Digital Commons Network^™

Heavy Metal Contamination In Drinking Water And Its Connection To Superfund Site Related Environmental Injustice, Emily Caruso

Honors Theses

Equal access to clean, potable drinking water is crucial for our society’s health and advancement. In 2014, the infamous water crisis in Flint, Michigan, shed light on the widespread water quality issues impacting numerous communities in America. In response to the Flint water crisis, Union College established the Union College Water Initiative, providing free drinking water analyses to the public. This initiative aims to raise awareness and educate people by analyzing heavy metals commonly found in drinking water—specifically lead, copper, and zinc.

As a part of this initiative, I collected over 300 cold drinking water samples from residences, schools, and …

Female Infertility In The United States And India: An Analysis Of Treatment Barriers And Coping Strategies, Devneet Singh

Honors Theses

This research studies barriers to accessing fertility treatment in the United States (U.S.) and India, as well as the coping strategies infertile women use. Barriers include reproductive health knowledge, cost, and politics, while coping is affected by cultural stigma, family, and religion. These two countries were chosen for their different cultural contexts, healthcare systems, and political infrastructure. Ten fertility specialists across both countries were interviewed as expert informants. Reproductive health knowledge was the most important barrier to accessing care in both countries, with similar gaps in understanding when and what type of care to utilize, though social media can educate …

Hbo’S "The Wire" And Its Portrayal Of Baltimore Politics, Schools, And The Judicial System In Season 4: Was It Accurate Then And Does It Stand The Test Of Time?, Josephine Klingeman

Honors Theses

This thesis is a content analysis of HBO’s fourth season of The Wire. After conducting an in-depth analysis of the content in the thirteen episodes of season four, I then assessed the level of accuracy in the show’s portrayal of two major topics discussed throughout the season: Witness protection and police informant harassment. I did so by conducting several interviews with professionals who have several decades of experience working in the criminal justice system. I compared their personal experience with witness protection programs, witness harassment, and police informant harassment with the content presented in The Wire on these topics. …

The Evolution Of Protest And Social Movements In The National Basketball Association From The Mid-20th Century To The Present Day, Luke Messersmith

Honors Theses

For my thesis, I focus on the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the evolution of how its personnel—players, coaches, refs, owners, etc.—navigated racism, politics, social injustice, platform utilization, and other pressing topics from the mid-1900s to the present day. Monumental players that used their platform in the NBA to inspire change include Bill Russell (1960s), Kareem-Abdul Jabbar (1970s), Craig Hodges (1990s), and LeBron James (2010s). These men and many others risked their images, and in some cases, their NBA careers, in order to protest, march, boycott, and kneel for causes they believed in, such as the civil rights movement and …

Using Difference-In-Differences Analysis And The Kocyk Geometric Lag Model To Estimate Aspects Of Carbon Tax Effectiveness In Nordic Countries, Kyle Riley

Honors Theses

This paper generally looks at the connections between carbon taxes and carbon emission levels in Nordic countries over a period from the 1960s to the early 2010s. Most of the existing literature on this topic looks at and finds that carbon taxes do have a significant impact upon carbon emissions levels in some countries while not in others. In many countries which have this policy there is not a significant impact that can be seen and there is a discussion as to why this might be the case and what needs to be done to fix these potential issues to …

There Must Be Something In The Water: A Comparative Study Of Ground Water Contamination In The U.S.A. And Canada, Kathleen Spooner

Honors Theses

The regions of Nova Scotia and New Hampshire are naturally susceptible to arsenic water contamination due to their geological makeup. These locations are relatively rural, with many of their citizens reporting low incomes and lacking education, the majority of which are unaware of the risk of arsenic poisoning. There is also a high dependency on private wells which are not regulated in terms of water quality under federal law in both countries. Arsenic water pollution is undetectable as it is both odorless and tasteless and potentially very dangerous, and therefore water testing must be performed on wells, which is currently …

High-Tech Development In Late Developing States: Taiwan's Semiconductor Success, Owen Farley

Honors Theses

This paper examines the development of Taiwan's semiconductor industry and the differing narratives on the factors contributing to the industry's success. The paper argues that both State-led policies and public institutions, as well as the experience and networks of returnee entrepreneurs, together facilitated the development of Taiwan's semiconductor industry, specifically the pureplay-foundry. Significantly, we argue that State-led policies were often tailored to attract the human capital as well as financial capital these returnees possessed and then incorporate their technical skills, managerial know-how, and knowledge of industry trends within State institutions. This paper analyzes specific State policies and inputs, like the …

Universal Healthcare: Solution Or Delusion? Comparing Medicare For All, Public Option, And Business-As-Usual Models Among U.S. Democratic Presidential Candidates, Elizabeth Pinchman

Honors Theses

How much longer can the United States remain the only developed country without universal health insurance? While the U.S. leads the world in healthcare costs per capita, it trails behind in access and quality measures. Many Americans live in fear of medical bankruptcy, especially the twenty-six million people who remain uninsured. The Democratic presidential candidates vying for the nomination in 2020 have released plans to resolve these problems and bring the nation closer to universal coverage.

