Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Climate Change And Environmental Crises In Coastal Cities: Charleston Vs New York City, Nolan Rodriguez

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper addresses the increasing vulnerability that coastal communities face regarding climate crises and rising sea levels. Specifically, this paper investigates the environmental crises facing Charleston, South Carolina, and New York City. The geographical location of these cities places a more severe threat upon their environment, as opposed to urban collectives removed from the immediate effect of rising sea levels. A cross-examination of politics and economics is discussed in order to determine the causal relationship of each city’s engagement with its surrounding environment. This paper examines how each city is affected by climate change, what measures are in place to …

The Fuel For Neo-Nazism, Brandon M. Rubsamen

Global Tides

This paper attempts to explain the cause of support for far-right extremism movements in Europe. It takes a comparative approach in explaining that support by first analyzing Germany and Luxembourg. In each country, politics, history, economics, and society are explored in order to elicit a root cause. Once that main factor is found, Norway and Greece are also analyzed to see if the hypothesis holds. Political stability is hypothesized to be the root cause in far-right support in Germany (and lack thereof in Luxembourg), and the examples of Norway and Greece support this hypothesis. By comparing and contrasting aspects of …

Covid-19 Vaccine Disparities And Attitudes, Deonne Cartwright, Meryem Saygili

Pursue: Undergraduate Research Journal

The past couple of years have caused so much uncertainty and grief amidst the global pandemic. The goal of this study is to explore the attitudes behind COVID-19 vaccination to address the cause for vaccine disparities and help minimize health disparities in the United States. The study considers two multivariable regressions in SPSS of the social factors on vaccination status and vaccine confidence. This model studies the relationship between one’s ethnicity, race, education level, education specialization, household income, political ideology, and media source on vaccine confidence and vaccination status on an East Texas college campus. A campus-wide survey was conducted …

The Politics Of Medicine: Power, Actors, And Ideas In The Making Of Health, Claire Wulf Winiarek

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The practice of medicine has become the prescribing of medicine. Reflecting a construct of health defined by Rationalism, individualism, and biomedical science, medicines (pharmaceuticals) are politically constructed to be the first – and sometimes only prescribed – line of defense against illness and disease. Pharmaceuticals also represent a highly desirable, ‘recession-proof’ component of many Nation-states’ (states’) export strategies, helping advanced economies, in particular, to maintain favorable trade balances and economic growth amidst the headwinds of deindustrialization.

Higher use and the overreliance on pharmaceuticals promote an outsized role for certain actors and ideas in the making of global health, referring to …

The Deregulation Deception, Cary Coglianese, Natasha Sarin, Stuart Shapiro

All Faculty Scholarship

President Donald Trump and members of his Administration repeatedly asserted that they had delivered substantial deregulation that fueled positive trends in the U.S. economy prior to the COVID pandemic. Drawing on an original analysis of data on federal regulation from across the Trump Administration’s four years, we show that the Trump Administration actually accomplished much less by way of deregulation than it repeatedly claimed—and much less than many commentators and scholars have believed. In addition, and also contrary to the Administration’s claims, overall economic trends in the pre-pandemic Trump years tended simply to follow economic trends that began years earlier. …

The Impact Of Information Shocks And Partisanship On The Evolution Of Covid-19 In Connecticut, Joslin Valiyaveettil

Honors Scholar Theses

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of life within the United States since early 2020. How people decided to behave during this time heavily influenced the trends that followed, triggering both health and behavioral economic concerns. Those trends seemed to vary based on the area and the beliefs of those constituents. This paper explores how partisan beliefs had an impact on the changes in case rates that occurred within the top 30 most populated towns in the state of Connecticut. In July 2020, former President Donald Trump sent out a tweet publicly endorsing face masks for the first time. …

Voting Your (Home)Values: An Empirical Assessment Of Homeownership And Voting Patterns In Seattle, Carter Fredrick Morfitt

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this paper, I draw on data from King County Elections and the U.S. Census Bureau's American Communities survey in an attempt to assess the predictions of the "homevoter hypothesis", which posits that homeowners tend to support policy measures that will boost their home values and oppose policy measures that could be perceived as a threat to their home values.

