International and Area Studies Commons^™

Examining “Empowerment”: Insights Into The Murshidat Program In Morocco, Hannah Mckenzie

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Following the 2003 terror attacks in Casablanca, the Moroccan government issued a series of reforms, including the introduction of the new program in Rabat that would train murshidat, women religious guides who would then go on to work in mosques and other public spaces all across the country. The intention of this program, the state claimed, was to 1) promote a moderate Islam and 2) empower women. In this research, I have consulted existing literature and conducted interviews with scholars and activists in the realm of women’s rights to explore various sides of this question: How does the work of …

Finding A “True Morocco:” How Tourists Change Moroccan Economies, Infrastructure And Cultures, Emily Federico

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The overall purpose of this study was to research the effects of adventure tourism on rural towns and villages, notably their financial cultural and physical aspects. Issues such as the commodification of lived experiences in a post-colonial context will be examined. The study was conducted via interviews from hotel workers and guides in major tourist cities (Fes, Rabat and Merzouga). I found that most international tourists hailed from Western countries; thus, English or French were the primary languages used in the tourism business. Also, significant modes of craftsmanship that faced a cultural extinction, such as folk music, rugs, and pottery, …

From The Ulama To The Legislature: Hermeneutics & Morocco’S Family Code, Rachel Olick-Gibson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines the role that Islamic law has played thus far in reforming the Moroccan Family Code, also known as the Moudawana. When King Mohammed VI reformed this law in 2004, Morocco received immediate international praise for its liberal strides towards gender equality. Through this study I investigated the hermeneutical tools and methods of ijtihad employed both by the drafters of the Moudawana and by activists leading up to the 2004 reforms. I then investigate impediments to the implementation of this Code in providing substantive legal rights to Moroccan women and the role that interpretation of Islamic law plays …

Good Intentions, Mixed Results: Why Aid In Uganda Is Fragmented And What Can Be Done About It, Samuel D. Johnston

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper examines the phenomenon of aid fragmentation and donor proliferation in Uganda. As the development cooperation landscape has become increasingly complex in recent years, there is significant interest in examining how this complexity, also called fragmentation, affects development outcomes in recipient countries. Specifically, this paper sets out to understand the driving forces behind aid fragmentation in Uganda, the recent trends in fragmentation and coordination, and potential pathways forward to address the problem.

Research for this paper came from a series of interviews with economic experts in Uganda, an exploratory study of quantitative indicators of fragmentation over the last decade, …

A Comparison Of Entrepreneurship: Uganda And The United States Of America, Jordan Killen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this preliminary research assignment I compared and contrasted entrepreneurship and what it means to be an entrepreneur or small business owner in the United States and Uganda as well as offer suggestions that could potentially strengthen the Ugandan economy using American business practices and solutions. I utilized both secondary sources and my own experiences and knowledge about small businesses and entrepreneurs in Uganda. This data is compared to both my own experiences in the United States as well as information provided by scholarly articles to provide a more complete and well-rounded comparison of the two countries. Uganda, being a …

Understandings Of Sexual Consent Among Male And Female Zulu South Africans In Masxha, Kwazulu-Natal, Larkin Levine

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Though South Africa has an astonishingly high rate of rape and sexual violence, little research has been conducted on understandings of sexual consent outside of the context of rape and sexual violence in different South African communities. Instead, research has focused on understandings and perceptions of rape and sexual violence alone, ignoring the importance of understanding how individuals approach consent in healthy sexual relationships.

