Digital Commons Network^™

Spid: A New Database For Inferring Public Policy Innovativeness And Diffusion Networks, Frederick J. Boehmke, Mark Brockway, Bruce A. Desmarais, Jeffrey J. Harden, Scott Lacombe, Fridolin Linder, Hanna Wallach

Government: Faculty Publications

Despite its rich tradition, there are key limitations to researchers' ability to make generalizable inferences about state policy innovation and diffusion. This paper introduces new data and methods to move from empirical analyses of single policies to the analysis of comprehensive populations of policies and rigorously inferred diffusion networks. We have gathered policy adoption data appropriate for estimating policy innovativeness and tracing diffusion ties in a targeted manner (e.g., by policy domain, time period, or policy type) and extended the development of methods necessary to accurately and efficiently infer those ties. Our state policy innovation and diffusion (SPID) database includes …

The True Capabilities Of American Education Policy, Mirren Galway

Political Science

This paper is an analysis of today’s American education system, how it has come to be, and why it seems to consistently fall behind when compared to other countries. Beginning with an evaluation of American education today, this paper follows the implementation of recent policy, the deep issues facing the education system and what can be done to address them. Specifically, it explores why, despite such bipartisan legislation like the No Child Left Behind Act, many students and teachers are still being left behind, and why common arguments about education policy continue to fail students. I argue that, although new …

Public Matters? Comparing Decision-Making By Appointed And Elected Prosecutors In Cases Of Deadly Use-Of-Force By Police In The Hartford Judicial District And Suffolk County, Andrew E. Dubsky

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis dissects prosecutor discretion for appointed and elected prosecutors after a “catalyst” event shifts public opinion. Previous studies have shown that elected prosecutors are more likely to use discretion favoring the opinion of the public than their appointed counterparts (Bandyopadhyay 2014, Nelson 2014, and Valenti 2011). Because elected prosecutors are more likely to follow public opinion, they should also be more likely to respond to the demands of the public than their appointed counterparts. In effect, elected prosecutors are expected to be more likely to exercise discretion in their charging and prosecuting. To test this, I use the 2014 …

March Like A Girl: A Case Study Of The Women’S Movements In Spain And The United States, Magdalena Klin

Honors Scholar Theses

Between 2017 and 2018, the gender equality movement exploded in Spain and the United States due to two independent catalysts. In each respective country, there was one main grassroots coalition that channeled public outrage into a coherent display of protest. As the initial passion from the catalyst events diminished, these coalitions did not fade away. Instead, they grew into their nation's face of women’s advocacy. Given the comparable set of circumstances in Spain and the U.S., I identify how two temporary, newborn coalitions were able to capitalize on a burst of fame and develop into leading organizations. This paper examines …

With Liberty And Justice For Some: How Felony Disenfranchisement Undermines American Democracy, Kiley Staufenbeil

Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science

This paper examines the damaging effects of felony disenfranchisement on American democracy. The premise of American democracy is to include citizens in government processes, thus, felony disenfranchisement is inherently anti-democratic. The first section analyzes the historical timeline of the origins and prominence of felony disenfranchisement dating back to Ancient Greece. The paper considers the legal standing of felony disenfranchisement by examining relevant court cases, such as Richardson v. Ramirez (1974). Following this, a case study of the states that practice distinct levels of felony disenfranchisement, ranging from the most punitive states to the most permissive, is presented. The paper then …

Argumentative Synthesis Essay On Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, Gwendolyn D. Wheatley

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This essay discusses enhanced interrogation techniques. For reference, enhanced interrogation techniques are interrogation techniques that involve “physically coercive interventions” (Duke & Puyvelde, 2017). The U.S. government supported these techniques after the attacks on September 11, 2001. This essay argues that enhanced interrogation techniques should not be used in interrogations because they are unethical, ineffective, and negatively impact the mental health of the interrogators using these techniques. Additionally, the essay references articles on the varied viewpoints as well as explains information on these interrogation techniques. Also, the essay argues that enhanced interrogation techniques encourage people to be cruel and inhumane. Moreover, …

The History And Workings Of Virginia’S Community Services Boards: An In-Depth Look At Rappahannock Area Community Services Board, Molly Gehman

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This thesis studies the historic development of mental health care in the Commonwealth of Virginia and conducts a detailed examination of the mandated mental health services provided by the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board (RACSB). To conduct this review, the mental health services provided by RACSB were compared with two other Community Services Boards (CSBs), the Loudoun County CSB and the Dickenson County CSB. Results show the importance of community health care and jail diversion programs when compared with the historic mental health care methods of institutionalization and imprisonment. Results also show that health care in Virginia is operated out …

Surviving A Batterer: An Ideal Policy Approach To Combating Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv), Samantha Molisee-Sherman

