Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Rhetorical Framing On Determining Climate Refugee Responsibility In International Policy, Clare Steiner

Senior Theses

In 2021, the World Bank predicted that six regions, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, North Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, would produce as many as 216 million climate migrants by 2050.[1] Both slow-processes, like rising sea level and land degradation, and sudden onset events, like cyclones and floods, will worsen existing vulnerabilities and create higher rates of forced displacement around the world. Since those escaping the consequences of global warming are not escaping direct ‘persecution,’ they fall through the cracks of current legal protections. These barriers to refugee status raise questions …

Investing In Quiet: A Self-Funding Approach To Mitigating Noise Emissions From Train Horn Use At Grade Crossings, Rand Hough

Senior Theses

This paper argues that there is an economic case for implementing “Quiet Zones”—public, at-grade, road-rail crossings where the usual federal requirement that locomotives sound their horns is suspended—in Richland County, South Carolina in particular, and in the Midlands region of that state in general. Quiet Zones cost money: in some instances, a few thousand dollars; in cases where federal rules require substantial upgrades to infrastructure, many millions. It may nonetheless cost more to not implement them: existing research has found that properties exposed to chronic noise pollution are worth less. While higher property values are not the only benefit of …

Facial Affect As A Component Of Emotion Regulation During Inhibitory Control In Fxs, Abigail Digby, Erin Hunt

Senior Theses

The present study investigated emotion regulation through facial affect during inhibitory control in FXS. Male participants (N=32) were asked to complete a task that induced frustration. An M&M was placed in front of the subject, and they were instructed not to eat the M&M until the trial has ended, marked by the ringing of a bell. The subject’s facial affect was observed and recorded throughout the 6 trials to investigate the differences between the emotion regulation of TD and FXS children. It was hypothesized that the TD group would be less expressive, and more negative than the TD children. It …

The Road Home Program: An Efficient Model Of Ptsd Treatment In Veterans, Alexandra J. Fischer, Brian J. Klassen, Rhea A. Merck

Senior Theses

This thesis details my experiences at Rush University’s Road Home Program during the summer of 2021. The Road Home Program is an intensive treatment program for veterans suffering from PTSD. It is unique from conventional PTSD treatments in that it provides the equivalent of six months of treatment in just two weeks. The Road Home Program approaches PTSD in a comprehensive way by implementing a variety of therapies and supplemental treatments to veterans. These therapies include Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Mindfulness Based Resiliency Training (MBRT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Art Therapy. The supplemental treatments include cognitive seminars, acupuncture, and …

Public Discourse On Migration In Germany And The United States Before And After 2015: Racist Media Narratives In The Global Right, Amy Chang

Senior Theses

Within the past decade, migration has become an increasingly controversial subject in Western countries, producing a right-wing and nationalist backlash. In Europe, Germany became the core of the Syrian refugee crisis in 2015 and gained global attention for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy towards refugees. This substantial influx of refugees into the country caused a sharp discursive shift regarding migrants and refugees in the German media during and after 2015. At the same time, Donald Trump announced his eventually successful presidential campaign by cultivating a starkly anti-immigrant platform, which generated disproportionate media attention for his campaign and intensified anti-immigrant rhetoric …

Fighting For Education In A Globalized World: The Intersection Between Education Policy And Student Activism In Colombia And France, Caroline Magdalene Albacete

Senior Theses

Access to quality education—the fourth UN Sustainable Development Goal—is one of the challenges that many countries around the globe have confronted. The types of policies governments choose to implement to address the issue, however, have begun to shift as globalization has intensified. Students, in turn, have responded to various changes in policy by creating movements that push for or against these policies. This thesis thus aims to describe the causal relationship between those policy shifts and student reactions by comparing educational policies in France and Colombia and student protest movements in both countries. The main factors analyzed include: 1.) accessibility …

The Great Yemeni Chess Game, John Frederick Mueller

Senior Theses

Since the establishment of a unified and internationally recognized country in 1990, Yemen and its people have struggled to reconcile their differences, leading to numerous civil wars. The most recent civil war, which officially started in 2014, has decimated the nation and its people as it continues unabated. Yemen’s geo-strategic location as well as the political and religious nature of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran’s rivalry has led them to back opposing sides in Yemen’s civil war. Both parties' involvement in the conflict has intensified and prolonged the fighting. As a result, Yemen’s key infrastructures, such as their …

Vox And The Legacy Of Franco: A Study Of The Rise Of The Populist Radical Right In Spain, Daniel Robert Berenston

