Home State Research Articles

Modes of Securitization and Desecuritization of Transnational Kinship Ties: Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia amidst Rising Chinese Power

Abstract This paper explores under what context the transnational ethnic kinship ties between the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and China have not led to their securitization and in what context they have. As the rising great power with exponential economic growth for the past few decades, China has transformed itself from a dirt-poor backwater state to the second largest economy in the world and is also seemingly on the way to reclaim the historical dominant status in East and Southeast Asia. During this process, overseas Chinese in various home states in Southeast Asia have not experienced a uniform securitization of their kinship ties. This paper investigates some of the dynamic patterns about overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia’s relationship between the changing kin state and their home states in the recent past. Focusing on how states in Southeast Asia maintain different types of relations with China in the context of the latter’s rising, this paper contends that the ways in which overseas Chinese communities in the region manage their political space and negotiate their belonging are a function of a combination of international structural changes and domestic political factors. Empirically, this paper compares three states of Southeast Asia—Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia—in the different ways of their treatment of the ethnic Chinese, as well as the responding strategies utilized by the ethnic Chinese in navigating their political space and belonging.

Route to prospects or distress?: COVID-19 and migrants’ employment in India

ABSTRACT In India, the COVID-19 pandemic called attention to the plight of the informal migrant workforce who travelled back to their villages on foot intending to sustain themselves and survive. Based on the responses of 374 migrants originally from West Bengal migrating to other regions in India and abroad, this paper explores how the COVID-19 pandemic shaped migrants’ employment conditions. Using non-parametric tests, i.e. the Kruskal–Wallis, Wilcoxon, effect size, etc., the study compares migrants’ access to work before the initiation of lockdown, during the lockdown and post-lockdown relaxation. Further, by applying logistic regression analysis, the study examines the factors influencing their preference to seek employment in regions other than their home states. The results indicate that the migrants experienced shortfalls during times of crisis. There were differences in their access to the previous jobs during and after the upliftment of the lockdown measures. Though there was uncertainty in accessing the previous jobs and fear of facing similar situations in the future, the analysis suggests that the migrants still preferred to move to other states in future.

Media Coverage of Suicidal Behaviour in the Context of Slovenian independence

Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia and became independent in 1991 after a ten-day war. Slovenia had the highest suicide rate of all the member states of Yugoslavia. All young men in Yugoslavian states served the military out of their home state and some soldiers returned in a coffin because of suicide. This, among other factors, was the trigger for the discussion about independence, in which Slovenian newspapers played a part. Suicide rates tend to be lower in wartime, but soldiers also face an array of risk factors for suicidality. The aim of the study was to understand which stories about suicide were published in the Slovenian newspapers Delo and Večer. We analyzed the period before, during and after independence. We found three predominant themes: stories about Slovenian soldiers, political agenda and informative articles. Political agenda was in the foreground before independence, namely the desire for independence and later the consequences of independence. Stories about Slovenian soldiers were most common in the period of independence, with tales of actual suicides with the use of firearms as a method of suicide. In the post-independence period, we have mainly identified articles that give an insight into society's attitude towards suicide. This study sheds light on how suicide in the military was portrayed in the Slovenian media before, during and after independence.

Migration for Business: A Case Study of Goa

As the government eases out of economic activities and its role as an employer declines over time, there is a growing focus on attracting business and entrepreneurship and creating a conducive environment for their growth. Goa witnesses high rates of in-migration from the rest of India. However, census data reveal that of the total migration to Goa, only 2.7% of it is for business. This study uses census data to analyse the relative importance of population, distance, literacy and gross state domestic product (GSDP) in the volume and direction of migration flows through a gravity model analysis. In the case of population, it is observed that a high population at the source state means a higher degree of outmigration. This may be due to greater competition for scarce resources and lower costs of setting up business in the destination. The highest numbers of business migrants are from the neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, which indicates that distance may be a deterrent to mobility, especially among women migrants. Educational attainment is not a very important determinant of migration for business. Similarly, economic growth does not seem to deter outmigration, indicating that better opportunities and cost-minimization at the destination may spur migration in spite of high economic growth in the home state. From the field study, it is observed that the majority of the businesspersons are Hindu males from the general caste. While economic factors serve as important push and pull factors, social factors are an important pull factor and determine the ease of settlement in the host state. They come to Goa for the long term and intend to settle here. They own land and housing. Though many are small businesses, through their consumption and investment activities, they play an important role in promoting growth in the state. The process of migration is self-sustaining as many bring their family members, relatives and neighbours and help settle them in business in related fields.

