Digital Commons Network^™

Gender, Race, And Intersectionality On The Federal Appellate Bench., Todd Collins, Laura Moyer

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

While theoretical justifications predict that a judge’s gender and race may influence judicial decisions, empirical support for these arguments has been mixed. However, recent increases in judicial diversity necessitate a reexamination of these earlier studies. Rather than examining individual judges on a single characteristic, such as gender or race alone, this research note argues that the intersection of individual characteristics may provide an alternative approach for evaluating the effects of diversity on the federal appellate bench. The results of cohort models examining the joint effects of race and gender suggest that minority female judges are more likely to support criminal …

Economic Development And The Absence Of Democracy In China, Megan Whipp

Masters Theses

My research will look at the reasons for China's lack of democracy. China has become increasingly developed giving the Chinese people greater wealth, improved education, and better access to healthcare. Based on Seymour Lipset's 1963 study which finds economic development fosters democracy, China should have become democratic. But, China is not a democracy.

The methodology employed in this study is a case study. A case study ensures an in-depth analysis of the relevant factors which could affect China's prospects for democracy. This study advances the understanding of China's continued authoritarian rule finding two factors especially influential. The first factor is …

China Around The World: Japan, James Farrer

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

My knowledge of Japanese media coverage of China is largely limited to print media, and mostly as a regular consumer of the major liberal daily Asahi Shimbun. Despite this relatively narrow window, several features of Asahi‘s China coverage strike me as noteworthy.

One obvious difference with American newspaper reporting is a far greater focus on historical features. During the past year, Asahi ran an excellent series on turning points East Asian history, that included essays on Japan’s colonial expansion in Korea, Taiwan, China and other parts of Asia. One series of articles compared the way these events were described in …

Geography, Poverty, And Development Policy In The New African Millennium: Monitoring The Millennium Development Goals Through Human Development, Joseph Tamba Koroma

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV I AIDS, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. The eighth goal (MDG 8), aims to develop and strengthen a global partnership for development between rich and poor countries. Three main components of the latter (MDG 8) aim to accelerate the infusion of official development aid (ODA), liberalize international trade, and introduce information and communication technologies (ICT) in the hope of creating a conducive …

“Solidarity And Solidarność: A Search For The Person In Community”, Elizabeth Mary Johnson

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Membership Card: Edna Saffy For The William. J. Clinton Foundation

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

William J. Clinton Foundation Global community Membership Card. May 1, 2008.

Rights At Risk: Refugees In The New South Africa, Jaclyn Sheltry

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis seeks to analyze the relationship between public attitudes toward refugees in a refugee receiving state and the realization of the legal rights afforded refugees (de facto rights). I hypothesize that the more negative a host culture is toward refugees, the less refugees are able to realize their rights. Conversely, the more positive a host culture is toward refugees, the more refugees are able to realize their rights.

I test the hypothesis through a case study of refugee populations in Cape Town, South Africa, based on research conducted from May to June 2007. The orientation (positive or negative) of …

Crossing Borders: Mexican Immigration Into The United States, Ewelina L. Dzieciolowski

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Immigration has been one of the major political and economic topics debated by governments in the world. In the United States, migration legislation is debated in the Senate, and impacts every industry throughout the country. Therefore, with further research in this field more answers for why migration occurs can be found. Although various disciplines focus on this phenomenon, each offers reasons specific to the discipline which is searching for an explanation. This thesis acknowledges that economic factors, social aspects, push and pull influences are some of the reasons for immigration, but it also proposes that there are other forces behind …

The Right To Learn Across The Tracks: An Analysis Of School Funding And Integration In Seattle, Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago And Washington, D.C., Erin M. Pollard

Politics Honors Papers

Through examining the levels of integration in public and private schools across the United States, it is clear that the spirit of Brown v. Board of Education was never fulfilled. Students are still learning in an overwhelmingly homogeneous environment. Even in diverse neighborhoods there is a difference: the poor and minority children attend the public schools and the wealthy children attend private school. Thus, the urban public schools remain overwhelmingly minority, while private schools are overwhelmingly white. There is a clear discrepancy between black and white students in terms of size of school and quality of education.

