Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Historical Trauma And Refugee Reception: Armenians And Syrian-Armenian Co-Ethnics, Nicole M. Campos

Master's Theses

This thesis considers the ways in which Armenian history has influenced integration of Syrian-Armenian refugees into Armenia due to the ongoing Syrian War. Ethnic Armenian outlooks were analyzed relative to the influx of Syrian refugees, particularly co-ethnic Syrian-Armenians. Field work in Armenia found a sustained cultural impression of Armenians’ Soviet membership and genocide. Findings suggest that recognizing the importance of history as it may or may not affect migration reception policies and attitudes is important to developing sustainable resettlement environments, at least until repatriation or third-country resettlement becomes an option to migrants. Ultimately, this thesis argues that more attention must …

The Eurasian Agenda: The International Relations Of Kyrgyzstan, Azamat Baiyzbekov

Master's Theses

The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the newly independent states in Central Asia are among the most important historical events of the 20^th century. As one of these newly independent and sovereign state, Kyrgyzstan found itself in the sphere of the geopolitical rivalry among the Great Powers, such as the U.S., Russia, and China. Even though a relatively small and militarily weak state, Kyrgyzstan came to play an important role in their Eurasian agenda. In this thesis, I examine in detail the international relations of Kyrgyzstan with all its neighboring states, but focus extensively on …

Beyond The Cloth: Exploring How Women Are Represented In Human Rights Organizations Through Bangladesh's Garment Industry, Briawna Gillespie

Master's Theses

Understanding Beyond the Cloth

This thesis conducts a textual analysis of several human rights organizations. It looks at how human rights organizations represent women in the garment industry. I investigate a variety of organizations and look at how they utilize women’s voices to demonstrate how human rights organizations frame women’s narratives in a way that supports their own claims. When organizations representing women in this way, it only limits women’s voices from being heard and hinders them from being empowered and a leading force in the industry. On the one hand, we see organizations create spaces where women’s narratives are …

State Failure In Venezuela, Marcus Littman

Master's Theses

The role of the state is to provide political goods such as security and an environment conducive to economic growth. The Venezuelan state is failing to provide both security and conditions capable of producing economic growth. The government has exacerbated both by enacting failed policies. I measure the economic crisis in Venezuela based on the rates of inflation, falling foreign currency reserves, the food and medical supply shortage, falling government spending, and negative GDP growth. I measure the security crisis based on the escalating rate of kidnapping, human trafficking, drug sales, smuggling, theft, gun distribution, and homicide. In this thesis, …

Long Working Hours, Happiness, And Quality Of Democracy With The Case Studies Of Japan And Denmark, Yu Namie

Master's Theses

This thesis aims to reveal the hypothesis that long working hour reduce people’s happiness and undermine democracy. For achieving this goal, this study clarifies the relationship between long working hours, happiness, and political engagement. Moreover, in order to seek the way to increase social happiness, it tries to figure out how global free market economy relates the working hours. The research method mainly relies on the fieldwork in Japan and Denmark.

First, this study succeeded to reinforce the argument that long working hour negatively influenced people’s happiness. Also, if we define the quality of democracy as the society constituted with …

Plastic Oceans: A New Way In Solving Our Plastic Pollution, Dakota S. Floyd

Master's Theses

By 2050, the world’s oceans will have more plastic than fish with potentially catastrophic consequences on sea life and the health of the ocean. Economically, countries with coastal boundaries will be heavily impacted as plastic pollution has already generated a 13 billion dollars in monetary losses. Considering that this is an extreme problem that we are currently facing the current solution is not enough in curbing our plastic pollution. While, recycling programs have been beneficial in reclaiming some plastic our mass consumption of plastic has outpaced the capabilities of recycling efforts. If we are to find a solution in our …

Challenging Filipino Colonial Mentality With Philippine Art, Francesca V. Mateo

Master's Theses

For 350 years, the Philippines was colonized by Spain and the United States. The Philippines became a sovereign nation in 1946 yet, fifty years later, colonial teachings continue to oppress Filipinos due to their colonial mentality (CM.) CM is an internalized oppression among Filipinos in which they experience an automatic preference for anything Western—European or U.S. American—and rejection of anything Filipino. Although Filipinos show signs of a CM, there are Filipinos who are challenging CM by engaging in Philippine art. Philippine art is defined as Filipino-made visual art, literature, music, and dance intended to promote Philippine culture. This …

The Electoral Success Of Communist-Successor Parties In The Czech Republic And Romania, Harley L. Roe

