Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Visionaries, Architects And Pioneers: Conceptualising Smu, Pin Pin Yeo, Patricia Meyer

YEO Pin Pin

The Singapore Management University (SMU) Library was tasked with documenting the early history of SMU by the chairman of its board of trustees. An oral history project to interview the pioneers involved in the formation of the university began in 2011. The project team included the Library, the Information Technology department, and a researcher/interviewer who was familiar with SMU. It was a steep learning curve for the team. As they conducted and processed the interviews, they learned about and made decisions on interviewing, recording, transcribing, storage, website design, discoverability, usability, and sustainability. The resulting oral history website presents the interviews …

Bending The Arc: How To Achieve Justice At The International Criminal Court, Jacqueline Mcallister

Jacqueline McAllister

Review Of Kansas Geology; An Introduction To Landscapes, Rocks, Minerals, And Fossils Edited By Rex Buchanan, David B. Loope

David B. Loope

This volume, intended for readers with little or no background in earth science, delivers not only an excellent summary of the geologic materials of Kansas, but provides many of the clues by which geologists have been able to unravel nearly a half-billion years of the state's prehistory. The first chapter, by Frank Wilson, explains the intimate relationship between bedrock and topography that is so beautifully displayed in Kansas landscapes. The ridges, hills, and cliffs of the southeast are developed on the oldest strata exposed in the state; the High Plains, occupying most of the western third of Kansas, are underlain …

Thinking Like A Dune Field: Geologic History In The Nebraska Sand Hills, David B. Loope, James Swinehart

David B. Loope

The Nebraska Sand Hills region is a giant dune field that is presently stabilized by prairie vegetation. During numerous severe droughts within the last 15,000 years, the dunes have lost their plant cover and have migrated freely. Wetlands between dunes are extensive in the central Sand Hills and are connected to the High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer. Lakes and wetlands were formed when dunes blocked and deranged stream systems. Evaporation of water from wetlands may benefit adjacent dune vegetation during extended droughts, by locally increasing humidity and rainfall. Buried bison tracks are abundant within the dunes, suggesting that grass and water …

New Desires, New Selves: Sex, Love, And Piety Among Turkish Youth, Gul Ozyegin

Gul Ozyegin

Social Capital And International Migration From Latin America, Douglas S. Massey, Maria Aysa-Lastra

Maria Aysa-Lastra

We combine data from the Latin American Migration Project and the Mexican Migration Project to estimate models predicting the likelihood of taking of first and later trips to the United States from five nations: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Peru. The models test specific hypotheses about the effects of social capital on international migration and how these effects vary with respect to contextual factors. Our findings confirm the ubiquity of migrant networks and the universality of social capital effects throughout Latin America. They also reveal how the sizes of these effects are not uniform across settings. Social …

Free-Roaming Dogs In Developing Countries: The Benefits Of Capture, Neuter, And Return Programs, Jennifer Jackman, Andrew N. Rowan

Jennifer Jackman, Ph.D.

This chapter provides an overview of animal welfare and public health problems associated with free-roaming dog populations and strategies to resolve these problems. Placing CNR programs in the context of earlier dog and rabies control methods, the chapter explores CNR’s potential to overcome some of the shortcomings of earlier approaches and to improve animal welfare, reduce dog population growth, and prevent the spread of rabies and other canine-transmitted diseases. Constraints and current debates on current implementation of CNR programs are also examined.

Class 6 Proficiency In Afghanistan 2013: Outcomes Of A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Tom Lumley, Juliette Mendelovits, Rachel Stanyon, Ross Turner, Maurice Walker

Maurice Walker

In 2012, the Ministry of Education, Afghanistan, engaged the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) as a partner to support the development of a national learning assessment program in Afghanistan. To achieve this goal, the Learning Assessment unit of the Ministry of Education and ACER have collaborated to design and implement the Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) program in Afghanistan. MTEG is designed as a long-term monitoring program with one focus on trends in achievement outcomes in single class levels over time, and another focus on the growth of achievement in cohorts throughout the school cycle, from Class 3 …

Performance Anxiety Amongst Middle School-Aged Wind Instrumentalists As Influenced By Variations In Delivery Of Instructional Script Given By Adjudicators During Sight Reading, Jacqueline A. Mcallister

