Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Une Politique Laïque: L’Utilisation De La Laïcité Dans Les Discours Politiques Français, Zachary Holmes

Honors Theses

La politique française est fortement liée avec la laïcité, comme on peut voir avec son utilisation dans les discours des politiciens. Elle a la capacité d’unifier les gens sous un idéal commun, mais elle peut aussi faire des divisions dans la société. Donc, il faut considérer comment on veut traiter l’idée en France. Il est impossible de dire comment elle va faire partie du futur, mais il est clair que, pour le moment, elle est un outil important pour les politiciens qui veulent avancer leurs programmes différents. Il est probable qu’elle continuerait à être une idée puissante dans les prochaines …

Nous Sommes Tous Des « Djadjas » : La Question De L’Identité Dans La Musique Française Et Francophone Au 21^E Siècle, Molly Earle

Honors Theses

Le titre de mon travail fait référence à une chanson qui représente les thèmes de la race,1 du genre, de la transculturalité et de la collaboration musicale : « Djadja », une chanson écrite par la chanteuse franco-malienne Aya Nakamura qui a eu beaucoup de succès en 2018 et puis en 2020 avec le remix en duo avec Maluma, un chanteur colombien. Comme d’autres chansons de Nakamura, « Djadja » utilise des sons africains et urbains, mais l’ajout d’influences latino-américaines a aidé la chanson à toucher une plus grande partie du monde (Nakamura et Maluma). Par exemple, cette chanson est …

Noble Pagans And Satanic Saracens: Literary Portrayals Of Islam In Medieval Italy And Iberia., John Spencer Jones

Honors Theses

The medieval Christian world is generally associated with a kind of religious zealotry that would seem to preclude the development of nuanced understandings of the religious Other. The heightened interreligious contact in regions such as Iberia and the Italian Peninsula, however, made room for relationships with members of other faiths that resulted in more developed ideas about these other creeds. This honors thesis examines the portrayal of Islam in the Christian literature of medieval Italy and Iberia, dating from the late 11th century to the middle of the 14th century. It categorizes a few types of the literary “use” of …

Equity In Program Evaluation: Equity As A Measure In Program Evaluation, Marco S. Thomas

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Nonprofit Studies Capstone Projects

Changes to equity and inclusion mean, not only including, but also valuing, and sharing power with, community members and stakeholders of various backgrounds. In addition to race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender identity, physical and mental abilities, as well as where they intersect, should be represented throughout the entire evaluation process. Countless surveys make assumptions about communities without knowing the culture of the community. This study explores where equity does and does not exist, in the process of creating and conducting the evaluations that are used to measure the successful execution of nonprofit programs. The inclusion of program participants and …

“Smile For Me, Sweetie!”: An Analysis Of Contemporary Gender Based Violence And Discrimination In The Bahamas, Jennifer Munnings

Honors Theses

Women in the Bahamas face various forms of pervasive sexist discrimination and high rates of gender-based violence. However, recent governmental initiatives aimed at addressing gender inequality have not proven effective. The narrow focus on individual reforms like anti-crime measures to curb structural violence highlights a lack of understanding of gender inequality as embedded within social institutions. To interrogate the institutionalized nature of gender inequality in the Bahamas, the present study draws on in-depth interviews with seven Bahamian women’s rights activists to explore the social, cultural, and political explanations for the persistence of gender-based violence and discrimination. Three major themes emerged …

Learning To Check Yourself: Improving Civic Engagement Through Duties, Better Voting Practices, And Combatting Group Loyalty, Katherine Brumund

Honors Theses

This project examines civic engagement. It is divided into three chapters: apathy, voting, and group loyalties. I derive two duties, a duty to care and a duty to reason well, that serve as a framework for community engagement aimed at facilitating moral progress. In the second section the main topic is voting. I argue for strategies to vote well. The third section of this project then focuses on group loyalties. This project uses two duties to frame how to engage with others, proposes a better way to participate civically, and ways to avoid pitfalls associated with group membership.

