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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Divine Democracy: Examining The Intersection Of Religion And Politics In Civil Religion, José Andrés Serrano Jan 2023

Divine Democracy: Examining The Intersection Of Religion And Politics In Civil Religion, José Andrés Serrano

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This thesis seeks to build upon and provide a new interpretation of civil religion in the United States. In it, the history of civil religion from the 1960s, starting with Bellah, to the 2010s will be analyzed for any themes still used in the 2020s. Similarly, understanding what a religion is within this time frame will be broken apart and examined to see how it paralleled the evolution of political understanding. Building upon its history, the paper will break into four prominent chapters: Is American Democracy Like a Civil Religion?, Religious Characteristics in the American Government, American Democracy as a …


The Impact Of Development Aid On Human Development, Lauren Candia Shaffer Jan 2023

The Impact Of Development Aid On Human Development, Lauren Candia Shaffer

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between development aid and human development in recipient countries. The primary function of this research is to determine which types of aid are most effective in improving human development. To accomplish this goal, I use a fixed effects regression analysis to examine the following aid types in individual chapters of the dissertation: Total Aid, Donor-specific aid, Sectoral Aid, Conditional Aid, and aid flowing from Multilateral, Bilateral, and Private sources. This analysis produced mixed results, indicating that some types of aid have a positive and significant impact on human development, some have a negative and significant …


Forms Of Amusement: Rousseau’S Lettre À D’Alembert And Julie, Trevor Mark Shunk Jan 2023

Forms Of Amusement: Rousseau’S Lettre À D’Alembert And Julie, Trevor Mark Shunk

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a philosopher who cared about nonphilosophers. He intervened in circumstances where he saw nonphilosophers in danger, such as with the Lettre à d’Alembert , and he wrote enchanting stories for them, such as Julie . His overarching concern in these books was what he perceived as a loss of virtue or virtue undermined by contemporary trends in the theater and in the literary world. His writings were radical in their originality: the Lettre à d’Alembert condemned popular spectacles and Julie departed from the norm for novels. Rousseau denounced other philosophers for irresponsibility among nonphilosophers in relation to …


The Impact Of Education On Reducing Poverty In South Asia, Rooppreet Kaur Sohal-Bagri Jan 2023

The Impact Of Education On Reducing Poverty In South Asia, Rooppreet Kaur Sohal-Bagri

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the relationship between primary, secondary education attainment and poverty in South Asia. The countries of examination include India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and Maldives. The primary function of this research is to determine if primary and secondary education attainment of peoples has an impact on being associated with reducing poverty. To accomplish and to test this goal, I have used fixed effects regression analysis to examine the following research questions: Does education expansion (primary, secondary) reduce poverty in South Asia? Does education expansion (primary, secondary) reduce poverty for women in South Asia? This first …


Marginalization Of Fezzan Region In Libya, Amad Abukhzaam Jan 2023

Marginalization Of Fezzan Region In Libya, Amad Abukhzaam

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The Fezzan region of Libya experiences instability, conflict, and reduced quality of life. This qualitative case study aimed to understand and compare the positionality and marginalization of Fezzan relative to the other Libyan regions of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania and how this positionality had shaped Fezzan through the Constitutional Monarchy era (1952 to 1969), Gaddafi era (1969 to 2011), and February Revolution era (2011 to 2021). Data came from elite written interviews with former Libyan government members and secondary data from the academic and professional/international literature about Libya and archival information, such as demographics and budgetary data. The conceptual framework contained …


The Role Of Mediators In The Relationship Between Export Diversification And Economic Development, Hajer Abdulla Basodan Jan 2023

The Role Of Mediators In The Relationship Between Export Diversification And Economic Development, Hajer Abdulla Basodan

CGU Theses & Dissertations

As the global economy has become interconnected, international trade has become a common medium for developing and developed countries to interact. However, there is a gap in the scholarly literature when considering the effects of export diversification. The goal of this dissertation is to study and identify the relationship between export concentration and economic development in developing countries. Data were collected from the International Monetary Fund World Bank for quantitative analysis. Using mediator analysis and these mediators included export volatility (export instability), net barter (terms of trade), and current account balance (competitiveness). The findings from the quantitative analysis revealed that …


Natural Law Theory Under The Sun How Iranian Political Thought Viewed Tyranny As Opposed To The West, Shahram Arshadnejad Jan 2023

Natural Law Theory Under The Sun How Iranian Political Thought Viewed Tyranny As Opposed To The West, Shahram Arshadnejad

