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Bulgaria’s foreign policy and the three major players in Europe – the EU, Russia and Turkey
No full textThesis (B.A. in Political Science)--John Cabot University, Spring 2017.The indicative nature of this thesis aims to present how Bulgaria balances its foreign policy between the three most influential regional players in Europe – the EU, Russia and Turkey. The history with each of these players will be presented, along with cases that will help clarify how Bulgaria manages pressures from the three actors in the shaping of its foreign policies. This thesis also offers a study and analyses on the South Stream pipeline and the refugee crisis in relation to Bulgaria and the three regional players. The EU is seen as the actor that is best suited to alter Bulgarian policies, but Russia too, can exert influence through its energy supplies, like-minded parties in Bulgaria and oligarchs such as Delyan Peevski. Turkey is a country which with its close proximity to Bulgaria can complicate the geopolitics of the region, as the refugee crisis and South Stream chapters will demonstrate
Determinants of the Governance Structure of the International Franchise Firm: A Case Study Analysis in the Automotive Rental Industry
No full textPurpose
The governance structure of international franchise firms varies from higher control modes, such as wholly owned subsidiaries and joint venture franchising, to lower control modes, such as area development and master franchising. Based on organizational economics, strategic management, and international business perspectives, the purpose of this paper is to use the case study analysis to empirically evaluate an integrative model on the franchisor’s choice of international governance modes.
Design/methodology/approach
The study applies qualitative methods, such as in-depth case analysis, to investigate a large set of variables that influence the governance structure decision of the international franchise firm. Specifically, it applies a theory-testing case study with two major competitors in the European automotive rental industry, i.e. Europcar and Sixt. Theory-testing case research is justified by the lack of explanatory research due to the complexity of the franchisor-franchisee relationship phenomena, such as the factors that influence the franchisor’s choice of international governance modes. The investigation of the complex governance structure phenomenon requires a holistic analysis.
Findings
The case study shows that environmental, behavioral, transaction-specific, resource-based (system-specific, market-specific, financial resources), and international strategy considerations are important determinants of the governance mode decision of the international franchise firm.
Research limitations/implications
The study responds to the recent call in organizational economics, marketing, strategic management, and international business literature to develop and test a multi-theoretical framework to explain the governance structure of inter-organizational networks, such as franchise networks.
Originality/value
Few previous studies in international franchising have used more than one theoretical perspective to explain the governance structure of the international franchise firm. This study contributes to the theory-testing case study literature by applying a rigorous method of conducting case research. This includes developing a theoretical framework and a systematic research design. A systematic research design requires a holistic analysis by investigating the international franchise governance modes from a variety of theoretical perspectives which are the organizational economics, strategic management, and the strategy-structure perspective
Libya as a War-Torn State, principal causes and consequences of the Libyan 2011 Civil War; Rethinking the Concept of State Failure
No full textThesis (B.A. in Political Science)--John Cabot University, Spring 2017.The aim of this thesis is to identify, by using a theoretical framework, Libya’s current state and to dissect the principal variables which amount to its political and economic involution. Furthermore, this thesis examines Libya in the context state failure. After the fall of the Gadhafi regime, the whole system was destabilized. For this reason, the aftermath of 2011 NATO intervention has been analyzed. Social havoc, tribal tensions, and the demise of the political and economic institutions characterize Libya’s current state and can be considered as the major sources for its instability, and perilous state. Even though six years have passed since the civil war, Libya is still encumbered by the consequences of the fall of its Qa’id. The formation of two governments, the takeover of major oil production facilities by militias and other armed groups, and tribes which continue to strive for power are significant indicators that conflict has remained. Libya’s a war-torn state, with very limited power to manage its affairs
Not some bad apples: How people can turn into abuse perpetrators Lesson from Abu Ghraib and Bosnia Herzegovina
No full textThesis (B.A. in Political Science, Minor in Psychology)--John Cabot University, Spring 2017.This thesis wants to investigate the applicability of Hannah Arendt’s theory on the banality of evil on current episodes of human rights violations. In doing so, two social psychology experiments are taken into consideration: Stanley Milgram’s experiment on obedience and Philip Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment. The variables isolated in both experiments are analyzed in the context of two case studies: US soldiers’ abuses against Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison, and U.N peacekeepers’ involvement in human trafficking of women in post-war Bosnia Herzegovina. The general conclusion that can be drawn is that under particular situational factors, which are examined in detail, average people can display abusive and sadistic behaviors that they would have never imagined to perform under different circumstances