Women's Political Representation And Sustainable Development In Nigeria, 1999-2019., Efetobar Stephanie Effevottu

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

All over the world, the invincibility of women in politics act as a limitation to the promotion of gender equality and the accomplishment of the sustainable development goals. This paper interrogates the political representation of women in Nigeria's fourth republic. It is driven by the desire to unravel the challenges faced by Nigerian women in their quest for equitable political space and its inference for sustainable development in Nigeria. The findings of the study reveal that there has been significant improvement in the lives of women in Nigeria since the return of democratic governance in 1999. It also indicates that …

A Network Pandemic: Exploring The Effects Of Social Connectedness On The Spread Of Covid-19 In The United States, Mrinalini Bhushan

CMC Senior Theses

Social interactions influence the way we think and act. Recent literature on COVID-19 and social connectedness explores how social interactions influence people’s perceptions of the risk from COVID-19 and their behaviors. This paper seeks to investigate how social connectedness, political ideologies, and physical interaction are associated with local COVID-19 case and death rates at the US county level. Social connectedness, as defined by (Bailey et al, 2018) measures connectedness between US counties based on Facebook friendship links. I examine whether a county’s average social connectedness to other counties, as determined by the Facebook index, has an impact on its own …

The Political Economy Of Nuclear Energy: Why There Is Not Broad Public Support For Nuclear Policy & Why There Should Be, Willa Grace Mei Lee

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this paper, I examine how the nuclear incidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima impacted public support for nuclear energy in the United States. Particularly, I look at the ways the media has influenced public perception, and thus, nuclear policy. I also consider the economic arguments for and against using nuclear power and highlight the effects of decommissioning nuclear fleets as was seen in the aftermath of the major nuclear incidents. Lastly, I discuss how the public can become better informed on nuclear energy.

Ultimately, the three major nuclear incidents spurred anti-nuclear sentiment, which shut down nuclear plants, …

The Effect Of The Second-Stage Anti-Corruption Campaign On Provincial Development In China, 2015-2017, Zhenyao Yuan

Master's Theses

China had experienced long-term economic growth since the reform in 1978. With the communism system shifts in the socialist market economy, the country's legal institution and administration are facing corruption's challenge. President Xi Jinping takes action against deep corruption in China after coming to power in 2013. To observe the impact of the second stage of the anti-corruption campaign on provincial economic development since the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 2015 to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017, this project downloads and extracts public …

Healthy And Unhealthy Responses To American Democratic Institutional Failure, Thomas D'Anieri

CMC Senior Theses

I have set out on the hunch that politics in America “feels different,” that we are frustrated both with our institutions as well as with one another. First, I will seek to empirically verify this claim beyond mere “feelings.” If it can be shown that these kinds of discontent genuinely exist to the extent that I believe they do, I will then explain why people feel this way and why things are different this time from the economic, political, and social points of view. Next, I will examine two potential responses, what I will call the populist and the institutional …

Token Representation?: Impact Of Female Reservations In Panchayati Raj Institutions In Elections To State And National Legislatures, Surbhi Bharadwaj

Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Politics, Economics and World Affairs

Reservations have long formed a fundamental tenet of affirmative action in India. Quotas for representation of various disadvantaged groups proliferate across public educational institutions and government jobs. However, elections to public office have largely escaped such quotas, except those that are caste-based. A shift in this status quo occurred in 1992 with the establishment of the Panchayati Raj system of grassroots governance. 34% of all seats under Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) were to be reserved for women under the 73rd amendment. Another constitutional amendment passed in September 2009 increased PRI quotas for women to 50%. This paper seeks to examine …

A Squandered Mandate: How Ppp Failed Larkana, Mashal Usman

MSJ Capstone Projects

In this story, I have attempted to capture the history of the Bhutto family’s association with Larkana; how their influence in the district as well as their hold over it grew over time, how that shaped the districts identity and continues to do so, and lastly, how their party, the PPP, squandered the mandate in Larkana.