As Good As Niu: Food Sovereignty In Samoa, Emily Gove

Honors Theses

Samoa’s history as an island nation, with its cultural heritage of migratory peoples, followed by settler colonialism and missionaries, has resulted in its uniquely amalgamated food system. Cuisine varies from traditional crops and recipes to imported canned goods, although dependence on the latter has led to wide-ranging health problems. A way to confront these problems is through reclaiming local cuisine, renewing its popularity and promoting the concept of food sovereignty. Through fieldwork based on surveys, interviews, and participant observation in Apia, complemented with a study of activist Robert Oliver’s new cookbooks on Pacific cuisine, this project examines current themes …

The Ethics Of Environmentalism For The Individual Consumer, Molly Collins

Honors Theses

Climate change harms the well-being of humans. It is the poor choices of individual consumers that contribute to climate change. I argue that it is immoral to cause harm to others, thus climate change is an ethical dilemma for individual consumers. I begin with a pluralistic discussion of harm, before discussing the duties of individuals to make choices that will mitigate the current harms of climate change and the wrong moral assumptions that individuals make regarding their contribution to climate change. I discuss the principles of ethical consumerism, specifically in housing, food, and transportation. Lastly, I argue that climate change …

Depression And Social Functioning : Examining Two Interpersonal Theories, Caroline B. Smith

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to test the specific predictions of two theories of depression and social functioning. One, the Social Navigation Hypothesis, is an adaptationist approach that predicts that depression functions to increase an individual’s ability to analyze and solve problems in their social system. The individual engages in behaviors such as feedback seeking in order to identify potential problems and develop solutions. In contrast, Interpersonal Theory predicts that depression is related to aversive social behaviors that can lead to rejection. Adult American participants (n=155) were recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. They completed an online survey …

Freedom's Disciple : The Life, Music, And Impact Of Hazel Dickens, Kelly Landers

Honors Theses

The work of Appalachian musician Hazel Dickens sheds light on many of the musical and cultural changes in our country. Dickens used her music as a voice for the disadvantaged, advocating for improvements in the lives of miners, working-class people, and women, and pushing for all to be treated equally. A wonderful songwriter, performer, and overall musician, Dickens saw her career, music, and beliefs as inextricably linked, and so this thesis will explore her leadership by analyzing her songs and her history.

Communicative Violence In Romantic Relationships, Christina L. Moore

Honors Theses

Verbal abuse occurs in college relationships, but this form of abuse lacks a clear definition and definitive characteristics. I studied the dialogue that surrounds verbal abuse. I was interested in how verbal abuse was discussed instead of the specific details of the experiences. Verbal abuse was purposely studied separately from physical abuse. Prior research and legal statutes were reviewed before conducting this study. Through the use of focus groups, one-on-one interviews and key informant interviews a broader perspective of verbal abuse was gained. The six salient themes to emerge were (1) how to protect one’s identity, (2) characteristics of the …

Lines Of Nation, Lines Of Flight : Retroping Immigration Policy, Jessica Thaller

Honors Theses

This thesis studies the rhetoric of U.S. immigration policy, specifically as related to Mexican immigration to the United States. Using Kent Ono and John Sloop’s theory of discourse, it examines the rhetoric employed in the Secure Fence Act (SFA) of 2006 and its turns towards wartime rhetoric, immigrant dehumanization, and immigrant deviance. It then contradicts these turns to those seen in the rhetoric of Hometown Associations (HTAs), “outlaw” discourses that operate by systems of logic different from the dominant logic of the SFA. HTAs emphasize family/cultural connections, unique financial considerations, and the liminal existence of the immigrant. More importantly, they …

Incarceration : A Rising Population Dilemma, Lessie Smith Jr.

Master's Theses

The nation's incarceration growth continues to soar, having negative economic and societal effects. This research explores continued growth causes and possible answers to prevent, intervene, and slow down incarceration. Hampton Roads institutions' offenders and professional staff were surveyed. The survey focuses on preventive and intervention programs and their effectiveness, sociological and economical factors leading to imprisonment, and statistics supporting incarceration growth. The research goal is to validate program contents and components factoring into imprisonment. The study of others and information generated through this study are used to determine program needs and current effectiveness. This study explores reasons offenders frequent the …

The War On Inequality : Subtleties In The Perceptions Of Women Leaders, Adrienne Supino

Honors Theses

We studied whether the incongruity between the female gender role and stereotypically masculine leadership roles can lead people, particularly men and sex-typed individuals, to negatively perceive women in this type of leadership role. A study was designed to investigate whether the gender of a potential appointee to the historically masculine leadership role of Secretary of Defense, in either a time of peace or terror, affected people's perceptions of this person. Fifty-three participants read one of four articles containing biographical information about either a male or female candidate for the post, in either a peace context or a terror context. We …

