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The paper examines the fragility, fragmentation, and crisis in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by dissecting the region into three subregions--Maghreb, Mashreq, and the GCC--and elaborating on their complex contours, diverse ideological orientations, and unavoidable outcomes. Politically, economically, demographically, and ethnically heterogeneous, and religiously reasonably homogenous, the MENA records high conflict rates. There is a lack of unity in diversity, hurting regional cooperation and cohesion. We argue that fragility and fragmentation lead to persistent inter- and intra-state conflict, high unemployment, water disputes, deepening poverty, recurrent famine, and growing numbers of refugees and displacement. By referring to examples from Maghreb, Mashreq, and the GCC, the paper shows the interplay between fragility and resilience and thus attempts to offer a nuanced understanding of the factors that trigger and sustain fragmentation and conflict in the region. The insights into the dynamics of fragility, fragmentation, and crisis highlight the imperatives of cooperation and cohesion in regional integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, like other parts of the European Union, Italy has experienced a sharp increase in the number of immigrants entering its territory. Immigration becomes a keenly contested topic. This paper focuses on understanding people's genuine real-world concerns by briefly identifying three specific areas that could logically explain how Italians perceive immigration. They include security, identity, and jobs. The far-right populist politicians and the media have exploited these concerns as they continue to fan the flames of fear. This has consequentially led to several incidents of intolerance meted out to immigrants and other minority groups such as Muslims and the Roma community creating an atmosphere where these minority groups are perceived and treated as intruders. Empirical data have shown that immigrants contribute to the economic growth of Italy. They also show that immigration does not increase the crime rate and likewise does not pose a threat to the social fabric. Multiculturalism beyond integration is proposed in this paper to enhance the peaceful co-existence between the minority groups and the Italians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human societies are going through a historical process whereby the politics and economy of the diverse local territories are being increasingly integrated into the global system through transnational media and information technologies. Based on either sheer opportunism or compulsion, the global and local cultural systems have long been going through a process of co-modification and co-adaptation called "glocalization." Focused on the period 1990-2023, this study aims to divulge the multiple facets of glocalization as a market-led cultural phenomenon in India and the key questions and dialogues related to them. A review of literature on media, consumerism, Indian culture, and business adaptations in India is undertaken in seven segments. Considering glocalization as a dynamic cultural-economic force, this paper offers a critical understanding of the television, marketing, and advertising practices in post-global India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the generally accepted status of English as a lingua franca, the labor market returns to English for its role as an international language are relatively understudied. In this paper, advertisements from Computrabajo.com.mx, a website posting job advertisements in Mexico, are used to estimate the impact speaking English has on wages in Mexico. The wage premium for English speakers is found to be approximately 28 percent (over non-English speakers) for the sample as a whole. This premium is comparable to the wage premium associated with having a college degree (compared to having an incomplete college education). The evidence found in this paper suggests that English may provide a path to upward economic mobility in Mexico, and that this holds true for persons of all skill levels. In fact, estimated wage premia for English were higher for jobs with lower skill or education requirements than for jobs with higher skill or education requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) is a global project which is using acoustic telemetry to enable tracking of endangered fish and marine mammal species. In terms of scientific research, the project has enjoyed a seven-year lifespan, bridging one successful renewal in 2013. The early stages of projects like this focus on creating national and international cooperation, and distributing technology in accordance with formal agreements. The project, both nationally and internationally, has an ambitious set of technical, scientific, and policy aims. Given the logical ordering of the project's development, it should come as no surprise that the scientific aims have only recently come to fruition, while the policy goals remain largely in abeyance. The opening stages of the project have been discussed in two earlier papers (Apostle 2009, 2014). This paper covers the years initially intended to mark the conclusion of the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws attention to the significance of the ideological nature of past depictions of globalisation, connecting a flawed understanding to the problems faced by many of today's social democratic parties. A particular approach to ideology is proffered, and a method known as depth hermeneutics applied to demonstrate the embedded nature of the process as a social phenomenon made real by the active and ongoing interpretations of situated actors. The understanding of globalisation held by the New Labour government (1997 to 2010) is examined to illustrate the merits of the depth hermeneutic approach. The paper re-interprets their understanding, and in the process discloses a "regressive dilemma" that today's party will have to confront if it is to remain faithful to certain core values and should it also wish to curtail a general augmenting of future populist sentiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper frames social finance in its broadest terms as an alternative to traditional corporate responsible practice, highlighting the significance and potential of social finance in mobilising financial resources for global social development. This paper explains socialfinance as an approach employingfinancial resources drawn from "the market" to