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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
News Deserts And Voter Turnout: How Local News Shortages Decrease Voter Participation, Lauren Penington
News Deserts And Voter Turnout: How Local News Shortages Decrease Voter Participation, Lauren Penington
Honors Theses
How does local news impact a county’s registered voter population, associated voting patterns, and political participation? Electoral turnout is one of the most studied topics in political science, and substantial research exists into demographic factors — including race, age, and socioeconomic status — that influence an individual’s likelihood to vote. Recent studies have begun to examine the impact of societal factors — such as the internet, social media, and news — on an individual’s ability to and likelihood of fulfilling their civic obligation. This paper explores the relationship between expanding news deserts and decreasing voter turnout, proposing that as a …
Practicality Or Principle: A Comparative Study Of The Origin Of Legal Protections On Gun Rights, Robert (Rj) Haskin
Practicality Or Principle: A Comparative Study Of The Origin Of Legal Protections On Gun Rights, Robert (Rj) Haskin
Honors Theses
This study examines the legal protections of the right to bear arms as an extension of John Locke’s principles of government. Whereas most studies of the right to bear arms focus on the contemporary practical consequences of an armed populace, I focus on the foundations of the right and how it has been exercised across the diverse circumstances of the U.S. and Azerbaijan to achieve the ideal of self-determination. Specifically, I detail and compare the political histories of each country leading up to their independence and how they obey Locke’s precepts. Given that the chief commonality between the two countries …
Institutional Form And Its Influence On Instability Following The Assassination Of A Head Of State, Ashlee Mcgill
Institutional Form And Its Influence On Instability Following The Assassination Of A Head Of State, Ashlee Mcgill
Honors Theses
The period following an assassination is one of fear and uncertainty for citizens of a nation after their leader has been assassinated. However, different nations experience assassinations differently; while some collapse and result in failed states, other nations have seen leaders rise to power. Thus, I examine how institutional forms—democracy, autocracy, and anocracy—influence and structure how a country experiences instability following the assassination of a head of state. I do this through a qualitative case study of three assassinations: John F. Kennedy of the United States in 1963; Rafael Trujillo of the Dominica Republic in 1961; and José Antonio “Chichi” …
Can Continuous Campaigns Cause Conscientious Citizens To Cower?, Melissa Hall
Can Continuous Campaigns Cause Conscientious Citizens To Cower?, Melissa Hall
Honors Theses
The following study examines the relationship between campaign season length and voter turnout. Campaign season length is defined as the period between either the legal beginning of the campaign season as specified by the government or the announcement of the first candidate’s candidacy and the date of the election. Voter turnout is defined as the percentage of eligible voters that voted in the election. Eligible voters include all people of voting age in the country, regardless of whether they are registered to vote. There is no existing literature on the effects of campaign season length on voter turnout. My hypothesis …
An Examination Of Nebraska’S Law Setting The Age Of Majority At Nineteen, Lauren Mcneal
An Examination Of Nebraska’S Law Setting The Age Of Majority At Nineteen, Lauren Mcneal
Honors Theses
My proposed research covers the actions of the Nebraska legislature surrounding the age of majority. During the summer of 2019, I interned with Senator Adam Morfeld to draft a bill lowering the age of majority in Nebraska from nineteen to eighteen for healthcare services. Many eighteen-year-olds, especially students, face complications when they seek healthcare services but need parental consent. This is because young adults tend to move away from their homes at this age but are still not considered independent from their parents under Nebraska state law. In this thesis, I use the information I gathered from my interim research …
Racial Bias And The Death Penalty In Nebraska (2005-2019), Natalie Bielenberg
Racial Bias And The Death Penalty In Nebraska (2005-2019), Natalie Bielenberg
Honors Theses
Ample evidence exists to suggest that the death penalty in the United States is affected by racial bias. Nebraska has a complex history with the death penalty, and in this study I investigate whether or not that racial bias is present in Nebraska’s capital punishment. Using a list of every Nebraska Department of Correctional Services inmate since 1982, I test for a relationship between race of inmate and sentencing outcome and a relationship between race of victim and sentencing outcome. No significant relationship was found between either race of inmate and receiving the death penalty nor race of victim and …
The Impact Of State Legislative Term Limits On Descriptive Representation, Matt Baldwin
The Impact Of State Legislative Term Limits On Descriptive Representation, Matt Baldwin
Honors Theses
Do term limits make state legislatures more descriptively representative of their population? If the composition of a state legislature is a function of its ruleset and design, then term limits—a major shift in the rules—would change who is running for office and who is getting elected. In order to explore this question, a dataset was created by contacting a number of states to solicit responses on the demographics of their state legislatures from 1990-2018. In addition, information regarding some control variables (partisanship, time, economy) was gathered. A gap variable was created to see what difference existed between the proportion of …
President Trump And Civil Litigation: Executive Immunity And The Emoluments Clause, Hayley Kaiser
President Trump And Civil Litigation: Executive Immunity And The Emoluments Clause, Hayley Kaiser
Honors Theses
President Trump has become immersed in civil litigation since announcing his candidacy for the United States presidency. These lawsuits, which include assertions of presidential immunity under state jurisdiction and claims of constitutional violations under the Emoluments Clauses, present unique legal concerns that have never been challenged in the Supreme Court. Precedent shows that the president has never been exempt from the judicial process for his unofficial actions, although this may have led to unforeseen consequences. An evaluation of the history of the Emoluments Clauses leads to the conclusion that the Framers wanted to prevent outside influence on the United States …
Medicaid Work Requirements: State-Based Innovation Or Punitive Policymaking?, Diane Sherwin
Medicaid Work Requirements: State-Based Innovation Or Punitive Policymaking?, Diane Sherwin
Honors Theses
In March 2017, officials appointed to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services by President Donald Trump signaled to state governments their intent to support states who would choose to utilize Medicaid’s Section 1115 waiver provision to alter their state’s Medicaid program by introducing a work requirement. As of October 1, 2018, 13 states have heeded this signal and proposed a work requirement component for their Medicaid programs. The purpose of this paper is to determine if Medicaid work requirements are an innovative policy approach to improve independence among Medicaid enrollees, or if these requirements are a punitive, partisan approach …
Support For Open Borders: A Case Study Of Spanish Society, Anna Ondracek
Support For Open Borders: A Case Study Of Spanish Society, Anna Ondracek
Honors Theses
In his book “The Ethics of Immigration”, political philosopher Joseph Carens argues for the rights of migrant populations on the grounds of democracy, freedom, and equality. He advocates for open international borders, focusing on democratic countries in North America and Europe. Carens compares the current international order of closed borders to feudalism and discusses various forms of privilege Westerners have, which, he says, makes those in the West complacent and unaware of the injustices from which Westerners benefit. Focusing on the case of Spain, this project evaluates public opinions on the debate over open borders. I survey the support for …