Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Get Your Butt Off The Ground!: Consequences Of Cigarette Waste And Litter-Reducing Methods, Joyce Lee

Pomona Senior Theses

Cigarette butts are rapidly accumulating on our planet; trillions of them are discarded every year. In this paper, I examine why cigarette litter is a problem. I first discuss the biodegradability of filters and its scientific basis, including ways to enhance degradation rates by chemically manipulating filters. I also talk about the persistence of cigarette chemicals and their potential toxic effects on children and animals. I consider other social, economic, and environmental consequences of cigarette filters and chemicals. Furthermore, I discuss various solutions smokers and non-smokers alike have created to address the problem of cigarette litter; these methods come from …

The Full Cost Of Renewables: Managing Wind Integration Costs In California, William Savage

Pomona Senior Theses

Wind power will be an important component of California's aggressive strategies to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets by the year 2020. However, the costs of integrating wind power's variable and uncertain output are often ignored. I argue that California must take prudent action to understand, minimize, and allocate wind integration costs. A review of numerous studies suggests that for wind penetration levels below 20%, integration costs should remain modest. However, costs are heavily dependent on market structure, and I suggest numerous ways that California can optimize its market design to manage wind integration costs.

“Dismantling The Big” Critiquing The Western Development Model And Foreign Aid And Analyzing Alternatives For Domestic Development Of Dams In Nepal, Ana Berry

Pitzer Senior Theses

This paper argues for the importance of scale, management and sovereign-led development in considering a more human-centric model for Third World development. It begins by reviewing the history of the mainstream Western development model through the evolution of modernization theory and foreign aid. It explores general critiques of this model offered by scholars, focusing on unequal power relations, the high cost of aid, and problems with ‘cookie cutter’ style development projects that don’t take into account disparate environments. As the paper progresses, focus shifts more specifically to hydropower development and ‘Big Dams’. Nepal is the main case study for exemplifying …

Seattle's Orchards: A Historic Legacy Meets Modern Sustainability, Audrey L. Lieberworth

Scripps Senior Theses

European immigrants introduced orchards to the U.S. in the early 1600s. As they began to establish settlements and migrate west, they brought orchard cultivation with them, creating an extensive network of orchards spread across the U.S. However, over time many of these orchards were lost due to urban development, which is what makes Seattle’s historic orchards significant. Early Seattle settlers planted orchards in the 1800s and early 1900s, and their remnants still exist today, despite urban development. Over the years, many of the orchards have been incorporated onto City Department-owned land, but they have not been maintained to the extent …

Exploring German And American Modes Of Pedagogical And Institutional Sustainability: Forging A Way Into The Future, Lindon N. Pronto

Pitzer Senior Theses

Rooted deep in Germany's past is its modern socio-political grounding for environmental respect and sustainability. This translates into individual and collective action and extends equally to the economic and policy realm as it does to educational institutions. This thesis evaluates research conducted in Germany with a view to what best approaches are transferable to the United States liberal arts setting. Furthermore, exemplary American models of institutional sustainability and environmental education are explored and combined with those from abroad to produce a blueprint and action plan fitting for the American college and university.

The Hegemony Of English In South African Education, Kelsey E. Figone

Scripps Senior Theses

The South African Constitution recognizes 11 official languages and protects an individual’s right to use their mother-tongue freely. Despite this recognition, the majority of South African schools use English as the language of learning and teaching (LOLT). Learning in English is a struggle for many students who speak indigenous African languages, rather than English, as a mother-tongue, and the educational system is failing its students. This perpetuates inequality between different South African communities in a way that has roots in the divisions of South Africa’s past. An examination of the power of language and South Africa’s experience with colonialism and …

Revitalized Streets Of San Francisco: A Study Of Redevelopment And Gentrification In Soma And The Mission, Lucy K. Phillips

Scripps Senior Theses

San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood and the Mission District are facing new forms of redevelopment. The deindustrialization of SoMa has posed an opportunity for a 'new model' of gentrification to create a mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood from an area previously occupied by abandoned warehouses and vacant lots. In the Mission, awareness of the threats of gentrification and increased community participation are fighting to preserve the neighborhood and eliminate displacement. The innovative approaches to urban revitalization in these two neighborhoods demonstrate how redevelopment may occur without gentrification.