Featured Research

Gender violence has plagued developed and developing societies for centuries, embedded in culture, structures, and ways of life. Women have been seen as pieces of property with no autonomy or individualism, just as extensions of their husbands. My research centers around finding an ideal policy solution to diminish rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the case of California. Interviews and data collection with legislators concerning education, rehabilitation or batterer intervention programs (BIP), and care providers in emergency shelters regarding victims’ services provided insight on a three-pronged approach targeted at curbing rates of IPV in California. My findings yielded that …

Public Opinion On Capital Punishment, Sydney Young

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The death penalty in the United States has its set of controversies from the people who support and those who oppose the policy. I want to examine how the death penalty and public opinion has changed over time. I also want to examine if there are statistical differences in regard to gender and political party. I would also like to compare different generations, such as millennials and baby boomers, to see if they vary in support for the death penalty. The last variable I would like to analyze is difference in regard to race and ethnicities. As a Deputy Juvenile …

International Impact Of The Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use Of Data (Cloud) Act And Suggested Amendments To Improve Foreign Relations, Jordan A. Klumpp

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Volume 12, Haleigh James, Hannah Meyls, Hope Irvin, Megan E. Hlavaty, Samara L. Gall, Austin J. Funk, Karyn Keane, Sarah Ghali, Antonio Harvey, Andrew Jones, Rachel Hazelwood, Madison Schmitz, Marija Venta, Haley Tebo, Jeremiah Gilmer, Bridget Dunn, Benjamin Sullivan, Mckenzie Johnson

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction, Dr. Roger A. Byrne, Dean

From the Editor, Dr. Larissa "Kat" Tracy

From the Designers, Rachel English, Rachel Hanson

Immortality in the Mortal World: Otherworldly Intervention in "Lanval" and "The Wife of Bath's Tale" by Haleigh James

Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Moroccan Olive Oils by HPLC by Hannah Meyls

Art by Hope Irvin

The Effects of Cell Phone Use on Gameplay Enjoyment and Frustration by Megan E. Hlavaty, Samara L. Gall, and Austin J. Funk

Care, No Matter What: Planned Parenthood's Use of Organizational Rhetoric to Expand its Reputation by Karyn Keane

Analysis of Petroleum Products for …

The Politics Of Sports, Samantha Russo

Political Analysis

Samantha Russo is a graduating senior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Criminal Justice. After graduation, she is seeking a career in the Criminal Justice field or in politics. The objective of her paper is to bring awareness to how athletes are treated by the media when voicing their political opinions.

The Martin Institute Prints, Spring 2020, Stonehill College: The Martin Institute For Law And Society

The Martin Institute: Prints

No abstract provided.

Helms School Of Government Newsletter - Spring 2020, Liberty University

The Helms School of Government Newsletter

Helms School of Government Newsletter- Spring 2020

Are Police Actions Towards African Americans Different From Other Races?, Colby King

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Research implies that African Americans and other minorities experience racial disparities in their encounters with police. Their white counterparts tend to not experience any racially driven disparity. Oftentimes this research does not use different characteristics while testing for racial disparity, leaving much more to be explored when researching police encounters among minorities. I will be using data from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics to test some of these characteristics. This study will test demographics regarding the citizens race and gender, as well as the nature of their police encounters. Using these demographics, we can find …

Hora De Las Noticias: The Importance Of Spanish- Language News Media For Us Latinos, Barbara Gomez-Aguinaga

Political Science ETDs

This dissertation examines the mechanisms that set Spanish-language (SL) news media apart from mainstream media, and how they influence political behavior and identity among US Latinos. Specifically, it analyzes (1) the role of content coverage of SL news on issue salience, (2) the use of Spanish as a US minority language in the dissemination of information and its effects on Latino identity, and (3) the presence of Latino reporters and its implications on media trust. By leveraging original data collection, including conceptual content analyses and population-based survey experiments, and by engaging in multiple theories from political science and other fields …

Does Imprisonment Have An Effect On Crime Rates?, Diana E. Mendez

Student Publications

Since the 1790s, prisons in the United States were built with the means of reducing crime rates through the usage of incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation. However, while it may seem intuitive to assume that higher incarceration rates yield lower crime rates, it is not regularly the case. Using the 2016 States dataset, I examine the effects of incarceration rates and its influence on crime rates in the United States; I suggest that states with higher incarceration rates will have higher crime rates than states with lower incarceration rates. Therefore, the evidence concludes states with high incarceration rates generate higher rates …

Fighting For Power: Class Conflicts In Political Participation, David Foley

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect that socioeconomic status has on political participation in the United States. The elite of the United States have been able to amass incomprehensible amounts of power and wealth. From a C. Wright Mill’s conflict theory perspective, those who are in power seek a continuation, and those not in power seek to flip the scales—or at least get even. Using socioeconomic status as focal point of conflict, this study completed varying models of binary logistic regression to unfold the relationship present between socioeconomic status—educational attainment, student status, and household income—with political …

