Digital Commons Network^™

Gerrymandering And The Impossibility Of Fair Districting Systems, Danielle Degutz

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Voting district boundaries are often manipulated, or gerrymandered, by politicians in order to give one group of voters an unfair advantage over another during elections. To make sure a system of voting districts is not gerrymandered, the population size, the shape, and the voting efficiency of each party in each district should be taken into consideration. Following recent work of Boris Alexeev and Dustin G. Mixon, we discuss mathematical criteria for each of these three aspects, and we prove how problems arise when attempting to apply all three at once to a districting system--first to a simplified districting system and …

Seeing Red: Immigration And Asymmetrical Partisan Polarization In The United States, Robert M. Worth

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Since the mid-1970s, partisan polarization has been increasing in Congress and the Presidency, and, although most voters lack a stable, consistent ideology, non-ideological forms of partisan polarization have emerged in the mass public in recent decades. Moreover, ideological polarization among elites is highly asymmetrical, with increased Republican conservatism accounting for most of the increased ideological distance between the parties. Here, I develop a racial-threat backlash theory and argue that increased rates of immigration are associated with increased asymmetrical ideological polarization among elites and in the mass public. Tests of this theory on voters, the mass public in the states, state …

Democracy Later, Dave A. Gentile Mr

Capstones

My idea was to investigate what happened during the Queens County Committee debacle over the summer. If you aren't familiar, the NYTimes covered it a bit, but basically a whole bunch of candidates associated with the New Queens Dems, myself included, running for Queens County Committee got screwed and forced off the ballots in favor of candidates who did not even know they were running.

I have access to virtually every one of the candidates who was forced off the ballot, as well access to some of the candidates who replaced us unknowingly and unwillfully. I also have total access …

21st Century Javelin Catchers: White House Organization And The Chief Of Staff, Molly Schwall

Channels: Where Disciplines Meet

This research discusses the impact that White House organization has on the roles of chief of staff. The paper begins with an overview of the major models of White House organization and the roles typically performed by chief of staff. By examining the impact of organizational difficulties faced by the chiefs of staff in the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama through case studies, this research seeks to situate the major roles of chief of staff within White House organization to examine the impact of organization on chief of staff performance. The findings of the case studies suggest …

Stealth Democracy: Authoritarianism And Democratic Deliberation, Peter Muhlberger

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

In Stealth Democracy, Hibbing and Theiss-Morse seek to show that much of the American public desires "stealth democracy"--a democracy run like a business with little deliberation or public input. The authors maintain that stealth democracy beliefs are largely reasonable preferences, and the public does not want and would react negatively to a more deliberative democracy. This paper introduces an opposing "authoritarian stealth democrats thesis" that suggests that stealth democracy beliefs may be driven by authoritarianism and a variety of related orientations including poor political perspective taking and low cognitive engagement. These orientations may be ameliorated through democratic deliberation. Hypotheses are …

Kinder Carnage, Talib Visram

Capstones

In the wake of school shootings, including Parkland, states and school districts have scrambled to protect against threats. But faced with no federal focus on gun control and little funding, schools have to make tough safety choices. Some have adopted novelty security gadgets; others have discussed arming teachers and even giving children tools to defend themselves. To some, this is the ideal solution; the answer to violence is more violence. And so, some schools are starting to resemble military camps. With reporting from a security conference in Florida, and a military camp for kids in Kentucky, this story takes a …

Halbert, William Clarence, 1856-1931 (Sc 3310), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3310. Certificate, 22 March 1900, of the appointment on 5 December 1899 of William C. Halbert as 1st Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry, Kentucky State Guard. Signed by Governor William S. Taylor, who requested that a militia company be raised in anticipation of violence following the contested gubernatorial election of 1899.

Rwu First Amendment Blog: David Logan's Blog: Recognizing The Free Press In The Crosshairs Across The Globe 12-12-2018, David A. Logan

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Trump Administration Is Scrapping A Collaborative Sage Grouse Protection Plan To Expand Oil And Gas Drilling, John Freemuth

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Trump administration has released plans to open up nine million acres of sage grouse habitat in six western states to oil and gas drilling. This initiative dramatically cuts back an elaborate plan developed under the Obama administration to steer energy development away from sage grouse habitat. Predictably, environmentalists oppose it and the energy industry supports it.

How To Turn Down Political Heat On Supreme Court And Federal Judges: Stop Signing Opinions, Scott S. Boddery

Political Science Faculty Publications

Chief Justice John Roberts rightly — albeit in an uncharacteristically direct manner — defended the integrity of the federal judiciary and its members from a direct affront from the president of the United States. Roberts’s defense sent President Donald Trump atwitter in a series of messages that doubled down on his previous ridicule of an “Obama Judge” from the “total disaster” Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. [except]

Operation Boulder And Its Effects On Arab-American Communities Of The 1970'S, Molly Wancewicz