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative research aims to explore and unravel the theory of natural law within its Greek context and its influence on political thought, particularly addressing the need to counteract the damages of tyranny and the cyclical succession of regimes, as articulated by Plato. This study reveals that the concept of natural law predates Stoics and it is rooted within the pre-Socratic natural philosophy. The study exposes that Aristotelian ethics and politics are rooted in the concept of natural law, ultimately giving rise to the Aristotelian "mixed form of government" and laying the groundwork for republicanism.In extending this inquiry, I attempt …


Multidisciplinary Approach To Civil Conflict: Political, Economic, And Social Determinants Of Violence, Zhamilia Klycheva Jan 2023

Multidisciplinary Approach To Civil Conflict: Political, Economic, And Social Determinants Of Violence, Zhamilia Klycheva

CGU Theses & Dissertations

More abundant and less severe than interstate war, civil conflict has filled the news headlines worldwide, especially with nonviolent domestic instability. To this day, no single theoretical framework can fully explain this complex phenomenon. Scholars have often focused on one domain area as a precursor of violence. While such approaches are valuable, they need to grasp the whole picture, as addressing the problem from a single-domain perspective yields weak findings. This dissertation explores specific political, social, and economic factors that impact the onset, severity, and duration of civil conflict and the frequency of nonviolent conflict. It adopts a unified transdisciplinary …


Is Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance By State And Local Governments Constitutional?, Joseph Lake Jan 2023

Is Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance By State And Local Governments Constitutional?, Joseph Lake

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the following question: “Can wide-area persistent surveillance (WAPS) developed by the United States military and employed abroad as a tool in the Global War on Terror be employed domestically as a law enforcement tool without violating the US Constitution’s Fourth Amendment?” The most likely and controversial application of WAPS by state and local governments is for law enforcement. Aircraft will loiter over a city persistently taking high-definition photographs to capture locations of unidentified persons with the intent to identify persons and areas of interest for criminal investigations. Based on the Flyover Cases, aerial surveillance has few constitutional …


The Effect Of Bureaucracy On The Inflow Of Foreign Direct Investment: A Comparative Study Of Libya And The United Arab Emirates, Abdurraouf Abdussalam Elakder Jan 2023

The Effect Of Bureaucracy On The Inflow Of Foreign Direct Investment: A Comparative Study Of Libya And The United Arab Emirates, Abdurraouf Abdussalam Elakder

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) is a determinant factor for developing national economies, and Libya is no exception. However, the bureaucracy in Libya still needs to be improved to help attract foreign direct investment. Therefore, this comparative case study seeks to analyze the effects of bureaucracy on attracting FDI to Libya and the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the bureaucratic barriers embodied mainly in bureaucratic expansion, bureaucratic corruption, and the obstacles of the FDI laws. I argue in favor of eliminating those bureaucratic barriers and improving bureaucratic quality, enhancing the chances of attracting and keeping FDI. The study's standpoint is that …


Factors That Enable Or Hinder The Transition Of Some Gulf Cooperation Council (Gcc) Countries To Green Energy, Verkine Keukpanossian Jan 2023

Factors That Enable Or Hinder The Transition Of Some Gulf Cooperation Council (Gcc) Countries To Green Energy, Verkine Keukpanossian

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries continue to play a strategic role in the global energy system. They account for a fifth of the global oil production and enjoy relatively high GDP per Capita, and their economies heavily rely on oil-producing and exporting at a time when the West is pushing towards net-zero, low-carbon emissions by 2050. This study focuses on the energy sector and takes a transdisciplinary look at Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and tries to understand how these rentier monarchies that have built a solid global comparative advantage in producing and exporting oil and …


An Empirical Study: Evaluating The Impact Of Economic, Human Resource, And Governance Factors To Foreign Direct Investment, Yuan-Yuan Lee Jan 2023

An Empirical Study: Evaluating The Impact Of Economic, Human Resource, And Governance Factors To Foreign Direct Investment, Yuan-Yuan Lee

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The economic crisis in 2008 prompted the restructuring of the world economic and trade patterns. The global supply chain began to restructure, and international investment presented more diversified features. The COVID-19 Pandemic brings a new global economic crisis. which is likely to negatively impact many businesses that rely heavily on the Chinese market. Quarantine policies have forced people to stay at home, reducing public connectivity and leading to a slowdown in economic growth. The outbreak has also caused companies and factories to pause operations, affecting trade, travel, and consumption. International investors are increasingly concerned about economic uncertainties, which highlights the …