To determine whether …

Nuclear Technologies In The Great Basin Oral History Project, Danielle Endres

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Abstract:

The United States currently faces a nuclear waste crisis. According to a 2002 report by former Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, “We have a staggering amount of radioactive waste in this country.”1 The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that by 2035 the U.S. will have approximately 115,000 metric tons of high-level nuclear waste, which exceeds the capacity of the proposed federal storage site at Yucca Mountain.2 Deciding where and how to store nuclear waste is a significant nuclear, environmental, and health policy issue. The decisions that we make about nuclear waste siting greatly impact the future of nuclear technologies …

Tribes And Yucca Mountain: Native American Forum On Nuclear Issues, Fred Dilger

Native American Forum on Nuclear Issues

Abstract:

-Yucca Mountain: Extensive history of social-cultural studies

-No interaction on transportation

-Unsuccessful effort began in 1993 and ended in 1995

-DOE tribal policy was a very good start

-Restarted again in 2004-DOE invites tribes to TEC meeting

-Shape future interaction between DOE and other Tribes

-Tribes identify themselves as affected by DOE differently than DOE defines affected tribes

Protecting Paradise: A Cross-National Analysis Of Biome-Protection Policies, Candace Archer, Shannon Orr

Political Science Faculty Publications

Land protection policies such as creating and preserving national parks have been promoted to counter global threats to the environment and to conserve biodiversity. We know little, however, about the country characteristics that might be good predictors of whether states will choose to protect land or not. What factors within a state need to be the focus of global attention or need to be encouraged to promote land-protection policies? Using the global standard of 10% ecoregion protection, we test four categories of predictors–biodiversity, environmental threats, politics (such as treaty participation and NGO activity), and economics (such as GDP and trade …

Following The Paths Of Progress Of New Democracies, Aniela Pietrasz

Inquiry Journal 2008

No abstract provided.

Slavery And "Abuse Regeneration", Christine Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Skinner’s depiction of modern day slavery is graphic and challenging. Anyone viewing prohibitions on slavery, or abolition, as historical anachronism, or requiring reinterpretation for modern-day practices, must think again. Skinner persuades us that slavery in its most old fashioned sense is alive and well and, worse than that–on the rise.

Volume 01, Jessica Fields, Stephanie Neeley, Derek W. Hambright, Mary E. Lehman, Andrew R. Grzankowski, Zachary Johnson, Boone M. Prentice, Ashley M. Swandby, Victoria Morgan, Katie Williamson, Kristine G. Bender, Katelyn N. Romaine, D. Nicole Swann, Jessica Fox, Mike Mcateer, Alex Grabiec, Laura Nodtvedt, Nick Costa, Rachel Wolfe, Zack Dalton

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction from Dean Dr. Charles Ross

Three Decades of Digging: Undergraduate Archeology at Longwood by Jessica Fields and Stephanie Neeley

Interactions of Allelopathy and Heat Stress in Plants by Derek W. Hambright and Mary E. Lehman

Inertial Electrostatic Confinement D-D Fusion Device: Construction and Simulation by Andrew R. Grzankowski

Shackled Nim by Zachary Johnson

Development of GC-MS and Chemometric Methods for the Analysis of Accelerants in Arson Cases by Boone M. Prentice

A Comparison of Image Analysis Methods in cDNA Microarrays by Ashley M. Swandby

Perceived Sexual Activity of Short and Long-Term Relationships by Victoria Morgan and Katie Williamson

Elderly …

Imag(In)Ing September 11: Ward Churchill, Frame Contestation, And Media Hegemony, Erika G. King, Mary Deyoung

Peer Reviewed Articles

This study analyzes the Denver Post’s reportage on the frame contest between the dominant narrative of the September 11 terrorist attacks set out by President Bush and a challenge to that narrative in an Internet essay by Professor Ward Churchill. The authors find that by refusing to interrogate Churchill’s sociopolitical argument, reducing it to the offensive rhetorical trope “little Eichmanns” he used to describe the victims of the attacks, and pillorying Churchill as a person and scholar, the Post assured his counterframe would not achieve parity with the dominant frame. The authors interpret this as an example of media …

Political Science Spring 2008, Steve Hays, Dan Sabia

Political Science Newsletter Spring 2008

No abstract provided.

Generals In Three-Piece Suits—Contractors In Camouflage: A Critical Assessment Of Contractors In Iraq, Wyman E. Shuler Iii

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Contractors compose part of the total force for U.S. warfare capability in Iraq.

Some augment U.S. warfare capability; others do not. Some of the contractors are controlled by the military; others are controlled by civilian (nonmilitary/political) government agencies. The problem: Who are the contractors and how has the nature of government oversight and control over contractors determined whether contractor contributions augment or diminish U.S. warfare capability in the Iraq War?

Argument: It is the degree of government control over contractors that determines whether the contractors' contributions have a positive or negative impact on warfare capability. Ultimately the findings support …

April Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“A World Enslaved" by E. Benjamin Skinner. Foreign Policy (March/April) 2008.

