19468 research outputs found
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Aena Al-Faloos? Where is the Money? An Economic Analysis of Microfinance Institution Performance in the Middle East and North Africa After the Arab Spring
No full textMicrofinance has been a critical means of alleviating poverty and empowering low-income entrepreneurs in the MENA region. However, since the Arab Spring, a series of regime changes and demonstrations induced a series of economic and political shocks to the region. In this paper, I will assess the impact of the Arab Spring on microfinance institution (MFI) financial performance. Through a difference-in-differences regression on seven MFI financial performance indicators, I show that the Arab Spring had average treatment effects on the treated which indicated worsened financial performance of MFIs in highly impacted MENA countries after the shock. In addition, I examine the year-by-year changes in these financial performance indicators through a detailed event study of each indicator. This paper provides evidence that political and economic shocks negatively impact microfinance.EconomicsBachelors of Arts (BA
The Impact of the Ottoman Empire on Tensions between the Serbs and Other Ethnic Groups in the Former Yugoslavia
No full textNo one can dismiss the intense violent conflicts that the Former Yugoslavia experienced in the 1990s. These violent conflicts, together called the Yugoslav Wars, brought forth many tragic stories that still live in the minds of the region’s people. Why did this region of Europe become the victim of such heinous events? More specifically, what historical factors might have contributed to its misfortune? This paper seeks not to explain the causes of the Yugoslav Wars but rather to give attention to a specific historical factor that influenced potential conflict in the region - the Ottoman Empire. With almost four centuries of rule in the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire inevitably influenced this area of the world leaving permanent marks not only on this region’s history but also on its future. This paper argues that the Ottoman Empire played a key role in laying the foundation for ethnic tensions between Serbs and other ethnic groups during the Yugoslav Wars because its impact led to an alteration in demographics, an emergence of political elitism, and a rise in ethnonationalism. Though this paper will address the Ottoman Empire’s impact on different ethnic groups, it will focus on the Serbian people because of the significant role the Serbian state played in initiating and perpetuating violence in the Yugoslav Wars.Governmen
The Liberal Pantheon: The Creation of an Anti-Authoritarian Narrative using Ferdinand VII’s Political Repression
No full textThis thesis examines the Spanish re-imagination of Ferdinand VII’s political repression in order to forge an anti-authoritarian narrative, demonstrating that the collective memory of the early 19th century provides a base for societal critique and national identity. Each part of this project discusses a different political martyr holding anti-Ferdinand Liberal views. I first explore the symbol of Rafael del Riego throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries in Spain by using the anthem Himno de Riego; Benito Pérez Galdós’ El terror de 1824 (1877); and Carmen de Burgos’ Gloriosa vida y desdichada muerte de don Rafael del Riego (1931). Secondly, I analyze Mariana Pineda and the physical memorialization of her figure in Granada, before drawing a connection between Federico García Lorca’s play Mariana Pineda (1927) and the playwright’s own martyrdom in 1936. I end with Francisco de Goya and Antonio Buero Vallejo’s 1969 play El sueño de la razón, commenting on its criticism of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship and ideological persecution. Each of these figures demonstrates the persistence of Ferdinand VII’s cruelty in Spain’s historical narrative and its use in defining the nation’s relationship with the state.Modern Languages and LiteraturesBachelors of Arts (BA
More Than Just a Period Face: Sexualized Exploitation, Defiance, Complicity, and a Search for Feminist Agency in Keira Knightley’s Acting Career
No full textBritish star Keira Knightley has been classified as someone with a “period face,” a harmful stereotype perpetuated by her collaboration with director Joe Wright. This classification limits her capabilities as an actor and complicates her desire to inhabit tomboy characters, an authentic persona she had identified with growing up. By breaking down her career into three acts, I uncover the impact of her filmography from sexualized exploitation to feminist agency.Film StudiesBachelors of Arts (BA
Depersonalization Disorder
No full textThroughout the history of psychiatry, the phenomenon of dissociation has been continuously debated, negotiated, and redefined. Outside the field of psychiatry, an understanding of dissociation and its impact is even more elusive. In this partial review of the literature, depersonalization disorder, a little known psychopathology intimately related to dissociation, is analyzed in detail. From defining the disorder in terms of our current understanding to exploring its prevalence and origins (both traumatic and biological), this analysis seeks to reveal this disorder to a public largely unaware of its existence. By examining depersonalization disorder in-depth, it is hoped that this analysis may aid in bringing the commonly experienced phenomena of depersonalization and derealization into public awareness and discourse. Future studies should strive to bolster the growing empirical data related to the understanding and treatment of these phenomena in their pathological form.I am indebted to my professor and mentor Bethany Brand, Ph.D., for her expertise and guidance
Exploring Natural And Human Influences On Sediment Dispersal And Seabed Geochemistry In The Offshore Ayeyarwady Delta, Myanmar
No full textWorldwide, large river deltas have been extensively modified to support thedevelopment of growing coastal populations. While this is especially true of Asian river deltas (e.g., the Changjiang, Huang He, and Ganges-Brahmaputra), the Ayeyarwady Delta in Myanmar has remained remarkably underdeveloped. However, over the last 50 years changes in land use and increased mining efforts in the Ayeyarwady and Thanlwin River catchments have resulted in the deforestation of coastal and terrestrial forests and begun to alter fluvial sediment fluxes. While no large dams are currently installed on either river mainstem, future construction in Myanmar is imminent. Together the Ayeyarwady and Thanlwin Rivers transport ~485 Mt/y of sediment and as much as 7.7 Mt/y of particulate organic carbon to the offshore delta on the Northern Andaman shelf where material is extensively mixed by tides in the Gulf of Martaban before accumulating in a mid-shelf clinoform. Despite intense seabed mixing, substantial exchange of marine and fresh waters, and the potential for organic carbon priming, the isotopic composition of terrestrial organic carbon is largely consistent from the Gulf of Martaban to the clinoform