Digital Commons Network^™

Who Votes For Mayor? A Psu Pilot Research Report, Jason R. Jurjevich, Phil Keisling, Kevin Christopher Rancik, Carson Gorecki

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

Phil Keisling is director of the Center for Public Service at Portland State University in Oregon, which recently conducted research on who votes in mayoral elections with Knight Foundation support.

The last 10 to 20 years have been times of revitalization and progress for many of America’s big cities. While there are certainly exceptions, many major city downtowns have been revitalized, often with the money and energy of younger entrepreneurs. Committed and often well-educated “young creatives” have helped turn many urban cores into desirable places to live, work, and raise families.

But as much as younger residents have often played …

Influence Of Changes In Political Barriers And Of Geographic Distance On Kinship Inferred From Surnames And Migration Data In Olivenza (Spain) And Surrounding Portuguese Areas, J. Román-Busto

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The existing relationship between human populations is a function of their migratory and genetic exchange which will be inversely proportional to the distance separating them. The effect of geographic distance on population structure may be estimated by means of isonymic methods which use information on the surnames present in a territory as an approximation to the distribution of allele frequencies. The objective of this study is to analyse whether the modification in 1801 of the political border in an area surrounding the town of Olivenza, which experienced a change of sovereignty from Portugal to Spain, has had noticeable influence on …

Book Review: Warning Signs Of Genocide: An Anthropological Perspective, Christopher Powell Ph.D.

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Pockets Of Participation: Bureaucratic Incentives And Participatory Irrigation Management In Thailand, Jacob Ricks

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Despite a history of participatory policies, Thailand’s Royal Irrigation Department (RID) has had little success in developing water user organisations (WUOs) capable of facilitating cooperation between farmers and the irrigation agency. Even so, pockets of participation exist. What can explain these rare successes? What policy lessons can they provide? Comparing nine WUOs, I identify factors that contribute to the emergence of relatively successful groups. Most importantly, I show that successful WUOs are contingent on the actions of local irrigation officials. These findings emphasise the important role of street-level bureaucrats in implementing participatory policies. The incentive structures provided by the RID, …

Civil War Incentives, Identities, And Group Allegiances In Syria's Contested Provinces: A Case Study On Civil War, Hilary Weitze

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project seeks to answer the following questions: Why did the 2011 Syrian Revolution transition into a civil war? What contributed to the popularity of rebel efforts in the countryside? This case study on the Syrian Civil War begins by characterizing key events in the current civil war setting in order to characterize the nature of participation on the insurgent side of the conflict. Further, this project sets out to identify key events and actors in their respective geographic and demographic frameworks in order to identify the nature of participants and their respective characteristics. I will ultimately draw a connecting …

Foreign Direct Investment And The Chinese Economy: Theory And Impact, Gerasimos Seriatos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Chinese economy has sustained a high rate of growth during the last three decades. This economic growth has been the outcome of an innovative strategy, which the Chinese leadership has been implementing within the model of the state directed economy. This strategy has been manifested in a variety of tactical moves one of which is the utilization of Foreign Direct Investment as a source of finance and industrial know-how. The argument in this study is that Foreign Direct Investment has positively contributed to the phenomenal growth of the Chinese economy. Moreover, the performance of Foreign Direct Investment in China …

And Then There Were Two: Why Is The United States One Of Only Two Countries In The World That Has Not Ratified The Convention On The Rights Of The Child?, Mark Engman

International Human Rights Law Journal

Twenty-five years ago, the United Nations General Assembly (‘U.N. General Assembly’) unanimously adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter the “CRC”), which became the most widely accepted human rights treaty in history. Today, every nation in the world is a party to the CRC – except for two: Somalia, and the United States. This article will analyze the politics behind America’s failure to ratify this treaty. That may seem a little out of place in a law journal, but in reality the United States’ (‘U.S.’) acceptance or rejection of international law is as much a matter of …

Principled Humanitarian Organizations And The Use Of Force: Is There Space To Speak Out?, Scott Paul, Elizabeth Holland

