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Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviewers And Referees

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Editors' Note, Nirupama Devaraj, Bharath Ganesh Babu

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 24, Full Contents, Mssj Staff

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

How Can Local Transitional Justice Mechanisms Work Towards Measures Of Non-Recurrence?, Isaac Bayor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines questions of local agency and inclusion. It develops a conceptual understanding of whether, and if so how, local customary justice mechanisms could serve as guarantees of non-recurrence. It looks at how grassroots practices of “justice” could be utilized at the community level to deter the commission of future abuses and prevent the repetition of violent conflict, especially where the state has been completely absent. It specifically explores Acholi indigenous and customary practices of peacemaking and justice in Northern Uganda to understand how local practices could secure a lasting peace and cement communities’ commitment to peaceful coexistence.

While …

Ley Olimpia: Examining Policymaking Around Digital Violence, Andrea Alejandra Capella-Castro

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The topic of this thesis is policymaking and regulations around digital gender violence. This work intends to examine what methods effectively regulate and eradicate Online-Gender Based Violence (OGBV), a new type of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Effective policymaking for the digital space has a significant impact on our society and especially on women as they remain the most objectified, attacked, and harassed on social media platforms. Therefore, social media needs an effective policy to address digital gender violence. Furthermore, the topic is relevant because policymaking around digital gender violence will advance the feminist movement’s fight and protect women and social media …

Serving Our Students: Evidence-Based Sex Education Policies And Practices Needed In Ohio, Lily Mckenzie Rosenberg

Honors Projects

Ohio has very minimal state-wide sex education laws, requiring only venereal disease education that has many similarities with abstinence-only education. Abstinence-only education has been shown to be ineffective in delaying first sex and lowering teen STDs, pregnancy, and birth rates. When students receive ineffective (or no) sex education it can impact them in many ways, leaving them unprepared for sexual lives as adults. To analyze the state of sex education in Ohio, this paper will look at sex education throughout Ohio both in law and in practice. I will then explore the impact of these minimal sex education laws on …

Critical Political Thinking: An Analysis Of Undergraduate Students’ Higher-Order Thinking Skills And Preferred Political Values, Labels, And Leadership Traits, Maya Mingo

Doctoral Dissertations

The current study details the political values of students enrolled in an entry-level, multi-section educational psychology course at a large, southeastern United States university during the fall semester of 2017 (N = 167). Survey data were collected to identify the following: which political values and personality traits undergraduate students give the most priority when making political decisions, whether or not the political labels participants identified as most important to them are consistent with those common to their families, close friends, and childhood geographical regions, the quality of respondents’ self-reported label-value congruence, and the relation between the students’ critical thinking …

The Effect Of Partisan Representation At Different Levels Of Government On Satisfaction With Democracy In The United States, Julie Vandusky-Allen, Stephen M. Utych

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we analyze how variations in partisan representation across different levels of government influence Americans’ satisfaction with the democracy in the United States. We conduct two survey experiments and analyze data from the 2016 American National Election Study postelection survey. We find that Americans are the most satisfied with democracy when their most preferred party controls both the federal and their respective state governments. However, we also find that even if an individual’s least preferred party only controls one level of government, they are still more satisfied with democracy than if their most preferred party controls no levels …

Collige Et Impera: The United States Reengagement In Libya, Marco Schinella

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

President Biden's "America is back" pledge holds the potential to be put to the test with the ongoing crisis in Libya. The internationalization of the post-Ghaddafi Libyan breakdown, strained by great-power competition (GPC) dynamics, poses nonnegligible threats to the United States (US) national security that extends beyond Libya per se. Reframing the conflict from yet another Middle East and North Africa (MENA) conflict to an urgent multilateral Mediterranean security challenge will help elevate the country's profile on the global stage. This thesis outlines a qualitative, within-case study analysis of the ongoing Libyan crisis from the perspective of US national security …

Political Attitudes And Behavior In A Pandemic: Factors Affecting Compliance With Covid-19 Policies, Christopher Palmer

