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The New Era of Doing Business with Iran: Iran’s International Commercial Transactions and Global Security
Get PDFOn January 17, 2016, in a statement following his signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, President Obama addressed that country’s people, stating that “yours is a great civilization, with a vibrant culture that has so much to contribute to the world – in commerce, and in science and the arts.” While the former U.S. President’s evaluation of the Iranian people’s greatness is indisputable, there are questions concerning doing business with Iran which transcend conventional legal issues and commercial problems.
Given the juxtaposition of Iran’s duopolistic government structure and ideologically oriented decision-making processes, questions arise as to what extent multinational corporations, including U.S. companies, should reasonably expect to conduct commercial transactions with that country. Specific issues arise related to Iranian banks, international credit recognition, terms of payment, and the conceptual legality of interest in Iran. In addition, more practical issues arise related to the governing law of contract and proper dispute resolution mechanisms. Furthermore, U.S. regulatory constraints limit the efficacy of certain contracts between Iran and U.S. companies. This article attempts to illustrate the structural, legal and operational issues concerning doing business with Iran and, where possible, means for mitigating such issues
Pace Energy & Climate Center 2016 Annual Report
Get PDFThe Center staff and many allies are deeply involved in the business of electric utility transformation. We live and work in a remarkable time. Decades of steady, thoughtful leadership on clean energy issues is now bearing fruit. Clean energy is not just the right thing to do, it is increasingly recognized as the right choice economically, technically, and for all members of society. Our work, especially in 2016, has been about making sure that we seize the moment and secure the benefits of clean energy use for all communities in New York, the Northeast U.S., across the country, and throughout the world.
Never has it been more important that we succeed in our work. The challenges of climate change, the changing path of policy, and the moral imperative of building a clean energy foundation for future generations drive us every day. While we don’t work actively in Washington, D.C., changes there threaten our work. The Center focuses on waging a strong offense at the state and community level, and on effectively communicating the benefits of clean energy development and policy.
In 2016, we answered the call for clear-eyed policy leadership in the many New York Public Service Commission’s (“NYPSC”) Reforming the Energy Vision (“REV”) initiative proceedings under way. Our work multiplied as the Commission transitioned from vision to implementation and execution, and so did our impact. See the Appendix for the active NY PSC proceedings in which the Center is engaged! The Center continued its regional leadership as a champion of super-efficient combined heat and power, strong solar energy market policy, and interstate cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We expand the reach of our ideas and support through formal regulatory interventions, thought leadership, and good old-fashioned research and writing. The Pace Energy and Climate Center continues to operate as a small, agile, interdisciplinary team of talented and committed individuals, and continues to benefit from the support of the best law student interns anywhere. Our network of collaborators at other organizations has grown over the year, as has our reputation in the media
Public Resource Ownership and Community Engagement in a Modern Energy Landscape
Get PDFThe onshore resource conflicts that have erupted in the Eastern states of Australia highlight the deep need for axiomatic structural change in public resource ownership frameworks. Much of the conflict that has arisen stems from the failure of the state, as owner, to give proper regard to the social and environmental concerns relevant to the expansion of onshore resource development. The underlying rationale for vesting resources in the state is to ensure they are managed for the benefit of the community as a whole. The implied sumption is that public benefit obligations are met through state administration because this is the most effective means of reinjecting the financial gains of resource exploitation back into the community. This article argues that the dramatic social and environmental impacts associated with a transitioning onshore resource sector have fundamentally altered this perspective. In this environment, the public interest obligations of the state transcend efficiency imperatives. In a modern public resource framework the state can only properly comply with its core public interest obligations where the social and environmental concerns of impacted communities regarding onshore resource development are effectively managed. This structural realignment coheres with the emergence of a more attuned and environmentally engaged communitarian network. This article draws upon social obligation jurisprudence, including land ethics, the public trust doctrine and the doctrine of propriety, to argue that the public ownership of resources has always been qualified by strong communitarian obligations. Responding to these obligations in a timely and effective manner has, in the context of onshore resource expansion, become a public interest imperative. This is apparent not only from the growing formal importance of social licencing protocols in resource development projects but also, at a more fundamental level, in the normative drive towards ecological progression and improved structural consistency between human and natural law
Public Fund Strategic Asset Allocation to Hedge Funds: A Time Series Analysis
Get PDFPublic funds represent some of the U.S.’ largest institutional investors. These funds are a pool of money saved for retirement by those who are still working. Boards of Directors of these funds have strict standards for their investments, as the money they are investing is not their own; rather, it comes from the thousands of workers that pay into the funds. Alternative investments such as private equity, private debt, real assets, real estate, and hedge funds are historically more risky than traditional public equities or fixed income investments. Recently, public funds’ investments in hedge funds have been called into question not only by the boards of these funds but also by the fund participants themselves. With high fees, low transparency, and currently average returns, investing in hedge funds has become a popular topic in the institutional investment industry.