generate positive social impacts -which can, depending on instruments, also deliver financial returns. Despite hitherto forms of capitalism generating economic asymmetry, there is an urgent need for a more equitable financial mobilisation through innovative finance. Such a need has generated a paradigm shift in the corporate sector where actors in the private sector are increasingly using a variety of instruments to utiliseprivate money for public good--socialfinance. We have so far seen responsible corporate business practices, yet with innovation and multi-sectoral partnerships, it can potentially bring the most significant change that has yet to be -witnessed globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pervasive violence against women, though widespread in its tenacity has been barely recognized as a crime in its own right. Since, the many forms of violence against women are encompassed within the structures of society, the annihilation of its precepts is not only penal, but comprises restructuring the cultural attitudes and perceptions that perpetrate this violence. India ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1993, with a Declaration to its Article 5, limiting its obligations vis-a-vis interference in the cultural practices of its religious communities. However, the due diligence obligation under the CEDAW, adopted as a General Recommendation in 1992, mandates the intervention of the state into cultural practices to secure the rights against violence of women. This paper argues that India's reluctance to intervene in its culturalpractices directly maintains the structural system of violence against women, in violation of the due diligence obligation. In order to overcome this legal impasse, the appropriation of thefeminist demand for the Uniform Civil Code by communalforces in India is considered. This paper advances the argument that the predication of this feminist demand on the basis of the CEDAW, will re- secularize the movement and engender its legitimacy within Indian society. Hence, this paper arguesfor positioning the feminist demand for the Uniform Civil Code on the CEDAW to enforce India's obligations under the due diligence as well as to counter the communalization of this demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through examining the reasons for transnational migration and the political standpoints toward such transnational migration at global and transnational links, this paper argues that the issue of human trafficking of North Korean women in China stems from global geopolitical inequalities, state dominations, gender hierarchy, and border control. This paper demonstrates that the political, economic, and social inequality implicit in national and global nexus impacts North Korean women in detrimental ways that subject them to exploitations, oppression, and social injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically reviews ideals and realities of the on-going integration of logistics complexes of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus in the format of the Single Economic Space (SES) picturing the integration-induced implications for a landlocked but at the same time regionally integrated Kazakhstan. In doing so, the research has moved beyond a "typical work" on post-Soviet integration and focused on a less descriptive and more empirically underpinned academic approach. Methodology applied involves a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods resulting in a model that tests the benevolence of the SES creation at company and state levels. Overall, Kazakhstan's integration in the format of SES has been referred to as a purely political project from above. However, the paper has found tangible economic, transport, and logistics green shoots marking the "bottom-up" integrative process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several critics have argued that Africans will never attain continental renewal without the meaningful involvement of the youth. Throughout the African continent, there has been a growing youth surge, which demonstrates that young people are the majority in various African states. This then means various national projects and programs, such as African renaissance and decolonization of knowledge, will not succeed without the commitment of young people. The youth will determine the social, political, and economic agenda of their respective countries as they move towards the future. This paper focuses on how young people can be empowered for the enhancement of the African continent as, well as future sustainability. With special reference to South African youth, the article explores how a socially just education will enrich and prepare the youth for an emboldened, worthy future. Finally, this article demonstrates that the redress of past or historical imbalances should not eschew youth programs. Empowered youth will enact the Pan-African ideals and end societal ills such as lack of education, poverty, and sickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public predispositions towards individualising social problems and economic experiences have recently corresponded with conservative political successes in USA, UK, and Australia. Political figures who seek to expose individuals to greater market competition, provide tax cuts to the wealthy, and stimulate the economy, have been popularly rewarded over alternate social democrat politicians who wish to extend the safety net. This individualising trend can be seen to be in opposition to the increasing evidence provided by empirical discovery and theoretical development regarding the prosocial nature of human existence. This paper examines the direction that the welfare state has travelled in recent years as a result of neoliberal ideas about human nature. It contrasts this with the increasing evidence that such ideas are wrong, as human evolution has been characterised by highly altruistic and prosocial trends that promoted the practical success of the species. Implications are drawn regarding the increasing policy focus upon developing social arrangements that are in opposition with the fundamental characteristics of human nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is the notion that peace and development are positively correlated, that peace drives development and that development drives peace. This paper proves the significant correlation between peace and development; It found that the more pacific countries were the more developed countries, with less homicide rate and less military expenses, more