Given Today's New Wave Of Protectionsim, Is Antitrust Law The Last Hope For Preserving A Free Global Economy Or Another Nail In Free Trade's Coffin?, Allison Murray

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Which Side Are You On?, Gina Mamone

Exhibit Panels

Which Side Are You On? is a new work by Gina Mamone, co-founder of the West Virginia-based art collective Queer Appalachia. Which Side Are You On? invokes the spirit of Zoe Leonard’s 1992 poem I Want a President, but speaks with the voice of 2018 rural America.

"I want a survivor for Governor. I want a Governor whose home has been raided by ICE. I want the child of a public school teacher for Governor, and I want someone who knows what days to hit what food pantries. I want a Governor who has had experience heating a home …

Governments' Adoption Of Native Cryptocurrency: A Case Study Of Iran, Russia, And Venezuela, Rose Mahdavieh

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The emergence of digital currency is becoming prevalent in the age of globalization – specifically, cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are two recently discovered concepts currently being explored by researchers and developers. Cryptocurrency is a subset of digital currency that encompasses revolutionary technology, shifting political and economic spheres in nation-states. Certain governments are more prone to the adoption of cryptocurrencies and three comparative case study countries, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela, have shared attributes that result in adoption. Observed factors that result in the adoption of cryptocurrencies include corruption, GDP level, economic volatility, and Western sanctions. These factors will be applied in …

Corruption: Brazil's Everlasting Parasite, Patricia Vilhena

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore corruption in Brazil, how it has endured for so such a long period, and the effects it has in the country. Understanding the history of Brazil, how the government was established, and how the branches operate is crucial to comprehend the rooting causes of the Brazilian corruption. The focus is not just about what corruption is and the effects it has on education, economy, and infrastructure, but also on the factors that contributed to its expansion and the circumstances that allowed it to sustain until today. Brazil is a country known for …

Dorothy Moser Medlin Papers - Accession 1049, Dorothy Moser Medlin

Manuscript Collection

(The Dorothy Moser Medlin Papers are currently in processing.)

This collection contains most of the records of Dorothy Medlin’s work and correspondence and also includes reference materials, notes, microfilm, photographic negatives related both to her professional and personal life. Additions include a FLES Handbook, co-authored by Dorothy Medlin and a decorative mirror belonging to Dorothy Medlin.

Major series in this collection include: some original 18th century writings and ephemera and primary source material of André Morellet, extensive collection of secondary material on André Morellet's writings and translations, Winthrop related files, literary manuscripts and notes by Dorothy Medlin (1966-2011), copies …

La Construcción De Una Identidad Propia Por Parte De Las Mujeres Piqueteras De Claypole, Como Protagonistas, Dentro Del Frente De Organizaciones En Lucha (Fol) / Mujeres Piqueteras Of Claypole Constructing Their Own Identity As Protagonists Within The Frente De Organizaciones En Lucha (Fol), Luz Daniela Castro

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the late 1990s in Argentina, the model of neoliberalism transformed political and economic policies, aggravated free trade and promoted the privatization of companies and free enterprise. A direct consequence was job instability, with masses amounts of unemployment prevailing, and no action nor response pursued by the state. As a result, the unemployed workers “desocupdos” came together and introduced new repertoires of action: the picketing “piquetes” and the temporary blockage of roads “corte de rutas”. The movement’s first appearance was in the Cutral-Có y Plaza Huincul in the Province of Neuquén (1996-97), extended to Salta and Jujuy (1997) and then …

Economies Of The Internet, Kylie Jarrett, D. E. Wittkower

Philosophy Faculty Publications

The papers in this issue of First Monday were originally presented as a series of panels at the Association of Internet Researchers 2015 conference in Phoenix, Arizona. This short introduction explains the impetus behind the organization of these panels-- which was to document diversity in approaches to the study of internet economies-- and briefly introduces each paper by locating them in the nexus between political economy and cultural studies.

Essays In Labor And Development Economics, Stephen Daniel O'Connell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is comprised of two chapters that investigate the long-term effects of a quota policy for women in local government in India.