Invitation: Insight Series, Madeline Albright

Saffy Collection - All Textual Materials

Flyer/invitation for the Duval County Democratic Party, Insight Series presents.... Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, "Restoring America's Stature in the World". Reception 6-7pm, Keynote event, 7:30pm, Florida Theatre, Tuesday March 25, 2008. Includes an invitation to luncheon with Madeleine K. Albright to benefit the Duval County Democratic Executive Committee held at The River Club of Jacksonville, March 25, from 12-2pm. Honorary Chair: U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, Co-Chairs: U.S. Representative Corrine Brown, Chairman Fred Schultz, Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, Mayor Lou Ritter. Sponsored by the Duval County Democratic Executive Committee & National Security Network. Handwritten notes on the front and …

Naccs 35th Annual Conference, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

NACCS Conference Programs

Poesía, Baile y Canción: The Politics, Implications, and Future of Chicana/os' Cultural Production
March 19-22, 2008
Hyatt Regency Hotel

Parades, Pickets, And Prison: Alice Paul And The Virtues Of Unruly Constitutional Citizenship, Lynda G. Dodd

Schmooze 'tickets'

No abstract provided.

Political Economy, Moral Economy And The Medicare Modernization Act Of 2003, Judie Svihula

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Through the lens of political and moral economy, I examined the dominant values and actors in the legislative process of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. In my content analysis of federal hearings, I found that witnesses from government agencies, Congress and think tanks had almost equal presence at the hearings. Witnesses who were invited by Congress to testify at the hearings expressed twice as much support for private interests than for the general Medicare population or low-income beneficiaries. Few expressed concern for the uninsured population. Witnesses offered almost four times as many expressions of support for market rationalism than …

Advocate, March 2008, Vol. [19], No. [4], Gc Advocate

The Advocate

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Puerto Rico School Teachers Go on Strike, Demand Higher Wages, Smaller Classes, Better Facilities (p. 1)

NP on the Way? Student Affairs Says New Nurse Practitioner Could Be on Campus by Mid-April (p. 1)

From the Editor’s Desk: What Nader’s Bid Really Means (p. 2)

Guest Editorial: CUNY Grad Students Deserve the Same Health Insurance as SUNY Grad Students. Ellen Zitani (p. 3)

Adjuncting: Now is the Time for Graduate Student Health Insurance at CUNY! Carl Lindskoog (p. 4)

Dispatches from the Front: Catching More Flies with… Butter? Tracy E. Robey (p. 5)

Grad Life: Repetitive Motion …

The Illicit Arms Trade: A Social Network Analysis, David Todd Kinsella

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent years, researchers have increasingly turned their attention to the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. Small arms are difficult to track and are not the stuff of military parades, but they are immensely destructive. In addition to what is already circulating, a substantial percentage of what is newly produced enters the black market and is destined for conflict zones across the globe. I argue that the illicit trade in small arms shares some important properties with networked forms of organization studied by sociologists. I then employ quantitative methods developed for the study of social networks in an …

Ua3/9/5 Student Rally At The Capitol, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Speech delivered by WKU president Gary Ransdell at student rally against budget cuts in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Macroeconomic Policy Change: Ireland In Comparative Perspective, John Hogan

Articles

This paper sets out to develop an improved framework for examining critical junctures. This a priori framework is a significant improvement over existing critical juncture frameworks that lack any predictive element. It is an advance for historical institutionalism in particular, and political science in general. After the new framework is set out in detail here, it is tested. The framework is used to examine a number of potential critical junctures in macroeconomic policy, drawn from Ireland, Sweden, Britain, and America in the latter half of the twentieth century

Post Winter Term Student Survey, Wku Student Government Association

Student Government Association

Survey of student opinions regarding the four week winter term offered in January 2008.

5 Good Short Reads On China Beat Topics–All By People Who Aren’T China Specialists

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Academics focusing on China, like other area specialists, tend to place a high value on formal training in the language and culture of the place we’ve devoted ourselves to teaching and writing about. We think (and I’m no exception) that most of the best scholarly work on Chinese issues has been done by people with this kind of training. And the people outside of the academy that we pay the closest attention to—journalists, free-lance writers, business commentators, policy analysts, etc.—tend to be those who have had some training in Chinese studies, or know the language and have demonstrated a primary …

Following A Recipe: When Op-Ed Pieces On China Go Wrong

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is visiting Beijing and the Daily Telegraph has a dour op-ed piece written by Bruce Anderson in today’s edition. Anderson argues that China’s reemergence as a great power is not nearly as worrisome as the prospect of China’s failure.

“If China succeeds, there will be a price. The West would lose power. But Chinese success is much the lesser evil. Imagine what would happen if that huge and powerfully armed nation became a failed state.”

Fair as it goes. China is a large, powerful, and nuclear-armed nation. A collapse of the Chinese state would likely …