Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining Eurozone Divergence, Charles Noble

Economics Theses

This paper provides a brief history of European integration followed by an examination of the Eurozone financial crisis and the economic divergence among particular economies (Germany compared with Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland) it induced. Afterwards a list of structural and policy reforms meant to achieve economic convergence is provided. The paper concludes that in order for the Eurozone to achieve economic convergence, it would be best if Greece and Portugal exited the monetary union. The smaller, more homogeneous union could then more readily achieve economic convergence to function, both politically and economically, as a sustainable monetary union.

An Empirical Exploration Of The Effects Of Medical Marijuana Laws, Ben Ehrens

Economics Theses

This exploration into the multiple effects of medical marijuana laws on regional marketplaces uses a novel data set and contributes three unique and important findings. First, in states with medical marijuana legislation the price of marijuana is significantly lower than states without similar legislation, this is likely due to measures that allow for legalized avenues of production and distribution. Secondly, because of price breaks for bulk purchases, retail level distributers operate on a downward sloping supply curve that is less steep in medical marijuana states; this is likely due to decreased risk of distribution which may reduce preference for lower …

"When Did We Start Just Making Shit Up": Origins Of U. S. Pseudocracy, Hans Ostrom, William Haltom

All Faculty Scholarship

Early in 2011, a colleague asked, “When did we start just making shit up?” By “we,” she meant Americans but also, more specifically, those involved in politics—directly or as in­terested parties.

We an­swer her question variously in this paper.[1] But our overarching answer is that poli­ti­cos started flatly concocting misin­for­ma­tion when our propaganda polity mutated into a pseudocracy.

We wend our way to that answer as follows. After reviewing an­swers we deem insuffi­cient, we provide two sorts of tentative, rough an­swers. Our first answer is that the stretch­ing of what counts as an untruth combined with the lengthening of …

Power In Networks: Considering Castells’ Network Society In Egypt’S January 25th Movement And America’S Occupy Wall Street Movement, Marina Balleria

International Political Economy Theses

This article interogates Manuel Castell's Network society using the Egyptian Revolution and Occupy Wall Street as case studies. It looks at key shared characteristics: the call for transformational change, using a network structure and creating a self-conscious identity all of which nearly reflect the social theorist Manuel Castells’ definition of a social movement in a network society. Using the Egyptian revolution’s January 25^th movement (the Jan 25 movement) and Occupy Wall Street (OWS) as case studies, I argue that Castells’ theory of a network society successfully describes how social movements are empowered by the network structure to create social …

Angry Youth: Patriotic Education And The New Chinese Nationalism, Rachel Gary

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Un-Obtainium: The Quest For Rare Earth Elements, Brahm Heyman

International Political Economy Theses

The 17 "rare earth elements" are essential for the development of new technologies. Over the last several decades, China has established a virtual monopoly on the rare earth industry, producing over 97% of the world's current demand. This was achieved by effectively undercutting other producers who stopped competing in this market. In 2010, in an effort to bolster its domestic market, China decided to reduce the amount of rare earth elements that it would export. This situation can be used to consider China's relations with the rest of the world from two perspectives. (1) The realist perspective views China's actions …

Globalization, Health And The Nutrition Transition: How Global Tncs Are Changing Local Food Consumption Patterns, Morgan Mccloskey

International Political Economy Theses

Food consumption patterns around the world are changing. In general, individuals around the globe are consuming more edible oils and sugars than they were twenty years ago. What has lead to this nutrition transition? Scholars have identified a range of mechanisms associated with the transition, but nearly all are related to the growing influence of transnational corporations on the global food system. These TNCs are the lead actors in most global food production systems, dictating what is produced, how it is processed, where it is sold and the desirability of food products to global consumers. Looking at these TNCs through …

Reinterpreting Nuclear Consequences: Realism, Constructivism, And The Iranian Crisis, Harrison Diamond

International Political Economy Theses

The mainstream neoconservative perception of the persisting global conflict surrounding Iran’s nuclear program generally casts the nation as pursuing nuclear weaponry with the nefarious intentions of undermining western security interests and using these capabilities against Israel or European nations. Conversely, realist and constructivist scholars suggest that Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons is anything but irrational. Instead, Iran’s foreign policy represents a logical reaction to regional insecurities and collective identity formed by Iran’s history of past glory and subsequent marginalization, the mutual distrust between the U.S. and Iran following the ousting of the Shah, and Iran’s domestic political dynamics all …

Examining Growth: Religious Motivation And Megachurch Behavior, Kevin Bohm

Economics Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impact Governance And Club Structure Has On A Team’S Spending Power: A Case Study On The German Bundesliga, J. Marcus Rudd

Economics Theses

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat For Humanity On Neighborhood Property Values, Hope Shaffer

Economics Theses

This paper attempts to quantify the impact of Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity on Pierce County, WA by looking at changes in the sale prices of residential properties in the neighborhoods in which Habitat for Humanity builds. Changes in price that occur for property sales located within 1000 feet of the Habitat for Humanity properties were compared with the magnitude for price changes int he rest of the census tract. This method controls for unobservable aspects of the neighborhoods that would impact housing values. This study does not provide any statistically significant evidence that supports the claim that Tacoma/Pierce county …

The Efficient Land Trust: Considering Privately Accruing Nonmarket Values Of Conservation Easements, Ian Libby

Economics Theses

No abstract provided.