Through the analysis of proposed actions, plan feasibility, and expected impact, the candidates’ suggestions have been evaluated within the context of the United States. …

Representational Style And Congressional Elections: New York's 19th District In The 115th Congress, Margaret Mccormick

Honors Theses

The disconnect between members of Congress and the American public is no secret. Of the three branches of government, the legislative branch is intended to be the most representative of the people. However, it consistently faces the lowest approval ratings among the American public. Although the public largely disapproves of Congress as a legislative body, most Americans support their own representative. This phenomenon is reflected in high reelection rates for congressional incumbents. My thesis examines the relationship between congressional representation and elections through an evaluation of the representational style of Congressman John Faso. Faso, who represented New York’s 19th District …

Public Financing Of Elections In The States, Nicholas Meixsell

Honors Theses

In the US, there is a history of the courts striking down campaign finance reform measures as unconstitutional. As such, there are few avenues remaining for someone who is interested in 'clean government' reforms. One such avenue is publicly financed elections, where the state actually provides funding for campaigns. These systems can be quite varied in the restrictions and contingencies they attach to the money, and for examples one has to look no further than the states There are many states that have some form of public financing for elections, and by looking at the different states' systems we are …

Female Forest Rangers In New York State, Anna Gagion

Honors Theses

For my environmental policy thesis, I investigated female forest rangers in the New York state department of environmental conservation (DEC). I looked at how their introduction into the forest service has evolved since the first female forest ranger in New York state, Patti Rudge, who took the job in 1988. I looked at common trends between retired and current female forest rangers as well as comparing their experiences to studies done about park rangers in the national park service. I found many similarities between their experiences, however there are key differences between federal and state level agencies.

Through my research …

Solar Energy For The Soul: Solving America’S Fuel Poverty Problem With Solar Panels For The Poor, Samantha St. Marie

Honors Theses

In the United States today, at least 14 million Americans live in fuel poverty. These Americans spend at least ten percent of household income on energy costs ranging from fuel to electricity. The purpose of this thesis is to identify an innovative solution to mitigate the effects of the energy affordability crisis in the United States. After examining national trends and researching localized efforts, I determined that solar panels may be able to support the modern energy needs of the fuel poor. The study uses a least squares regression model with fixed effects to determine factors influencing solar adoption at …

Mental Disorders As Brain Disorders: The Impact On Stigma Of Neuroscience-Based Mental Health Education, Katherine Tighe

Honors Theses

Stigmatization of mental illness is undoubtedly detrimental to those with mental health concerns as it limits employment, self-esteem and social support (Markowitz, 1998). In effort to combat the issue of stigma, previous research has evaluated the effectiveness of education as a method to reduce stigma in a college sample; finding that peer-led presentations are effective in reducing stigma (Kosyluk et al., 2016). The current study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of neuroscience-oriented presentation for reducing the stigma of mental illness among college students. Researchers asked 53 Union College students to complete seven-item Social Distance Scale (SDS; Penn et al., 1994) …

New York State's Zero Emission Credits: Exploring The Drivers And Significance Of Nuclear Energy Subsidization In The Empire State, Michael R. Sciascia

Honors Theses

This thesis reviews New York State's recently announced subsidization of nuclear energy, which has been a subject of dissent due to its cost, propagation of nuclear activity, and potential unlawfulness in its influence on competition within wholesale energy markets. Examining the structure and recent trends within New York's energy market and their effect on the state's nuclear energy industry will provide insight into the necessity of such subsidization in preserving in-state nuclear generation. Through an analysis of the expected costs, economic impact, and influence on statewide carbon emissions, the true significance of this legislation and New York's motivations behind its …

Friend Or Foe: The United States Military Bases In Okinawa South Korea And The Philippines, Caochong Zeng

Honors Theses

Pax Americana has been not only established by the policy-makers in Washington but also sustained by the global presence of G.l.s. Until 2015, 150,560 U.S. military personnel were stationed in over 150 countries with Japan the Middle East and Germany hosting the most American soldiers. To accommodate American troops overseas, U.S. military installations have also been constructed on foreign lands to achieve regional stability and to implement the U.S. grand strategy. The co-existence of the American military and the local society however has been problematic - social economic and environmental conflicts between bases and locals have plagued the relationship. Criminal …