Jacqueline McAllister

The primary purpose of this research paper was to study performance anxiety among middle school students during a sight-reading audition. Furthermore, this sutdy asks whether the manner in which directions are presented by the sight-reading adjudicator during the course of an audition has significant impact on the performance outcome. Participants (n=75) were middle school students attending a highly rated band program in the Miami-Dade County (Miami, FL) area. By use of investigator-derived surveys, levels of trait and state anxiety were determined before and after the sight-reading performance. Means and standard deviations were calculated for perceived anxiety and for the resulting …

Corruption And Trust: Theoretical Considerations And Evidence From Mexico, Joseph Klesner

Joseph Klesner

The growing empirical literature on political corruption shows trust (interpersonal and political) to be both cause and consequence of corruption: a conclusion that largely builds on studies using cross-national measures of corruption based on perceptions of corruption rather than actual experience, raising questions of endogeneity. The lack of trust fed by corruption is considered critical in that it undermines government efforts to mobilize society to help fight corruption and leads the public to routinely dismiss government promises to fight corruption. After disaggregating the major concepts, this article empirically explores the relationship linking corruption and trust in Mexico based on data …

Does The Collapse Of Single-Party Rule In Central And Eastern Europe Reveal The Path Down Which Mexico Is Headed?, Joseph Klesner

Joseph Klesner

No abstract provided.

Social Capital And Political Participation In Latin America: Evidence From Argentina,Chile, Mexico, And Peru, Joseph Klesner

Joseph Klesner

Scholars have argued that social capital—understood to mean those social networks, norms, and trust that allow citizens to act together more successfully to pursue shared goals—encourages political participation and a more robust democratic experience. Consequently, international development agencies have made promotion of social capital a major emphasis in recent years. Using data from the 1999–2001 wave of the World Values Survey, I show that in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Peru this relationship holds true. Greater involvement in nonpolitical organizations does lead to more participation in explicitly political activities. Higher levels of interpersonal trust also promote political participation. However, despite encouraging …

Who Participates? Determinants Of Political Action In Mexico, Joseph Klesner

Joseph Klesner

This article seeks to determine the main predictors of political participation in a newly democratic regime: Mexico. Compared to other nations, Mexico fills a moderate position in terms of the volume of political participation. Following the literature on participation, this study develops a set of participant modes—voting, communal activity, petitioning, direct action, and political organization membership—and then seeks to determine the socioeconomic, demographic, attitudinal, and social capital factors that best explain participation. Distinct resource inequalities limit the participation of the less educated, the poor, women, and workers, although peasant participation is robust. The strongest determinant of political participation of all …

Economic Integration And National Identity In Mexico, Joseph Klesner

Joseph Klesner

In the past two decades Mexico has experienced rapid globalization, especially through economic integration with the United States. Mass attitudes have remained proudly Mexican and have become more focused on the nation, at the expense of more local identities. Many Mexicans, especially those more likely to benefit from economic integration, would consider some surrender of sovereignty, while others fear the loss of cultural identity due to the forces of globalization.

Sustainable Chemistry And Business In The United States And Africa, Mo Hunsen

Mo Hunsen

Dr. Mo Hunsen is chair of the Department of Chemistry at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. His research interests focus on green chemical and enzymatic catalysis in carbohydrate and polymer chemistry. His research also involves the use of natural product based prevention of cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Hunsen has a passion for exploring how green and sustainable chemistry and technology could serve as a platform for green businesses that transform cheap and abundant natural resources to value-added products. He is currently associate editor of Green and Sustainable Chemistry and on the editorial board of Organic Chemistry Current Research, and the …

Venezuela In The Times Of Chavez: A Study On Media, Charisma, And Social Polarization, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

My main objective in this study is to deepen the reader's understanding of Venezuela's ongoing socio-political conflict by focusing on the struggle for control over one of the key agents of mobilization and politicization in the country: the media outlets, and particularly television. My methodology strives to interweave the chronological record of events with analysis of the equally relevant theoretical, institutional, political, economic, and cultural components that helped to create those events. Central to my presentation is its analysis of the decline of Venezuela's two traditional parties and the emergence of a charismatic and populist form of leadership.

The Press And Politics In Nigeria: A Case Study Of Developmental Journalism, Michael P. Seng, Gary T. Hunt

Michael P. Seng

No abstract provided.

Global Shifts And The East In Cyprus' Foreign Policy, Zenonas Tziarras

Zenonas Tziarras

No abstract provided.

The Debate On China’S Grand Strategy, Lukas K. Danner

Dr. Lukas K. Danner

No abstract provided.

