International and Area Studies Commons^™

2nd Isca Productivity Scorecard And Benchmarking Survey Report For The Accountancy Sector In Singapore, Sze Yee Chan, Clarence Goh, Kay Zin

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

As the national accountancy body, the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is pleased to publish this secondProductivity Scorecard and Benchmarking Survey Report. This builds upon our inaugural scorecard and benchmarking reportlast year and, more importantly, is in line with our efforts to play a role in the national drive to restructure our economy byraising the productivity of companies in Singapore and helping them move up the value chain.

Causes And Consequences Of Corporate Asset Exchanges By Listed Companies In China, Fang Lou, Jiwei Wang, Hongqi Yuan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

China's listed companies often exchange corporate assets with their parent companies. We find that listed companies that have been incompletely restructured from former state-owned enterprises and in sound financial condition tend to exchange higher quality assets for lower quality assets (i.e., tunneling). However, when there is a need to avoid reporting a loss and to raise additional capital, listed companies tend to exchange lower quality assets for higher quality assets (i.e., propping). We also find that the market reacts indifferently to asset exchange announcements. Finally, we find asset exchanges motivated by a tunneling (propping) incentive to be associated with poorer …

In Search Of Ubuntu: An Examination Of Enslaved African Domestic And Labor Environments On St. Eustatius, Deanna Lynn Byrd

Theses and Dissertations

The discovery of dry stone rock features in the northern hills on the Dutch island of St. Eustatius presented a unique opportunity to investigate an enslaved African environment during the time of enslavement. Abandoned after emancipation, the area has remained virtually undisturbed by eco-tourism, making it an archaeological gem. The intact nature of the sites held potential to add significantly to our understanding of choices enslaved Africans made in slave village design, orientation, and the construction of their dwellings, as well as the labor activities of daily life. In doing so, this investigation attempted to detect whether higher levels of …

Craniometric Ancestry Proportions Among Groups Considered Hispanic: Genetic Biological Variation, Sex-Biased Asymmetry, And Forensic Applications, Meredith L. Tise

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Today, groups considered Hispanic in the United States consist of populations whose complex genetic structures reflect intermixed diverse groups of people who came in contact during Spanish colonization in Latin America. After coming in contact and wiping out most of the Native Americans who occupied North and Latin America, the Spanish also introduced West African individuals for labor to begin developing crops to be shipped back to Europe, resulting in the Trans-Atlantic African slave trade. These migration events and differential gene flow among males and females that occurred throughout Latin America have led to populations that have been genetically transformed …

An Oreo With Chinese Characteristics, Srinivas K. Reddy

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In late 2005, Shawn Warren, head of biscuits, Asia Pacific for Kraft, was in desperate need of a quick turnaround strategy. Oreo, after nearly 10 years in the China market was facing the imminent disaster of being completely pulled from the shelves. Local retail channels, along with company headquarters near Chicago, had finally grown impatient of the iconic product's lacklustre sales. When Warren described the turnaround in March 2012, he said, "The first step to solving a problem is to admit you have one. We are committed to have this brand and put resources behind it."

The New Capitalism: Asia And The Future Of Business, Government, And Society, Ann Florini, Bindu Sharma

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

To have a conversation, the appropriate language is needed. The language is just starting to emerge in both Asia and the West for one of the most important conversations the world is now having—the discussion about the future of business and capitalism. Thailand’s King Bhumibol refers to the sufficiency economy. Harvard’s Michael Porter speaks of shared value. Ellen MacArthur’s eponymous foundation supports the transition to the circular economy. John Elkington proposes breakthrough capitalism. Bhutan’s call to measure progress by gross national happiness (GNH), rather than the narrow metric of gross domestic product (GDP), is now attracting attention around the globe. …

Irrational To Expect Low Risk And High Returns, Benedict Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The low interest paid on Central Provident Fund (CPF) balances when compared with the relatively high returns earned by government investment entities such as Temasek Holdings and GIG is a common gripe.

Realistic Ways To Raise Cpf Returns, Benedict Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The CPF Investment Scheme can be modified to help financially illiterate members make better investment decisions.

Wealth Management In Singapore, Francis Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

As early as 2015, Singapore may oust Switzerland as the world’s top finance hub. But the path forward requires adjustments in the strategic direction of individual firms. Wealth management in Singapore is vibrant, growing, challenging.

Jlia 3:1 - The Future Of International Criminal Justice

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

No abstract provided.