Impact Of The Nuclear Phase-Out In Germany: Examining The Costs And Benefits Of Aggresive Energy Policy In Relation To A Sustainable Future, David M. Olio

Honors Theses

The German nuclear phase-out legislation of 2011 will cause substantial changes in the country's energy mix, energy generation and electricity grid demands. The phase-out exists as part of the Energiewende, or energy transition, occurring in Germany where renewable energy has been subsidized to replace the share of nuclear energy, which is decreasing annually and moving towards a complete phase-out in 2022. This paper will analyze the benefits and costs of Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power. First, it will explore the dynamic history of German energy policy and discuss how a history of anti-nuclear sentiments led to the nuclear …

The Negative Environmental Impacts Of The Animal Agriculture Industry And The U.S. Policies In Place To Protect It, Madeline M. Lewis

Honors Theses

With the increase in the amount of animal agricultural mega-farms since the 1980's, the U.S. federal and state governments have set up legislation to sustain the industry and to protect its operations from being interrupted by any means. However, animal agriculture presents some dangerous environmental consequences through natural resource use, pollution, and degradation, as well as human health and animal welfare issues. Because of these harmful practices and the desire to keep them hidden from the public, activists have been working for decades to expose and challenge these practices to make people aware of the external costs associated with their …

Where Is The Environmental Justice In The Lower Ninth? How Nonprofits And Residents Within The Lower Ninth Ward View Environmental Justice Issues After Hurricane Katrina, Nia N. Francis

Honors Theses

Environmental injustice has exacerbated in the Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina. Eleven years after Katrina and the Lower Ninth community is struggling to fully recover, regardless the amount of aid it has received from different types of charitable organizations. An understanding of how residents and organizations within the Lower Ninth Ward view environmental justice issues may help explain why this community’s revival is so delayed. Through the application of the snowball method, I obtained three case studies within this research that each present three dissimilar interpretations of the environmental justice issues and state of Lower Ninth. These views differ …

The Challenges Of Isis And The Modern Nation-State, Matthew Burton

Honors Theses

This essay examines the challenges that the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, pose to the contemporary state system. The rise of ISIS in the territories of Iraq and Syria raises two fundamental questions, one conceptual the other directly political: First, ISIS’s claim to be a state and world powers’ resistance to this claim raises the question of what constitutes a state in today’s international system. Second, as a unique form of political organization that has become successful in the Middle East in a relatively short time, ISIS raises a number of practical political questions such as, what it takes to …

The Smiling, The Sick, The Suffereing: Snapshots Of Syrian Displacement, Karlee Anna Bergendorff

Honors Theses

Photographic images of Syrian refugees - smiling, sick, or suffering - on the news and in the ads of human rights organizations have been employed to mobilize governments, armies, or businesses. These images are effective in mobilizing various forms of support or intervention because they have a strong emotional impact on the mass public. The emotionally driven connection between spectator and refugee, however, raises some troubling questions about whose interests the images serve, and how they are used for various efforts. Is it possible to depict the suffering of Syrian refugees without violating their dignity, agency, and autonomy? I argue …

Diverging Approach: Railroad Regulation, The Staggers Act And Path Dependence, Henry Strangford Scherck

Honors Theses

Just over a hundred years prior, American railroads claimed the unprecedented feat of traversing the entirety of the North American continent. At Promontory Point, Utah, two locomotives, the Jupiter and the No. 119, met pilot to pilot in an event which was broadcast nationwide via telegraph and is still memorialized today. In the years following, the railroad industry gained unprecedented power. In the late 19th century and the opening years of the 20th, much policy-making impetus was focused on checking the power of the railroads.Public sentiment largely opposed the monolithic strength wielded by the industry, and the federal government both …

Las Madres De Plaza De Mayo Y Los Medios Sociales: La No Desaparicion De Los Desaparecidos, Matthew Christal

Honors Theses

El diccionario Merriam Webster define "desaparecer" de varias maneras: dejar de ser visible: pasar fuera de vista: dejar de existir: morir o desaparecer por completo: perderse: ir a un lugar que no se conoce. En el caso de las Madres de Plaza de Mayo, estas definiciones son referencias a sus hijos e hijas que desaparecieron durante la guerra sucia. Normalmente, cuando pensamos en periodos de historia muy oscuros, pensamos en eventos como el holocausto. La guerra sucia fue el “holocausto” para los argentinos entre 1976 hasta 1983. Las madres de los desaparecidos han sido la razón por qué las memorias …

German And The European Migrant Crisis: An Exploration Of German National Identity, Sarah Pollack