La Sociolinguistique Postcoloniale En Amérique Hispanophone Et En Afrique Francophone : Un Drame Linguistique En Deux Actes, Eva Valenti

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the sociolinguistic situations in postcolonial Latin America and francophone North Africa (the Maghreb) through a comparative lens. Specifically, it examines the ways in which Spain and France’s differing colonial agendas and language ideologies affected the relationships between colonizer and colonized, and, by extension, the role that Spanish and French play(ed) in these regions after decolonization. Finally, it explores how Spain and France’s contemporary discourses frame colonial participation in the two languages’ development, and the psychological effects these ideologies have had on the formerly colonized.

The Forgotten River; What The Bagmati Action Plan Means For The Sanctity Of One Of The Most Sacred Rivers In South Asia And Those Who Call The Rivers Vacant Riverbanks Home, Benjamin Conner

Environmental Analysis Program Mellon Student Summer Research Reports

This paper investigates the inner workings of the Bagmati Action Plan and how the implementation of this project impacts the established squatter communities that reside in the city’s floodplains. Deemed as a contributor to the rivers polluted state, the composed plan looks at both evicting all riverside squatters and finding alternative housing for affected citizens by working jointly with the country’s Ministry of Urban Development and Building Construction. By comprehensively reviewing the strategies implemented within the Bagmati Action Plan while also uncovering the country’s governmental proposal’s of housing relocation for squatters, this paper attempts to answer questions relating to the …

Incentivizing Biodiversity Conservation: The Ecological Icms In Brazil, Erin Franks

CMC Senior Theses

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the ecological ICMS (ICMS-e) in the Brazilian Amazon, an intragovernmental transfer for incentivizing biodiversity conservation. Tax funds are passed from state governments to municipalities in proportion to the amount of protected area within their borders; biological reserves, sustainable use areas, and indigenous lands are all considered. Econometric analysis using a fixed effects model found that the policy had little positive effect on increasing protected areas compared to the significant negative influence of poor land tenure, agricultural influences, and lack of monitoring for illegal deforestation. However, the policy may increase municipal governments' acceptance of and …

The Politics Of Physical Education Reform, Ari Zyskind

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of the paper is to determine why today's youth are so physically inactive by examining the role and efforts of physical education, and the state and federal governments responsibility in supporting these programs, in fighting today's obesity epidemic by creating generations of healthy and physically active children. Research led to the determination that states have failed to maintain and improve physical education resulting in a physically inactive youth. Therefore, the nation should look to federal legislation to support state-led physical education, which this paper found to be constitutional if the enactments followed the provisions established in South Dakota …

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 13: City Of Hidalgo, Texas, Fearful Of Cartel Violence Potentials—Will Not Release New Police Chief’S Photo, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Prose And Polarization: Environmental Literature And The Challenges To Constructive Discourse, Paige E. Costello

CMC Senior Theses

This work explores how authors employ literary modes to persuade readers towards one side or another of the environmental debate and whether the works promote constructive discourse on environmental issues. It uses two seminal works from each side of the environmental discourse, Silent Spring and The Population Bomb and The Ultimate Resource and The Skeptical Environmentalist, to analyze stylistic differences and similarities, to compare public reception, and to explain the increasing polarization of environmental discourse.

Tibetan Buddhism And The Chinese Communist Party: Moving Forward In The 21st Century, Evan Zwisler

CMC Senior Theses

I examine the state of Tibetan Buddhism that exists in China in the 21st century and what are the best methods to increase religious freedom and political autonomy. I look at what cause China and Tibet to reach this point, and why do the respective nations do what they do. Man people fundamentally misunderstand the reasons why the Chinese Communist Party oppresses Tibetan Buddhism; they aren't concerned with eradicating religion, they want to simply maintain longterm political legitimacy in Tibet.

California's War Over The Bay-Delta: Historic Failures And Current Battles, Jessica J. Mao

CMC Senior Theses

California has one highly-coveted possession: the Bay-Delta, which is the second largest estuary in the United States. Today, tensions are higher than ever as Southern California continues to grow and demand water from the Delta, agriculture suffers from drought and less-than-promised water allocations, and aquatic life diminishes due to environmentally damaging processes like pumping and exporting of water elsewhere. This paper will examine the historic policies that have shaped how the Delta has been managed, their successes and failures, and current plans in discussion for continuing improvement of the Delta. The Bay-Delta Conservation Plan and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water …

Federal Regulation Of Emerging Technologies And Its Implications For Transhumanist Applications Of Nbic Technologies, David A. Dreshfield