Post-Conflict Reconstruction Lessons In Technology, Kevin Wheeler

Senior Honors Theses

The United States of America has accomplished some advanced technological and developmental achievements recently. However, in order to better its abilities to reconstruct and stabilize nations in the future it must utilize the lessons it has learned from the past as well as these technological advancements. From both Africa and the Middle East, the United States has learned some valuable lessons in helping nations rebuild in the face of danger. Currently, the United States can use internet technologies to better educate those who would want to reconstruct their own nations as a united people group with as little foreign interference …

Sex-Trafficking In Cambodia: Assessing The Role Of Ngos In Rebuilding Cambodia, Katherine M. Wood

Senior Honors Theses

The anti-slavery and other freedom fighting movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries did not abolish all forms of slavery. Many forms of modern slavery thrive in countries all across the globe. The sex trafficking trade has intensified despite the advocacy of many human rights-based groups. Southeast Asia ranks very high in terms of the source, transit, and destination of sex trafficking. In particular, human trafficking of women and girls for the purpose of forced prostitution remains an increasing problem in Cambodia. Cambodia’s cultural traditions and the breakdown of law under the Khmer Rouge and Democratic Kampuchea have contributed to …

China And The Two Koreas: A New Era For The Rising Hegemon, Byeongho Mun

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Recently, the U.S. moved its pivot from the Middle East to East Asia. It was a belated reaction to deal with the new world order. China is rising as the sole competitor of the U.S. in world politics, and trying to consolidate its influence on the region. The Korean Peninsula seems likely to be a frontline again for U.S. and China, similar to the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the U.S. during the Cold War era. I was able to find some sources on this issue including books and scholarly articles with a great amount of information and details …

Henry '14 Selected For Moma Internship, Kim Hill

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Learning From Our Mistakes: The Belfast Project Litigation And The Need For The Supreme Court To Recognize An Academic Privilege In The United States, Kathryn L. Steffen

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

Through the Belfast Project, researchers sponsored by Boston College began to compile an oral history of the period of violent political conflict in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles” in a series of interviews. The interviewees’ participation in the project was conditioned on a strict promise of confidentiality. However, when authorities in the United Kingdom became suspicious that the interviews contained evidence of criminal activity, the United Kingdom, pursuant to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, requested the United States to subpoena the materials on its behalf. Satisfaction of the subpoena would mean not only turning over the interview recordings, but …

National Security And The Protection Of Constitutional Liberties: How The Foreign Terrorist Organization List Satisfies Procedural Due Process, Aaron Schwartz

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

Foreign terrorist organizations pose a real and constantly evolving threat to U.S. national security. The Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) List seeks to temper that threat by extending the U.S. government an effective legal tool to identify and sanction members of terrorist organizations and those who support them. At the same time, however, the government must also ensure that its efforts to protect U.S. citizens do not trample constitutionally protected rights. This comment begins by exploring the FTO List's authorizing legislation and the policy and goals of that legislation. The comment then reviews and analyzes a series of cases discussing the …

Third Time’S The Charm: Will Basel Iii Have A Measurable Impact On Limiting Future Financial Turmoil?, Erin Pentz

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

The Great Recession of 2008 caused banking failures around the globe. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision responded swiftly to create new minimum capital requirements for financial institutions in hopes of preventing additional failures and warding off future crises. Although the new capital standards that Basel III proposes are a step in the right direction, those standards alone will not be sufficient to prevent future bank failures in times of economic decline. Rather, true financial sector stability requires adequate capitalization of all institutions in terms of quality and quantity of capital, a strong regulatory framework, and a limitation on the …

International Institutions And The Resource Curse, Patrick Keenan

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

Many countries that are richly endowed with natural resources have failed to turn that resource wealth into sustained development. In many places, a small coterie of elites has become rich while most citizens see little benefit from their country’s vast resource wealth. A principal cause of this problem, often called the resource curse, is weak domestic institutions that permit leaders to enrich themselves and ignore the development needs of the country. From this, most scholars and policymakers have concluded that the way to fix the resource curse is to reform domestic institutions.

This article challenges the conventional wisdom and argues …

The Arab Spring’S Four Seasons: International Protections And The Sovereignty Problem, Jillian Blake, Aqsa Mahmud

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

In December 2010, public demonstrations erupted throughout the Middle East against autocratic regimes, igniting a regional political transformation known as the Arab Spring. Depending on events, modern international criminal and humanitarian law provided certain protections to vulnerable populations. However, international law did not provide a uniform degree of protection to civilians and combatants who faced similar circumstances. This Article argues for a uniform standard of protections for all populations affected by armed conflict, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It evaluates each of five major Arab Spring uprisings (Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, and Libya) and describes the legal protections that …

The Impact Of The Icty On Atrocity-Related Prosecutions In The Courts Of Bosnia And Herzegovina, Yaël Ronen

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

The International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia was not mandated to proactively promote domestic prosecutions of war-related crimes. However, its operation may have had some impact on domestic proceedings concerning war-related crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The object of this article is to identify and explain this impact, with respect to qualitative (institutional legal capacities), quantitative (rates of prosecution and trends in sentencing), and normative (the adoption and application of criminal law norms) benchmarks.