International Human Rights Law Journal

Humanitarian organizations are fundamentally concerned with addressing the suffering of civilians. The decision by an armed actor to resort to force can result in greater protection or greater harm, and has at least as significant an impact on civilian lives as any decision made during the conduct of hostilities. Yet, humanitarian organizations rarely publicly advocate for or against the use of force. This article explores the perceived and actual limitations that humanitarian principles place on the public advocacy of humanitarian organizations regarding the recourse to force. It begins with a discussion of the relevant legal framework and explication of the …

Transitional Justice In Sri Lanka: Rethinking Post-War Diaspora Advocacy For Accountability, Mytili Bala

International Human Rights Law Journal

Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam came to a bloody end in May 2009, amidst allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity on both sides. Since then, Tamils in the diaspora, long accused of funding the war, have become vocal proponents for war crimes accountability. Some might label certain forms of diaspora advocacy as “lawfare” or “long-distance nationalism.” However, these labels fail to account for the complex memories and identities that shape diaspora advocacy for accountability today. In order for Sri Lanka to move forward from decades of conflict, transitional justice mechanisms to …

No Child Is An Island: The Predicament Of Statelessness For Children In The Caribbean, Catherine A. Tobin

International Human Rights Law Journal

In a region characterized by human mobility, many children in the Caribbean are born in a different country than their parents. In fact, the Caribbean is considered one of the regions with the highest percentage of people migrating. This article will analyze the root causes of statelessness for children in the Caribbean, focusing primarily on the dangerous interplay between ineffective birth registration systems and lack of safeguards for children who would be otherwise stateless. The article will also address recent shifts in migration and nationality policies in countries such as The Bahamas and the Dominican Republic that have exacerbated existing …

A Close Look At The Relationship Between Poverty And Political Violence In Nepal, Lauren C. Griffin

Global Tides

Today, one quarter of Nepal’s population of 27 million lives on a daily income of less than two dollars (Sharma 8). Villages are deprived of an ample water supply, and some areas still lie in ruins from the aftermath of the Maoist insurgency. This paper will seek to understand the role of poverty in the historically and presently unfolding political environment of Nepal. Several factors show direct correlation between poverty and insurgent activity, such as land ownership, level of education and socio-economic standing. Nepal has had a volatile and bloody past in the midst of medieval dynasties, an authoritative monarchy …

Drug Violence And Public (In)Security: Mexico's Federal Police And Human Rights Abuse, Dominic Pera

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Violence in Mexico, with dramatic political, social, and economic consequences on both Mexican and US populations, has risen dramatically in the past decade. Research has shown that the Mexican military is largely responsible for human rights abuses in Mexico. This paper will seek to answer why there are so many human rights abuses committed by the Federal Police, as public security is a police role and its deterioration threatens lives, security, and the rule of law. This paper will look at what scholars have said about the causes of police violence and public insecurity. Some say that history is responsible, …

Somsavat Lengsavad [Laos, Deputy Prime Minister], Somsavat Lengsavad

Digital Narratives of Asia

Somsavat Lengsavad is Deputy Prime Minister of Laos. He joined the People's Revolutionary Movement as a combatant in 1961 and his efforts to liberate and unite Laos found him in government decades later. He speaks to DNA about his time in combat, as well as the lessons he learnt from his role model, former President Kaysone Phomvihane.

About The Contributors

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

No abstract provided.

Gendered Legislation: Effects Of Percentages Of Females In Legislatures On Policy, Elizabeth Gribbins

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Does the amount of women in the legislature have an effect on the type of legislation passed? Wide variation exists in gender parity across countries; however, whether or not the amount of women in legislatures has an effect on the type of policy that is proposed and/or passed by the government is largely overlooked. In this analysis, I analyze the percentage of women in the legislature and six measures of women’s rights in 139 countries. I have found that there exists a small positive statistical relationship between the percentage of women in the lower legislature and the more legislation passed …

Factors Driving North Korean Military Provocations, Adam F. White

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This paper examines the causal factors underlying North Korea’s decision to use military actions against South Korean and U.S. personnel, both military and civilian, from the post-Korean War until the present day. It tests hypotheses at the systemic, domestic, and individual levels of analysis and draws conclusions as to what forces and theories appear to explain North Korean behavior across three different leaders. It concludes that North Korea is largely leadership-driven and that there has been a shift away from military provocations since the time of Kim Il-Sung in favor of nuclear weapons development.