This research looks to perform an in-depth analysis on a sample of public funds with investments in hedge funds. Limited to the last ten years, data from eight public funds with over 15 billion, ranging as high as$133 billion as of September 2016. The analyses on these funds were done in three sections: Pre-Financial Crisis, During the Financial Crisis, and Post-Financial Crisis. Annual reports, news articles, manager reports, consultant reports, and institutional investor authored reports were used.
An analysis of the public funds within the sample and a review of current market sentiment on hedge funds revealed that there are split thoughts on the investment vehicle. Some public funds within the sample, like Virginia Retirement System, have a positive outlook for hedge funds, while New Jersey State Investment Council has looked to decrease their hedge fund allocation. The ten-year review on the sample showed that allocations to hedge funds have increased over the time period but over the past two years specifically allocations have declined slightly. A highly valued equity market since the financial crisis has negatively impacted hedge fund returns. Despite underperforming traditional asset class returns, I believe public fund investment in hedge funds is still beneficial.
This research faced certain data limitations due to lack of disclosure in alternative investments pre-Financial Crisis. Although disclosure in hedge funds increased after the financial crisis, it only did so marginally. Due to this, original graphs and charts may not include data from all public funds within the sample. The results of this research call for future analyses into the types of investors public funds should be given different market environments
Predictors of Counseling Self-Efficacy: Examining the Counselor Trainees\u27 Perception of Supervisory Interaction Style
No full textThe purpose of this study was to assess how clinical supervisors\u27 style of interaction, as described by SDT’s concepts of perceived autonomy support versus perceived controlling style, predicts the counseling self-efficacy (CSE) of a mental health counseling intern placed in a field internship. An additional purpose of this study was to examine if this relationship between autonomy support and counseling self-efficacy was mediated by autonomous work motivation. Participants were approached during an internship class session to complete instruments related to their demographic characteristics, perceptions of supervisory interaction style – autonomy supportive versus controlled (Perceived Autonomy Support Scale – Employee), autonomous or controlled motivation (Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale) and counseling self-efficacy (Counseling Self-Estimate Inventory). In addition, a need for autonomy scale (Autonomy and Homonomy Measure ) was also included in the questionnaire packet to perform an exploratory analysis on participants’ need for autonomy as it relates to perceived autonomy support. Participants consisted of master’s level mental health counseling interns enrolled in their field internships. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the predictive relationship between perceived autonomy support from supervisor and participant’s counseling self-efficacy. Path analyses were conducted to investigate if this relationship was mediated by autonomous work motivation
Discrimination, Social Support, and Internalizing Symptoms Among Asian-Pacific Islander Lesbian. Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Individuals: Exploring Intersectionality and Ecological Systems of Support
No full textAsian-Pacific Islander (API) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) individuals have unique mental health needs due to the intersections of their stigmatized racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender identities, as well as due to the underutilization of mental health services and cultural variations in symptom expression among the API population in general. Using intersectionality and ecological systems theories, this online survey study aimed to contribute to our understanding of this understudied population by exploring the links between discrimination and internalizing symptoms, as well as potential protective functions of social support, among a sample of API LGBTQQ adults. A total of 544 adults were included in the analytic sample. Correlation and regression analyses were used to investigate associations among five forms of discrimination (i.e., heterosexism, racism, and intersectional discrimination including racism in LGBTQQ communities, heterosexism in racial/ethnic minority communities, and racism in dating and close relationships), three types of internalizing symptoms (i.e., anxiety, depression, and somatization), and four types of social support (i.e., general social support, acceptance for sexual orientation/gender identity, frequency of conversations about discrimination, degree of satisfaction with conversations about discrimination) from eight sources (i.e., mother, father, siblings, significant other, and friends who are: API and LGBTQQ, API but not LGBTQQ, LGBTQQ but not API; neither API nor LGBTQQ). Overall. results indicated that there were strong associations of greater discrimination with greater internalizing symptoms, most strongly with somatization symptoms. There were also some associations of certain types of social support with less internalizing symptoms, with acceptance for sexual orientation/gender identity being most consistently associated with less internalizing symptoms. Support from significant other was the only social support source negatively associated with all internalizing symptoms, with findings for the other social support sources more mixed and inconsistent. Unexpectedly. greater frequency of conversations about discrimination was strongly associated with greater internalizing symptoms, and social support was not found to buffer associations of discrimination with internalizing symptoms. Instead, findings indicated that associations between discrimination and internalizing symptoms were even stronger at higher levels of certain types of social support. Further analyses also suggested that social support has weaker associations with lower internalizing symptoms among those who have experienced higher levels of discrimination. Implications of these findings include the need to reduce societal discrimination, the importance of providing social support specific to sexual orientation and/or gender identity, the need for future research to continue to examine the complex and multifaceted nature of social support and its consequences, and the importance of attending to somatization symptoms as a unique manifestation of discrimination experiences among API LGBTQQ individuals