Master's Theses

Communist-successor parties are impacted by six social and political factors: party reimaging, coalition building, corruption and scandal, party leadership, EU accession, and social indicators. This project explores how the descendants of the totalitarian communist parties in the Czech Republic and Romania are influenced by each factor by analyzing election result data against these indicators. Party reimaging and coalition building are the most influential in determining voter turnout, while the other four work in conjunction to influence election results. This project contributes to the literature on electoral volatility, post-communist countries, voter behavior, and seeks to offer a model that can predict …

Emigration, Repatriation And The Reality Of Returned Youth In El Salvador, Isabel C. Duarte Vasquez

Master's Theses

According to US Customs and Border Protection, over 59 thousand unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador) have been detained at the US border, of those 59 thousand, 17 thousand are from El Salvador. El Salvador is home to some of the most dangerous and ruthless gangs of the twenty-first century. Their ruthlessness comes from 1980s guerrilla warfare experience. In addition, El Salvador serves as a transshipment point for illicit substances from South America into Mexico. These dynamics fuel the homicide rate of the region as local gang members must protect their territory by any means …

The Persuasive Effect Of Youtube Videos On Food Waste Habits, Deeti Gupta

Master's Theses

In the past decade, food waste has emerged as one of the most important food sustainability issues in developed societies and has received increased attention from academic scholars, policymakers, environmental and other civil society organizations. There have also been a growing number of efforts to mitigate this problem, an important component of which has been education to provide consumers with a clearer understanding of the food waste problem and the methods that they can take to change their food waste behaviors. One of the educational approaches has involved social marketing. Social marketers have recently turned to YouTube and other video …

The Politics Of Contagion, Joseph M. Young

Master's Theses

Contagion events have occurred throughout history leaving death and destruction in their wake. Often sensationalized in movies and shows such as Contagion and The Walking Dead, contagion events are life-altering events filled with gory symptoms and elevated mortality rates. The dangers of contagion events prompted governments to develop agencies with the purpose of preventing and mitigating the risks contagions pose. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies across the globe pour millions of dollars each year into eliminating the risk of contagions and making the world a safer place. However, while more resources are dedicated to …

An Analysis Of Mongolia’S Resource-Led Development: The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment In The Extraction Industry, Belguun Bat-Erdene

Master's Theses

It has been 26 years since Mongolia transitioned to democracy. I decided to evaluate the progress of Mongolia’s development since the transition to evaluate whether the country of only 3 million people with vast land and natural resources successfully implemented policies to attain growth and societal wellbeing. In order to evaluate Mongolia’s development progress, this thesis uses FDI in Mongolian development since 1990 as a case study to examine the relationship between FDI, state development strategies, and development outcomes. My research questions encompass a series of interrelated inquiries including 1) whether human development can be achieved through extraction industries 2) …

The Political Economy Of Conflict In Liberia, Sierra Leone, And Côte D'Ivoire: Foreign Economic Intervention And The Spatial Distribution Of Violent Conflict, Sarai-Anne N. Ikenze

Master's Theses

Between 1989 and 2011, the three neighboring West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire each experienced at least one major civil conflict; and the combined devastation of the conflicts claimed over a million lives, generated millions of refugees, and crippled infrastructure in ways that continue to impact the development of the sub-region today. The occurrence of conflict in the three countries and the fact that they share borders has raised questions about whether the conflicts were caused by domestic factors or were the result of transborder processes of conflict diffusion. This paper will assess the causes of …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Micro-Level Poverty Interventions In The Highlands Of Guatemala, Jacqueline A. Castro

Master's Theses

Despite immense efforts of poverty alleviation in the Western highlands of Guatemala, poverty is intense and widespread. Amidst an abundant array of poverty interventions, existing evidence on those interventions are not sufficient. Highlighting basic knowledge regarding impact evaluations, this paper aims to determine the most effective poverty intervention for the Western highland areas of Guatemala. Focusing on impact evaluations, this paper reviews 17 Latin American interventions, paying close attention to what may be applicable to this region. Using only the highest quality data from Latin America, it is clear that cash transfers and graduation programs are the most impactful interventions …

Loss Of Identity, Radicalization, And Terrorism, Magdalena Martinez

Master's Theses

France and Belgium are two of the top countries in Europe with an increasing number of root fighters. Over the last two years, both countries have been primary targets of terrorism. This thesis investigates the repeated pattern of events and analyzes from a birds-eye view the cycle leading to the rise of terrorism in France and Belgium. This research disputes that anxiety causes discrimination and lack of integration in France and Belgium, which contributes an identity crisis. In essence, these factors trigger radicalization and lead to terrorism. Analyzing the patterns of terrorist activity and the path of radicalization is essential …