The Isolated States of America: Home State Bias and the Impact of State Borders on Mobility

The Isolated States of America: Home State Bias and the Impact of State Borders on Mobility

A year of background sound measurements in suburbia

An internal research project was undertaken to measure the background sound levels at one location with the same equipment for a full year. A suitable location was identified to allow the equipment to stay in the same place and available to refresh data memory cards and battery power. The sound monitoring was done from October 2020 through November of 2021. The site selected was a typical suburban residential property near a secondary road, but far from other influencing sources of sound like highways and industry. The data set is over 9,000 hourly samples of A-weighted sound levels. For each hour the L99, L90, L50, L10, L01 and LEQ were recorded and evaluated for this study. This paper addresses the compilation of the year worth of A-weighted sound levels. The data set also includes one-third octave band sound pressure levels, but those data have not been considered in this evaluation. The noted sound metrics have been evaluated by month, day of the week and hour. The paper also evaluates the selection of the lowest background sound level that is used in many noise ordinances, including the author's home state of Massachusetts.

Diaspora and development: The IOM's role in diaspora mapping in Bosnia and Herzegovina

AbstractDiaspora governance strategies are part of an increasingly vibrant academic and policy debate. International organisations play a significant role in promoting diaspora institutions, collaborating with home states, diaspora communities, and other stakeholders. In post‐conflict states, the involvement, and evolving roles of international organisations, among a variety of actors in diaspora institution building, is implicit but has been underresearched. This article analyses a diaspora mapping exercise led by the IOM to demonstrate how an institutional logics perspective can help to better understand how such processes unfold. Taking an organisational perspective, it sheds light on the interplay among international organisations, state agencies, local government, and individual actors in diaspora and development. By focusing on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the study offers insights into the challenges and opportunities in diaspora engagement in post‐conflict countries. It underscores the need for further research and the long‐term implications of international organisations' efforts in diaspora development programs and diaspora governance.

Protection Bilateral Investment Treaty as Treaty of International Discussion Resolution Supporting Indonesia Reform

The implementation of the Bilateral Investment Treaty in Indonesia with foreign investors must still pay attention to the existence of Indonesian state sovereignty. State sovereignty must be maintained by the host state to maintain the existence of the country in the international world. BIT has the main function as an international legal instrument that is useful in foreign investment activities with reciprocal relations in obtaining benefits between the guarantee of legal protection of the home state of foreign investors and the economic growth of the host state. BIT signatories are theoretically balanced and reciprocal, but they are often detrimental to host states, most of which come from developing countries. This research aims to find out the extent of Indonesia's implementation of BIT and still protect the existence of state sovereignty. The method used in this research uses normative and comparative juridical and this research has an analytical descriptive nature. Normative legal research is obtained by studying the Churchill Mining case approach and collecting data from articles, web, books, and websites and then comparing the implementation of BITs in Indonesia as a developing country and the United States as a developed country and comparing the implementation of BITs in fellow developing countries between Indonesia and Brazil. The first victory achieved by Indonesia against Churchill Mining in the resolution of the international investment dispute at the ICSID forum proved the BIT reform in Indonesia that continues to develop. This study showed that: first, The Bilateral Investment Agreement provides legal protection guarantees for foreign investors and settlement of settlement disputes through ICSID, an international investment settlement arbitration agency between the two countries that signed the BIT so that the BIT is a protection guarantee for investors. Second, Indonesia's victory against Churchill Mining proves that it has reformed the BIT that applies to Indonesia in a balanced manner to provide legal protection (host state) and the existence of state sovereignty (home state).

Insurers' climate change risk management quality and natural disasters

AbstractWe perform a textual analysis of insurers' climate risk disclosures and construct a climate change risk management quality index. Our index captures to what extent insurers identify, manage, and adjust their business model to climate change risk. We find that natural disasters in an insurer's home state lead to an increase in climate change risk management quality. The effect of natural disasters in an insurer's geographic markets on climate change risk management seems to be less pronounced. Overall, these results are consistent with salience theories of choice.