Masters Theses

The ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis provides a unique opportunity to examine the role that public opinion plays in policy efficacy. More specifically, what factors contribute to different policy outcomes within the population? Governments and institutions at all levels have sought to incentivize compliance behavior utilizing different approaches. Statistical models were used to examine the relationship between attitudes and behaviors within the United States in this context. Trust is the primary focus in this paper because of its role in a public health crisis with consideration for rules and norms of social interaction. The analysis herein shows that social trust …

The Rise Of Social Media And The Fall Of Internal Peace: How Do Media Influence People's Fear Of Mass Shootings?, Christian Grevin

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The impact of traditional versus social media on people’s fears of a mass shooting is a matter worthy of study given the scarcity of research and analysis, as well as the prominence mass shootings have gained in American society and media. Many studies have been conducted evaluating the connection between local TV news and fear, showing that the consumption of local TV news has increased people's fear of crimes. However, there have been few studies examining the relationship between social media usage and one’s fear of crime. In this paper, I will examine the correlation between fear of mass shootings …

Patterns Of Fear Of Being Murdered And Homicide Victimization: A Comparison Of Perceived And Realistic Risk, Madilyn Rosenson

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In this research I will be observing the fear of falling victim to murder in the United States of America. The research will include comparison between the fear of being murdered by a stranger and the fear of being murdered by someone you know, and comparisons of this data collected from Wave 2 to Wave 7 of the Fear Survey. Also discussed will be the likelihood of either event happening – being murdered by a stranger or someone you know – and other potential independent variables that may have an impact on an individual’s fear or vulnerability to the situations. …

A Guide To The 87th Texas Legislative Session, José Menéndez, Pearl D. Cruz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Challenges and potential solutions during the 87th Texas Legislative session.

Racial Limitations On The Gender, Risk, Religion & Politics Model, Amanda Friesen

Political Science Publications

Risk aversion dampens political participation and heightens religiosity, with concentrated effects among women. Yet, little is known about how intersecting identities moderate these psychological correlates of religiosity and political engagement. In this paper, we theorize that the risk-religion-politics relationship is gendered and racialized. Using a nationally representative survey, we show that political participation is more strongly correlated with risk for Black women than for any other race-gender group. For religiosity, however, we find little evidence that risk is related to religiosity among Black women, while highly correlated with white women's religious engagement. For men—whether Black or white—risk exhibits a modest, …

Dossier: The Stateless Rohingya—Practical Consequences Of Expulsion, Fiza Lee-Winter, Tonny Kirabira

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The international community has been called upon to ramp up efforts to end statelessness and provided with a guiding framework of 10 Actions. This dossier presents the practical consequences of expulsion, both direct and indirect outcomes of collective violence, directed towards the Rohingyas. Touching upon the nexus between children's rights, human trafficking, and practical challenges associated on-the-ground, the dossier also discusses the imperative need for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states—collectively as a region—to take steps in fulfilling Action 7 of the Global Action Plan through the birth registration of Rohingya children as part of their existing efforts …

Pinpointing Patterns Of Violence: A Comparative Genocide Studies Approach To Violence Escalation In The Ukrainian Holodomor, Kristina Hook

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article utilizes the case study of the 1930s Ukrainian Holodomor, an artificially induced famine under Joseph Stalin, to advance comparative genocide studies debates regarding the nature, onset, and prevention of large-scale violence. Fieldwide debates question how to 1) distinguish genocide from other forms of large-scale violence and 2) trace genocides as unfolding processes, rather than crescendoing events. To circumvent unproductive definitional arguments, methodologies that track large-scale violence according to numerically-based thresholds have substituted for dynamics-based analyses. Able to address aspects of the genocide puzzle, these methodologies struggle to incorporate cross-cultural contextual variation or elicit ripe moments for specific, real-time …

Tussle For The Amazon: New Frontiers In Brazil's Organized Crime Landscape, Ryan C. Berg