The Effects Of Stereotype Activation On Women's Reactions To Leadership Situations, Or, How Reading Cosmo Might Prevent You From Becoming Ceo, Stefanie L. Simon

Honors Theses

The present experimental study investigated the effect of stereotype activation on women's responses to a leadership situation. Participants were exposed to either gender-stereotypic or gender-counterstereotypic magazine advertisements picturing women and then performed a leadership task involving two confederate s. Results supported the prediction that participants exposed to stereotypic advertisements would exhibit more negative reactions to the leadership situation than those exposed to counterstereotypic advertisements such that they reported lower perceived performance, self-esteem, and well-being. Sex-role orientation moderated this effect such that' advertisements had a stronger effect on feminine-oriented participants' domain identification, intent to lead in the future, and experienced cognitive …

The Rise And Fall Of America's Education President : George W. Bush's Political Leadership And The Passage Of The No Child Left Behind Act, Ethan L. Mcwilliams

Honors Theses

On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush proudly signed the "No Child Left Behind Act," thus ensuring that H.R. 1 became Public Law 107-110. During the signing ceremony, the President triumphantly proclaimed that, "as of this hour, America's schools will be on a new path of reform, and a new path of results."1 The legislation, which totaled more than six hundred pages, was intended to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and expand its aim according to four central principles: accountability for results; state and local flexibility; focusing resources on successful methods; and expanding choice? Although substantively notable …

Deficit Reduction In The U.S. Senate : The Search For Moral Leadership In The Budget Process, David Kendall Roberts

Honors Theses

Contemporary deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility are central to the economic wellbeing of future generations as well as their ability to freely decide their own policy priorities. Many scholarly publications and popular commentary on budget policy describe the obstacles to deficit reduction and political leaders' unwillingness to address the nation's long-term fiscal problems. However, current discussions of budget deficits and the national debt have not been informed by a comprehensive empirical analysis of attempts to reduce the deficit. This thesis examines all deficit-affecting floor amendments to budget legislation from 1975 to 2005 in order to assess whether the bleak account …

The Impact Of Gender-Linked Tasks On Female And Male Leaders, Ashley Pyle

Honors Theses

Because gender inequalities still exist, research is needed to better understand the differences in leadership perceptions and preference between genders. This research examines the role of gender, sex role orientation, and gender-linked tasks in shaping leadership efficacy, perceived preference, and leadership persistence. It was predicted that men and women will have higher levels of leadership efficacy, perceive themselves as better leaders, have a stronger desire to attain leadership roles in the future and be more likely to persist in the leadership role for the gender congruent task than the gender incongruent task. I also predicted that sex role orientation will …

How Should Physicians Be Motivated To Fulfill Social Obligations?, Jackie Knupp

Honors Theses

Health is instrumental to the ability of individuals to fulfill their potential. The societal systems designed to nurture health are thereby particularly important both for the flourishing of the individual and that of society, for a society flourishes to the extent that each of its individual members flourishes. The medical professionals who strive to preserve good health in their communities through these systems are integral to the maintenance of a thriving society. They are the individuals most directly responsible for the quality of health care available to community members. It is their medical prowess and critical thinking skills that determine …

Valuing Servants Ends : A New Theory Of Ethical Service, Patricia Grace Devlin

Honors Theses

Many of today's universities encourage students to develop an ethic of service. Administrators, faculty, and staff members accompany students in campus-wide service activities; a number of collegiate honor societies reward students who engage in community service; and some academic programs require students to volunteer with local non-profit organizations. At its best, service learning inspires students to make a general commitment to service. The current emphasis placed on service learning in today's educational system reveals an emerging academic perspective not only on the value service has as an educational device but also on the significant role service plays in society. For …

Leadership In The Field Of Drumming, John O'Donnell Jr.

Honors Theses

Music has been an important part of my life for a long time. I have played the drums for seven years and have been interested in the drumming industry for just as long. As a student of leadership I have often pondered how I would combine my studies with my music to find a successful and enjoyable career. If there is one thing I have learned as a student of leadership it is that leadership is everywhere. The subject is so vast and so young that, given the innumerable possibilities, the body of research is quite small. Leadership is most …

Leadership And The War Between The States, Matt Cobb

Honors Theses

The concept of a Servant Leader is fascinating because it seems to be an oxymoron. How can one be a servant if they are to lead? This seems even stranger when placed in the context of military leaders. Robert Greenleaf argued that "The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead."' Individuals such as Jesus Christ, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. immediately seem to fit the definition for servant leaders. Each individual involved with the military serve their respective …

Leadership Redefined : With A Handbook For Developing A Leadership Repertoire, Wayland T. Pond Iv

Honors Theses

The impetus for this project evolved from my desire to redefine leadership and assess my education in the Jepson School. I feel strongly that his project will provide closure to my leadership education.

