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The Populist Revival of the Islamic Banking Movement

The Populist Revival of the Islamic Banking Movement

iStock Photo By Claire Chen Islamic banking is on the rise. Recent estimates suggest that the industry can expect a 10 percent growth rate over the next year, part of its broader transformation from a niche cultural product to a mainstream commodity part of the broader ethical finance movement. A prevailing interpretation of Islamic banking considers it as simply another alternative in the consumer banking market. It is here that much of the discourse is centered: Islamic banking appears to be an individual moral statement that the savvy consumer chooses among a variety of products. At the same time, the…
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Interview on Economic Status and Agricultural Sector of Argentina

Interview on Economic Status and Agricultural Sector of Argentina

By Yinghan Du Professor Ana Regina Andrade is a Principal Senior Lecturer in Economics in the Department of Economics at Vanderbilt University. Her academic interest is developmental economics and the Latin American economy. Professor Andrade, and a team of graduate students, visited Argentina for an economic field trip in the spring of 2023. In the first part of this interview, she described the general economic history of Argentina and the status of this economy with an emphasis on the agricultural sector. Yinghan To begin with, could you please provide some general background information about the economic status of Latin America…
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The Future of AI and Education: ChatGPT Takes the World by Storm

The Future of AI and Education: ChatGPT Takes the World by Storm

(Image: Creative Common License) By Brian Zhao Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT quickly became the world’s newest sensation, amassing over 100 million users as of January 2023. Millions of people spanning various industries recognized its potential for revolutionizing our workstyles.  The language model chatbot powered by artificial intelligence technology captured everyone’s attention mainly due to its ability to have human-like conversations with users and provide detailed and accurate responses.   Some of its capabilities include answering questions, writing essays, compiling poems, translating languages, telling jokes, and writing code, among many other endless applications that users have tested. However, providing…
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From Traditional Medicine to Digital Health: How China is Transforming Healthcare

From Traditional Medicine to Digital Health: How China is Transforming Healthcare

(image: iStock) By Anton Kozyrev In January of 2023, fresh demographic data from the People’s Republic of China caused a stir. For the first time in 60 years, China’s population had experienced a contraction, with its 2022 population falling by 850,000 from that of 2021. While the phenomenon of deaths exceeding births is a common expectation for many developed nations around the globe, China’s situation poses unique challenges. For the most part, experts suggest that this demographic change is the result of government policies, including the well-known “One Child Policy.” The government ended this policy in 2016, switching to a…
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Fund No Harm: Stopping the Financing of Unlawful Organizations

Fund No Harm: Stopping the Financing of Unlawful Organizations

By Claire Chen iStock Photo by Andrii Yalanskyi (2019) Vanderbilt’s latest Greek-life controversy saw the suspension of Sigma Chi due to “accountability issues.” Though this explanation provides little insight into the fraternity’s inner workings, to say nothing of the timeline for potential reintegration into campus life, the consequences of the suspension are clear: for the time being, Sigma Chi will no longer have the privileges of a Vanderbilt student organization. These range from dull logistical details such as branding and room-renting in addition to the existentially significant matter of financial estrangement, and Sigma Chi can no longer look forward to…
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How Ukraine Can be Rebuilt After the War

How Ukraine Can be Rebuilt After the War

By Ron Ye (Image: Creative common license) It has been more than 10 months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although it is uncertain when the war will end, it is certain that the amount of destruction is staggering. Russia has, in recent months, begun targeting Ukrainian infrastructure. In September, Russian missiles struck a dam that caused flooding in Kryvyi Rih, the 7th most populous city of Ukraine. Now, Ukraine faces a constant barrage of missiles from Russia that aims to take out their energy infrastructure. This is done in order to further increase the suffering of Ukrainians during the…
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<strong>SBF’s Arrest Puts a Question Mark on D.C.’s Relationship with Crypto</strong>

SBF’s Arrest Puts a Question Mark on D.C.’s Relationship with Crypto

By Rohan Upadhyay Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest, following FTX’s bankruptcy, has disrupted Washington’s relationship with the cryptocurrency industry. Bankman, who pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, has lost allies in Washington as lobbyists have severed ties. This may affect lawmakers’ treatment of cryptocurrency.  This is significant because Bankman was a major lobbyist for cryptocurrencies, so the industry has lost a key figurehead. In the 2022 election cycle, the industry spent $73 million on donations to federal political candidates. Of this, FTX alone spent $72.1 million, of which Sam Bankman-Fried personally spent $39.9 million. Bankman…
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Reevaluating Demand: Apple’s iPhone 14 Plus Put On Hold

Reevaluating Demand: Apple’s iPhone 14 Plus Put On Hold

By Brian Zhao  (Image: creative common license) Has Apple fallen from grace? Despite Apple’s fanbase being notoriously loyal, the iPhone 14 Plus model has greatly underperformed in terms of its sales numbers as compared to its much higher expectations. In October 2022, The Information reported that Apple has currently paused production of the iPhone 14 Plus despite it only being on sale for less than two weeks due to having to reassess demand for the smartphone. Specifically, Apple’s supply chain partners have cut iPhone 14 Plus production by 40% according to Digitimes. So, why hasn’t the iPhone 14 Plus been…
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<strong>Young Entrepreneurs Give Advice On Attaining Success</strong>

Young Entrepreneurs Give Advice On Attaining Success

By Emmie Wolf-Dubin and Ilana Drake This article is originally published by YR. Media and is republished by VBR. A recent entrepreneurship conference, 3698, in Nashville highlighted learning more about business ownership and the importance of advocacy.  Emmie Wolf-Dubin and Ilana Drake had the chance to pick the brains of several young frontrunners in finance and investing.  Borrego & Bendel Corporation CEO Nick Borrego shared an important tip from his father, “Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you and you’ll grow into that world.”  The reasoning — becoming an entrepreneur has a number of challenges.  “Don’t forget to follow…
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