The Efficacy of Divorce Education: A Pilot Study Evaluating FamilyKind\u27s Implementation of the New York State Parent Education and Awareness Program
No full textThe research on children whose parents are separated or divorced presents much debate regarding the role of risk factors and the influence of interventions to mitigate negative outcomes. Reviews of research on divorce have consistently supported findings that children of divorce have a higher incidence of mental health, substance abuse, academic, and social problems than their peers from intact families. Short-term parent divorce education (PDE) programs are the most widely prescribed intervention for families going through the divorce process, and recent evidence supports the positive effects of PDE classes on parent behavior and child adjustment post-divorce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a community-based implementation of the New York State-certified Parent Education and Awareness Program (PEAP) by the non-profit organization FamilyKind. The present study examined the impact of divorce education through a cross-sectional design with a 3- or 6-month follow-up. A pilot sample of participants (treatment group) provided self-report data on parenting attitudes and practices compared to a control group of divorcing parents who did not receive the intervention. Independent-samples t tests were used to analyze the mean differences between the groups after the follow-up. The follow-up with parents attempted to evaluate whether the PEAP curriculum was associated with higher ratings of co-parenting, parenting satisfaction, and parenting efficacy on self-report questionnaires when compared with controls. Participants who received the PEAP intervention reported significantly higher levels of parenting satisfaction and parenting efficacy than participants in the control group. There were no significant effects for co-parenting. Participants who received PEAP were generally satisfied with the intervention, felt comfortable sharing their experiences and participating, felt hopeful regarding their parenting abilities upon completion of the program, and indicated that they would recommend the program to others
The NYPD and the Mentally Ill
Get PDFRecently, a federal court judge cleared the way for a trial in the case of Mohamed Bah, a 28-year-old student killed in his home by NYPD officers after his mother, Hawa Bah, called 911 for assistance to take him to a hospital. Southern District Judge P. Kevin Castel\u27s ruling denied New York City\u27s motion seeking to dismiss claims of unlawful entry and excessive force against the police officers who responded to Mr. Bah\u27s apartment, breached his door and then shot and killed him. Mr. Bah\u27s family alleges that the final and fatal shot to Mr. Bah\u27s head was inflicted at close range while he lay helpless and bleeding on the ground.
The Bah case is just one of many where the response of police officers to calls involving persons in a mental health crisis has come under close scrutiny. The NYPD classified the Bah incident as an emotionally disturbed persons call. According to the NYPD\u27s Office of Management Analysis and Planning in 2016, the Department received 125,508 calls that were confirmed EDP incidents. In many such incidents, a family member\u27s call for assistance with handling a loved one\u27s possible mental health crisis, results in the police forcibly entering the individual\u27s home after being denied entry, discharging Tasers and/or less lethal weapons at the emotionally disturbed person/family member, and then shooting and killing the emotionally disturbed person when he does not immediately comply with police commands
Cost Reduction Strategy for Cybersecurity Risk Management and Risk Transfer to Insurance in Financial Industry
No full textThe rapid development of Web technologies has driven a broad implementation of network-based applications in the financial industry, as well as resulted in a variety of cyber risks throughout the domain. As one of the risk management solutions, cybersecurity insurance (CI) is an alternative solution for dealing with cybersecurity risk in the financial industry by transferring some of the risk burden to an insurance company. It has become a popular approach for compensating some of the financial loses of cybersecurity events. However, the cost of cybersecurity insurance also leads to a heavy financial burden, which also affects risk mitigations when it is applied. The major problem is the difficulty of maximizing insurance returns by selecting insured items in terms of their demands under the certain financial budget. The problem of the research is to find an adaptive approach for financial service institutions to achieve an efficient and effective cybersecurity risks transfer by using cybersecurity insurance under a firm financial budget. The difficulties address few aspects, including understanding cyber incidents and their threats levels, cognizing the relationships between cyber incidents, cybersecurity insurance items, and making decisions on selecting insurance items considering both financial costs and insurance demands. To address the issues above, this dissertation concentrates on the problem of maximizing the cybersecurity insurance returns in terms of the available funds. The main contributions of this work are threefold; First, we perform feasibility study starting with proposing a novel secure big data cyber incident analytics framework based on the survey, which is designed to produce a strategy map for implementing cybersecurity insurance under a certain financial constraint; second, we develop an approach using cyber incident classification for ontology-based knowledge representation, which is supported by semantic cyber incident classification model; finally, we create a new approach of risk prediction model based on decision tree method for information classification. The research solves the problem of cybersecurity insurance plan generation by developing a cost reduction strategy with Greedy algorithm run through two rounds of greedy to obtain cost effective plan with higher cyber risk weight. We implement experimental evaluations to prove the effectiveness and performances and the results show that our proposed framework and models are feasible for practical deployments