Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Federalism On Immigration: A Reconstruction Of The System To Alleviate The Immigration Crisis In America, Theresa Lam

Senior Honors Theses

Illegal immigration is a complex and relevant issue in the United States. In particular, its long-term implications for American communities has elevated its significance. Within America’s federalist system, the immigration dilemma has raised tension among federal, state, and local governments, which have different perspectives on how to approach the matter. The federal government is responsible for enforcing immigration laws but delegates numerous immigration responsibilities to state and local law enforcement. However, the degree to which local officials should cooperate with federal authorities is the subject of intense debate. Should immigration enforcement be a federal or local responsibility? Under federalism and …

Factors In Decision Making Of Political Candidates, Levi Ramirez Garcia

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

What factors impact the decision to run as non-partisan over one of the major US parties? It is essential to analyze this phenomenon to determine the real motivations of candidates and the party they represent because they impact society as a whole. The candidates' ideologies and how the candidates feel representing the parties' ideologies are the main reasons for choosing non-partisan over one of the major US parties. This occurs because humans tend to work where they feel comfortable and in places with the same values and ideologies as them. It is the same in the case of candidates; they …

Impact Of Religious Extremism On Government Stability, Jasmine Usmanova

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

What causes government instability? This question has sparked various arguments. While some attribute government instability to economic factors like income inequality, others point to political dynamics such as the number of effective parties, or social factors like trust in the government. However, this paper argues that religious extremism, particularly when propagated by states through the adoption and enforcement of laws, policies, and practices that excessively integrate religious doctrines into the legal and governance framework, is a significant driver of government instability.

In this paper, we specifically utilize data from the year 2013. We employ the Gini index to account for …

Mill's Harm Principle: A Study In The Application Of 'On Liberty', Sandra J. Peart

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

English philosopher and political economist John Stuart Mill argued that people learn by choosing: this is how they become creative and productive individuals. For this reason, and because he felt that individuals are typically the most capable people to make their own choices, Mill was highly skeptical of restrictions on choice placed by a third party, such as the state.

Mill famously separated actions into two categories: (1) self-regarding actions that do not affect others; and (2) other-regarding actions that do affect, and may harm, others. In the former category he placed thought and discussion, tastes and pursuits, and association, …

Political Theory, Activism, And Visual Media: The Ideology Of Protest Symbols, Jilly E. Crane-Mauzy Mx.

Whittier Scholars Program

Art changes culture while policy codifies it. Radical revolutionary movements are often accompanied by equally radical shifts in art and design. I cataloged, compared, and contrasted the semiotic power of three specific symbols and their most significant historical moments in the United States. Through the examination of; Stonewall, The Equality March March Against Death, The Day The World Said No To War, The 1968 Summer Olympics, and The 2020 Black Lives Matter, the shifting of each ideologies symbol from inflammation in the media to recognition showcases the clarifying function along with creating unity and pride in community that is integral …

Women In Conflict: The Psychological Effect Of Propaganda In Conflict, Elizabeth Valerio-Boster

Honors Theses

In conflicts across the world, propaganda is used to encourage people to support causes whether than be freedom, revolution, or political or economic changes. Previous research has shown that propaganda that targets preexisting notions is particularly effective. Women have been found to be particularly susceptible to propaganda that has emotional implications. My research has been conducted to discover if propaganda that is centered around female empowerment is more effective in getting women to participate in conflict. I use accounts from women participating in conflicts to learn about the roles they play, and the number of women involved. These numbers are …

The Modern Executive Order's Ability To Address Civil Rights Impacted By Supreme Court Decisions, Andrew Hinckley

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Presidential Power has changed significantly throughout history. Despite the founders' intentions of a weak executive and strong legislature, the power of the President has become increasingly large. Presidents can utilize this power through unilateral actions. One unilateral action that has been under-researched in academic research is the executive order. Executive orders are not a power explicitly granted in the Constitution, allowing Presidents to take advantage of Constitutional vagueness and potentially cross the line between the separation of powers, becoming both a quasi-legislator and quasi-interpreter of the law. This paper aims to understand executive orders application to modern Civil Rights through …