The Need For Social Capital: More Trust Meant Fewer Deaths In Tohoku, Daniel P. Aldrich

Daniel P Aldrich

While the 3/11 compounded disasters claimed more than 18,000 lives, the mortality rates varied widely across more than 140 coastal communities. This article summarizes our findings published in the Social Science and Medicine journal to underscore the role of social networks and trust during disaster.

Proxemics On Business Negotiation: What Americans Should Be Aware Of Vietnamese Negotiation Site Settings, Tuong-Minh Ly-Le

Tuong-Minh Ly-Le

Vietnam has joined the globalization trend to make itself an inviting market for foreign investment. However, working with foreigners and expanding business abroad can be a risky venture. The diversity among business cultures frequently leads to confusion, misunderstandings, and failures in cross-cultural endeavors. There is hence a need to study business negotiation in a cross-cultural setting. Among the investing countries, America has always been on top of the list, with a strong strategic partnership for years and billions of U.S. dollars in registered invested capital. Many studies have been conducted to understand this important partner, yet none of them so …

Islam, Reason And The Challenge Of Decaying Modernity, Muqtedar Khan

Muqtedar Khan

The article explores the challenge of reason and modernity to Islam.

Journeying Through South America, Julius A. Amin

Julius A. Amin

The Global Education Seminar offered opportunities to faculty to experience life in another culture with hopes of returning to campus to educate colleagues and students. This article argues that travels to Argentina and Peru accomplished some of that objective. Among the educational aspects, the experience addresses the question: “what does it mean to be black in those countries?” The conclusion was revealing in several ways, and among them was that racism was displayed in different ways in different societies. Additionally, the experience helped to reinforce the differences between cultural immersion and tourism. In the end the experience enriched participants’ knowledge …

Getting Through The Hard Times Together? Chinese Workers And Unions Respond To The Economic Crisis, Eli D. Friedman

Eli D Friedman

How do post-socialist unions respond to market crisis? And what are the implications of this response for labor representation? Drawing on literature on post-socialist labor and union democracy, I argue that economic crisis affects not just labor – capital and labor – state relations, but also the relationship between union representatives and workers. Such a dynamic is highlighted by an empirical account of the divergent activities of workers and All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) unions in China following the economic crisis of 2008. While the union responded to mass unemployment with an administrative and policy-oriented strategy, workers took to …

Microblogging For Engaged Teaching And Learning, Thomas Menkhoff, Kok Siew Benjamin Gan, Charles Jason Woodard, Yue Wah Chay

C. Jason Woodard

In this paper, we report how we put a newly developed Twitter application to work in the context of a Knowledge Management course taught at the Singapore Management University (SMU) allowing students to post and view relevant tweets in an organized manner for the benefit of collaborative class discussions and learning. Innovative elements of the ongoing project include the explorative usage of social media such as Twitter in the higher education context, student participation in providing initial evidence and qualitative feedback that tweeting is pedagogically meaningful and a newly built-in feature which can resolve tweeting challenges which occurred in class …

Ghana Armed Forces In Lebanon And Liberia Peace Operations, Emmanuel Kotia

Emmanuel Wekem Kotia

Let It Spin: The Iranian Nuclear Deal And Its Implications For U.S. Non-Proliferation Policy, Rabia Akhtar

Rabia Akhtar, Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Review: Halper, Stefan A. Beijing Consensus: Legitimizing Authoritarianism In Our Time. New York, Ny: Basic Books, [2010] 2012. 336 Pp., Lukas K. Danner

Dr. Lukas K. Danner

No abstract provided.

The Crisis In Yemen: Opportunity To Restore Regional Order, Muqtedar Khan

Muqtedar Khan

The article explores the prospects for Collective Security opportunities in the Middle East.

Class 6 Proficiency In Afghanistan 2013: Outcomes Of A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Tom Lumley, Juliette Mendelovits, Rachel Stanyon, Ross Turner, Maurice Walker

Dr Tom Lumley

In 2012, the Ministry of Education, Afghanistan, engaged the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) as a partner to support the development of a national learning assessment program in Afghanistan. To achieve this goal, the Learning Assessment unit of the Ministry of Education and ACER have collaborated to design and implement the Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) program in Afghanistan. MTEG is designed as a long-term monitoring program with one focus on trends in achievement outcomes in single class levels over time, and another focus on the growth of achievement in cohorts throughout the school cycle, from Class 3 …