"Who Am I?": The Development Of A Male Palestinian Political Identity, Tala J. Dayyat

Master's Theses

The Palestinian people have lived under numerous imperial rulers; first, the Ottoman Empire, then later the British. Today they live under the military occupation of the state of Israel as second class citizen millions more living abroad as refugees. Young Palestinian men have become the leaders and the physical manifestation of the struggle against Israel, a political Goliath that has used tactics to repress the Palestinians such as, detentions, beatings, and land confiscation, which many outside of the Israeli state deem as illegal. Scholar Rashid Khalidi states that “the quintessential Palestinian experience, which illustrates some of the most basic issues …

“Mexico, Public Policy And Obesity In A Global Context”, Daniela Carina Bermudez

Master's Theses

Mexico has one of the most obese populations in the world. A country known for its diversity of rich flavorful food is drowning in low nutritional food products. This thesis examines Mexico’s obesity epidemic within the larger global context of international economic trade policies, public policies and Mexico’s health policies. The key research questions are 1) why is there an obesity epidemic in Mexico? and 2) what remedies should Mexico implement to control it? This thesis contributes to a viable policy strategy for the Mexican government to control and prevent the further increase of this obesity epidemic. Reviewing both the …

Understanding How Intentionally Unplugging From Cell Phones Shapes Interpersonal Relationships And The Undergraduate College Experience, Jadelin P. Felipe

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of what motivated college students—the Unplugged Students—to intentionally use their cell phones less and how they understood the impact that unplugging had on their interpersonal relationships and college experience. Nine undergraduate college students from four private schools were interviewed in one-on-one semi- structured interviews. These students, considered non-users, provided a particularly useful perspective as these students made a conscious choice to counteract social norms and experienced both being plugged in and unplugged. Cell phones and the act of unplugging proved to make up a complex and more nuanced topic than …

Financial Development And Growth In India, Anek Grewal

Master's Theses

In this paper I look to analyze whether bank loans have the ability to promote productivity for firms and also whether banks are more effective relative to other sources of lending such as the government. Using a panel dataset of 26,000 firms over the time period 1997-2014 I carry out multiple two-time period lagged OLS regressions with proxy variables for firm productivity as well as some control variables to observe the differences for bank against non-bank loans. The results yielded illustrate that non-bank loans did not have a positive relationship and that perhaps there is some form of zombie lending …

Testing Ostrom: An Analysis Of Water User Committees In Uganda, Emily Mcpartlon

Master's Theses

In 2009 Elinor Ostrom received the Nobel Prize for her analysis of economic governance of the commons. Specifically, by challenging the conventional wisdom at the time, demonstrating how communities can successfully manage the common resources without any regulation by central authorities or privatization. Ostrom proposed eight design principles that identify the underlying criterion of institutions that have successfully maintained CPRs over time. I examine whether Ostrom’s Eight Design Principles affect the long-run functionality of borehole wells in Uganda using quantitative methods. I find that the one of the principles, clearly defined boundaries, is significant in all four estimations, and remains …

Behavioral Determinants Of Biofortified Food Acceptance: The Case Of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato In Ghana, Chinonso E. Etumnu

Master's Theses

Biofortified foods are being introduced in sub-Saharan Africa as an important strategy to help address micronutrient malnutrition. However, there has been little research on factors that could play decisive roles in their successful introduction. This paper investigates the determinants of consumer acceptance of biofortified orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) using data from a choice experiment conducted in Ghana. I find that OFSP is preferred to traditional white-fleshed and yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes as indicated by consumers' marginal willingness to pay for the three varieties. I also find that respondents' socio-economic characteristics do not have a significant effect on consumer acceptance of OFSP. …

Air Pollution, Temperature And Cognitive Performance In The Short Run: Evidence From Women’S Ability To Recall Dates, Ke Yang

Master's Theses

Abstract: Cognitive performance is important to productivity across many fields and potentially correlated to air pollution and extreme temperatures. We study the effects of daily ambient air pollution and monthly temperature on women’s ability of recalling dates across 42 developing countries from 1997 to 2009. We use an estimated natural air pollution data, and calculate the AQI to get an aggregate effect of air pollution. We find that one standard deviation increase in the AQI leads to a statistical decrease in women’s probability to recall dates such as birthdays, marriage date or children’s birthdays by 0.44 percentage point. Furthermore, there …

The Investment Casualties Of War: Global Impacts Of Armed Conflict On Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Reinhard J. Cate Mr.