Multinational Enterprises and Human Rights Protection

Multinational enterprises are playing an important role in economic globalisation. Meanwhile, it is common for multinational enterprises to violate human rights overseas while it is difficult for victims to seek remedies. The international law which can regulate human rights violations by multinational corporations are mostly soft laws, but there is a lack of guarantees for the implementation of soft law. In domestic law, most host countries are developing countries that cannot regulate multinational enterprises effectively. And home states lack the will to regulate multinational enterprises because their interests are so closely linked. There are also obstacles like the exercise of jurisdiction and the corporate veil which prevent the multinational enterprises responsible for human rights overseas. Therefore, this essay clarifies the extraterritorial jurisdiction, the non-harm principle and the human rights due diligence to support the responsibility of multinational enterprises. Eventually, this essay clarifies that it is necessary to narrow the gap between the ideal of hard law and the reality of soft law in international law. In the meantime, host states and home states should both strengthen the legislation of human rights due diligence and protection for high-risk industries. Harmonious interaction and co-development of international and domestic law should also be considered and the non-governmental organisation should issue guidelines, and strengthen the regulatory role.

Domestic and International Cosmetic Tourism Complications Presenting to a US Tertiary Hospital.

Cosmetic surgery tourism has become a significant global industry. Often patients who develop postoperative complications present for care in their US home state. In this study we evaluated patients who either traveled abroad or to other states within the United States for cosmetic surgeries and later came with complications for treatment at the authors' center. We sought to compare rates of complications between patients who underwent cosmetic surgery internationally and domestically. In this retrospective cross-sectional study we reviewed patients who presented from June 2014 to June 2022 with concerns related to cosmetic surgeries performed in another state or abroad. Binary logistic regressions were performed to assess differences in outcomes between domestic and international cases, including complications, interventions, and admissions. One-hundred twenty-three patients (97.6% female, mean age 34.0 ± 8.7 years, range 16-62 years) sought 159 emergency department consultations. The most common procedures included abdominoplasty (n = 72) and liposuction (n = 56). Complications included wound dehiscence (n = 39), infection (n = 38), and seroma (n = 34). Over one-half of patients required intervention. Twenty-nine patients (23.6%) required hospital admission. On multivariate regression analyses, incidence of seroma (P = .025) and oral (P = .036) and intravenous antibiotic prescriptions (P = .045) was significantly greater among the international cohort than the domestic, and all other complication variables were nonsignificant. There were no other significant differences in operative interventions or hospital admissions between international and domestic cohorts. Compared to domestic tourism cases, international tourism cases were associated with significantly higher rates of seroma formation and antibiotic use. There were no significant differences otherwise in overall complications, including infections, operative interventions, or hospital admissions.

Delaware Reincorporation and the Double-Exit Puzzle: Evidence from Post-Initial Public Offering Acquisitions

Initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions represent important opportunities for investors to exit and harvest their entrepreneurial success. Some firms are acquired shortly after their initial public offerings. This exit strategy is known as a double exit. In addition, issuing firms may choose to reincorporate in Delaware during their IPOs. In this study, we use hand-collected data from 1993 to 2020 to investigate whether and to what extent Delaware reincorporation may affect the M&As in the post-IPO stage. We use a Cox proportional hazard model to test the relation between Delaware reincorporation and the likelihood of being acquired for our sample IPOs. Recognizing that Delaware reincorporation is not a random decision, we adopt a Heckman switching regression method to estimate the relation between Delaware reincorporation and takeover premiums and announcement returns. We report that IPO firms choosing to reincorporate in Delaware experience a higher likelihood of being acquired compared to those IPO firms choosing to remain incorporated in their home states. We further document that IPO firms choosing to reincorporate in Delaware receive lower premiums in acquisitions, and experience lower abnormal returns on announcements.

The Carbon Footprint of Peritoneal Dialysis in Australia.

As climate change escalates with increasing health impacts, healthcare must address its carbon footprint. A critical first step is understanding the sources and extent of emissions from commonly utilised clinical care pathways. We used attributional process-based life cycle analysis to quantify CO2 equivalent emissions associated with the delivery of Baxter home automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in Australia. Annual per patient carbon emissions attributable to the manufacture and disposal of PD fluids and consumables were 1,992 kg CO2equivalent emissions for APD and 1,245 kg CO2equivalent emissions for CAPD. Transport impacts varied depending on the distance between site of manufacture of PD fluids and consumables and the home state of the patient. As a result, the total impact of providing PD also differed by Australian state, ranging from 2,350-4,503 kg CO2 equivalent emissions for APD and from 1,455-2,716 kg CO2 equivalent emissions for CAPD. Recycling of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) could reduce emissions by up to 14 per cent for APD and 30 per cent for CAPD, depending on the distance between the site of PVC waste generation and the recycling centre. This study demonstrated higher per patient carbon emissions from APD compared to CAPD, due to both higher fluid and consumable requirements, and the consequent higher transport impacts. PVC recycling can partially mitigate PD associated carbon emissions.