Senior Theses

Populist radical right parties succeeded electorally across Europe since the start of the 1980s. However, until 2018, the populist radical right was electorally irrelevant in Spain even as the populist radical right gained traction in the rest of Western Europe. There is very little literature explaining how Vox overcame obstacles in Spain to be the first party of its kind to have success in Spain. In this thesis, I examine how Vox fits into previous academic literature that explains the populist radical right and whether that literature applies to the case of Vox. I argue that the previous literature cannot …

Authoritarianism And The Rentier State - Venezuela And Nigeria, Victoria Zobeida Castillo

Senior Theses

The oil states scattered throughout the developing world are no more democratic or peaceful than they were at the beginning of the twentieth century's natural resource era. In fact, some countries are worse, tainted by civil unrest, plummeting per capita income, and rising inflation. These socioeconomic ailments are often referred to as the Resource Curse or Dutch Disease. Mineral wealth, however, should not be confused with the dangers of sole oil wealth. The oil states are significantly more likely to be governed by authoritarian leaders. The irony of oil's unusual properties of fluctuating prices and secretive contracts do not solely …

The Need For Economic Diversification In The Oil-Dependent Nations Of Saudi Arabia, Uae, And Nigeria: Possible Pathways And Outcomes, Alia Alzubair

Senior Theses

Economic diversification is seen as a key to the political and economic survival of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Nigeria. Each nation is currently considered an oil-dependent country, meaning that the bulk of its income comes from oil. Since oil will soon be depleted and other countries are moving toward green technology, the demand for oil is expected to continue to drop. Hence, the need for diversification. This paper conducts a comparison of the key policies each country is attempting to implement to produce a diversified economy. The paper concludes that various factors will prevent each country from successfully diversifying …

Becoming Diaspora: A Comparative Analysis Of Palestinian Diaspora Groups In New Jersey And Lebanon, Reem Zidan Farhat

Senior Theses

This study analyses the relationship of members of the Palestinian diaspora with their host countries and how these conditions affect their relationship to their Palestinian identity. The two case studies chosen are Palestinian communities in New Jersey suburbs and the Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon. In the case of Palestinians in Lebanon, their longing for return is shaped by the fact that they are essentially foreigners in Lebanon. Despite being the third or fourth generation of Palestinians born in Lebanon, these refugees are excluded socially, economically, and politically. Thus, their connection to Palestine is tied directly to their status as …

Exploring White Extremism As A Function Of Historical Legacy, Globalization, And Populism In The United Kingdom, United States, And Australia, Catherine Gassiot

Senior Theses

In this thesis, I will examine the contemporary issue of white extremism in the context of increasing globalization and populism. The Western world has witnessed an increase in terrorism by white extremists in the last decade. The object of this thesis is to identify the factors which prompted the present increase and different character of white extremist groups in comparison to prior white extremist movements like the racist skinheads in the 1980s and 1990s. To answer this question, I evaluate historical racism, impacts of globalization, the rise of right-leaning populism, racist skinhead subcultures of the 1980s and 1990s, and contemporary …

How Secularism Engenders Citizenship: A Comparison Of Secularism In France And Turkey, Naomi Janet Izett

Senior Theses

This paper explores the nature of secularism and how it is used and understood in France and Turkey. I argue that governments can reassert their authority over their citizens by controlling national identity and citizenship through the vessel of secularism. I assert that this process creates tensions between citizenship and identity that are sharply revealed when analyzing the discourse surrounding veiled women. This paper presents an overview of the relevant literature written about this topic, then moves on to compare France and Turkey by examining the history of secularism in both countries and how this term has changed over time. …

Bridging The Realms Between Cyber And Physical: Approaching Cyberspace With An Interdisciplinary Lens, Lena Andrea Rose

Senior Theses

This project investigates the use of cyber technology as a political tool through the investigation of the following case studies: (1) The Sony Pictures Hack in the United States in 2014, (2) The Qatari News Hack in 2017, and (3) China’s enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020. These three case studies depict that rapid technological advancement has led to greater cyber warfare between state powers. The Sony Hack examines political coercion, the Qatari Hack examines disinformation, and the Hong Kong National Security Law examines surveillance and suppression of opposition. As a result of an increasingly complicated …

Breaking Point: How Migrant Crises Have Influenced The Rise Of Far-Right Parties In Italy, Germany, And The Uk, Theadora Serena Petropoulos

Senior Theses

Far-right politics in Europe did not die with Adolf Hitler in 1945. In the early 21st century, populist parties had a somewhat quiet existence beneath Europe’s political surface and did not find much success in elections. However, as refugees and asylum seekers fled the Syrian Civil War and North Africa beginning in 2015, and as Eastern and Central Europeans flocked to the UK, European far-right parties found themselves with a new opportunity to mobilize support. Now in 2020, far-right parties have become legitimate contenders in both national parliaments and the European Parliament. The migrant crisis is perhaps one of the …