Honors Theses

Since 2014, conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East have brought large inflows of asylum-seekers streaming into Europe. Germany has not only accepted the greatest number of these asylum-seekers, but it has additionally pushed for other European Union member states to accept more asylum-seekers as well, thereby earning an international reputation as a leading proponent of human rights in the European Union. While images of German citizens crowding train stations in Munich and other cities to welcome refugees have dominated news cycles, there is an increasing anti-immigration sentiment in Germany, which at its most extreme has manifested itself in …

The Endless Long Hot Summer: A Study Of Urban Riots And The Kerner Report, Taylor Anderson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders’ (Kerner Commission) investigation from 1967 to 1968 of the urban violence that occurred throughout the late 1960s in the United States. The study focuses on the process by which the Kerner Commission’s research and investigation became the conclusions and recommendations found in the Final Report they produced. For purposes of analysis, three sections of the commission’s research and findings were examined—the relationships between urban violence and racism, the police and minorities, and the press and urban violence. The commission’s methodology was a combination of investigative fieldwork that included interviews and …

Holding Water: The Political And Economic Debates Of The New York State Canal System 1895 – 1903, Erich Grome

Honors Theses

With the allure of the famed Erie Canal deteriorating as swiftly as its traffic and physical condition by the latter half of the nineteenth century, New Yorkers gave serious thought to the future of the waterway. As the commerce of the state and its renowned metropolis of New York City declined relative to its rival states and ports during this period, many questioned if enlarging the canal system would lead to its revival and produce similar results for the economy of the state at large. An ever frequent scene of partisan conflict, the proposals to radically enlarge the Erie Canal …

Understanding Childhood Hunger: A Qualitative Look At The Issues Hindering Progress In The United States, Samantha Kropp

Honors Theses

This thesis examines childhood hunger as roughly 1 in 5 kids live in households that struggle to put food on the table. These children experience physical problems as a result of their food instability, but this problem is connected to other personal and societal issues, such as poor education. To understand how hunger affects children, this study began with a historical analysis of the past 60 years of government supported programs and policies, such as the school breakfasts and summer lunch programs. Four interviews were conducted with different experts in the field, specifically three individuals from a prominent national non‐profit …

Combatting Cultures Of Impunity After Insurgent Violence: Case Studies On Nepal, Srilanka, And Peru, Abigail Mcnamee

Honors Theses

Directly contrasting interstate warfare, intrastate violence comprises of violence in an individual state, typically between an opposition of anti-state actors versus the state and its coercive forces. This project particularly examines recent insurgent groups in opposition to the state. These conflicts, rooted in deep embitterment, are often regarded as enduring, lasting several years before cessation. This thesis considers both the legitimate grievances the anti-state insurgency experienced prior to the conflict, as well as the legitimate counterinsurgency initiative the state used to protect its monopoly of violence. These internal conflicts result in countless non-combatant casualties and human rights violations, creating “wounds” …

Russian Military Intervention In The Caucasus, Chelsea Mickel

Honors Theses

My research focuses on Russia's foreign policy interests and actions in the context of the post-soviet space and its relations with western nations and organizations. I used three case studies: the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, the Russo- Georgian War, and the Crimean Crisis. The Russian government has pursued intervention in these areas for various reasons. The most prominent of these reasons are ethnicity, religion, irredentism, great power politics, and economics. The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict centers on the Eastern Orthodox Armenian enclave in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, a nation otherwise consisting of a majority of Turkic Sunni Muslims. The Russo-Georgian War was fought …

Principles And Policies: Comparing The Counterterrorist Strategies Of United States Think Tanks In The Wake Of September 11th, Malcolm Kelly

Honors Theses

United States think tanks work in a “marketplace of ideas” where they compete to spread their views and influence policy-makers. Although think tanks often claim to be independent organizations free of politicization, they are political bodies. Analysts in think tanks share common assumptions about international relations and think tanks have clear political orientations, which guide their members while researching and promoting policies to decision makers. To what extent can global events alter or transform these underlying assumptions? Are global events interpreted anew or are they absorbed into the particular core values and basic principles mirrored in think tank mission statements? …

The Future Of Retirement: How Has The Change In The Full Retirement Age Affected The Social Security Claiming Decisions Of Us Citizens?, Kyle Kalanta

Honors Theses

Social Security benefits serve as a chief form of income for many retirees. However, the value of these benefits varies based on the age at which a person claims in relation to their Full-Retirement Age (FRA). This paper analyzes the effects of the FRA on the claiming decision of Americans using panel data from the Health and Retirement Study. Current policy has resulted in increases to the FRA of eligible claimants based on their birth year. This has been done in an effort to increase the age at which people claim in response to concerns with the long‐term solvency of …