Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Grassroots Vs. Big Oil: Measure P And The Fight To Ban Fracking In Santa Barbara County, California, Corrie Grosse

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

In 2014, volunteers in Santa Barbara County, California, collected over 20,000 signatures in three weeks to qualify an anti-fracking initiative for the November election. The initiative, Measure P, met over six million dollars in opposition from oil corporations. Despite mobilizing 1,000 volunteers, the proponents of the measure failed to garner enough votes for success. Drawing on 43 in-depth interviews and participant observation with environmental groups before, during, and after the campaign, this article examines the strengths and weaknesses of grassroots organizing behind Measure P. Organizers, especially during the signature drive, successfully garnered broad-based support in the southern part of the …

Environment, States, And International Organizations: The Role Of Global Environmental Conventions In Protecting The Environment, Natalia Escobar Pemberthy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Global environmental conventions are created to address and resolve global environmental problems. Assessments of the achievement of specific environmental goals, however, indicate that there is room for progress and that stronger collective action is required. Given that there are no empirical instruments to measure implementation and to determine the factors behind individual countries’ results, challenges emerge that require the expansion of existing analytical frameworks around environmental conventions and their role as global governance instruments. This study develops an empirical instrument – the Environmental Conventions Index – to assess the implementation of global environmental conventions, determining the main trends for both …

Social Media And Terrorist Organizations: Observing Success Of Recruitment Through Social Media, Vincenzo Cibra

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Internet is an instrument that has revolutionized the world and the society since its introduction. Today, over 4 billion people around the world have access to it. While this technology comes with several positive innovations, it can also be used negatively by terrorist organizations to more efficiently spread propaganda messages. More so, the development of social media has fostered new methods of recruitment that allows to reach a broader audience anonymously and outside of the geographical area of operation of a terrorist organization.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between social media development and changes …

What Congress's Repeal Efforts Can Teach Us About Regulatory Reform, Cary Coglianese, Gabriel Scheffler

All Faculty Scholarship

Major legislative actions during the early part of the 115th Congress have undermined the central argument for regulatory reform measures such as the REINS Act, a bill that would require congressional approval of all new major regulations. Proponents of the REINS Act argue that it would make the federal regulatory system more democratic by shifting responsibility for regulatory decisions away from unelected bureaucrats and toward the people’s representatives in Congress. But separate legislative actions in the opening of the 115th Congress only call this argument into question. Congress’s most significant initiatives during this period — its derailed attempts to repeal …

Bioregionalism As A Key To Secure Central Asial, M. R. Edelstein

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The article is devoted to studiying framework for addressing the negative legacy and environmental challenges faced by the region that open doors to a sustainable future, with an emphasis on the Aral Region and water, food security and contamination and a focus on bioregionalism, strong sustainability and creating positive interdependencies. The article discusses the concept of Bioregionalism into the discourse offers an alternative frame for approaching this ecologically frail region.

Transformation Of International System And Gepolitical Identity Of Uzbekistan, Sh. Abdullaev

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The article is devoted to cunduct national identity of Uzbekistan under condition of transformation international system. In the article it is discussed geographic, historical, religious and cultural bases of complex and multilayer geopolitical identity. The features of Central Asian identity is also analyzed.

Economic Security As A Prism Of National Interests, U. Khasanov

International Relations: Politics, Economics, Law

The article is explored national interests in ensuring economic security under condition of today`s globalization and integration process. The article discusses that economic security of any country can hardly be resolved outside the context of the ongoing shifts in the world economy and in isolation from the existing economic trends, tendencies and realities in the rest of the world.