A spiritual call: the courses of action taken by individuals influenced by religious soft power

AbstractThe study of religion and international relations has achieved renewed attention in the last two decades. This study investigates a specific aspect of this field: religious soft power. It focuses on individuals who were affected by religious soft power and develop a typology of courses of action these individuals can take vis-à-vis their home state. I argue that individuals can take three different types of actions: disruptive, reformative, and transnational. Using the cases of the Catholic Church and its followers, ISIS and Sunni believers, and the relations between Israel and the Evangelicals, I assess how these alternative actions are being manifested by different groups of individuals. Lastly, I offer an answer to the question of when individuals would use disruptive action and when will they use reformative one.

Mourning the greatest: “unforgivably black” and peacefully Muslim Muhammad Ali

ABSTRACT When Muhammad Ali died in June 2016, media were filled with remembrances of the boxer. Some memories focused on what he meant to his home state of Kentucky, or how an individual had bonded with their father while watching Ali in the ring. Others focused on what Ali’s status as a celebrity Black Muslim man meant to them. The boxer who called himself “the Greatest” joined the Nation of Islam after his first fight with Sonny Liston in 1964 and later became a Sufi Muslim. Islam, in its many forms, is viewed with suspicion in the United States and Ali was likely the most visible Muslim American during his lifetime. This research examines how writers remembered Ali in the week after his death and identifies three themes which seemed most prominent: Ali as the proud Black Muslim man, Ali as freedom fighter, and Ali as an embodiment of peace.

Abstract 1009: Direct partnering with employers and unions diversifies cancer center access

Abstract Treatment at academic cancer centers can further research and improve patient outcomes. Interventions improving access to treatment across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic boundaries might increase the generalizability of studies conducted at such centers and reduce healthcare inequities. Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) is an academic cancer center based in New York and New Jersey (NY/NJ). Like many other NCI-designated cancer centers, it has historically served a population within its geographic catchment, with limited diversity. MSK Direct is a national cancer benefits program that partners with employers and unions to provide a direct referral service for their employees or members and their families, including in-person care and remote second opinions outside NY/NJ. Whether such programs diversify access to academic cancer care is understudied. To evaluate whether the service diversifies access to academic cancer care, we examined the self-identified race and ethnicity, geographic composition, and imputed socioeconomic status (Yost Index) of MSK Direct and non-MSK Direct (Control) patients with at least one assessment note at MSK since program inception in 2016 until September 21, 2023. We further stratified MSK Direct patients based on referral by employers vs. unions. Groups were compared using Chi-square or Student T tests. The MSK Direct patient population (N=8,604) was more racially diverse than the Control population (N=283,434), with 9.0% Black/African American patients compared to 6.9% Control (p<0.001) patients and 9.3% Asian-Far East/Indian Subcontinental patients compared to 7.5% Control patients (p<0.001). Of MSK Direct patients, 10.5% identified as Hispanic or Latino vs. 7.5% of Control patients (p<0.001). Among MSK Direct patients, 14.2% of union-member patients self-identified as Black vs. 6.1% of non-union members, while Asian patients comprised 12.1% of company-referral patients vs. 5.8% of union patients. Hispanic patients represented 17.4% of union-referral patients vs. 6.5% of company referrals. The median Yost Index of union MSK Direct patients was 25 vs. 12 (non-union) and 17 (Control, p<0.001), signifying a less privileged socioeconomic status for union-referred patients. A total of N=336 MSK Direct patients received guidance through remote second opinions across 41 states, with the most common home states being Georgia, Arizona, and Florida. Addressing healthcare disparities in diverse populations is a complex and systemic challenge. Direct partnerships with employers and unions are a new paradigm that may expand access to academic cancer care outside a center’s usual geographic and sociodemographic catchment. Different partnering strategies may enhance the representation of specific patient populations. Citation Format: Michele Waters, Greg Crewse, Cole Manship, Abigail Baldwin-Medsker, Chris Fong, Nikolaus Schultz, Sergio Giralt, Benjamin Roman, Michelle Johnson, Francesca Gany, Carol Brown, Bob T. Li, Justin Jee. Direct partnering with employers and unions diversifies cancer center access [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 1009.

