"The Euro: Conditions & Realities" is a study that is focussed on the conditions or convergence criteria set for joining the euro zone.The peak point of reaching a European Union and more specifically an Economic Monetary Union lies in the attainment of a single currency area. In order to take part in the euro, the European Member States have to abide by the conditions decided upon in the Treaties. the conditions lay the foundations for a stable economic area where the different states' economic indicators converge. Not one of the convergence criteria can be ignored for each one is justified by ...

This thesis seeks to analyze the role of regional organizations, specifically the European Union in dealing with external crisis. Furthermore, the research will focus on the development of EU treaties and mechanisms that influenced its foreign policy and security and defense policies in the context of foreign intervention. This study will target two considerations that are required for international involvement. Two case studies, which are the Kosovo Crisis and Ukraine Crisis, will be compared to reflect on the considerations that affected the European Union decision to intervene and the different ...

The concept of transit-oriented development (TOD) has been gaining noticeable appreciation in cities that pursue urban and transport sustainability. This term was coined in the late 1980s when the alarming outcomes of vehicle-dependent planning started to materialize. TOD is characterized basically by mixed land-use that fosters the use of transit services by minimalizing the walking distance to its service point. Thus, a transit station must be centered based on the neighborhood typologies to encourage the largest number of people who live or work near the station to use transit as a transport ...

This thesis was conducted to examine the impact of the evolution of FATCA on Lebanon. This study discusses the evolution of the U.S tax system, and its attempt to combat U.S tax evasion beginning with the Qualified Intermediary Program and ending with the U.S Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Moreover, it entails the evolution of the FATCA regulations and analyzes this evolution with all the modification of these regulations. A detailed timeline of the evolution of the FATCA status as well as the projected timeline are highlighted. Interviews with four head of legal compliance officers ...

Using Gender Framing and Queer theories, an inductive and qualitative research method; this study looks into the evolution of sexual contents in Lebanese cinema especially in the post-war era, tackling the causes behind this shift resulting in screening of liberalistic rather than conservative contents. It focuses on the history of Lebanese cinema and how the thematic representations changed in time depending on historical, political and economic factors. Focus was on the themes treated in films and on the occurrence of sexual scenes. Results showed that War by itself was a transitional phase ...

Purpose: This paper investigates the interconnectedness of the five largest cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization namely, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin through a volatility spillover inspection. It also studies the hedging and/or safe haven capabilities of Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, against the main conventional currencies and the traditional assets in the United States and the European markets. Design/methodology/approach: In the first part of the research, univariate general autoregressive conditional ...

Known as polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), neutrophils have been shown to play a regulatory role in healing injuries and resolving infections. Although the immune response (IR) of neutrophils in bacterial and fungal infections is well understood, their impact during sporozoite infection is much less studied. This project investigates the role of neutrophils in recognizing Plasmodium berghei sporozoites in an effort to understand the mechanism of sporozoites’ IR evasion and spread of malaria infection in the blood circulation. Plasmodium berghei GFP-expressing sporozoites were purified from ...

Purpose: This thesis attempts to explore the impact of adoption of online banking, through its various media and communication channels, on branch expansion and overall banks profitability. We use a sample of 17 Lebanese commercial banks constituting 90% of the Lebanese commercial banks sector, from 2004 till 2013. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: this study is based on a quantitative model with a deductive approach. Secondary data was collected from BILANBANQUES to feed into a multiple regression models. The independent variables are the following variables: year adoption of mobile banking, phone ...

Purpose – This research aims to explore the impact of fashion leaders on followers’ shopping frequency in Keserwan, Lebanon. This thesis will study the relationship between celebrity influencers, fashion influencers, in-store fashion employees, demographics and followers’ shopping frequency. The purpose is to have those findings become helpful for Lebanese fashion retailers within knowing how to be able to know what items will sell more than others and how to manage inventory as well as reduce loss of profit. Design/methodology/approach – Employing a deductive approach, this study presents one ...

Purpose – This research attempts to unveil the plausible relations that may exist between internal strategic openness, perceived alignment, and engagement, as well as scrutinize how each may vary between employees of different demographic characteristics at microlevels of an organization. Design/methodology/approach – Employing a mixture of deductive and inductive reasoning approaches, this study poses six research questions and quantitatively tests twenty four hypotheses using a sample of 216 employees working in core banking functions at Bank of Beirut. Findings – The findings show that ...