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Operation Boulder, a United States government surveillance program deployed in 1972 under the direction of then-President Richard M. Nixon, launched a large-scale federal investigation of both Arab immigrants to the U.S. and Arab-Americans.1 In this context, the term “Arab” is used to mean a person originating from an Arabic-speaking country in the Middle East or North Africa, while “Arab-American” refers to a person of Arab lineage who was born in the United States. For the purposes of this paper, the Arabs and Arab-Americans referred to are only those residing in the United States. Before the project was canceled due to …

Robin Hood Politics: An Analysis Of Wealth Redistributive Policies And The Impact Of Political Donations, Marley R. Dizney Swanson

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Both Democrats and Republicans have taken strong positions on wealth redistribution. But is there variance within the parties? I hypothesize that while moderate non-donors and moderate donors will favor increases in federal spending for such policies at similar rates, both liberal and conservative donors will be less likely to favor spending due to attachment to their personal wealth. This paper analyzes the differences in support for increasing the budgets of five wealth redistributive policies while controlling for political donations: public schools, welfare, aid to the poor, childcare, and Social Security. The research finds that moderates and moderate donors support do …

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review Fall 2018

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

No abstract provided.

Thoughts And Prayers, Chloe Kardasopoulos

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Examining the symbolic Gun against its tangible counterpart illuminates abstract attachments of power and superiority this nation associates with the weapon. These elements loaded in the Gun transform the weapon into an object representative of American identity. Analyzing ideological commitments within the Gun guides a critical response to examine disproportionately increasing national gun violence against stagnant federal gun control. The ongoing gun debate must be analyzed in its entirety, beginning at its source - the Second Amendment. Scholars such as Gary Wills dissect the Second Amendment to extract its contextualized intent from modern writers’ manipulated interpretations. It is not the …

Fringe Groups And Their Beliefs In Conspiracies, Gianluca Allesina

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

My topic centers around the series of questions asked in the Chapman University Survey of American Fears on conspiracy theories and the degree to which Americans believe in them. The claims of such theories can range from strange, but ultimately harmless, such as the belief that the United States faked the Apollo 11 Moon Landing in 1969, to accusations with much serious implications such as the belief that the government is hiding information on the Las Vegas and/or Sandy Hook mass shootings. The latter recently made news with the biggest advocate of the “false flag shootings” belief, none other than …

“They’Re Bringing Crime:” White Fear And Closing Borders, Hanna Rosenheimer

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Leading up to the 2016 election, popular rhetoric surrounding immigrants to the United States took a marked turn. This change can be partially explained using Piotr Cap’s proximization theory, a threat-based discursive model that relies on locating threatening events in proximity to the audience in order to justify preventative or protective measures. Quantitative public opinion data from the Chapman University Survey of American Fears suggests that a disbelief in immigrants’ ability to assimilate is strongly correlated with a fear of immigrants committing crimes. White Americans who hold these beliefs typically tend to favor or strongly favor preemptive punitive action against …

Analyzing Gun Control: Nature Or Nurture?, Josie Chan

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The year of 2017 was deemed the deadliest year for mass killings, which explains the growing tension between those who want stronger restrictions compared to those who do not. In October 2017, 59 people were killed, with over 500 people injured in the Las Vegas massacre. When a national tragedy of such magnitude strikes, it immediately stirs up talks of gun control measures. Whether it is the National Rifle Association funneling more money to fight for 2^nd Amendment rights or passionate Americans fighting for stronger gun restrictions, the debate regarding government restrictions on firearms and ammunition proves to be …

Sources Of Fear In Climate Change, Ryan Shiri

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Extreme weather patterns like floods, storms, droughts, radically dry and radically cold seasons are just a few extremities of the new normal accelerated by climate change. This research paper focus on how a more aggressive climate along with changing economic and political factors have affected the public’s fear for climate change. Using data derived from the Chapman Fear Survey, this paper will attempt to identify the main the actors contributing to fear of climate change. The data will regard a four-year regression following six variables that relate to climate change. The variables will be the public’s fear in oil spills, …

Perceived Public Opinion Vs. Actual Public Opinion And Media's Influence., Sarah Carey

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

This paper examines the extent of polarization in the United States in the current political climate. It was predicted that individual beliefs would be less polarized than news media makes it seem because while the political parties are moving further toward the poles, there is no evidence to suggest that individuals are doing the same. Using Berkeley’s Survey Documentation and Analysis tool, data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) was analyzed to test this premise. The ANES measured individuals’ party identification. The analysis focused on those who identify as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The survey then asked those same …

Remembering An Invasion: The Panama Intervention In America’S Political Memory, Dave Nagaji

Senior Theses

In December of 1989, the United States launched Operation Just Cause, a military invasion of the country of Panama, capturing Manuel Noriega and overthrowing his government. This research project examines how Colin Powell, Richard Cheney, James Baker, and George H.W. Bush presented Operation Just Cause in their memoirs. It attempts to determine how these senior leaders’ depictions of this invasion incorporated it into the Bush administration’s overall foreign-policy strategy. The research finds that their general approach was to present the Panama intervention as an isolated incident which had no intentional link to other major events at the time, was not …

En Sus Propias Palabras: Testimonios Of Latinas In Elected And Appointed Office, Andrea Guajardo