Female Politicians And The Way That Gender Stereotypes And The Male-Dominated Power Structure Influence The Way They Run Their Campaigns, Morgan Marckres

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Women only make up 28.5% of Congress even though they make up 50.5% of the population of the United States. This disparity indicates that there are significant barriers that female politicians face when they are running for office. To look for why, an extensive literature review was conducted that gave context about the gender stereotypes that female candidates face and how they navigate the male template of power. Using the material from the literature review, the campaigns of three women and three men who won their election in the recent 2022 midterms were analyzed. The candidate’s campaigns were then compared. …

Environmental Effects Of Fast Fashion: A Study On How Increased Knowledge May Affect Buying Behavior Of Bryant Students, Talia Vicente

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

The goal of this study is to determine whether there is a relationship between an increase in knowledge about the environmental effects of fast fashion and the potential impact on the future purchasing behavior of Bryant students. To this end, I conducted a survey analysis of students' purchasing behavior, including the frequency of purchasing clothes, the major brands from which they purchase clothes, and their awareness of the environmental impact of purchasing clothes. I analyzed the overall findings for both male and female students, as well as the relationship between the most frequently shopped-at brands and the frequency of purchasing …

Die Deutsche Nationalversammlung Und Weimar: On The Creation Of Democracy In Weimar Germany, Jason Wendling

Honors Theses

This paper is a historical analysis of the creation of the Weimar Republic, as well as a political analysis of the Weimar Republic’s constitution. In reviewing both Weimar’s history as well as the constitution, I hope to inspire learners to look back to the Weimar Republic, and not focus primarily on the failures that led to the rise of the Nazi Regime, but rather celebrate the successes that the drafters of the constitution were able to achieve. I review the history of the 1918 November Revolution, the history and party programs of the three important parties of the Weimar Republic, …

Study Of Fashion And Politics, Jacqueline Arena

Library Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this research is to analyze the way fashion has been used as a vessel for

political statements; specifically through studying the work of artists Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander Mcqueen and Vivienne Westwood. Gaultier and Mcqueen showcased shocking collections that caught the public eye by testing gender boundaries and reflecting historical events. Westwood’s work was a protest, and she was an activist. The sources included highlight the success of these unique designers. Furthermore, the research evaluates how political statements by fashion designers have become harmful because today newer designers are vying for the success of trailblazers such as …

Gender & Sexuality In New York Politics, Bianca M. Guerrero

Open Educational Resources

No abstract provided.

A Literature Review Of Intrapersonal Interventions To Reduce Partisan Affective Polarization, Katrina Powers

A with Honors Projects

This literature review examines research conducted on intrapersonal interventions for the reduction of partisan affective polarization.

Conceptual Metaphor Usage In Glenn Youngkin’S 2021 Gubernatorial Campaign, Sara Rose Hotaling

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

In “Conceptual Metaphor in Everyday Language,” Lakoff and Johnson suggest that conceptual metaphors pervade everyday language and produce the reality of our world. Conceptual metaphors act similarly within the occupational register of political campaigns in that they both support and construct a set of beliefs that become the reality of politicians, political parties, and constituents. In this language research, the conceptual metaphors employed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin during his 2021 gubernatorial campaign were identified, analyzed, and categorized. The corpus of this research consists of two gubernatorial debates, three campaign speeches, and one television interview. An example of conceptual metaphor …

Investigating Perceptions Of Out-Groups In Sport And United States Politics, Cody T. Havard, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

The current study investigated how fans and supporters of sport teams and political parties in the United States viewed relevant out-groups and out-group members. Specifically, perceptions of rival sport teams and political parties were compared to determine how fans and supporters differed in their views and likely behaviors toward out-groups. Findings showed that sport fans reported more positive attitudes toward their favorite teams and more negative attitudes of the rival team than in politics. However, political supporters reported more negative perceptions and likely behaviors toward the out-group than fans of sport. Additional analysis revealed that the common in-group influenced perceptions. …