Through conducting semi-structured interviews with sixteen Zulu males and females of different ages, all of whom are residents of Masxha, I hoped to learn how these individuals understand sexual consent and how consent is requested, given, …

Climate Change And Migration In Madagascar: Investigating The Impacts On People, Ecosystems, And Natural Resources, Eloise Parish Mueller

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The principle objective of this study was to determine the impacts of migration caused or influenced by climate change on people and ecosystems in Madagascar. The specific objectives were 1.) to investigate the impacts of internal migration in Madagascar, particularly movements of people which are related to climate change, on migrants, established communities and ecosystems in regions they relocate to, and natural resources and 2.) to investigate possible solutions to social and environmental challenges resulting from migration in the country. While researching, I came to more fully appreciate the complexities of the relationships between climate, migration, and environmental and social …

Innovative Protection And Conservation Of Coral Reefs In Madagascar, Meghan Parker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Madagascar is home to approximately 3,450 kilometers of coral reefs, including some of the most biodiverse and valuable marine ecosystems in the Indian Ocean (Webster 2002). This online research project investigates the status of Madagascar’s coral reefs separated by region, threats that are facing the reefs and community-based solutions to protect and conserve the reefs. Conclusions of this online research suggest that most coral reefs in Madagascar are in relatively good health, although looming threats exist from overfishing, increased coastal populations, tourism, and warming waters. Community-based solutions are abundant and have proven effective, and can be implemented nation-wide, personalized to …

The Effectiveness Of The European Union’S Environmental Policies, Wendolyn Borkoski

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

The European Union has some of the highest environmental standards in the world. However, multiple member states fail at reaching the deadlines set by the European Union (EU). This thesis examines the effectiveness of the European Union’s environmental directives on gaining compliance from member states to reach the agreed-upon standards. This is assessed by using three European Union directives from different environmental areas and analyzing their requirements. Each directive represents either a hierarchical policy, negotiated policy, or voluntary policy transfer. This study hypothesizes that the hierarchical policy, represented by EU Directive 2008/98/EC, will be more effective at gaining compliance than …

Covid-19 Hr Challenge: Lessons From Vigilant Singaporeans, Richard R. Smith

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Lessons from Singapore that may benefit global HR business leaders in caring for the health and well-being of the workforce during this challenging time.

In Singapore, Laws Are Necessary For Trickle-Down Policies To Work, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan discussed the necessity for laws in order for trickle-down policies to work. He explained that while the three-in-one Unity, Resilience, and Solidarity Budgets demonstrate the resolve of Singapore to ensure businesses and households are helped amid the public health concerns and the economic fallout of the COVID-19 global pandemic, self-seeking behaviour can undermine well-intended measures as trickle down outcomes end up not materialising. However, he noted that laws have their limitations too, and concluded that an internally driven mode of compliance could be far more effective.

Equal Treatment Of Shareholders Under The Dual Class Share Structure: Recent Updates Of The Takeover Code In Singapore, Chuanman You

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

On 24 January 2019, a revised Singapore Code on Take-overs and Mergers (the Take-overs Code) was promulgated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on the advice of the Securities Industry Council (the SIC). The revisions are to ensure that takeover practices targeting at companies with the dual class share (DCS) structures are conducted in compliance with the principle of equal treatment of all shareholders. The key amendments are two-fold: (a) expanding the application of mandatory offer and its dispensation to target companies with the DCS structures. (b) clarifying the fair pricing norms for multiple classes of equity share capital …

The Spatial Subversions Of Global Citizenship Education: Negotiating Imagined Inclusions And Everyday Exclusions In International Schools In China, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In recent years, schools around the world have started to adopt curriculums that attempt to transform students into “global” citizens. Global citizenship education is, however, a homogenising abstraction that has been cri- ticised for reflecting and reproducing (neo)liberal Western values; as such, it can be undermined by its delivery and everyday applications in non-Western contexts. This problem is pronounced in international schools, and is especially pronounced in China. By exploring the spatial subversions of international schools in China, this paper offers a new way of understanding the problems associated with delivering global citizenship education, and constructing global citizens. It draws …

The Covid-19 Challenge: An Update From Singapore, Richard Raymond Smith

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

While Singapore was the location of the film Crazy Rich Asians, a more current view of the city-state might be better described as Crazy Vigilant Singaporeans! The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our world, yet the preparation, rapid response, and overall vigilance of the universities and the government in Singapore is worth noting. In fact, the World Health Organization has stated that Singapore is the “Gold Standard” for managing a pandemic. From the view of a business school in Singapore, the challenge can be viewed in phases.