In Creativity Begin Responsibilities: Analyzing Creativity in Relation to Social Commitment and Individual Development in Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore
No full textThesis (B.A. in English Literature, Minor in Communications)--John Cabot University, Spring 2017.This thesis investigates the connection between creativity and social responsibilities in the novel Kafka on the Shore, by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. Murakami’s personal ideology of the artist’s social responsibility influences the novel in terms of both style and plot. Chapter 1 analyzes the figure of the artist, discussing both Murakami as the committed artist and the artistic characters in Kafka on the Shore. Chapter 2 focuses on art as a source for selfdevelopment, analyzing the evolution of the characters of Kafka and Hoshino
A New Interpertation of the Oedipus the King
No full textThesis (B.A. in Classical Studies)--John Cabot University, Spring 2017.Many classical period works are still not completely understood due to the considerable amount of information that has been lost or destroyed over the years. There is also a great deal of information that has yet to be deciphered one hundred percent, however if the study of classical works continues information could be brought to light to further ones understanding of that particular time period. Unfortunately there is little-to-no pieces of works that explain exactly what a author wanted to show through their work, so current scholars only interpret the different works by what meaning they think the author may have intended. This is the entire premise for this thesis, which will shed a new light on an original text from the antiquity times that has been read and studied for over 2000 years. This thesis will show the opposite of what most scholars have stated about Oedipus the king and the idea of fate versus free will. I will argue that in reality if one looks closely through the tragedy from the viewpoints of philosophy, psychology, and language, one can see the theme fits more with the theory of free will. With the ideas and theories of ancient philosophers, as well as modern philosopher, one can clearly see free will in the tragedy if one looks for it. This idea that free will guided Oedipus’s decisions will be backed up by Freud’s two theories of negation and Oedipus complex, which helps prove Oedipus in fact chose to act the way he did. A visual look at the English text will assist in bringing both philosophy and psychology together to make a more rounded argument. Three specific methodologies will be used that will make this thesis transition smoothly through each subject
Portraying Patrons: The Marchesa Luisa Casati, Isabella Stewart Gardner and their Collections
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History, Minor in Entrepreneurship)--John Cabot University, Spring 2017.Collecting is usually understood and recognized as a personal and subjective activity in which collectors gather, according to personal criteria, a collection of objects. Following my interest in the figure of the collector and the collecting activity, the dissertation focuses on analyzing how the collectors are visible through their collections to the point that they themselves become part of them. The research highlights this dynamic as recurrent in this practice. I considered two women collectors, the marchesa Luisa Casati and Isabella Stewart Gardner, their collections, and two portraits of them to see how their characters shaped the collection and how the latter was referenced in the portraits of the collectors. The portrait analyzed to study the Casati Collection is The Marchesa Luisa Casati as Euterpe by Alberto Martini, while the portrait considered from the Gardner Collection is Portrait of Isabella Stewart Gardner by John Singer Sargent. The collectors prove to have had two different approaches both to collecting and to their collections, but they equally show an interest in the representation of their image, be it through artworks or display
Ragioni d’una pittura: Retracing the story of Felice Casorati’s style in 1920s Italy
No full textThesis (B.A. in Art History)--John Cabot University, Fall 2017.In the 1924 Venice Biennale, an entire room was dedicated to a personal exhibition byFelice Casorati (1883-1993). The paintings on display shared a limpid volumetricplasticity and a naturalistic but geometrical figure style – features that the critics did nothesitate to describe as neoclassical, associating Casorati’s style to other tendencies of theso-called return to order. Six years later, in 1930, Casorati came back to the VeniceBiennale with a fresh set of paintings that marked a stark contrast with the previousworks: elegant deformations, softer hues, an emphasis on surfaces distinguished a newstyle that critics now recognized as dissonant from surrounding tendencies. The presentwork will study the shift in Casorati’s style exemplified by his 1924 and 1930 Biennaleexhibitions, with the aim of assessing its implications and presenting possibleexplanations behind it. The thesis reconnects to recent historiographical trends that haveassimilated investigations of individual artist’s styles with explorations of the period ofthe return to order. The examination of Casorati’s experience will be an opportunity toreflect on the validity of some approaches to the study of this period that rely on broad,overarching narratives and interpretative schematizations. A picture will emerge of theintricate urgency of discourses on style at the time, and will allow for an assessment ofthe capability of Casorati’s style to validate, evade, or undermine interpretative effortsand their frequent implicit attempts of exhortation, categorization, association, andappropriation. Further considerations on Casorati’s relationship with the surroundingartistic world will reveal that possible motivations for his stylistic change can be found inhis attitude towards state art and fashions, in his friendship with Gobetti, in his activityand philosophy as a teacher, and in his relationship with the Sei pittori di Torino