life expectancy, more schooling years, and better income per capita. The use of quantitative models as a tool for the analysis is a plus for the findings because most of the related theories of peace and development are qualitative, also I found that Peace can cause Development, so If conflicts are solved peacefully, greater human development can be achieved. However, exceptions were also found where highly developed countries such as the United States of America occupy the worst positions in peace. This is an econometrical approach not only to study the correlation and significance of peace and development but the cause-effect relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper aims to investigate the differences between the attitudes of the local males and females in Khon Kaen toward problems associated with migrant workers. Using a stratified random sampling technique, 460 local Khon Kaen people were randomly selected as a sample. The sampled respondents were asked to rate their attitudes towards the following: health and sanitation problems, economic and labor problems, and crime and drug problems. Based on descriptive statistics and t-test, it appears that the local females are more fretful with every issue as compared to males. There is a significant difference in attitude between the local males andfemales towards problems of migrant -workers being disease carriers as well as being competitors with local people for jobs. The aspect -with the highest level of concern for both males and females is crime and drug problems, followed by economic and laborproblems, and, lastly, health and sanitation problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historical development of citizenship has progressed differently in the individual western countries. German citizenship has developed in a society which has changed from being a cultural nation to being a constitutional nation state with many federal states. Due to realities related to issues like migration and globalisation, German society and its institutions are continuously changing. In the past, the notion of being German was linked to the origin of people (jus sanguinis principle) and not necessarily to state affiliation. Those belonging to the Germanic people went beyond the German national borders and people holding foreign citizenship and having foreign documents could still be considered German just because of their origin, even if they did not have any documents issued by the German state. With the 1999 amendment of the German Citizenship Act, the jus soli principle (birthplace and residence) is becoming more and more relevant in Germany as the society edges towards pluralism. This paper examines, from historical, descriptive and comparative points of view, how the German society has moved from homogeneity to heterogeneity and how concepts of German citizenship are becoming more liberal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of rural decay, youth unemployment and crime in Nigeria, and the attendant social consequences as the country is besieged by a "formidable army" of disillusioned youth, are examined. Youths account for an estimated sixty percent of Nigeria's 160 million people. Less than ten percent of these youths are gainfully employed. A significant percent of even those employed, are grossly under-employed since their remuneration is far below their qualification and expertise. The criminal neglect and glaring poor infrastructural development in the rural areas, has led young people to migrate massively to the cities in search of a non-existent better life. They end up in crime. They have become ready tools as political thugs to unscrupulous politicians who use them to rig elections and wreck mayhem on opponents. Some youths operate as kidnappers, crude oil thieves, child traffickers or fraudsters. Some have gone to the extreme of taking up arms; being involved in militancy or insurgency. The activities of the disgruntled youths have brought untold pains and needless tears to thousands. The paper concludes that the survival of the Nigerian nation state lies in the urgent reversal of the current high level youth unemployment, massive investment in agriculture, rural transformation and urgent job creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Islamic State's world view of the liberal international state system is examined alongfour dimensions: the system's purported degenerative effect on the ummah or the Islamic community; the West's perpetuation of a Arab and Muslim state client system tied to a larger Zionist-Cmsader network; the global order's utilization of Shi'ite and Alawi client states to defile and destroy the Sunni Muslim world; and ISIS' prophetic beliefs that its caliphate is part of end time eschatology of global Islamic conquest resulting in the destruction of the Western world order. The Islamic State's world view is an amalgamation of the thought of medieval cleric Ibn Taymmiyah and contemporary jihadist ideologues Sayyid Qutb, Abu Musab al-Suri, and Abu BakrNaji. Its sectarian world view is examined by analyzing the legacy of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi whose cult status for the IS is venerated in its e-magazine Dabiq. The Islamic States global media campaign especially its front line publications, videos, documentaries, and twitter activity will be prominently featured in the analysis. Despite its reliance on Al Qaeda's (AQ) ideological predispositions, IS's distinctiveness from the AQ network from which it sprang will be emphasized. IS' takfiri and sectarian orientation has been a repeated source of tension between the two organizations and IS' insistence in centralizing thejihadist struggle under a self-declared caliphate eventually resulted in its expulsion from AQ's network. IS continues to reject all callsfor reconciliation insisting on complete obedience to its authority. The analysis concludes by examining the threats presented to Mideast and global security. Among these security problems are IS ' vast network of 'foreign fighters and training camps that can serve as part of its external operation against Western countries and its extensive social media campaign that has and could be the basis for homegrown terrorism. With its considerable manpower and financial resources IS capability greatly exceeds AQ both in its present condition and historically. Finally, it looks at the prospects of an expanding arc of regional insecurity that could spread beyond Syria and Iraq and engulf neighboring states and the paper assesses the viability of