Green Bonds For Financing Renewable Energy And Energy Efficiency In South-East Asia: A Review Of Policies, Dina Azhgaliyeva, Anant Kapoor, Yang Liu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Mobilizing private finance for renewable energy and energy efficiency is critical for Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) not only for the reduction of global temperature rise but also for meeting fast-growing energy demand. Two-thirds of green bonds issued in ASEAN were used to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. This paper provides a review of green bond issuance and green bond policies in ASEAN. Issuance of green bonds in top three green bond issuing countries in ASEAN, i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, are reviewed in detail. Green bond policies in ASEAN are effective in promoting green bond issuance. …

Emotions In Social Media: An Analysis Of Tweet Responses To Mh370 Search Suspension Announcement, Su Lin Yeo, Augustine Pang, Michelle L. F. Cheong, Tye Shi Jerome Quincy Yeo

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Considered one of the deadliest incidents in the history of aviation crises and labelled a “continuing mystery,” the ongoing search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 offers no closure. With endless media attention, and negative reactions of stakeholders to every decision made by the airline, this study investigates the types of emotions found in social media posted by publics to the MH370 search suspension announcement. It content analyzed 5,062 real-time tweet messages guided by the revised integrated crisis mapping model. Our findings indicated that, in addition to the four original emotions posited, there was a fifth emotion because of …

Foreign Direct Investment And Industrial Agglomeration: Evidence From China, Wen-Tai Hsu, Yi Lu, Xuan Luo, Lianming Zhu

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on industrial ag-glomeration. Using the differential effects of FDI deregulation in 2002 in China on different industries, we find that FDI actually affects industrial agglomeration neg-atively. As FDI brings technological spillovers and various agglomeration benefits, other forces must be at work to drive our empirical finding. We propose a simple theory that FDI may discourage industrial agglomeration due to fiercer competition pressure. We find various evidence on this competition mechanism. We also examine an alternative theory based on spatial political competition, but find no evidence sup-porting it. On industrial growth, …

Parallel Spaces Of Migrant (Non-)Integration In Singapore: Latent Politics Of Distance And Difference Within A Diverse Christian Community, Orlando Woods, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This paper explores how the spatial practices of churches can lead to the (non-)integration of migrant communities. Whilst churches bring migrants and non-migrants together in space and time, so too can they cause them to become divided along ethnic, national, linguistic and/or class-based lines. In such cases, migrants can become integrated into a community of other migrants, which can discourage integration into the church-at-large, or into society more generally. These practices of (non-)integration give rise to parallel spaces of Christian praxis that can lead to the reproduction of distance and difference between (and within) migrant and non-migrant communities. To illustrate …

Helping The Singapore Arts Sector Survive The Covid-19 Crisis, Su Fern Hoe

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

From online art classes to livestreaming performances and collective singing to cheer frontline healthcare workers, people across the globe are turning to the arts for much-needed connection and comfort amid the Covid-19 crisis.

The Sustainability Of Child Protection Services In The Republic Of Kosovo, Shpetim Bylykbashi

Capstone Collection

Today, in Kosovo, are services provided for the children most in need sustainable? Do these services have stable and long-term funding? Did the decentralization of the Kosovo government strengthen or weaken the existing child protective environment? In an attempt to answer these questions, a review of available literature was completed, as well as direct interviews conducted with relevant stakeholders engaged in Kosovo’s child protection services at both the governmental and civil society levels. The main finding of my research is that vulnerable children in Kosovo, such as children without parental care, children with special needs, and child victims of domestic …

Space And Defense – Volume Eleven – Number One – Spring 2019, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Nine – Number One – Spring 2016, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Eight – Number One – Spring 2015, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Seven – Number One – Winter 2014, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Six – Number One – Fall 2012, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Five – Number One – Summer 2011, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Four – Number Two – Summer 2010, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Four – Number One – Winter 2010, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Three – Number Two – Fall 2009, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space And Defense – Volume Three – Number One – Summer 2009, Space And Defense Journal

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.