Local Realities Of Philanthrocapitalism, Anissa Pemberton

Celebration of Learning

In this analysis of interviews with nine not-­for-­profit employees, I argue that fear and tradition in the funding priorities of private foundations has the long-­term result of limiting the local social service sector substantially. Particularly, the effect of philanthrocapitalism is felt within those topics that are deemed by the foundations to be too unstable or new to provide monetary assistance. Exasperating these realities is the missing stability of government funding for new organizations. In the Quad Cities, the main segments currently feeling the most significant financial strain are immigrants and refugees. In this ethnographic interview study of nonprofit employees, I …

The Metro Manila Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, John W. Ellington

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Although Western colonisers have, to varying degrees, shaped the political structures and economies of nearly all modern Southeast Asian nations, they achieved an unmatched level of cultural and institutional penetration in the Philippines. Far from the Indic influences that inspired Angkor Wat, Borobudur and Bagan, the island group was only marginally sanskritised during the pre-colonial period. With some notable exceptions in the south, Muslim communities were also never able to establish firm roots. Mindanao, Sulu and even southern Luzon were home to maritime sultanates beginning in the late 14th century, but a Spanish victory over the Muslim Rajah of Maynila …

Approaching Ideals Through Innovation: Twentieth And Twenty-First Century Mass Media Technology And American Democracy, Elizabeth Brand Cermak

Senior Theses

From the moment our First Amendment was adopted, America’s ideal of democracy has been firmly intertwined with media communications between the President and the citizenry. Over time, technological advancements have altered the way this communication is facilitated, increasing the public’s access to the Office of the Presidency, and visa versa, via new forms of media. Through an examination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s use of the radio, the first televised debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960, and Barack Obama’s use of Social Media and the Internet, this thesis will seek to answer the question of whether the …

The Influence Of Economic Performance In The 2014 Midterms: A Gubernatorial Tutorial, Justin M. Markon

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

Who is responsible for the state economy, and does it matter in electing the state chief executive? Until now, numerous researchers have examined the influence of the economy and other factors in gubernatorial elections. However, the most recent studies at the state level did not include economic conditions or found them to be insignificant. This project will examine the thirty-six gubernatorial elections in 2014 and analyze both national- and state-level economic indicators. After investigating the economic performance factors in relation to the election results, it appears that economic conditions did not influence vote choice in the November 2014 gubernatorial elections, …

An Electronic Theory Of Democracy : House Members On Their Computers., Doug Murdoch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper analyzes the use of the Twitter use of all House of Representative members in the 111th Congress. The data used is a secondary dataset originally created by Gainous and Wagner (2014). This paper aims to demonstrate the methods members of Congress to create a public image. In traditional campaign literature, campaign statements are divided into four mutually exclusive categories: positive competitive, negative competitive, substantive, and information dissemination. This paper seeks to add a fifth category to the discussion, the presentation of self. The presentation of self is not a traditional form of campaigning. Rather, it is the strategy …

Female Integration In Terrorist Groups, Ayana Lilllian Gray

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

his thesis examines levels of female integration in nine terrorist groups.

Operation Judicial Review: A Comparative Analysis Of The Role Of The Judiciary In Domestic And Foreign Detention And Material Support Cases During The War On Terror, Tyler Mitchell

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The Bush and Obama administrations have pursued a military campaign during the War on Terror in which “the world is a battlefield.” The globalized nature of contemporary warfare has tested the limits of constitutional protections for individuals under the control of the United States government. My distinction thesis focuses on the extension of constitutional rights and, in turn, the maintenance of the separation of powers during the War on Terror. I provide a comparative analysis of the role of the judiciary to reconcile constitutional First Amendment free speech & association and habeus corpus rights with federal executive & legislative counterterrorism …

Representations Of Us Acts Of Extra-Territoriality As Illustrated In Pakistani-English Political Cartoons, Aina S. Niaz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The significance of Pakistan as an international state cannot be downplayed. Not only is Pakistan the first Islamic state to develop its nuclear power, but Pakistan has served as an important geostrategic state to the US on several occasions. The US-Pakistan geopolitical relationship was most vividly highlighted during the final years of the Cold War; and has reemerged again in the Global War on Terror. This thesis will examine Pakistani-English political cartoons to examine the way US extra-territoriality is represented visually. Approximately 2940 political cartoons are collected from four Pakistani-English newspapers: Dawn, The Express Tribune, The Nation, …