Grassroots Organizations Using Social Media As A Lobbying Technique, Samantha Vo Jan 2022

Grassroots Organizations Using Social Media As A Lobbying Technique, Samantha Vo

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Grassroots organizations provide a way for communities to interact and form around topics through grassroots lobbying and direct lobbying. As the 21st Century is referred to as the Digital Age, many grassroots organizations have found it necessary to expand on their lobbying techniques. Rather than utilizing methods like traditional media, email, phone calls, or text messages, methods involving social media are becoming more prominent as society continues to advance. Social media is a distinctive part of the Digital Age, and as the usage of social media increases in popularity, it can be used to reach a large population of people. …


The Future Of Plastics Trade: Identifying Determinants And Impacts Of The Shifting Global Plastic Scraps Network, Ana Ortiz Salazar Jan 2022

The Future Of Plastics Trade: Identifying Determinants And Impacts Of The Shifting Global Plastic Scraps Network, Ana Ortiz Salazar

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Plastic waste management is an area of increasing concern for environmental and public health. Existing research shows that as of 2019, 79% of total generated plastic waste has accumulated in landfills or leaked into the environment, 12% incinerated, and 9% recycled. China’s Operation National Sword, launched in 2017, banned the import of plastic waste and other materials, triggering ripple effects throughout the global plastic scraps trade network. The impacts are cross-sectoral and multi-scalar, cascading across markets, policy, the natural environment, public health, and have increased uncertainty about the future of the global trade of plastics. To understand shifts across the …


Learning From History: Real And Perceived Threats To National Security, David Dupont Jan 2022

Learning From History: Real And Perceived Threats To National Security, David Dupont

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Significant changes in American domestic security policies were generally associated with periods of military conflicts. Laws that would pave the way for legalizing the surveillance and internment of civilian populations have their origin in the Quasi-War. Likewise, the practice of state property seizure under the Office of Alien Property Custodian and limited internment programs were first established during WWI. Mass civilian internment came into existence leading up to WWII. This trajectory continued in modern times with the extensive system of domestic surveillance post-9/11. In this paper, I argue for gaining a historical comprehension of these issues by exploring their origins …


Conjecture And Evidence: Discovering The Costs Of Contemporary American Political Ideals, Joseph C. Immormino Jan 2022

Conjecture And Evidence: Discovering The Costs Of Contemporary American Political Ideals, Joseph C. Immormino

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation offers an adaptation of the relative political capacity (RPC) research framework to domestic American politics, enabling a quantitative examination of the relative performance of state governments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretically, I examine the notion that more politically capable states will be more effective in their efforts to mitigate mortality rates, and hypothesize that, in the United States, such a relationship is conditional upon the party identification of state leadership. The premise is tested by applying a series of multiplicative interaction models to a unique dataset spanning the first two years of the pandemic. Results confirm that measures …


Measuring Political Corruption From Population Outcomes: An Alternative To Perception Measures, Glenn-Iain Steinbeck Jan 2022

Measuring Political Corruption From Population Outcomes: An Alternative To Perception Measures, Glenn-Iain Steinbeck

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The impact of corruption is an increasingly important and visible topic for academics, policy makers, and the public. Yet corruption is exceptionally difficult to directly observe and empirical measurements of corruption remain highly contested. Despite the increasing availability of corruption measures and generally high correlations between them, scholars and practitioners disagree over their applicability, interpretation, and the validity of their methods. With the most frequent complaint being that existing corruption indices are largely based on expert opinion surveys, and therefore potentially open to bias and differences of interpretation. Yet, while corruption itself may be ephemeral its aggregate effects are more …


Cosponsorship Networks In The U.S. Congress: Measuring The Success Of Female Legislators, Brian Jewett Jan 2022

Cosponsorship Networks In The U.S. Congress: Measuring The Success Of Female Legislators, Brian Jewett

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Previous scholarship has demonstrated that minority group members in the United States Congress generally are more supportive and collaborative within and beyond their respective groups compared to their majority group counterparts (Craig et al., 2015; Rouse, Swers and Parrott, 2013). In some cases, increased levels of collaboration positively influence legislative success and in others they do not, the results often depending on the characteristic of the group itself and the institutional setting within which the group operates. Additionally, prior studies within the domains of social network analysis and legislative behavior have shown that certain social network measures within a legislative …


Evaluating Los Angeles Homelessness Policy Using System Dynamics Modeling, Dandan Kowarsch Jan 2022

Evaluating Los Angeles Homelessness Policy Using System Dynamics Modeling, Dandan Kowarsch