In the first chapter, "Political Inclusion and Educational Investment," I investigate whether political empowerment can affect the human capital investment decisions of children. By using exogenous variation in the implementation of the policy, nationally-representative survey data allow me to estimate effects on educational enrollment in a geographic discontinuity design using adjacent areas on either side of a state border as counterfactuals receiving different levels of exposure to the quota policy.

In this paper, I find a sizable …

Long-Term Effects Of Gender Representation Quotas On Political Interest Within Latin America, Lismer E. Ovalle

Theses and Dissertations

This work measures the long-term effects of gender representation quotas within Latin American countries on various measures of political interest. Measuring effects on 18 countries provides a quasi-panel study with control using non-quota countries. Quotas have positive effects on confidence in government but negative effects on political interest.

Defending A Mixed Economy, Herbert J. Hovenkamp

All Faculty Scholarship

This essay reviews Jacob S. Hacker's and Paul Pierson's very engaging book, American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget what Made America Prosper (2016).

Sharia Law And The Transition Towards More Democracy And A Market Economy – Restrictions And Opportunities, Rahel Schomaker

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

The main source of Islamic Law, the Sharia, provides not only spiritual leadership for human beings, or guidelines how to practice the religion of Islam properly, but also includes normative implications for the design of the political and economic sphere of a state. Beyond the sheer scientific interest, these implications of Islam became relevant (again) in the context of the recent transition processes in the Middle East and North Africa. Despite not being finished yet, the transformations will raise new challenges for their perspective economies and the political systems as many religion-based parties (e.g. Al Nahda in Tunisia) become important …

Understanding Crime Under Capitalism: A Critique Of American Criminal Justice And Introduction To Marxist Jurisprudence, Steven E. Gilmore

Steven E Gilmore

The Politics Of Social Entrepreneurship In Cameroon, Aaron Danowski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Social entrepreneurship, a practice that combines nonprofit missions and business principles in pursuit of social impact, is a growing phenomenon that has the potential to empower millions of people around the world through a decentralized approach to social problem solving. In this paper, I examine the state of social entrepreneurship in Cameroon, exploring how social entrepreneurship is defined in the Cameroonian context by local actors, and the ways in which Cameroonian social entrepreneurs interact with macro, meso, and micro level politics and partners to create sustainable social impact. From November 7 through December 7, 2015, I conducted in-person interviews with …

Public Actors In Private Markets: Toward A Developmental Finance State, Robert Hockett, Saule Omarova

Saule T. Omarova

The recent financial crisis brought into sharp relief fundamental questions about the social function and purpose of the financial system, including its relation to the “real” economy. This Article argues that, to answer these questions, we must recapture a distinctively American view of the proper relations among state, financial market, and development. This programmatic vision – captured in what we call a “developmental finance state” – is based on three key propositions: (1) that economic and social development is not an “end-state” but a continuing national policy priority; (2) that the modalities of finance are the most potent means of …

Jobsohio: Don’T Let Progress Stand In The Way Of Progress, Patrick Martin

Patrick Martin

In February of 2011, Governor of Ohio John Kasich signed legislation that created JobsOhio. This has been a controversial program based on the method that it was implemented and some of the rules that govern the program.it. In November of 2013, ProgressOhio, a citizens advocacy group, challenged the constitutionality of the program but the suit was dismissed by the Ohio Supreme Court for lack of standing by the plaintiffs. There has been no court decision that adjudicates the program on the merits, only on the jurisdictional standing of a party to a suit that challenged the legislation. To date, only …

Support For Welfare, Matthew Reminick

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Although there is much debate over the effectiveness of social programs, there has not been much research attempting to discover who exactly supports spending government resources on welfare. Previous research suggests that the American people are divided over creating a welfare state. Many economic data shows that providing assistance is beneficial short-term, but can have varying effects in the future. The research I conducted attempts to define and analyze welfare while surmising which groups of Americans are most likely to back increased federal spending towards welfare. Using the ANES 2012 data, I evaluated voter responses to election surveys, paying close …