The Eviction Landscape In South Carolina, Ethan Magnuson

Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze the South Carolinian eviction crisis from the perspective of radical geography. South Carolina was chosen for the severity of its crisis and the lack of research at a sub-state level. Court records of eviction filings from 2019 were geocoded and tested for spatial clustering, which was clearly visible. Plaintiff names were used to identify the most frequent filers and distinguish landlords by type. At the census tract level, eviction filing counts were compared with neighborhood characteristics using negative binomial regression, and most were found to be significant in South Carolina. …

Space Exploration: Nasa Investment Into The Private Space Sector And Public Opinion, Brooke Ziegenhagen

Senior Theses

The space exploration industry has entered a new era with companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin leading the way to the privatization of space. This paper examines public opinion regarding the source of space exploration funding and proposes possible motivations for these sentiments. This is followed by an assessment on NASA’s investment trends into the commercial space industry. Both probes review the past decade, to reveal the public-private relationship in this new era and finally, conclude whether or not public opinion plays a role in the degree of NASA investment and what that role may be.

Eye Gaze And Heart Rate Deceleration As Indices Of Attention In Autism: Relations To Anxiety And Asd Symptomology, Matthew Caputo

Senior Theses

There is strong evidence that atypical attention patterns are robust indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in young children. Additionally, anxiety disorders are very prevalent in ASD populations, though the role of anxiety in modulating social attention and threat bias is unclear in children with ASD. While eye gaze methods are typically utilized to measure attention, physiological methods have been deemed a reliable and complementary way to characterize attentional states. As patterns of autonomic dysregulation have been identified in studies of ASD, the use of physiological measures (i.e., heart rate defined sustained attention) is intriguing. The primary goal of the …

Are Adverse Childhood Experiences Associated With Health Behaviors Among College Students: Emotion Regulation As A Potential Moderator, Margaret Winters

Senior Theses

In this study, we sought to examine the relations among adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), physical activity (PA), sleep quality, and emotion regulation in college students. ACEs have been proven to have a dose-response relation with adverse health outcomes in adulthood, including heart disease, cancer, lung disease, liver disease, poor mental health, and risky health behaviors (Felitti et al., 1998; Merrick et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2020). ACEs have also been previously associated with poor sleep quality and emotion dysregulation (Kajeepeta, Gelaye, Jackson, & Williams, 2015[WL1] ; Kim & Cicchetti, 2010). Given these findings, we sought to examine how …

Failure To Launch: Evaluating The Costs And Benefits Of America’S Strategy For Building Afghanistan’S Air Force, Alexander Smith

Senior Theses

The United States has been at war in Afghanistan for twenty years. For eighteen of these years, it has spent precious time, money, and resources to modernize the Afghan Air Force (AAF). In my thesis, I conduct a cost-benefit analysis of this strategy to determine whether the net benefits and the overall outcome of the program justify the level of U.S. investment. I compare U.S. efforts with the AAF to those with the Iraqi Air Force while exploring the idea of path dependency. My analysis reveals that U.S. efforts to modernize the AAF have been a failure. The United States …

An Analysis Of Ceramic Vessel Form And Function At The Pockoy Island Shell Rings, Catherine Garcia

Senior Theses

Four thousand years ago, Late Archaic peoples along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia accumulated mollusk shells into enormous, circular structures known as shell rings. The purpose of these rings has been a subject of archaeological debate for decades, with no clear consensus as to whether they are accidental accumulations of domestic refuse, or intentionally constructed landscape markers with ceremonial or symbolic meaning. This paper presents the results of a morphological and functional analysis of ceramic vessels excavated from the Pockoy Island Shell Rings, a double shell ring site located on the shore of Edisto Island, South Carolina, in …

The Role Of Interior Design In The Psychotherapist's Office, Vincent Ylagan

Senior Theses

A growing body of research in environmental and design psychology indicates that our surroundings can have subtle but significant effects on how we feel and think. One setting where thoughts and feelings are at the forefront of the work done is the psychotherapist’s office, where clients go to process stressors and learn strategies to overcome emotional difficulties. The current study aimed to investigate how therapists and clients view the therapist office and identify the features associated with the “ideal” therapist office. Therapists, current or past therapy clients, and individuals who have not been to therapy completed short surveys. Surveys asked …

Makeshift Memory: Nostalgia As Collective Solidarity In The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood And Post-Imperial England, Catherine White