The Impacts Of Commercialization On Depth, Breadth, Scope, And Quality Of Outreach In Mozambique: A Case-Study, Courtney Johnson

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

In today’s microfinance, scholars and policy-makers across the world have emphasized the importance of financial sustainability, or the ability of a microfinance institution (MFI) to finance its operations. In order to reach financial sustainability, MFIs embrace commercialization, a process where an MFI undergoes restructuring in order to open up avenues to capital. Yet, scholars are concerned that this emphasizes on financial sustainability will cause the social good objective to suffer, a phenomenon known as “trade-off.” Indeed, studies have found that commercialization impacts MFI outreach in various ways. To my knowledge, no research has attempted to understand the impacts of commercialization …

Constitutional Barriers To Congressional Reform, John M. Greabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

Americans celebrate our Constitution as a beacon that can guide us through difficult situations. And justly so. But at times, the Constitution also has stood as a barrier to necessary reform.

The Ecclesiology Of Pope Francis And The Future Of The Church In Africa, Bradford E. Hinze

Journal of Global Catholicism

A consideration of the future of African Catholicism in light of the ecclesiology of Pope Francis. The article explores how themes in Francis's ecclesiology work together to challenge centralization, clericalism, and triumphalism in the church by promoting practices of synodality and how these elements support the church’s mission to work against forms of colonialism, neo-colonialism, and the most fundamental matrix of colonial power by advancing radical democracy in society

Populist Economic Charade Ends – Plutocracy Wins, Evan Barrett

Highlands College

A newspaper column by Evan Barrett.

Published newspaper columns written by Evan Barrett on this topic, which vary somewhat in content from this commentary, appeared in the following publications:

Harve Daily News, December 22, 2017

Daily Interlake, December 24, 2017

Montana Standard, December 26, 2017

Helena Independent Record, December 27, 2017

Missoulian, December 27, 2017

Applying John Kingdon’S Three Stream Model To The Policy Idea Of Universal Preschool, George Atupem

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Public education is no longer the great equalizer in the United States. The achievement gap is widening and in many areas education policies are perpetuating the problem. This phenomenon has created an education system built on inequality. The achievement gap in the United States has continued to widen because many children are missing out on the educational, economic, and social benefits of attending a high-quality preschool program. Access to quality preschool is an issue that briefly found its way onto the national agenda in 2013 but has since been edged out by broader national issues, such as healthcare and immigration. …

The Demographics Of The Modern American Senate And How It Reflects The Modern American Voter, Caitlin A. O'Kelley, April Johnson

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

As a body intended to accurately represent the people of the United States, the U.S. Senate is not a very diverse group. However, it is the people themselves who vote their representatives into office. In seeking to find what qualities American voters look for in a senator, senatorial longevity is an excellent gauge. Through the analysis of previous studies and literature and the gathering of original data on the senatorial longevity of the 115^th Congress, independent variables such as sex, education, and children can be analyzed to determine the demographic makeup of the successful American senator; thereby also analyzing …

Stasi Brainwashing In The Gdr 1957 - 1990, Jacob H. Solbrig, Jacob Hagen Solbrig

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the methods used by the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), more commonly known as the Stasi, or East German secret police, for extraction of information from citizens of the German Democratic Republic for the purpose of espionage and covert operations inside East Germany, as it pertains to the deliberate brainwashing of East German citizens. As one of the most efficient intelligence agencies to ever exist, the Stasi’s main purpose was to monitor the population, gather intelligence, and collect or turn informants. They used brainwashing techniques to control the people of the GDR, keeping the populace paralyzed with fear …

The Political Determinants Of Refugee Status Recognition, Elizabeth Monika Juhasz

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

What explains the variations in refugee status granting among states? How is refugee status determined? The purpose of the study is to analyze if politics affect refugee status granting to asylum-seekers. Despite the political implications revolving around refugee issues, forced migration studies are still a neglected topic in international relations research. However, scholarly works that focus on forced migration often overlook broad political themes, and do not thoroughly examine how politics affect refugee status rates across countries. This dissertation examines state responses to forced migration. It quantitatively investigates the research questions across countries between 2000 and 2013. It argues state …

Libertarianism, Bas Van Der Vossen

Philosophy Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Libertarianism is a theory in political philosophy that strongly values individual freedom and is skeptical about the justified scope of government in our lives. Libertarians see individuals as sovereign, as people who have a right to control their bodies and work, who are free to decide how to interact with willing others, and who cannot be forced to do things against their will without very strong justification.