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this dissertation is to advocate policies that can effectively address the challenge of unsheltered homelessness. Using a case study of Los Angeles homelessness, I evaluated policies aimed at easing homelessness using scenario analysis, employing system dynamic (SD) modeling. This study primarily focuses on the evaluation of the Housing First approach and the identification of more effective responses to homelessness. I use a linear regression model to identify key prevention policy levers, including, but not limited to, limits on eviction moratorium, rent stabilization, and affordable housing. Drawing on the information gathered from the regression, the SD model is …


Political Cultures In Times Of Crisis: Measuring The Effects Of Liberal Values On Interstate Crisis Onset, Timothy Milosch Jan 2022

Political Cultures In Times Of Crisis: Measuring The Effects Of Liberal Values On Interstate Crisis Onset, Timothy Milosch

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The belief that democratic states are less likely to engage in war or initiate conflicts in the international system is deeply embedded in the international relations literature, but also hotly contested. Despite close to two centuries of theoretical presence and decades of empirical analysis, the democratic peace theory project still struggles to explain and measure the role democracy (understood as representative government, liberal culture, or both) plays in interstate relations generally, and the onset of conflict specifically. In the empirical international relations literature, in particular, problems persist surrounding measures for democracy and the modeling of interstate interactions (country level, dyad …


Green, Clean, And Mean? China’S Foreign Direct Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa Economy, Makuochukwu Okoma Jan 2022

Green, Clean, And Mean? China’S Foreign Direct Investment In Sub-Saharan Africa Economy, Makuochukwu Okoma

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is an investigative study that utilized the Panel Vector Autoregressive (PVAR) model that examines the impact of China’s Foreign Direct Investment on the environment and economy of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In evaluating this impact, 43 SSA countries were analyzed and subdivided into various income levels; three arguments were proposed and tested.First is China’s FDI in SSA, “green.” Does China’s FDI lead to sustainable growth and development for the environment in SSA.? Second, does China’s FDI clean up pollution through the reduction of Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions? Lastly, does it lead to economic growth and development in SSA? The …


Retaining Foster Parents In San Bernardino County: Identifying And Accessing Resources And Support Services Since California’S Continuum Of Care Reform, Charles A. Varadin Jan 2022

Retaining Foster Parents In San Bernardino County: Identifying And Accessing Resources And Support Services Since California’S Continuum Of Care Reform, Charles A. Varadin

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Foster care is a vast social justice issue that impacts nearly every local community. Yet, it receives relatively little attention due, in part, to the low social constructs of many of the most affected groups (Schneider and Ingram 1997). Thus, it should come as no surprise that foster care and the child welfare system in California, and the United States in general, is in a crisis as more children enter the system than there are foster parents to care for them. Retention of quality foster parents reduces the need for recruitment and increases the likelihood of more stable placements with …


Governance Practice Between Monarchies And Republics: A Case Study Of The Political Reform In The United Arab Emirates And The Republic Of Tunisia From 1990 To 2021, Zaid Alkdidi Jan 2022

Governance Practice Between Monarchies And Republics: A Case Study Of The Political Reform In The United Arab Emirates And The Republic Of Tunisia From 1990 To 2021, Zaid Alkdidi

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Political Reform is one of the indicators of the governance process, which can be correctly used to build the state and to support its role at all political, economic, and social levels to achieve good governance. From this, it can be said that political reform is positively linked to governance. Thanks to political reform, governance became an essential method that is applied in public policies within states that attempt to achieve by consolidating participation, democracy, and development.Practically, this study seeks to analyze and determine which of the two regimes, Monarchy or Republic is the most effective and successful to achieve …


The Unmotivated Voter: A Profile Of The Unregistered And Non-Participating In Oregon, Washington, And Colorado., Joseph John Dietrich Jan 2021

The Unmotivated Voter: A Profile Of The Unregistered And Non-Participating In Oregon, Washington, And Colorado., Joseph John Dietrich

CGU Theses & Dissertations

One of the central questions facing the political process is why some people regularly vote and others do not. There is abundant evidence to show two things about voting behavior. One is that amongst those who are registered to vote, whether measured by income or race, the less advantaged have not used their power by voting more often or even consistently. The other is that these same people are less likely to register in the first place. Both raise the question of why those with potentially the most to gain from voting choose not to use the tools of the …


Aristotle On Practical Reasoning: Perception, Reason And Action In Aristotle’S Thought, Kyu-Been Chun Jan 2020

Aristotle On Practical Reasoning: Perception, Reason And Action In Aristotle’S Thought, Kyu-Been Chun