Master's Theses

Abstract: Involvement in the outbreak of an armed conflict can present a variety of potential risks to an involved nation’s economy. In this paper I examine if one one of those risks, specifically that a new war could scare away foreign investment actually occurs and whether the intensity of the conflict increases or lessens the potential impact. Using ordinary least squares on panel data from 1966 to 2015, I examine the short and long term impacts of armed conflict on global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows using two measures of conflict intensity: Large conflicts or ‘wars’, with 1000 or more …

The Effect Of Financial Sector Development On Fdi Led Growth In China, John Costigan

Master's Theses

Abstract: Over the past several decades developing countries have attracted and relied on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to supply their economies with the investment needed to maintain high economic growth and development. In their pursuit of FDI, many developing countries have passed policies and regulations aimed at attracting inward FDI. Because of the high growth rates and high returns on investment in many of these economies they have experience a large increase in FDI inflow over the past few decades. As these economies have grown and investment has increased, the financial services sector in the developing world has grown to …

Effect Of Non-Monetary Incentives On Women's Competitive Inclination: Experimental Evidence From Ancona, Italy, Kalkidan Shebi

Master's Theses

This study investigates how monetary incentives versus non-monetary incentives affect women’s decision to enter a competitive environment. This study was conducted in Ancona Italy, in a controlled laboratory experiment with a total of 60 participants; of which 29 were male and 31 were female. Participants were given mathematical addition problems to solve under alternative incentives. How they received these incentives differed based on their preference to enter or withdraw from the competition. The study also included components that assessed risk preferences and willingness to pay for the non-monetary incentive in the experiment. Results show no significant difference in performance scores …

Air Pollution And Fetal Loss In The Global Tropics, Shuqiao Cheng

Master's Theses

Abstract: Recent work has shown that in-utero air pollution has negative effects on both contemporaneous birth outcomes and long-term human capital outcomes. However, only a few studies explore the effects of in-utero exposure to air pollution on fetal loss, and none of the studies has been done in developing countries. In this study, we examine the impact of naturally caused CO and PM 2.5 on reproductive outcomes in 40 developing countries from 1997 to 2009. We present childbirths and birth gender as measures for potential fetal losses. The richest model identified using variation in pollution between pregnancies with controlling for …

Climate Variability Influences Women’S Attitudes Towards Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv), Jean Lee

Master's Theses

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 1 in 3 women worldwide has experienced violence against women. Our study examines the effects of climate conditions on women’s attitudes towards wife beating. The demographic health surveys (DHS) dataset includes over 550,000 women in 38 countries, asked a series of wife beating justification questions in the domestic violence module. Using a linear probability model, we find prior year growing degree days (GDD), prior and current year rainfall variability have statistically significant effects. Most interestingly, we find that a one standard deviation (SD) rise in prior year annual rainfall decreases the likelihood of justifying …

Evaluating Stolper-Samuelson: Trade Liberalization & Wage Inequality In India, Anthony M. Michael

Master's Theses

This paper tests the predictions of the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem in India after it underwent major trade reform in 1991. Using industry level tariff data, the paper empirically examines trade liberalization’s effect on the wages of high-skilled labor relative to low skilled labor within firms. The study finds empirical evidence to support growing wage differentials within firms, which contradict the predictions of the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem. Additionally, when controlling for firm size and the effects of the global financial crisis, these results remain robust. Finally, the paper explores training and welfare and R&D’s effect on the wage differentials within firms, finding a …

Does Infant Formula Availability Reduce Breastfeeding?, Ingvild Madsen Lampe

Master's Theses

Abstract: Several key studies highlight the importance of breastfeeding and there is a broad consensus that it plays a crucial role for a child's health and cognitive development. This is especially true for the poor in developing countries, where vulnerable infants' access to proper nutrition is vital. We investigate the effect of introducing infant formula into a market on changes in breastfeeding patterns. Using the Demographic Health Surveys and annual reports from the baby food industry between 1981 and 2002 in 11 tropical countries, we find evidence that import of infant formula significantly reduces breastfeeding duration. The effects are stronger …

Savings Groups And Banks: Complements Or Substitutes? Financial Inclusion In Rural Tanzania, Shirleen Rubangura Teta

Master's Theses

Abstract: The substantial increase in the number savings and credit groups as well as microfinance institutions over the past years suggests that individuals in the developing world have progressively become aware of the importance of access to financial services. This study adds to the existing literature on the function of savings and credit groups in places with lower use of formal financial services and inform us whether these groups are a possible substitute or complement for formal financial services (banks) within low-income communities. Based on household data collected in Tanzania in 2013, this paper attempts, using two different estimations, a …