CMC Senior Theses

This paper attempts to chart potential courses for federal regulation of emerging technologies in the United States, and its near-future implications for the development and proliferation of NBIC technologies in a transhumanist context. Drawing on significant regulatory actions by the FDA and FCC throughout the twentieth century, relevant historical regulatory trends are identified and extrapolated broadly across the next two to three decades. The importance of the NBIC paradigm is discussed in detail, alongside several examples of both current and potential NBIC technologies with transhumanist applications. It ultimately concludes that, in spite of recent congressional dysfunctions and lack of political …

Can Representativeness Decrease Youth Violence In Juvenile Detention Facilities?, Ginger Silvera

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Using the theory on Representative Bureaucracy, this study considers the minority representative role, which suggests that administrators who are minorities are more inclined to represent minority interests. This study examined whether officers perceive themselves as advocates based on shared demographics and whether they develop attitudes toward reducing youth violence. Considerably more researchers conduct studies in adult prisons than juvenile correctional facilities, which focus on rehabilitation for youth. Therefore, this study further examines youth correctional staff attitudes toward inmates. The way correctional officers' treat minors may impact the amount of violence in juvenile detention facilities.

The purposes of the study are …

A Crucible Of Conflict: Third Generation Gang Studies Revisited, John P. Sullivan, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This essay briefly recounts the evolution of the gangs that occupy failed communities and states, further discusses and updates the model of third generation street gangs discussed in an earlier Journal of Gang Research article—typically described simply as third generation gangs (3 GEN Gangs), and suggests strategies for coping with and mitigating this evolved form of gang violence. Of note is the lack of impact 3 GEN Gangs studies have had on domestically focused U.S. academic gang research while, at the same time, becoming a dominant model in use by defense analysis and scholars focusing on increasingly politicized non-state threat …

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note No. 14: Anti-Aircraft Mounted .50 Cal. Machine Gun And Surface-To-Air Missile Recovered In 2009, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note No. 12: Forensics Of Recovered Weapons From Piedras Negras Tactical Engagement Between Los Zetas And Gate (Grupo De Armas Y Tácticas Especiales), David A. Kuhn, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note No. 13: Man Crucified In Michoacán, Mexico, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note No. 10: Claymore Anti-Personnel Mine (And Other Military Hardware) Recovered In Zacatecas, David A. Kuhn, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note No. 11: Mg 34 Machine Guns Recovered In Nayarit—Hezbollah Arms Transfer Concerns, David A. Kuhn, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 12: The Spreading Criminal Insurgencies In Mexico: States With U.S. State Department Travel Advisories, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note No. 9: Decapitated Adult Male With Hands And Feet Removed: Found On Side Of A Dirt Road Near Marana (Pima County) Arizona, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note No. 8: Teen Tortured, Dismembered, Beheaded By Trafficking Gang In Bethany, Oklahoma, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Changing Forms Of Insurgency: Pirates, Narco Gangs And Failed States, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The primarily bipolar world that helped to characterize the decades long Cold War has begun to realign itself. The information revolution, increasing globalizations, the ongoing expansion of transnational terrorist and insurgent networks, and many other elements of this systemic level change have continued to take place into the early twenty-first century. Within the context of this large-scale shift in human and state relations, one question that has often been asked by analysis is whether changing forms of insurgency are taking place. If this is so, these changing forms of insurgency would be distinct from the currently dominant political form of …

Border School Training Conference Held In California, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Adversary Weaponry To 2025, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This chapter will provide an overview of adversary weaponry that will be utilized by criminals and opposing forces (OPFORs) which U.S. law enforcement personnel may encounter domestically. The projected time frame will cover the futures period from 2009 through 2025. Criminal weaponry use will be analyzed using a criminal threat continuum that starts with minimal threats and increases in severity. OPFOR weaponry use will be analyzed using a similar continuum. It should be noted that OPFOR threats, like criminal threats, are illicit in nature and derived from individuals and groups that can be designated as engaging in criminal behavior or …

Mortgage Default In Southern California: Examining Distressed Borrower's Decision Making And Market Contagion, Michael Wilkerson

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on mortgage defaults in Southern California during the housing bubble of the 2000s. The rapid decline in the housing market that precipitated the current recession has been accompanied by an unprecedented number of loan defaults and foreclosures. Recent studies have identified two major theories of default--the "double trigger" hypothesis, where negative equity and an income shock are necessary conditions for default--and "strategic default" where negative equity is a sufficient condition for default. This paper adds to the default literature by adding short sale as another possible outcome of mortgage default.

The primary goal is to analyze the …