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This study aims to clarify Aristotle’s practical reason and how his flexible but, nonetheless nonarbitrary ethical teaching works. By doing so, I hope to provide an alternative way of understanding practical reason in contradistinction to a modern view of practical reason and its assumptions about thinking through moral and political issues. In this dissertation, I argue that Aristotle’s discussion of practical reason shows that any attempts to formalize morality in the abstract are limited by the complexity of each particular situation, the variability in perception/cognition of the agent as well as a human longing that is inextricably linked to practical …


Latino Evangelicals: How Their Multiple Identity Influences Their Political Preferences, Noemi Hernandez Alexander Jan 2020

Latino Evangelicals: How Their Multiple Identity Influences Their Political Preferences, Noemi Hernandez Alexander

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The pews of the American Evangelical church are browning, and so is the Evangelical voting bloc. Latino immigrants are fueling the growth of the Evangelical church in America and Latinos have the potential to influence the Evangelical voting bloc writ large. However, we have a limited understanding of the political needs of the Latino Evangelical who identifies as an ethnic person and a religious person. As the discipline of political science attempts to predict, describe, or explain the political attitudes of Latinos, understanding the political preferences of the Latino Evangelical is essential. This study seeks to understand how race and …


A Legacy Cut Short The Impact Of Pepperdine University On African Americans And South Los Angeles From 1937 – 1981, Elizabeth Craigg Jan 2020

A Legacy Cut Short The Impact Of Pepperdine University On African Americans And South Los Angeles From 1937 – 1981, Elizabeth Craigg

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Due to the California gold rush in the 1800s, White Southerners seeking quick wealth flocked to the “free-state” of California. These new settlers included enslaved Africans, religion, and Southern attitudes that set the foundation for California to be a Southern-attitude state, which eventually attracted generations of free African Americans and a large White Southern population. White Southerners shaped California through passing discriminatory housing, education, banking, and employment policies against African Americans with the intention of marginalizing African Americans' existence and limiting their economic opportunity. The Church of Christ was largely a Southern and Midwestern religion that was one of the …


Modern Artificial Intelligence: Philosophical Context And Future Consequences, Mark Kumleben Jan 2020

Modern Artificial Intelligence: Philosophical Context And Future Consequences, Mark Kumleben

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This paper analyzes the state of modern artificial intelligence research from a philosophical perspective, in order to argue for interdisciplinary cooperation in building an effective AI research paradigm. I assess four different aspects of AI: its ability to perceive the world through pattern recognition, its ability to act in the world through reinforcement learning, its role in technological society as predicted by Heidegger’s theory of technology, and its future development into potential superintelligence. By connecting these to an unexamined theory of the human mind underpinning AI research, I seek to show the relationship between our understanding of natural minds and …


The Jurisprudence Of Thomas M. Cooley: Why One Of The Most Important Jurists Of The Nineteenth Century Still Matters, Angus Kirk Mcclellan Jan 2020

The Jurisprudence Of Thomas M. Cooley: Why One Of The Most Important Jurists Of The Nineteenth Century Still Matters, Angus Kirk Mcclellan

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is twofold: to examine and critique key elements of the jurisprudence of the late 19th-century judge and treatise writer Thomas M. Cooley; second, to determine the extent to which his work can be applied to modern legal debates. The conclusions of this study are that Cooley was legally oriented in his jurisprudence and dedicated to upholding the American constitutions and the common law as it had been adopted in the states. Further, those written constitutions and other principles of law are still relevant and applicable, and so jurists and scholars should consider Cooley’s perspectives in …


Mao With Smart Phones And Internet? A Comparison Of Classic Guerrilla Warfare With Fourth And Fifth Generation Warfare Using An Agent-Based Model For Simulation, Jerry Taylor Sink Jan 2020

Mao With Smart Phones And Internet? A Comparison Of Classic Guerrilla Warfare With Fourth And Fifth Generation Warfare Using An Agent-Based Model For Simulation, Jerry Taylor Sink

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW) theory shares many characteristics of classical guerrilla warfare (CGW) theory in security studies literature. Proponents claim that 4GW is a revolution in war that overturns traditional measures of military power, while critics counter that 4GW is simply CGW in an updated context. Another group posits Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW), which adds additional information-age technologies and uses “any and all means,” (military and extra-military) to attack both the enemy’s will and capability to resist. The irregular subset of 5GW strategies appear to be an extension of 4GW with the addition of advanced information-age technologies: mobile phones and …