Shaping American Foreign Policy A Game Theoretic Analysis Of The United States'--North Korean Relationship, Kimberly Michelle Ganczak

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Over the past two decades, international relations researchers have developed increasingly nuanced game theoretic models to analyze interstate interactions. This study is a modem, case-specific Bayesian analysis that aims to make contributions to the scholarly analysis of conflict while offering practical advice to policymakers interested in relations between the United States and North Korea.

This study develops a new model of United States - North Korea relations in order to develop insights useful for understanding and hopefully refining, management of this relationship. This study utilizes the extensive form of a signaling game to model the interactions between both states. This …

Resistance, Acquiescence Or Incorporation? An Introduction To Land Grabbing And Political Reactions ‘From Below’, Marc Edelman, Ruth Hall, Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Ian Scoones, Ben White, Wendy Wolford

Publications and Research

Political reactions ‘from below’ to global land grabbing have been vastly more varied and complex than is usually assumed. This essay introduces a collection of ground- breaking studies that discuss responses that range from various types of organized and everyday resistance to demands for incorporation or for better terms of incorporation into land deals. Initiatives ‘from below’ in response to land deals have involved local and transnational alliances and the use of legal and extra-legal methods, and have brought victories and defeats. The relevance of political reactions to land grabbing is discussed in light of theories of social movements and …

Finding Meaning In Difference: Girls' Education Initiatives In Kenya From The Un And Ngos, Paige Heather Reese Mckinsey

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Within international affairs academia, an understanding exists; when girls are educated, their families, their communities, their nations, and the world at large benefits. However, the academic work analyzing girls' education initiatives in developing nations has a partial view of the situation, focusing solely on those initiatives which combat logistical barriers. In previous research, it was found that a divide exists between the initiatives taken by NGOs and the United Nations working in Africa in which the former focuses on normative barriers to education while the later focuses on logistical barriers. What has yet to be discussed is the reason for …

“If It Ain’T Broke, Don’T Fix It”?: Analyzing The Politics Of The Un Security Council And The Viability Of The Group Of Four’S Proposal For Reform, Marissa A. Mcomber

Honors College Theses

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)’s mandate gives it the unique authority to maintain international peace and security. Made up of ten nonpermanent rotating and five permanent Member States (P5), the UNSC gives this decision making power to less than eight percent of the Member States of the UN at a time, five of whom never change. It has long been argued that the P5 represent a power distribution of the world as it existed in 1945, directly after World War II, and has not kept up with changing membership and power dynamics. This paper analyzes the history of the …

Can They Teach Each Other? : The Restructuring Of Higher Education And The Rise Of Undergraduate Student “Teachers” In Ontario, Jennifer Massey, Sean Field

Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs

Changes to public funding regimes, coupled with transformations in how universities are managed and measured have altered the methods for educating undergraduate students. The growing reliance on teaching fellows, teaching assistants, and increasingly undergraduate peer educators (administering Supplemental Instruction [SI] programs) is promoted as a means toachieve a greater “return on investment” in the delivery of postsecondary education. Neoliberal discourses legitimating this downloading of teaching labour suggest it offers a “win-win” solution to the “problem” of educating growing numbers of undergraduate students. It proposes universities can deliver the same curricula, and achieve the same “outcomes” (primarily measured through grades and …

Terrorist Black Holes: The Case Of Northern Ireland, Melissa Divens

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

What factors within a region contribute to the host of a terrorist group? Rem Korteweg and David Ehrhardt begin to answer that question with the publishing of what they call “a first step in research aimed at uncovering terrorist sanctuaries”. Terrorist Black Holes: A Study into Terrorist Sanctuaries and Governmental Weakness (2005), identifies the concept of a Terrorist Black Hole, which is an area within a region that houses a terrorist group. While Korteweg concentrates on regions outside of NATO territory, I challenge his assumption for the absence of Terrorist Black Holes in the West by asking: What are the …