Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Evolution Of The Nonprofit Sector In Nepal, Charles Harrington, Davis Jones

SC Upstate Research Symposium

The nonprofit sector in Nepal has grown exponentially over the last decade. Significant growth in the areas of education, economic development, health and human services, tourism, and environmental conservation has created a demonstrable need for nonprofit organizational support and development to address these emerging needs. This paper and accompanying oral presentation will address the underlying factors that have driven the growth of the nonprofit sector in Nepal, including, but not limited to the history of national philanthropy and community service, early formulation of the nonprofit sector, development of civil society, non-government organizational proliferation, earthquake response and resilience, the emergence of …

Motivations Behind The Rise And Success Of Homeopathy In India, Kavya Patchipulusu

Senior Theses

Homeopathy is a form of medicine that is incredibly controversial and is often labeled as a fraudulent, placebo effect drug, that can have potentially dangerous side effects. This is the picture that is painted of homeopathy in the United States and many other countries in which these medicines are banned in distribution or highly unregulated. In contrast, India has popularized and well-integrated homeopathy into their medical systems with government backing and consistent funding towards accredited homeopathic institutions and funding hospital systems. This paper will explore the circumstances and health care dynamics of India that allowed homeopathy to gain the level …

Assessing The Threat Of Social Media To National Security: Information Operations In The 21st Century, Brendan M. Cullen

Senior Theses

The ubiquity of social media has enabled an unprecedented amount of personal data to be accessible to various entities. Social media platforms leverage this data to optimize algorithmic recommendation systems, persuade users to engage, and promote monetization. The social media ecosystem’s business model demands continuous engagement and the relentless collection of user data to grow and scale. Not only is social media massively popular around the world, but it has integrated heavily into users’ daily lives. This integration is driven by social platforms’ deliberate architectures and affordances. The intentionality of social media can be exploited by state and non-state actors …

The Fate Of The Language Is The Fate Of The People: A Cultural Analysis Of Language Education Policy In Central Asia, Bethany A. Reeve

Senior Theses

With a shared history under the Soviet Union, the five Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan have spent the past one hundred years dealing with quickly changing language policy and ethnic relations. Under the policy of the USSR, native languages of Central Asia were repressed, and Russian was introduced as the main language of interethnic communication. After they gained independence in 1991, however, each of the five countries embarked on missions to restore the strength of each of their national languages and de-Russify their political, economic, and educational systems. Throughout the region, one of the main …

Hi-03 Cultivated Words Of Chen Hongmou, Joe W. Stone, Professor Birney

SC Upstate Research Symposium

During the Qing dynasty, the Chinese Government appointed officials based on a man’s education and how he passed the imperial examinations. Chen Hongmou stands out among the many officials chosen during the eighteenth century.

Born October 10 1696 in Lingui, Guangxi, China, Chen spent his career as an official for several provinces. Based on his own experiences, Chen wrote texts on leadership and the duties of officials. He not only wrote to promote a system of good governance, he did so while espousing progressive ideals.

For example, he stated that women and “non Chinese” tribes should partake in the same …

The Impact Of Cultural Perceptions Of Well-Being And Resulting Sustainable Local Development Initiatives, Atifah Jatoi

Senior Theses

Views on and approaches to sustainable economic development can differ vastly depending on country and location. Historically, in the United States, sustainable development is primarily based on the four pillars of sustainability: social, human, environmental, and economic. On the other hand, in communities in relatively collectivist societies, sustainable development policies and organizations are influenced by collective interest, cooperation, and the well-being of the community. Local development initiatives centered around promoting the well-being of the community are a way to have a more equitable approach to sustainable development and are necessary to address ecological, economic, and social challenges. I will discuss …

The Ukrainian Immigrant Experience In South Carolina, Nataliya S. Vykhovanets, Alexander Lorenz

University of South Carolina Upstate Student Research Journal

The following paper focuses on the Ukrainian immigrant community living in the Upstate region of South Carolina and the vast differences in immigrant experiences of former and more recent Ukrainian Immigrants. Ukrainians have been migrating to the US since the late 1800s, but unfortunately, there are few studies available on this ethnic group.

To give readers a background on the topic, this paper first documents the history of Ukrainian immigration to the US by describing and comparing the four waves of Ukrainian migration to the United States. The following section introduces a questionnaire, created to collect data on the Ukrainian …

Makeshift Memory: Nostalgia As Collective Solidarity In The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood And Post-Imperial England, Catherine White

Senior Theses

It is a deeply human experience to long for times, people, and places of the past, even pasts we ourselves did not experience. This feeling, which we most often call nostalgia (but has earned many names throughout history) has profound influence especially in how we perceive our collective histories and use these histories to guide us forward. This experience of nostalgia is the underpinning for many of our sources of solidarity (or who we feel loyal or obligated to). However, when we feel these profound connections to the distant past, we often lose the reality of that past in the …

The Trabant And The Mercedes: A Psychological Analysis Into The Disjunction Of German Reunification, Faith Morris

Senior Theses

Ostalgie, a combination of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia), is the psychological phenomenon that describes former East Germans’ longing for a return to aspects of life from the period of communist rule. This paper explores the phenomenon of Ostalgie in reunified Germany in relation to psychological constructs of nostalgia and collective identity.

