Human Rights

My Rights Versus Yours

Trade Secret Protection for Electronic Voting Machine Manufacturers and the Threat to Our Fundamental Right to Vote

by Nicole Mace

This paper explores the issues raised by electronic voting machines over the past six years and the importance of transparency and accountability in our electoral process, especially in light of voting as a fundamental constitutional right. It concludes with a discussion of the measures taken by California and Ohio to thoroughly analyze their electronic voting systems, and describes a means for citizens in other states to petition their Secretaries of State to follow suit.

Published In: Volume 5, Issue 2: — April 28, 2008

Marla Bertagnolli

Associate Director, CIVIC

by Angela Gasparetti

Published In: Volume 3, Issue 2: Modern Healthcare Policy — November 16, 2006

Healthcare Delivery Systems in Rural India

Meeting the changing needs of rural populations

by Deepti Gudipati

How will India’s delivery of healthcare impact its future success as a global competitor? The author assesses the ways in which India’s current healthcare system both fails and succeeds in serving India’s rural population and looks at the impact this may have on the country’s future.

Published In: Volume 3, Issue 2: Modern Healthcare Policy — October 13, 2006

Human Rights Violations in China

by Aykut Erdogdu

Published In: Volume 3, Issue 1: Globalization and its Implications — March 15, 2006

U.S. - China Foreign Policy Recommendations

by Taylor Wyman

Published In: Volume 3, Issue 1: Globalization and its Implications — March 15, 2006

Singaporean Interests and the People's Republic of China

by Kok Thai Lim

Published In: Volume 3, Issue 1: Globalization and its Implications — March 15, 2006

Congo, Coltan, Conflict

by Benjamin Todd

General Kurtz muttered “the horror…the horror” at the end of Joseph Conrad’s 19th century novel Heart of Darkness. Widely regarded as a literary masterpiece, Joseph Conrad’s novel tells the story of Marlow sailing up the Congo River to find the lost General Kurtz. Heart of Darkness is set against the backdrop of what was then the Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). However, the unrest, brutality, exploitation, and “horror” that Conrad describes in his novel are unfortunately not a thing of the past. Modern day DRC is still the scene of unrest and civil war with various armed groups fighting the government and each other. Unlike the Congo of Conrad’s day, the current violence is between ethnic groups, political factions, and nations, and is fueled by modern weapons and financed by the exploitation of the DRC‘s natural resources. This paper explores the relationship of conflict commodities, global markets, and the DRC‘s continuing civil war. In particular, the author focuses on the Columbite-Tantalum (coltan) boom the DRC experienced between 1999 and 2000.

Published In: Volume 3, Issue 1: Globalization and its Implications — March 15, 2006

E-Waste and Human Rights

by Lori Gaido

The United States currently sends the majority of its used electronic computer waste (e-waste) to China for recycling (Tong, 205). The recycling of this hazardous waste is the cause of both environmental degradation and human rights injustices. China uses this recycling as a means of economic growth but the long-term costs associated with e-waste recycling far outweigh the short-term monetary benefits. The United States must begin to take responsibility for its consumptive habits and reevaluate the “recycling” policies that leave “the poorer peoples of the world with an untenable choice between poverty and poison” (BAN, 4).

Published In: Volume 3, Issue 1: Globalization and its Implications — March 15, 2006