Elections And Post Traumatic Stress: Evidence From The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, Timothy Fraser, Costas Panagopoulos, Kevin Smith

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

The 2020 U.S. presidential election saw rising political tensions among ordinary voters and political elites, with fears of election violence culminating in the January 6th riot. We hypothesized that the 2020 election might have been traumatic for some voters, producing measurable symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We also hypothesized that negative sentiment towards the opposing party correlates with PTSD. We measured PTSD with a modified PCL-5, a validated PTSD screener, for 573 individuals from a nationally representative YouGov sample. We modeled the association between affective polarization and PTSD, controlling for political, demographic, and psychological traits. We estimate that 12.5% …

Conclusion: Comparing Women's Representation In Asian Parliaments, Devin K. Joshi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter explains important findings from this study while identifying common trends across Asia and the sub-regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. It examines to what degree Asian parliamentarians have prioritized substantive representation of women (SRW). It assesses whether SRW was a primary reason or motivation behind why members of parliament (MPs) entered politics in the first place and whether they viewed SRW as a pressing issue for their governments to address. MPs interviewed in this study expressed what they felt were the most important issues today that need government’s attention. MPs were asked whether they make …

Wgss Queer Theories And Politics: A Blog Post, Cassidy Vogel

Feminist & Queer Praxis

"Political education is the practice of using knowledge for action, whether its serving and educating the community or taking personal action. This is central Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, but in Dr. Klinker’s Queer Theories and Politics (WGSS 374) students were able to engage in political education beyond the class." Winona State University (WSU) student Cassidy Vogel blog post discusses and shared their experiences engaging in political education beyond the classroom.

This blog post was intended for the WSU Academic Blog which showcases the exciting and challenging work that WSU Student do.

0875: Mike Jones President Barack Obama Media Collection, 2008-2013, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

This collection is predominantly newspapers from 2008-2011 and magazines from the same time period. Other items include campaign paraphernalia such as a t-shirt, campaign signs (one covered in anti-Obama graffiti), campaign buttons, bumper stickers, and an advertisement for the coverage of the 2008 election by Arizona Daily Star, and VHS recordings of the election, inauguration of President Obama, and President Obama’s first 100 days in office

White Constituents And Congressional Voting, Eric Hansen

Political Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Why do some members of Congress vote more on the extremes of their party than others? I argue that lawmakers representing more homogeneously white districts have greater electoral incentive to moderate their voting records, since the two parties compete more for support of white voters than for the support of minority voters. I provide evidence using roll-call votes from the U.S. House and Senate. I find members representing more homogeneously white districts have more moderate voting records, a finding that holds for Democrats and Republicans. I explore two potential mechanisms: legislator responsiveness and electoral punishment. While legislators do not seem …

Pursuit Of The Vote: Factors Utilized In Resisting Discrimination In Democratic Elections, Matthew Nicholson

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

Suffrage movements make use of various social and political factors to pressure their governments to expand the scope of voting rights. Using McAdam’s political process model, I will analyze how disenfranchised groups’ use of nonviolent demonstration, appeals to international pressure, and appeals to religion, affects their success. This will also highlight patterns that emerge when groups are willing to instigate violence in pursuit of their goals. Most studies examine these variables in the context of the pursuit of independence or revolution, whereas this study focuses on groups wishing to remain within a system given their desired reforms. I will analyze …

Twitter's Role In An Increasingly Polarized Political Climate; A Look Into The 2020 Us Elections, Leanne Kendall

Honors Projects in Data Science

Amidst politically strained times, one might wonder what has cause such an exaggerated gap between the views of democrats and republicans. For years, research has suggested the US’s voting population is becoming increasingly politically polarized, with one of the causes being social media. This study's purpose is to understand more about the role that social media plays in the polarization of parties in the US. The study is comprised of the analysis of over 3,000,000 tweets from 9/22/2020 through 11/10/2020 that mention or are written by senate and presidential candidates. Natural language processing, network graphing, and sentiment analyses were utilized …

Behind The Ballot: Uncovering The Influence Of Education, Age, And Labor Unions On Politics In The United States, Hanna Lambert