Research Publications

Brazil is witnessing a “tussle for the Amazon”—a new and deadly phase in the history of its organized crime groups and their operations. While the country is no stranger to violent criminal organizations, recent years have seen groups building increasingly sophisticated networks, both within and beyond Brazil’s borders. In the strategic state of Amazonas, these developments have sparked a power struggle between several of the country’s largest criminal organizations that has concerning implications for the stability of Brazil as a whole. This “tussle” is more than a mere clash between Brazil’s transnational organized crime groups. It is a threat to …

Evaluating The Pragmatic And Moralistic Approach To Drug Policy And Addiction In Opioid Epidemic Outcomes, Brielle Seidel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Drug use, policy and outcomes differ in all countries; however, trends exist in response to these circumstances and can typically be evaluated through a pragmatic and moralistic lens. The public health, and evidence-based pragmatic approach differs from the law enforcement-centered moralistic approach, specifically in outcomes of people suffering from substance use disorder. Particularly for opioid use disorder, countries that have taken the pragmatic approach in response to opioid epidemics have had dramatic results. Two of the countries discussed include Switzerland and Portugal, with additional information on the Netherlands. In contrast, current opioid epidemics exist in certain countries who maintain a …

Is Arizona’S Senate Bill 1070 A Degenerative Policy? Latinos Say Yes, And No. Implications For Latinos And Democracy In A Trump World, Karina Moreno

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Schneider and Ingram’s theory of policy design (1997) states that policy making includes a process through which knowledge is socially constructed and is a domain in which power elites are able to manipulate symbols, rhetoric, images, and distort logical lines of inquiry to justify policies that privilege certain social groups while stigmatizing and disenfranchising others. Policies act as lessons, and individuals, in turn, then internalize messages on their value to society based on the policies that are assigned to them. Using qualitative data in the form of in-depth interviews conducted with Latinos in Arizona, this paper asks, Is Arizona’s Senate …

U.S. Policing As Racialized Violence And Control: A Qualitative Assessment Of Black Narratives From Ferguson, Missouri, Jason M. Williams

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

U.S. policing has long been captured within a master narrative of colorblind consensus; however, distinct lived experiences between community groups depict grave disparities in law enforcement experiences and perceptions. Orthodox conceptions of law enforcement ultimately silence marginalized voices disproportionately affected by negative contacts with law enforcement. Centering data in critical theory, this study will present thematic results from semi-interviews gathered in Ferguson, M.O., during a critical ethnographic research project. Themes reveal experiences and perceptions of racialized and violent policing, the unique position of Black officers, and regard for the impact police have on children. Results also help to foreground new …

What We Owe Our Students: The Good Place, Pedagogy, And The Architecture Of Engaged Learning, Shala Mills, Darrell Hamlin

Political Science Faculty Publications

Pedagogy is the architecture of a learning environment. The discipline of philosophy has often operated according to a pedagogy of conversation, clarity, and reflection, certainly since the era of Socratic dialogue in the streets of Athens. We argue that The Good Place occupies that space, re-setting this pedagogy as an architecture of learning through entertainment associated with ultimate matters of eternal disposition. A critical character driving conversation, clarity, and reflection across four seasons of the story’s arc is a philosopher – doomed by their own indecisive flaws – who teaches deep understanding of ethical development through a variety of relevant …

Book Review: Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement And Evangelicalism’S Looming Catastrophe, Tyler R. Tennies

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

The COVID-19 pandemic and the death of George Floyd became the catalyst of political and social unrest in 2020, fueling social justice movements in many areas. Central to the unrest is what Time Magazine called “America’s Overdue Racial Awakening,” which highlighted the fallout of George Floyd’s death and the ensuing strife.1 The Church was not exempt from the unrest and public dialogue on social justice, with several pastors and members looking for leadership on these issues. This national social justice conversation is driving domestic policy decisions with purposed legislation such as H.R. 5 “The Equality Act” and police reform bills …

Statelessness In The Black Diaspora, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings

The Journal of International Relations, Peace Studies, and Development

Transcript of 30 th April, 2021 Speech at American Graduate School in Paris, Annual Student Conference: Statelessness in International Relations: Causes, Consequences, and Covid-19

Virtual Event

Bridging The Divide: Community Centers As A Catalyst Of Socioeconomic Opportunity Cultivation For At-Risk Youth, Grayson Bourke

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

The East Bluff Community Center (EBCC)’s mission is to “foster community engagement and neighborhood stabilization by providing a vibrant place to gather.” This paper seeks to shed light on the role that community centers play in creating socioeconomic opportunities for at-risk youth in low-income, American communities. The author completed an 11-month internship through Illinois State University’s Stevenson Center in which I was placed as a Community Engagement Coordinator at the EBCC. While at EBCC, I conducted a neighborhood needs assessment, strengthened existing and built new interorganizational partnerships, and launched a building revitalization within the context of the Integrated Prevention and …

Sanctuary In The City Of Brotherly Love: Probing The Effectiveness And Broader Implications Of Philadelphia’S Sanctuary City Policies, Thomas A. Koenig

Gettysburg Social Sciences Review

Amidst the already fraught politics of immigration, “sanctuary” policies, whereby state and local law enforcement agencies limit their cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities to varying degrees, have emerged as a particularly contentious issue. This paper sifts past the political vitriol surrounding the issue of “sanctuary” and uses original survey research in Philadelphia to answer a straightforward question: Are these policies working? That is, are the city of Philadelphia’s sanctuary policies actually building trust between its undocumented residents and local law enforcement, thereby laying the groundwork for higher rates of crime reporting and safer communities? My results from a survey …

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (Lvmpd) Budget Review, Fiscal Years 2018-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Elia Del Carmen Solano-Patricio, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (LVMPD) annual budget increased every fiscal year (FY) from 2018 to 2021. Using data provided by the LVMPD’s final budget reports for FY 2018 to 2021, this Fact Sheet details LVMPD funding increases and summarizes budget expenditures by unit and area command.

Uncivil Disobedience And Democracy: An American Perspective, Walter J. Kendall

The Journal of Social Encounters

From the time of the Athenian democracy there has been the debated question of whether protest and dissent, especially uncivil disobedience to the law was supportive or destructive of a people’s democracy. The debate continues unabated today.

In a recent collection of essays titled Protest and Dissent, Professor Susan Stokes offered an answer to the question Are Protests Good or Bad for Democracy? (Schwartzberg, 2020, p. 269). After considering both possibilities, she concludes, as had James Madison in Federalist 10, that protests “are a natural by-product of freedoms of expression and association which, if curtailed, would threaten democracy itself.”(Schwartzberg, 2020, …

When You Play The Game Of Drones, You Win Or You Die: Examining The Role Of U.S. Drone Strikes In U.S. And English Language Allies Newspapers From 2008-2019, Melissa Aho

Dissertations

In the years following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States ramped up its usage of drones and drone strikes around the world. Spanning three United States’ presidents, drone strikes became a regular feature in the US military arsenal. While American newspaper media and citizens have been very pro-drone, global citizens view drones in a far more negative light. This study examines US military drone strikes and English-speaking allied newspapers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and evaluates if coverage remains positive or negative depending on the newspaper’s conservative or liberal leanings from 2008–2019. …

Abandoned Allies: A Case Study Analysis Of The Special Immigrant Visa Program, Sarah Pedigo Kulzer

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Employing a qualitative case study approach, the current study aims to critically analyze the U.S.’s use of the Special Immigrant Visa program in Iraq and Afghanistan by examining the individuals it serves, the agencies through which services are rendered, and the state’s vested geopolitical interests in the program. Engaging in active participation, I observed and interacted with those who work within, assist, or utilize the services of Commonwealth Catholic Charities’ refugee resettlement program, including case workers, service providers, and resettlement clients themselves. Examined through the lens of neoliberal harm, the theoretical frameworks of realpolitik and Simmel’s (1950) concept of the …