depocenter suggesting that terrestrial material accumulating on the shelf is largely refractory in nature. This can be explained by the nearshore remineralization of labile terrestrial components prior to across-shelf transport and entrainment in frequent resuspension and deposition cycles. In addition to the spatially consistent terrestrial organic carbon signatures, 210Pb profiles further indicate that sediment is transported from the inner shelf to the clinoform depocenter on seasonal and / or tidal timescales, promoting short shelf transport times and the effective sequestration of terrestrial material in the clinoform. As a result, terrestrial organic carbon content is high in offshore sediment deposits, making the offshore Ayeyarwady delta a greater sink for terrestrial material on the continental margin than previously expected. While temporal changes to sequestration may be anticipated due to the increased development of the river catchments, no observable change in terrestrial organic carbon character or content is identified in the marine sediment record over the last 100 years. This is likely attributed to the extensive mixing on the shelf, wherein geochemical signatures associated with human development are filtered through frequent seabed resuspension. Nonetheless, future damming will drastically reduce fluxes from the Ayeyarwady and Thanlwin Rivers, leading to delta shoreline erosion and coastal inundation as well as changes to offshore terrestrial organic carbon accumulation. Flux reductions may also induce the erosion of the subaqueous clinoform deposit which would re-introduce organic carbon and other sediment-bound particles, such as organic pollutants and trace metals, to the water column. The re-exposure of previously sequestered material will likely alter sediment and terrestrial organic carbon distribution trends and negatively impact aquatic ecosystem health. While development in Myanmar is currently minimal, we suggest that given baseline conditions, damming and continued development will substantially alter delta sustainability, shelf sediment dynamics, as well as regional and global biogeochemical budgets.Virginia Institute of Marine ScienceDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.
Monitoring the Abundance of American Shad and River Herring in Virginia’s Rivers 2024 Annual Report
No full textThis report describes the results of the twenty-seventh year of a continuing study to
estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa
sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and
Rappahannock rivers in spring 2024, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to
coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007, ASMFC 2020). We also report on two fishery independent
monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River
(year 7) and a major tributary of the James River, the Chickahominy River (year 10), to
determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river
herring (A. pseudoharengus, and A. aestivalis). Further, we report on the year 10 of a
monitoring program for juvenile alosines by using nighttime surface trawls in the
Chickahominy River and present an index of juvenile abundance from this survey. An
additional result of this study was analysis of bycatch of American shad in a permitted
gill-net fishery and American shad and river herring in pound-net fisheries
Breaking Barriers or Burning Bridges? The Potential for Social Media to Foster Understanding Across Backgrounds
No full textThe internet has made the world more connected than ever before. Every advancement in mass communication has introduced people to a little more about the world, but social media gives people easy access to new ideas, individuals, and communities worldwide. Social media, like any new technology, also brings its own set of challenges. Critics of social media will quickly identify its polarizing effects, negative impact on interpersonal relationships, and ability to circulate disinformation, often fueling political discord. However, are these features of the technology or of us as humans? Can social media, at its core, connect us more than it divides? This project attempts to shed light on this important question. Drawing from literature on extended contact theory, parasocial relationships, and political science research on other forms of mass media, this project explores social media’s influence on the ways in which it might passively increase empathy and reduce prejudice. The research examines whether ordinary interactions on social media platforms can foster understanding and identifies which platform features and user behaviors are potentially significant factors. This project represents a first step in evaluating and understanding social media as a tool that may allow us to build relationships and cross-cultural understanding. Social media is here to stay, so identifying how it can be used to foster relationships is key to healthy political discourse that might build bridges across cultural and political divides as we consider legislation about it going forward.GovernmentBachelors of Arts (BA
The Relationship Between Undergraduate Student Marketplace Identities And Satisfaction In Higher Education: An Action Research Study
No full textAs the higher education landscape becomes increasingly competitive due to financial constraints exacerbated by the impending enrollment cliff, institutions must focus on student recruitment and retention (Calma & Dickson-Deane, 2020; Guilbault, 2016). The marketization of higher education requires institutions to adapt to the desires and needs of students; however, these efforts may come at the expense of student outcomes within the educational environment. This mixed-methods action research study explored the extent to which undergraduate business students at a private, urban, mid-Atlantic institution characterized their student marketplace identities on a continuum from learners within higher education to customers of higher education. The root causes and environmental factors of student marketplace identity formation and the relationship between student marketplace identities, overall satisfaction, and satisfaction with academic advising were also explored. Dissemination of the Customer Orientation Scale Survey (Saunders, 2014b), an amended version of the Student Satisfaction Survey (Alves & Raposo, 2009), and three semi-structured focus group interviews provided data to answer the research questions. The results of the study confirmed there were no statistically significant connections between student marketplace identities and satisfaction. Additionally, most students in the sample exhibited moderate perspectives aligned with a mixed marketplace identity. Focus group interview responses established that dissatisfaction was primarily rooted in the difference between expectations and experiences at the institution under study. A discussion of these results informed recommendations that encouraged the institution to prioritize expectation-setting with students upon their initial engagement while maintaining high educational and service quality standards.EducationDoctor of Education (Ed.D.