International and Area Studies Commons^™

The Fight For Independence: Catalan Political Institutions And Their Affect On Catalunya's Movement For Independence, Megan Lemke, William Munro, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Us Vs Them And Them Vs U.S. : A Comparative Analysis Of Recruitment Strategies Of The Islamic State And The Alt-Right, Emily Brown, William Munro, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Baloch Secularism: What The Data Say, C. Christine Fair, Ali Hamza

Peace and Conflict Studies

Since 1947, Baloch have resisted inclusion into the Pakistan and have waged several waves of ethno-nationalist insurgency against the state. Scholars and Baloch nationalist leaders alike generally assert that Baloch are more secular than other Pakistanis, more opposed to the political Islamist policies pursued by the state, and less supportive of Islamist militancy in the country. However, these claims lack empirical support. We employ data derived from a large national survey of Pakistanis from 2012 to evaluate these conventional wisdoms. Contrary to claims in the literature, we find that Baloch resemble Pakistanis generally with few important exceptions.

Los Emprendedores Tecnológicos En Buenos Aires: Un Análisis De La Coyuntura Actual Y Oportunidades Para El Futuro / Technological Entrepreneurs In Buenos Aires: An Analysis Of The Present Situation And Opportunities For The Future, Amanda Price

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In today’s world, changes are happening at an ever-increasing pace. Technology is one of the driving forces behind the changes occurring in cities across the world and is affecting everything from the labor market to the way we buy and sell things. While some of this technological innovation is produced by large firms, around the world entrepreneurs are harnessing technology in order to address inefficiencies in today's world and to disrupt industries that have existed for decades, if not centuries. As the capital of Argentina and one of the metropolitan hubs of South America, Buenos Aires is a fascinating city …

Reaching For The Heart: An Analysis Of Language As A Weapon Of Empathy For Three Capetonians, Sarah Mcdonald

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this paper, I examine the role that cross-cultural language study plays in the lives of three Capetonians in order to explore its capacity to foster empathy between people of different backgrounds. Framed in the context of South African history and modern academic discourse around language use in educational and public spaces in the country, I present the stories of my three interviewees and analyze particular experiences that they relayed in order to trace trends of empathy and understanding through their language use.

Through my discussion of this qualitative data, I reach the conclusion that language can be an effective …

The Power Dynamics Of Language: An Analysis Of The Positionality Of Amazigh Language In Morocco, Jessica Schwed

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In 2001, in an unprecedented act, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, stated in a speech that he would take actions to create an organization dedicated to the protection of Amaizgh language and culture. A few months later, he issued a royal Dahair that created the Insitut Royale de la Culture Amazighe (IRCAM), an organization that was tasked with protecting the Amazigh language and culture, as well as, advising King Mohammed VI on all matters related to Amazigh language and culture. The creation of this institution led to the start of a standardization process, whereby the IRCAM has committed to creating …

Un Vistazo Interior Al Sistema Educativo Público De Managua: Las Voces De Estudiantes, Padres Y Maestros, Karla Barron

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Public education is a complex topic that is impossible to fully comprehend due to its lack of uniformity on both a local and international level. In the United States, the quality of public education has a strong correlation to the socioeconomic status of the community it is located in. Experts in Nicaragua have extensively studied the public education system and have come to conclusions about its inability to properly prepare students for higher education, both in city and rural environments. This qualitative research study seeks to understand the current standing of the public education system for students at the secondary …

“Uno Es Palestino Por El Orgullo” Palestinian Assimilation And Identity In Nicaragua., Eric Thornton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Palestinians have been immigrating to Nicaragua and throughout Central America since the early 20th-century, and they have formed their own small community in Managua. The first generation of immigrants from Palestine arrived without any support from the Nicaraguan government, and had to rely on the community for survival. However, the second generation has been brought up in a different Nicaragua than their parents faced and now encounters a new set of challenges in preserving their identity and becoming part of mainstream Nicaraguan society. This paper seeks to investigate the outcomes of assimilation of the second generation of Palestinian-Nicaraguans. In addition, …

Hello Keikan-Chan: The Implications Of Female Japanese Police Mascots, Gage Meyers

Asian Studies: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The concept of yuru-kyara, a mascot character designed by towns and prefectures to boost tourism, has been a trend in Japan for two decades. Overtime Japanese police adopted the trend and created their own mascot characters to improve public relations. For the decade since the first police mascot was created only male police mascots were created and it was not until the late 90s early 2000s that female police mascots were being made. These female mascots were not original characters, but rather female counterparts of the already existing male police mascots. This paper explores the cultural, political, and social …

East Asia Pacific Economies: Looking Good, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The World Bank expects recovering global trade and commodity prices to buoy regional prospects

Chinese Company Shareholders Revolt Against Communist Control, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Shareholders of low-profile Chinese property developer Tianjin Realty Development recently made news by voting to keep party politics out of the Shanghai-listed company's organisational structure. Such action has never been heard of before at any State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) in the history of China's economic modernisation.