In addition, the project will provide a useful resource for current and future Jepson majors, who will have the opportunity to examine my views and feelings on the leadership era that I studied. I hope that a Jepson major in the year 2005 will be able to pick up my project and read about the state of leadership studies from 1995 to 1997. Then that student will …

Why Teams? : Assessing The Incorporation And Development Of Teams At J.P. Morgan's Delaware Private Client Group-Operations, Christine M. Wang

Honors Theses

J.P. Morgan Services, Inc. implemented teams into its Private Client Group-Operations (PCG-Ops) located in Wilmington, Delaware during the summer of 1996, in an initiative the company called Realignment. The goal of my senior project is to explore the use of teams in corporate settings. By assessing how consistent the Private Client Group's Realignment initiative is with the current team development, organizational change, and organizational development literature. In this project four main concepts will be examined:

l . The reasons why JP Morgan changed from a traditional hierarchical structure to one that is team based.

2. The results of the six …

The Integration Of Women's Studies Into Leadership Studies, Olivia J. Wilkinson

Honors Theses

The purpose of my project was to study the inclusion of gender in leadership and to offer the Jepson School a critical evaluation that could be used to initiate change. The agreement and support I previously received, has led me to realize that there was room for growth. Still such a large merger of disciplines needs research and assessment before action can be taken. I know my project will provide the building block for Jepson to address this problem.

Disaproving The Military As An Effective Paradigm Of Leadership: A Critical Analysis, Alison M. Sestina

Honors Theses

In the study of leadership, there are many existing paradigms which address the different contexts and abilities of leadership. The example of the military is often used as a leadership paradigm; however, while the organization and internal development included in the military can be respected as an effective machine, in reality, the military cannot be considered an effective leadership paradigm.

Philanthropic Leadership : Comparing Historical And Contemporary Methods Of Philanthropic Giving, Patrick Rucker

Honors Theses

America has a unique tradition of philanthropy. Wealthy benefactors have created some of our most notable institutions for health, education and the arts. The level of philanthropic giving has been consistently high yet the tradition of giving has taken many shapes and assumes several forms today. One of the most interesting and currently debated forms of charitable giving is money directed towards social change or the achievement of a certain social agenda. Money is given today to support or stall legal abortions, racial integration, and a host of other social issues. This paper will examine the tradition of giving in …

Greater Richmond Community Corps, Elizabeth Devoss

Honors Theses

The Richmond Community Corps was created by Mayor Leonidas B. Young in September 1994, in response to rising crime and violence in the Richmond community and in direct response to recommendations of the report of the Richmond Regional Crime Commission. Mayor Young, a second term council member, newly elected mayor and pastor in one of Richmond's most crime ridden areas, believes that crime and violence in our neighborhood's can be greatly affected if greater numbers of citizens get involved in making their communities safer places to live. As originally envisioned by Mayor Young, the Richmond Community Corps, would provide citizens …

Looking Past The Surface : A Look At The Office Of Senate And Its Environment And The Implications Of Public Versus Private Morality, Jennifer A. Chaippetta

Honors Theses

By interning at the State Headquarters of Senator Robb's office, I was able to learn the nature of the leader/ constituent relationship first hand. I witnessed first hand how the government can be responsive to its constituency. Daily, I witnessed the business of constituent services that Senator Robb's office offered, be it through special projects such as the Salem VA hospital investigation, the constant concentration on the constituent through casework, and the direct interaction with the constituent. Without this leadership experience I would never have realized the essentially service related aspect of the Senator's work, and the transactional relationship that …

Is A Graduate Program In Leadership Studies Feasible?, Bill Sakkab

Honors Theses

It is the philosophy of the Graduate program in Leadership Studies that effective leadership education is built on two pillars: an interdisciplinary education and experience in leadership positions. Through an interdisciplinary degree program, students will enhance their base of knowledge about leadership and another chosen discipline of the student's interest. The Leadership Studies program is intended to be integrated with a solid grounding in another discipline of study that will include the following choices: education, history, organizational behavior, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.