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Differences in levels of education and generational values arguably lead to the largest challenge that currently faces American politics – perceived polarization. Polarization exacerbates issues within social groups and political groups, causing tension between different ideological stances and what a group identifies as their own “in group” and an opposite “out” group. When coupled with influence from major labor unions, this perceived polarization that stems from education and age work is responsible for the highly competitive and unfriendly political climate of the United States. To better understand how these variables influence American politics, I analyze how differences in age and …

Evaluating Arnold Kling’S Three Languages Of Politics, Jeffrey E. Haymond

Business Administration Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

What Is Political Science? What A Disciplinary Archipelago Says About Political Scholarship And Academia As A Whole, Warren Burroughs

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

“‘Political Science’ is greatly in need of definition” (Smith, 1886, quoted in Sigelman, 2006). This statement is as true today as it was a century and a half ago when it was written in Political Science’s first independent journal’s first article. Throughout its history, the discipline’s purpose and objectives have been contested. A conflict between subdisciplines regarding approaches and desired research outcomes hinders the creation of a comprehensive disciplinary framework. Yet, division is inevitable given the objects of Political Science’s study – people and power. The discipline is having an identity crisis. To illustrate this, Political Science is compared to …

People Remember Liked Political Policies As Having Been Attributed To Their Own Party, Dalton Thomas Bailey

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

A robust finding in psychology shows that people tend to like information more when it supports their existing beliefs, or comes from their own ingroup, a finding known as motivated reasoning. These findings are especially prominent in a political context. Quite consistently, research suggests people increase their liking of political information like political policies when they are attributed to their own party. What is unknown, however, is if people also tend to attribute personally liked information to their own party. These studies were conducted to investigate this question.

Two, within-subjects studies were conducted. In both, participants (undergraduate students) saw various …

‘It All Comes From Me’: Bahu Begam And The Making Of The Awadh Nawabi, Circa 1765–1815, Nicholas J. Abbott

History Faculty Publications

This article examines the durable, yet largely overlooked, claims of Bahu Begam (1727–1815) to dynastic wealth and authority in the Awadh nawabi (1722–1856), a North Indian Mughal ‘successor state’ and an important client of the East India Company. Chief consort (khass mahal) to Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula (r. 1754–75) and mother to his successor Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula (r. 1775–97), Bahu Begam played a well-documented role in the regime’s tumultuous politics, particularly during Warren Hastings’s tenure as the Company’s governor-general (1773–85) and his later parliamentary impeachment. But despite her prominent political influence, little attention has been paid to the substance of her …

Fellowship Application Sample, Nicole Kalaf-Hughes

ICS Fellow Applications

No abstract provided.

The Epic Journey Of Pepe The Frog: A Study In Post-Truth, Jaq Webb

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Abstract

The internet meme Pepe the Frog is an excellent avenue for exploring the relationship between post-truth politics, new media, and viral ideas. While memes as conceptualized by Richard Dawkins are essentially timeless components of human society, internet memes as exemplified by the hijacking of Pepe the Frog by the Alt-Right and the Trump campaign are a novel force with uniquely dark implications for liberal democracy. In this study, I attempt a leftist analysis of the best thinking about Post-Truth Trump-era politics and the communication tactics of the Alt-Right, which suggests that some of the same cultural and material forces …

Backlash Against The #Metoo Movement: How Women’S Voice Causes Men To Feel Victimized, Jaclyn A. Lisnek, Clara L. Wilkins, Megan E. Wilson, Pierce D. Ekstrom

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Three studies examined whether perceived increase in women’s “voice” (i.e., being heard and taken seriously about sexual assault) contributes to perceptions of bias against men. In Study 1, both men and women who perceived women to have a greater voice related to sexual assault, perceived greater victimization of men. This relationship was stronger for relatively conservative participants. In Study 2, relatively conservative (but not relatively liberal) participants who read about #MeToo perceived greater men’s victimization than those in the control condition. Study 3 examined responses to perceiving that men are victimized by #MeToo. For relatively conservative (but not liberal) men, …