Public And Private Firms In Natural Resource Industry: Comparing The Development Of The Lithium Industry In South America, Mike Knape

International Political Economy Theses

Literature on public and private firms has traditionally focused on the efficiency effects of differing firm ownership, although the literature has been largely dormant since the 1980s. State-led development models in Asia and Latin America warrant continued analysis of this fundamental issue in International Political Economy. This paper attempts to frame debate on natural resource governance by identifying the factors that affect the mix of public and private firms in extractive industry. Historical institutionalism is used as a framework for analyzing policy change, and political economy theory of governance institutions is compared to the traditional economic theory of the firm. …

China To The Rescue? The Implications Of China’S Engagement With Resource-Rich Countries, Sean Rice

International Political Economy Theses

China’s interest in developing countries has exploded in the past decade as it continues to search for resources to fuel high growth rates. This paper examines China’s activity in various resource-rich countries through the lens of the resource curse. What are the implications of China’s involvement in developing countries in terms of the resource curse, and what factors or circumstances determine whether a country will benefit from these strategic relations with China? By viewing the resource curse in terms of specific challenges associated with resource wealth rather than an overarching curse, I analyze how China’s involvement has altered the severity …

The Possible Connection Of Gamma Oscillation And 3-D Object Representation, Thien N. Vu

Summer Research

We process and encode for different features of a particular object (shape, color, texture, etc.) in distinct areas of the brain. How we bind these attributes together into a unified perception of an object is unknown. Past research suggests that synchronized activity between brain areas, particularly induced gamma activity (~ 40 Hz), may account for this binding process and the basis of our conscious perceptual experience, specifically through object representation. In this study, participants were asked to look at a series of 2-D pictures of cars from distinctive rotations (0⁰, 90⁰, 180⁰) and were …

Effect Of Out-Group Exposure On The Mirror Neuron System, Mackenzie Hepker

Summer Research

Mirror neurons appear to play an important role in the experience of empathy, and may be critical for understanding the social signals of others in an interactive context between distinctly identified groups. Research has shown that mirror neuron activation is greater when observing in-group members (others that one most identifies with based on a certain factor or number of factors) as opposed to out-group members, which may implicate the mirror neuron system (MNS) in the neural aspect of social bias. However, no research had been conducted on the effect on the MNS of practice in interpreting and internalizing social signals …

Migrant Remittances In Rural Nepal: A Mixed Methods Household-Level Analysis, Evan Skamarock

Summer Research

This paper aspires to add to the bourgeoning field of interest concerning migration practices in the Gulf States. Based upon first hand ethnographic experience conducted in Bhairawah, southern Nepal, this paper hopes to encourage a deeper, more humanistic exploration of migratory practices that are currently approached from a political and economic lens. This paper begins with a chronological analysis and description of individual and household experience with migration. Moving further, this paper touches on a change over time of traditional gender roles for women.

War Tourism: Shaping Memory And Perception In Post-War Vietnam, Max Keyes

Summer Research

Dark tourism, which is the travel to places associated with death and suffering, can play an important role in a country’s economy and construction of historical narratives. Visiting sites associated with the Vietnam War has emerged as a vibrant part of Vietnam’s tourist industry, and crowds of foreign tourists can be found at several sites that are dedicated to commemorating the war. Several questions emerge from these sites, concerning the nature of their representation of the war, the reasons tourists visit, the impact on perceptions of visiting tourists, and the ethical implications on local Vietnamese that war tourism creates. This …

Emotion Recognition And Personality Traits: A Pilot Study, Hilary Tighe

Summer Research

This research examined personality factors and facial emotion recognition abilities in a sample of undergraduate students. The purpose of this study was to pilot methods and to collect baseline measure for a normal sample. A facial expression recognition task was created in which participants were asked to select which of two faces represented an emotional label. The participant’s accuracy and response time were recorded. An eye-tracker recorded the image of the participant’s eye and determined gaze position. From the data and feedback collected during pilot testing, methods were practiced and refined. After examining the results of these five participants, the …