Senior Theses

It is a deeply human experience to long for times, people, and places of the past, even pasts we ourselves did not experience. This feeling, which we most often call nostalgia (but has earned many names throughout history) has profound influence especially in how we perceive our collective histories and use these histories to guide us forward. This experience of nostalgia is the underpinning for many of our sources of solidarity (or who we feel loyal or obligated to). However, when we feel these profound connections to the distant past, we often lose the reality of that past in the …

Us Vs. Wales: Comparing And Improving Refugee Health Policy, Payton Ramsey

Senior Theses

Inadequate strides have been made to bolster the short and long-term health of growing numbers of refugees awaiting resettlement. The United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), as well as many countries of resettlement, guarantee the right to health as signatories of the UN 1951 Refugee Convention, but in many situations refugee accessibility to healthcare and health resources is limited by time restrictions on benefits, immigration status, and/or financial circumstances.

This thesis provides a synopsis of the historical roots of current policies and legislative frameworks relating to refugee health for Wales and the US. Through the analysis of governmental policy …

Limitations And Consequences Of Migrant And Refugee Healthcare- An Analysis Of The Current State Of Migrant Health, Meghan Herilla

Senior Theses

Migrants and refugees are an often-neglected specialized population in the field of healthcare, although making up over 14% of the world’s population.

The following paper examines the current state of migrant healthcare, including but not limited to ease of access, quality of care, and the accompanying stigmatization of immigrants in general. It then analyzes current policies, both national and global, influencing the healthcare of immigrants in both the United States and abroad. Finally, a comparison of migrant healthcare in the United States versus Thailand shows how the current U.S. healthcare system can be improved to better accommodate migrants and refugees. …

The Psychology Of Dance Medicine: Self-Perception Of Dancers, Karina Desai

Senior Theses

Derived from sports medicine, dance medicine is a subcategory that focuses on the health and well-being of dancers on a scientific and medical level. Dancers are considered “elite” athletes and artists, which requires this specific niche of medicine to study the injuries and other health-related issues that develop as a result of dancers’ unique movement. Studies show that in addition to physical injuries, dancers are also susceptible to mental health issues. There are many factors of the dance environment, such as the instructor, peers, and mirrors, that alter the self-perception of dancers. Due to dancers being required to train in …

The Lintheads' Demise: A Study In Economic Dependency For The Piedmont Region Of South Carolina, Jeremy Lewis Ward

Senior Theses

The decline of the Southern textile and apparel industries represent a unique and rich case study in rapid economic change. It is unique because of the speed and uniformity of collapse; rich, because of the geographic differences that exist even within the concentrated Piedmont textile cluster. Truly, globalization has hit this economic cluster with a brutal punch. And yet, not all cities and counties within the region have been equally harmed by the change.

This report concentrates on examining the socioeconomic variations that have taken place in the thirteen foremost textile-producing counties in South Carolina since the collapse, as well …

Emergent Trends In The Chinese Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Supply Chain And Opportunities For Public-Private Reform, Mary Monk

Senior Theses

This research seeks to identify and analyze emerging trends in the Chinese counterfeit pharmaceutical trade, extending from the supply chain’s point of origin to domestic and overseas retail dispensary. To aid readability, Chapter 1 of this thesis opens with key conclusions and policy recommendations for various Chinese and U.S. stakeholders based on the shortcomings identified in Chapter 5. Chapter 2 begins with a review of international roadblocks to diagnosing the issue, such as lack of consensus on working definitions and cross-border discrepancies in pharmaceutical oversight regulation. This section also provides a general overview of existing factors driving demand for counterfeit …

The Effect Of Covid-19 On The Mental Health Of College Athletes, Molly Mcardle

Senior Theses

This research aimed to explore how the mental status of student athletes at the University of South Carolina has been affected by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 61 student athletes between the ages of 17 and 24 participated in the study and completed a series of questions including the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) and the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ). Independent samples t-tests and descriptive analyses were used for comparisons between gender and age. The results showed that female athletes reported statistically significantly higher levels of anxiety and stress than male athletes (p = 0.049 and p = …

The Dominance Of Masculinity: How The Expectation Of Stereotypical Gender Role Performance Undermines The Productivity Of Gay Men Working In Public Accounting Firms, Joshua Leinheiser

Senior Theses

Discrimination against LGBTQ employees in business settings has been shown to be a problem and negatively affects these employees’ productivity and well-being. In particular, discrimination against gay and other queer men often stems from the view that homosexuality is emasculating and conflicts with traditional expectations of male gender performance. This is seen as undesirable in business since traditional masculinity is seen as useful due to its association with competitiveness and control.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether this paradigm extends to the workplaces of public accounting firms. A survey containing questions about gender, sexuality, gender expression, experiences …