The evolution of home‐state positions towards diaspora formation: Israel and its two diasporas

AbstractHow do home‐state elites react to emigrants who form diaspora communities abroad, and how do these attitudes change over time? The article explores these questions through an analysis of the discourse and policies of Israeli elites towards emigrants who created distinct diaspora communities and established ties with local Jewish diaspora communities between 1977 and 2023. The article highlights the important role that ethnic and national identities and the prospects of emigrants’ eventual return play in such attitudinal shifts. The home state may initially see diaspora formation as harmful for precipitating emigration and obstructing repatriation and ethnic immigration. However, when it becomes clear that the return of many emigrants is unlikely, home‐state elites may come to support and even promote the formation of new diaspora communities and their ties with older diaspora communities to offset emigrants’ assimilation into their host society and increase their attachment to the home state.

Memory Assaults against Oblivion: Contrasting the Memory of Border Shifts in Cieszyn Silesia, Orawa, Spisz

This paper focuses on the memoryscapes of Cieszyn Silesia, Orawa and Spisz in a context of the border conflicts of the twentieth century. The regions located on the current Czech-Polish and Slovak-Polish border have lived through paralleled histories of the border demarcation after WWI, which was unprecedented there. In both cases the national minorities were left behind the border, outside of their home states. Their stories and memories are, however, not being researched together. This paper contrasts the patterns of memory production related to the border shifts in the landscape in both regions. Emphasis is placed on the memory sites, their narratives and memory activism related to the conflicting past. The results show that the main axes of both memory debates are contrasting. While the conflict over Cieszyn Silesia was most shaped by the short war in 1919, the lesser-known dispute over Orawa and Spisz was marked by numerous smaller incidents, assimilation efforts and a layer of post WWII violence. This has important consequences for the memory production. The other important differentiating factor is the scope of memory activism inside of the national minority group.

Transnational Legal Spillover? A Re-Appraisal of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention

Abstract Can prosecutions by US authorities help spread enforcement of foreign bribery laws to other countries? In this article, we explore this question by re-examining earlier scholarship that found that US prosecutions of foreign corporations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) increase the likelihood that the corporation's home state will enforce its own foreign bribery laws. Using a conditional-frailty Cox model that allows us to model foreign bribery enforcement actions as repeat-events, we do not find evidence that FCPA prosecutions lead to sustained increases of foreign bribery enforcement by target countries. We also find that prior results are not robust to the inclusion of an important confounding variable: a country's level of exposure to corruption in their trading partners. Still, while our findings indicate a more limited role of US law enforcement in this area, we nonetheless see many promising avenues for future research on transnational law enforcement and its consequences.

Sweeping it under the rug: Positioning and managing pollution‐intensive activities in organizational hierarchies

AbstractResearch SummaryMany corporate groups have multiple layers with parent companies owning subsidiaries, which own other subsidiaries, and so forth, in a pyramid‐like ownership structure. We argue that corporate groups perform their pollution‐intensive activities at the lower levels of the corporate hierarchy to buffer the parent from pollution‐related regulatory risks. Our analysis of 7400 US‐based business establishments owned by the 67 largest US‐headquartered chemical manufacturing corporate groups supported this argument. We also found that they were even more likely to do so in states with greater environmental stringency, whether it be in the home state of the parent or the host state of the subsidiary. Our research calls into question the effectiveness of environmental regulations if companies have the opportunity to shift polluting activities lower in their corporate hierarchy.Managerial SummaryMany commentators assert that firms offshore or outsource pollution‐intensive activities to avoid environmental regulations. In this research, we suggest a third approach in avoiding environmental regulations: locating pollution lower in the hierarchy of multilayered corporate groups, which are companies that own subsidiaries that own other subsidiaries and so on. By analyzing data on the 67 largest US‐headquartered chemical manufacturing corporate groups, we found support for this assertion. We also found that pollution is more likely to be located lower in multilayered corporate groups when they are subject to stringent environmental regulations. The multilayered corporate form allows parent companies to insulate themselves from the regulatory risks of pollution‐intensive activities of their subsidiaries through their limited liability status.