Theses & Dissertations

Governance in the United States has been the domain of men since the idea of democracy and independence from England was in its infancy. The systematic oppression and exclusion of persons of color and women was the backdrop upon which the United States was founded. Many continue to experience conflict and struggle in their efforts to gain and maintain civil rights and seek personal and professional experiences free from marginalization and oppression. This purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the lived experiences group of Latinas who have been elected or appointed to public office with an emphasis critical …

Primary Challengers: Examining Competition In U.S. House Primary Elections With Female Candidates, Savannah Nicole Renslow

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has established that voters and political elites hold gendered stereotypes toward female candidates. Additionally, traditional family roles and gendered expectations are found to affect the self-confidence of women and their political ambition. However, little is known about how potential challengers perceive women as candidates. To fill this gap, I examine whether the presence of a woman in a primary election influences the entry of prospective candidates. Are women perceived to be more vulnerable candidates, thus attracting more competition in primary elections?

To answer this, I estimate a negative binomial regression with primary election data for the U.S. House …

Whatever Did Happen To The Antitrust Movement?, Herbert J. Hovenkamp

All Faculty Scholarship

Antitrust in the United States today is caught between its pursuit of technical rules designed to define and implement defensible economic goals, and increasing calls for a new antitrust “movement.” The goals of this movement have been variously defined as combating industrial concentration, limiting the economic or political power of large firms, correcting the maldistribution of wealth, control of high profits, increasing wages, or protection of small business. High output and low consumer prices are typically unmentioned.

In the 1960s the great policy historian Richard Hofstadter lamented the passing of the antitrust “movement” as one of the “faded passions of …

Informal Rulemaking And Democratic Participation Fda – Food Labeling, Fcc – Net Neutrality, A Text Mining Study, Casey Shannon

Public Administration Master’s Projects

The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is supposed to make the rulemaking process at the administrative level democratic. This study will look at two examples of federal regulatory agencies – Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The topics are food labeling, and net neutrality respectively. The APA highlights the process of notice and comment rulemaking. The APA is evaluated in the literature review for effectiveness and shortcomings. Interest groups play a key role in the policy making process; interest groups inform and mobilize citizens, and then coordinate commenting on agency rule propositions. This can sometimes lead …

Framing Climate Change As National Security: A Survey-Experiment On Climate Change Perceptions., Adam Lyons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The issues surrounding climate change continue to have polarizing effects on many Americans. In this thesis I offer a potential bridge to this divide with a comprehensive study on how issue frames can impact how individuals shape their opinions on environmental issues. Focusing on a national security frame, I ask the central research “Will the public perceive issues of climate change differently when they are framed as threats to national security?” For this thesis I design an original experimental survey to measure the impact security framing has on participants’ perception of both climate change and environmental policy options. The survey …

Trump, Saudi Arabia And The Khashoggi Case: What Would Obama Have Done?, Steven Feldstein

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

After weeks of ratcheting tension about who authorized the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, President Donald Trump sought to put an end to the debate.

Smith, Pearl Irene (Kearney), 1888-1972 (Sc 3302), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3302. Letters, clippings, invitations and associated material relating to the involvement of Pearl Irene (Mrs. Stuart A.) Smith, Louisville, Kentucky, in state and local politics and civic causes. Active in local Democratic councils, Mrs. Smith left the party in acrimony in 1927 over its selection of candidates for governor of Kentucky and mayor of Louisville, and worked thereafter in Republican campaign committees and delegations. Includes a petition demanding enforcement of American neutrality in World War II.

The Impact Of Presidential Field Offices In Ohio, 2008-2012, Colin D. Swearingen

The Journal of Economics and Politics

Does a community’s proximity to a presidential field office impact presidential election results? Applying community-level data from the American Community Survey, we examine the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections in the battleground state of Ohio. Using spatial regression, we find that the number of Obama field offices within 10 miles significantly increased his share of the vote in 2012. While proximity to a McCain Victory Center statistically decreased a community’s Obama vote share, this result was not substantive. In 2012, a community’s proximity to a Romney field office did not influence the results. Proximity to an Obama field office also …

The Politics Of Passing And Implementing Medical Marijuana In Ohio, A. Lee Hannah

The Journal of Economics and Politics

Why did the state of Ohio adopt a medical marijuana policy? And why did it do so in 2016? This article examines the diffusion of medical cannabis policy across the U.S. and to Ohio by describing the evolution of images related to the policy and by exploring the content of the law. Using evidence from legislators’ remarks on the floor of the Ohio General Assembly and interviews with activists and analysts, I show that the direct initiative helped push members of the Ohio General Assembly to write and adopt a medical marijuana law (MML) when they were unlikely to do …

Hutchinson, Julian Terrence, Jr., 1933-2004 (Sc 3298), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3298. Lists, drafts, receipts, and campaign and organizational materials relating to Julian T. Hutchinson’s involvement in Democratic politics in Fayette County, Kentucky. Includes material relating to the formation of the Blue Grass Fayette County Democratic Club and the Fayette County Young Democrats Club, and to Hutchinson’s 1965 campaign for the Democratic nomination to represent Kentucky’s 54^th District in the state legislature.