The Limits Of Judicial Idealism: Should The International Criminal Court Engage With Consequentialist Aspirations?, Shahram Dana

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

Idealism about what international criminal justice mechanisms can achieve has lead to ideologically driven judicial decision-making in international criminal law (ICL). ICL idealism manifests itself in the belief that international criminal prosecutions can achieve an awesome array of goals. These include retribution, deterrence, reconciliation, rehabilitation, incapacitation, restoration, building a historical record, preventing revisionism, expressive and didactic functions, crystallizing international norms, general affirmative prevention, establishing peace, preventing war, vindicating international law prohibitions, setting standards for fair trials, combating impunity, and more. Ironically, this idealistic overreach, although usually well intended, has actually contributed to the politicization of the international judicial process.

The …

No Witness, No Case: An Assessment Of The Conduct And Quality Of Icc Investigations, Dermot Groome

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

The conduct and quality of investigations pursued by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court have come under increasing scrutiny and criticism from judges on the Court. Criticism is directed at the time and length of investigations; the quality of the evidence advanced in court; the inappropriate delegation of investigative functions, and the failure to interview witnesses in a way that is consistent with the Prosecution’s obligation to conduct investigations fairly under Article 54 of the Rome Statute. This essay explores these criticisms and concludes that the judges are justified in their concerns regarding the Prosecution’s investigative …

Foreword, Claudio Grossman

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

No abstract provided.

Using Census Bureau Data For Current And Historical Gis Research, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides examples of how geographic information system (GIS) data can be used to conduct historical and contemporary research using Census Bureau data and mapping and other resources. Such data and mapping can enhance understanding of historical and contemporary subjects in a multidisciplinary variety of topics.

Evans '14 Tapped For Library Of Congress Internship, Kim Hill

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

Duffee ’14 Named Technos Award Winner, Tia Patsavas

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.

This Wall Speaks: Graffiti And The Location Of Transnational Space Palestine, Ashley Toenjes

Theses and Dissertations

Extant literature on the Palestinian-Israeli separation wall privileges the wall's function in border-making, while ignoring other discursive and spacial functions it fulfills. My thesis reaches beyond the border-making function of the wall, resituating it as a node among different spacial networks of activism, tourism, and electronic media. My paper argues that Palestinian tactical use of graffiti on the separation wall traverses these spatial networks and provides a case for us to consider graffiti not only as a process which links these networks, but also as a discursive tool through which Palestinians appeal to transnational actors, particularly those who are complicit …

Labor And Vulnerability Among Pastoralists In Northern Kenya, Bilinda Straight

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA)

The research preliminarily examines the embodied implications of a vulnerable relationship –Samburu grandparents and their young caregivers in the context of contemporary intercommunity violence, globalization, and resource scarcity. While children are recognized caregivers of adults in numerous contexts cross-culturally, including in developed nations like the U.S. and Britain, research on this issue is scant within anthropology and recent in other fields such as geography, medicine, and public health, where it has developed primarily since the 1990s.

Terrorism: Libya’S Role In The Instability Of The Region, Cara Rabe-Hemp, Cayla Comens

Graduate Research - Criminal Justice Sciences

When media focuses its attention on the subject of terrorism, the country of Libya is not typically at the forefront of the discussion. However, Libya has a deep hand in terrorism dating back to when Colonel Muammar Qaddafi took control of the country in 1969. During the years that Qaddafi was in control, he financially backed terrorist organizations, who repeatedly aimed their sights on the United States and their allies. Even after the fall of Qaddafi’s regime, terrorism is still a part of the governmental strategy in the country. The attack in Benghazi against an American compound, which resulted in …

Sex (Still) Sells: How Sex Trafficking In The United States And Thailand Perpetuates Minority Repression, Emily B. Hulsey

Honors College Theses

Human trafficking is the third most profitable illegal international trade behind drug and arms trafficking. Sex trafficking is the second largest subset of this illegal enterprise and soon may equal or surpass labor trafficking as the prominent subset. This research aims to address four integral components of the sex trafficking and forced prostitution trade: (1) to show how sex trafficking in Thailand is being used perpetually to repress minority women and their communities; (2) to show how sex trafficking of minors (ranging in age from 8-17) in Atlanta, Georgia is shockingly similar to sex trafficking practices in Thailand; (3) to …