Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Statistical Analysis Of U.S. Foreign Aid And Latin American Human Rights, 1977-1988, Quentin Kidd

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This paper is set in a time when, quite frankly, situations and events around the world are changing much faster than the perceptive abilities of the academic community. During the Cold War period it was relatively common to focus one's research toward a particular direction or specialty and feel safe that the rug would no be pulled out from under it. Many of this century's great political scientists carved their niches and made their names by studying and commenting on the status of the world as defined by the Cold War. Times have changed though. The Cold War has ended …

The Impractical Ideal Costa Rica, The United States And Central America Reunification, 1902-1932, Donald R. Lam

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the motivations of Central American Unionists and the failure of their movement in the early years of the twentieth century. The existing literature attributes the failure of Central American unification during this era to U.S. policies meant to maintain a divided isthmus in order to economically and politically exploit the region. A closer analysis of the primary sources, however, reveals that union failed because of internal factors, and that Washington's actions generally favored efforts to rejoin the nations to reduce isthmian tensions. Attempts to reunite the republics failed because of regional and domestic political rivalries, weaknesses in …

A Study Of The Effects Of Campaign Spending On Election Results, Thomas Major, Stephen Turner

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The issue of campaign finance reform presents a complex problem for policy analysis; fortunately an understanding can be developed through statistical analysis of the variables involved in campaign spending. Multivariate statistical analyses are often a crucial element for use by a policy analyst to evaluate the relationship among variables affecting the particular problem being addressed. This study uses multiple regression techniques to look at what effect spending (as well as selected other variables) may have on the outcome of a U.S. House of Representatives election. The following sections include a brief literature review, a summary of the research design, along …

The Effects Of The Presidency On The Epa, Patrick Cook

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

This paper is a study of how the Presidency affects, and has affected, the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA is a relatively new agency having only been created in 1970. Therefore, I have focused my research on the individual administrations from President Nixon to President Reagan. I shall present to you trends in presidential policy towards the Environmental Protection Agency, and how they have shaped the Agency, its direction, and its effectiveness.

To place this research in context, I will begin by presenting a history of the Environmental Protection Agency. This survey will focus on major events and important pieces …

Public Policy & Economic Justifications For Renewable Energy, Dean Eyler

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

We lie at a unique place in history, one where humanity's drive to industrialize has created an environmental crisis that may threaten the very existence of the planet. The new challenges posed by environmental crises are becoming shockingly apparent. Scientists are discovering, and illustrating to policy-makers, new ways in which we are destroying the earth and its surrounding atmosphere. Although these kinds of revelations are by no means new, the scale of destruction in these scenarios is immensely greater. Warming of the atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect, depletion of the ozone layer, destruction of forests, acid rain, air pollution, …