Smu Libraries: “Sensory” In Library Spaces, Nursyeha Yahaya, Devika Sangaram, Salihin Mohammed Ali, Aaron Tay

Research Collection Library

The Li Ka Shing Library recently included a new section, “Heat Maps” on the library website, providing users instant access to the physical occupancy spaces across all the different levels in the library. The indoor location-aware system is one in the latest slew of additions in tracking the library patrons’ visitations. It is the first of the many forms of library usage data sources that seek to provide an impetus in engaging the SMU community through real-time data visualizations. This enhances the perception of SMU Libraries as a creative nexus that nurtures and champions innovative methods of information access through …

Do Faculty And Librarians See Information Literacy In The Same Way? A Study Of Alignment, Melody Chin, Daniel Walker

Research Collection Library

Faculty and Librarians are two distinct professional groups each with their own subcultures, values and experiences. Hardesty (1995) noted the existence of a "faculty culture" amongst faculty members, which quite likely shapes and influences the way these individuals perceive a highly subjective concept such as Information Literacy (IL). Faculty and Librarians in higher education institutions often work together in the development of IL Programs. However, despite this collaborative relationship, it is not clear as to whether the two professional groups perceive the concept of IL similarly, or whether there exists a divide. Understanding how both professions perceive IL should be …

The Impact Of Logistics Performance On The Success Of Trade Agreements, Kevin Arbeiter

Honors Projects in Management

The purpose of this capstone project is to determine whether or not it is possible to predict the success and effectiveness of new trade agreements by looking at fundamental factors associated with efficient supply chain management. Typically, free trade agreements are analyzed using economic factors such as Gross Domestic Product or labor gains and losses. When this is done to determine whether or not a trade agreement is successful, it is usually backwards looking and too late for a country to opt out without economic repercussions. The aim of this study is to determine whether it is possible to predict …

Fostering Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities On Social Media: Implications For Celebrity Endorsement, Siyoung Chung, Hichang Cho

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School of Business

The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying mechanisms through which the use of social media affects endorser effectiveness. Based on theories related to parasocial relationships,self-disclosure, and celebrity endorsement, this study proposed a theoretical research model and empirically tested the model using online survey data collected from 400 Korean Wave fans in Singapore. The results showed that consumers’ parasocial interactions with celebrities though social media have a positive impact on celebrity endorsement. Specifically, we found that: (1) parasocial relationships mediated the relationships between social media interactions and source trustworthiness, (2) social media interactions influenced parasocial relationships via self-disclosure;and …

Investigating Preferences For Patriarchal Values Among Muslim University Students In Southern Thailand, Mahsoom Sateemae, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Suhaimee Sateemae

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Recent research on Muslim populations has offered interesting but limited insights about values preferences. This mixed-methods study examines the prevalence of support for patriarchy among a sample of religious Muslim university students in Southern Thailand using items from the World Values Survey. It also investigates the durability of these preferences by examining correlations between support or opposition to patriarchal values with preferences towards courtship practices, and elements that influence respondents’ views on gender roles, particularly related to the contemporary socioeconomic and political situation facing the Muslim minority of Southern Thailand.

An Analysis Of Positive Coping Mechanisms Utilized To Overcome Trauma In Post-Genocidal Rwanda, Danielle Marvin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

From April 7th to July 1st of 1994, one million Rwandan people were brutally murdered by their friends and neighbors in the meticulously planned and government-sponsored Genocide against the Tutsi. Survivors witnessed killings and sexual assault, had their lives threatened, lost multiple family members, and hid under dead bodies to evade the killers. To make matters worse, trust within communities and even within families was destroyed as Hutu perpetrators turned against Tutsis they had, days earlier, been inviting to family events. After the genocide, PTSD rates among adults in Rwanda were estimated at 20.5% for men and 30% for women …

Czech Artivism: The Function Of Activist Art In Czech Political Culture, Kristen Fontaine

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research endeavors to explore the ways in which activist art functions within the context of the Czech Republic’s political culture. In a society where art had such a significant influence during the transition to democracy, the activist role of art is emphasized minimally in terms of contemporary culture. The main objective of exploring this function results in a threetiered methodology, utilizing secondary sources, direct observation, and interviews with activist artists themselves. The relevant scholarly literature discusses activist art both in the general sense, as well as within the context of post-communist countries. However, individual interviews with local activist artists …

Images Of Europeans: Transnational Trust And Support For European Integration, Gaspare Genna

Selected Works Temporary Series

Prior research on citizen support for European integration does not consider the influenceof individuals’ evaluations of European nationalities. The model developed in this articleargues that individuals harbour images regarding other European nationalities. Theseimages, which are tied to the economic development of the nationalities’ country, influencetransnational trust (the general trust that individuals put in another nationality).Transnational trust explains support for integration, for it facilitates cooperation amongdiverse groups. As a result, the overall transnational trust is important in explaining supportfor integration. In addition, trust in nationalities from poorer countries has a strongerimpact on support than trust in nationalities from wealthier countries. This …

Water, Sanitation And Hygiene In Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement, Katelyn Bergl

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.