The Political Development Of Capital Punishment In The Modern Moroccan State, Mia Barr

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The modern Moroccan state seen today is very young. Having only been independent from France since 1956, the country has spent the last sixty-four years crafting its post-colonial statehood. What has emerged is a hybrid political system with powers split, however unequally, between the King and his inner circle, known as the makhzen, and the Parliament. Not only is the monarchy constitutional—meaning that its legitimacy is literally written into the primary governing document of Morocco, which had its last referendum in 2011—but it is also self-sustaining and self-legitimizing, for the monarchy uses its constitutional powers to grant itself further powers …

Decolonizing Human Trafficking: A Case Study Of Human Trafficking In Edo State Nigeria, Oyinkansola Adepitan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Every year, governments and globally acclaimed international organizations alike develop policies, sanctions and other control mechanisms in terms of prevention, protection and prosecution in an attempt to abate the current human trafficking problem which appears to be worsening by the year. This thesis will explore the relationship of colonial legacies to the current human trafficking dilemma, assessing the impact of post-colonial cultural and structural practices that continue to persist and proliferate the movement of human beings across borders and facilitates their sub-human treatment. By analyzing the underlying elements that have caused the current international system to operate and be structured …

“Philippine Indios Were European Constitutional Spaniards”: Filipino Reception Of The Cádiz Constitution, 1813–1814, Abisai; University Pérez

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints

Thisarticle traces the impact of the 1812 Cádiz Constitution on the native population of the Philippines. It analyzes the contradictions that the constitution posed to the juridical status of natives who were granted citizenship rights and explores how the natives received the charter through the constitutional oath, a civic festival whereby local subjects swore fealty to the charter. It analyzes the Spanish legal culture that sustained the special legal régime granted to natives since the late sixteenth century, the debates that originated in the Cortes de Cádiz, and the modified version of the constitution that was created to dovetail with …

Pro-Life Ends At Birth: Race As A Primary Driver Of State Abortion And Concurrent Natalist Policy, Tasha Danner

University Honors Theses

The year 2019 saw the most restrictive state abortion policies introduced and passed since Roe v Wade. The same states passing this legislation are often states also cutting funding for policies that improve the health and socio-economic mobility of mothers and children, which disproportionately affects African-American residents of those states. Outside of reproductive justice advocacy, there is not much research on the role that race plays in the introduction and passing of state abortion policy. I examine and analyze the role of racial prejudice in passing restrictive abortion policy in southern states. Using historical context in southern states, a survey …

Joined-Up Government In The Prevention Of Terrorist-Financing Offenses By Nonprofit Organizations: An Evidence-Based Approach, Maliki Sukmana

Jurnal Politik

Indonesian interagency coordination to prevent terrorist-financing offenses by nonprofit organizations has several drawbacks. This article applies textual analysis and an evidence-based approach to draw effective coordination mechanisms from several countries’ experiences and to design a model of interagency coordination. The model illustrates mechanisms that can be the drivers of changes and minimize ineffective interagency coordination, which may lead to an increase in nonprofit vulnerabilities to terrorist-financing offenses. Evidence drawn from several countries that are contextually relevant to Indonesia, namely, Australia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, illustrates that effective interagency coordination potentially reduces the risks of terrorist financing and has synchronized …

Defining Criminality: Confronting Racist And Classist Narratives Of The Criminal, Sophia Meacham

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Defining someone as a criminal carries serious consequences for the individual in terms of a denial of resources, increased surveillance, incarceration, and dehumanization, and also for society as a whole.

Author information: Sophia Meacham is now at the Columbia College of Arts and Sciences at George Washington University where she is pursuing a Masters degree in Media and Strategic Communications. This research was conducted as an independent study by the author as an undergraduate at Smith College.

Human Rights, Those Who Are Governed And The Legitimacy Of Law Enforcement, Lynn Rhodes

Comparative Civilizations Review

Most everyone, if not all of us, wants to be happy. Peace is a common denominator frequently sought. It is human nature to seek security, another word for happiness. Human Rights, as we know, are basic rights and freedoms that inherently belong to every person.

Hard And Soft "New Media" Effects On Presidential Candidate Name Recall: A Case Study, Jody Baumgartner, Jonathan S. Morris

Journal of Political Science

No abstract provided.

Informal Social Networking And Community Involvement: Participation In Neighborhood Crime Watches In Japan, Sean Richey

Journal of Political Science

No abstract provided.

Professionalization Of State Legislative Campaigns In South Carolina, North Carolina, And Georgia: Evidence From The 2000 Election Cycle, Jonathan Smith

Journal of Political Science

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Terrorism: Avoidance And Survival By Chester L. Quarles, Andrew Myers

Journal of Political Science

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Divergent Rights: New York's Proposed Police And Public Protection Act, Christopher J. Morse

Journal of Political Science

No abstract provided.