IS' caliphate in the face of external and internal resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of religious cultural heritage on nuclear decision-making has often been overlooked. Demonstrating the influence of religious cultural heritage on such decision-making depends on establishing patterns of thought and patterns of behavior. For this reason, it is worth taking note of some illustrative examples of what one might find when systematically approaching case studies of nuclear decision-making which include religious cultural heritage among the independent variables. Drawing on archival sources and physical artifacts, this paper presents six short episodes touching upon nuclear decision-making during the terms of American presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Reagan. These half-dozen vignettes reveal the importance of interpretation in the social sciences, illustrate how religious cultural heritage can condition attitudes toward decisions and interactions concerning foreign cultures or peoples, demonstrate how morality can affect political decision-making, show how politics can affect religious cultural heritage, clarify how the reach of religious cultural heritage can be limited by politics, and reveal that religious cultural heritage can act in multiple directions at the same time; they simultaneously delineate the parameters which a comprehensive theory of decision-making must encompass in order to capture influences arising from religious cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International Relations theories are increasingly trying to grapple with the phenomenon of resurgent identities changing the dynamics of international politics. This remains true for explaining post-9/11 US policy in West Asia, the Arab Spring, and also the current isolation of the US on Syria. Though the Realist explanations (such as the dissolving of USA's central authority being the reason for intensified emergence of other anchors of politics based on identity) abound, the recalcitrance of social bonds of solidarity and the role of their nodal points in politics demands theorization in their own right. The field of inquiry into the intellectual history of this idea has been rather dry. The study of the treatment of "Assabiyyah" in Khaldun can be said to offer a starting point. The paper revisits the history and context of the idea of "Assabiyyah" in Ibn Khaldun, the 13th century Islamic scholar, to inquire as to how much it can be said to define the realm of the political today. It argues that the concept of social solidarity can neither be refuted as primeval bonds of kinship nor can the complexity of its social evolution and persistence in the political be captured by the Durkheimian dichotomous classification of mechanical and organic solidarity. It thus tries to explore the potential of the idea of "Assabiyyah" in Ibn Khaldun as a non-dichotomous one which cannot be restricted to the discipline of sociology but is an explicitly political one, to explain the turn towards identity, culture, and civilization in the theories of international relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, China has experienced a rapid development of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN.) In particular, the formation of CAFTA (the China--ASEAN Free Trade Area) will greatly encourage Chinese multinational corporations to "go out" and invest in ASEAN. However, the South China Sea disputes between China and several ASEAN countries have increased the political risks of China's FDI in ASEAN. This paper starts with an analysis of the political risks of China's FDI in ASEAN against the background of the South China Sea disputes, explains how to view and assess these political risks, and then comes up with a systematic and comprehensive mechanism for coping with the political risks of China's FDI in ASEAN against the background of the South China Sea disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After more than 35 years of economic reforms, China's urbanization has been increased from 17.92% in 1978 to 51.27% in 2011. A large number of migrants have moved from rural areas to large metropolitan cities, especially cities on the East coast and Southeast coast of China such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, seeking employment and better lives. However, the massive increase in city size has brought many issues such as overpopulation, traffic congestion, and crime. It is commonly believed that the influx of rural migrants is associated with increased crime. However, very few comprehensive studies based on reliable crime records have been conducted in China. This paper investigates the available crime records in five districts of Shanghai between 2008 and 2012. It focuses on China's internal migration and associated crime rate using Shanghai as a case study. Analysis of China's historical, economic, social, and cultural factors is presented to interpret the outcomes of this investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has demonstrated that Pacific children are less likely to be cavity-free than children from other ethnic groups living in New Zealand. This paper describes their oral health practices (tooth brushing, flossing) and oral health outcomes (toothaches, dental treatment). The maternal interview in the Pacific Islands Families (PIF) longitudinal study (n=1000) included questions about the oral health practices and outcomes in nine-year-old Pacific children. The prevalence of child oral health outcomes and the influence of individual lifestyles and socio-demographic variables on these outcomes will be discussed. Findings revealed the significant impact of extensive sweet consumption and irregular tooth brushing on child oral health. The overrriding sociodemograhic and environmental factors will also be considered, as well as the way these factors affect access to oral health care and attitudes towards prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces the links between the military, industry, and the U.S. government to show how weapon development was influenced by the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The relationship between technology and conflict is made clear through both the new uses and development of weapons dictated by U.S. government policy in Southeast Asia. Ultimately, deadly consequences remain for civilians living in Vietnam as a result of these developments and the unsettling circumstance calls into question who should be responsible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]