Ostalgie is essentially both a means and an end. This paper seeks to prove Ostalgie is a means of creating identity, formulated by the interplay of nostalgia and certain social conditions that combined with and aided the failure of democratic capitalism for former East …

Chronic Kidney Disease From Non-Traditional Causes Throughout Central America, Abigail K. Watson

Senior Theses

Throughout many Central American countries, incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been on the rise. The disease mainly affects agricultural workers and differs from typical CKD. Patients in these countries often do not have preexisting conditions such as diabetes or hypertension known to be traditional causes of CKD. They also experience increased damage to the kidney tubules, rather than the glomeruli generally more heavily impacted. There has been speculation regarding the causes of CKDnT (chronic kidney disease of nontraditional causes), but no consensus has been reached. Two major hypotheses to explain the high prevalence among Central American sugarcane workers …

Domestic Workers In Hong Kong: Their Stories, Self-Perception, And Their Portrayal In Hong Kong And Filipino Media, Lauren Ernst

Senior Theses

Foreign domestic helpers are one of the most common and unique sights in current-day Hong Kong. On the weekdays, they can be seen walking dogs, taking children to school, and completing chores around the house. On Sundays, they flood the streets in full force, relaxing and taking advantage of their one day off a week. This population faces many challenges during their time in Hong Kong – these challenges are modern as well as historical and include financial, governmental, emotional, and social challenges. Along with the challenges of day to day life, they also face challenges in that their stories …

The European Union's Response To The Syrian Refugee Crisis: National Factors That Affect Compliance In France And Spain, Sarah Cockcroft, Nicole Provax

Senior Theses

Beginning in 2011, the Syrian Refugee Crisis refers to refugees that come to Europe in an effort to escape the civil war in Syria. The influx of refugees from Non-European Union Member States, specifically those from Syria, threatens the stability and the status quo of the European Union. This population is particularly relevant because their status as refugees and their large numbers indicates a level of uncertainty about short term and long term assistance expectations. In order to understand the European Union’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis, it is necessary to determine the ways in which the national implementation …

Climate Change As A Contributor To Terrorism: A Case Study In Nigeria And Pakistan, Natalie Lytle

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between climate change and terrorism. It seeks to identify climate change as a contributing factor to terrorism. The motivation for this research is the increasing threat from both global issues. The threat of climate change and terrorism were heavily debated topics in the United States 2016 election, and remain contentious topics for world leaders today. The years 2014 and 2015 were the top two deadliest years for global terrorism, and out of the 17 hottest years on record, 16 of them have occurred since 2000. The world has already begun to see the repercussions of …

Causes And Consequences Of The Syrian Civil War, Chelsea Marie Baltes

Senior Theses

This senior thesis is an in depth analysis of the historical causes of the Syrian civil war. I argue that the main components leading to the civil war under Bashar al-Asad were as follows; Sectarian division, French intervention and mandates, Israeli & Syrian conflict, Egypt & Syrian Union, and Hafiz al-Asad’s rise to power. My research and analysis provided demonstrates that these previously mentioned historical stimuli have all amalgamated leading to the instability under Bashar al-Asad and ultimately the modern civil war we see today. The paper will also analyze the consequences of this instability seen in government and society, …

Assessing The Feasibility Of An Attack Of Iran's Nuclear Infrastructure In The Event Of A Violation Of The Jcpoa, Cameron Nicholas Rentschler

Senior Theses

Few issues have dominated American foreign policy over the past 30 years than the contentious relationship that America holds with Iran. Of particular concern has been how the US should respond to the existence of an illicit nuclear program within Iran. As of January 16^th of 2016 however, US-Iran relations entered a new era with the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action which outlines actions that Iran must take and maintain in order to rejoin the international community as a country with a legitimate interest in nuclear power. However, as we have learned from past nuclear …

Language And Foreign Policy: The Kyrgyz Experience, Laura Katherine Tarbox

Senior Theses

This senior thesis describes the role and usage of different languages in Kyrgyzstan from the 1920s to present, with specific reference to government policy regarding language usage. In the thesis, I argue how the pervasive presence of Russian in Kyrgyzstan is indicative of broader Kyrgyz foreign policy goals.

Postmodernism And Budhism: A Postmodern Woman In A Modernizing Land, Ruthanne Joy Wenger Hughes

Senior Theses

Religion and postmodernism are two paradigms that guide my experience of life. Although it is not necessarily intuitive, these two paradigms do intersect and inform each other, shaping the way I engage with the world. With this understanding, I spent the Spring 2015 semester in the Kingdom of Bhutan and examined my time through a postmodern lens, writing a travel blog at www.bhutanbricolage.weebly.com that mediates my experiences there and my thoughts about Buddhism and postmodernism.

Effective Innovation Policies For Development: Uganda, Julius Ecuru, Dick Kawooya

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

On Vernacular Scottishness And Its Limits: Devolution And The Spectacle Of "Voice", Scott Hames

Studies in Scottish Literature

This essay asks why vernacular cultural expression has been so central to discussion of Scottish national autonomy, traces the literary and political contours of vernacular discourse in the period of Scottish devolution, and concludes with a provisional sketch of three "vernacularities" (democratic, romantic and identitarian) and with reflections on how literary criticism might move beyond the "representative” paradigms of vernacular voice to engage with voice as a principle of agency and action.