought would last.

But golden grain and ruby vine

Are now just marks, their rights confined.

Nestlé lays its claim, as if the earth's flow

Were theirs to hold, to bend, to grow..."

Editorial Stirring Words Vol2 No2, Editor In Chief

Stirring Words

editorial by editor-in-chief Dr Anke Klitzing

Um Graduate School Expo 2019, University Of Mississippi. Graduate School

University Website Migration from WordPress

No abstract provided.