For some, the argument in support of this view hinges on the principle of self-ownership. To them, individual rights are morally foundational, the basic building blocks of their theory. Many others, however, take …

Understanding Sampling And Recruitment In Social Work Dissertation Research, Rebecca G. Mirick, Ashley Davis, Stephanie P. Wladkowski

Rebecca Mirick

The Future Of Nuclear Security: A Medical Physicist’S Perspective, Katharine E. Thomson

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Planning for the future of nuclear security is a vital and complex task, requiring cooperation and contribution from many disciplines and industries. This diversity of expertise should include the medical sector, which faces many of the same challenges as the nuclear industry: controlling access to dangerous material, creating a strong security culture, cooperating with the wider world and engaging the public.

Medical physicists, of which the author is one, oversee all aspects of small-scale radiation use. This paper discusses three key areas increasingly important to both medical and nuclear uses of radioactive materials: public engagement, prevention of nuclear and radiological …

Assessing And Enhancing Nuclear Safety And Security Culture For Small Facilities That Handle Radioactive Material, Solymosi Máté

International Journal of Nuclear Security

The use of radioactive sources is expanding all over the world and abreast the necessity of the enhancement of its safe and secure application is increasing too. In the nuclear industry, the safety and security are top priorities since decades. They share the same goal, to protect humans from the negative affect of the ionizing radiation. The human component of them is a significant factor and technical solutions can protect us so far and thus the culture for safety and security become a major focus. On the other hand, there are still some contradiction between recommendations and international guidance of …

Political Exiles Reckon With Rising China And A Lost Cause, Han Chen

Capstones

This capstone explores the overseas Chinese democracy movement in the United States. English-language coverage about the movement has been limited, and little systemic coverage exists. However, the exile movement is fundamental to understanding how China’s most prominent political opposition is faring as China became the second largest world economy. It will also detail human drama and infighting in this exile community. I interviewed more than a dozen U.S.-based political exiles, journalists and experts, in both Chinese and English.

Link to my capstone project: https://hanchen.atavist.com/chinese-exiles

“It’S A Kind Of Killing:” Afghan Refugees In Shadow Of The Eu Fear They’Re Forgotten, Kyle Mackie

Capstones

For Karimi Wahab, an Afghan refugee currently accommodated at a center for asylum seekers in Sjenica, Serbia, watching refugees from other war-torn countries get moved along into the European Union has become routine. Afghans make up nearly two thirds of Serbia’s stranded migrants and refugees. In Sjenica, it’s been more than a year since any Afghan got onto the list maintained by Hungarian immigration authorities that allows 10 migrants to enter the country from Serbia each business day. Compared to Syrians and Iraqis, Afghans have also been granted asylum less frequently across the EU, on average, every year since 2014. …

Without A Caveat: How An Ethiopian Immigrant Deconstructs Race In America, Priscilla Alabi

Capstones

The story is about how an Ethiopian immigrant, Mariya Abdulkaf is dealing with the effects of the racism she experienced while growing up in Texas. However, she is one of many women of color who continue to educate and awaken the communities to which they belong. In a social climate where, according to a study done by the Pew Research Center, 60 percent of Americans believe race relations have worsened a year into the Trump Administration; and groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and others assert that women of color are “bearing the brunt of a mass of …

The Future Of Nuclear Security In Moroccan Territory After The Creation Of The New Moroccan Agency Of Nuclear And Radiological Safety And Security: Opportunities And Challenges, Amal Touarsi, Amina Kharchaf

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Nowadays, a security regime for protecting nuclear and radiological material—providing an intelligent national regulatory institution and establishing national security laws—is necessary in order for a state to ensure security of nuclear and radiological materials used within its borders.

This paper focuses on discussing the opportunities and challenges facing the future of nuclear security after the creation of the new Moroccan Agency of Nuclear and Radiological Safety and Security.

Constitutional Reform: Decolonization In The Comoros Islads, Nicholas A. Daou

Capstone Collection

Since its independence in 1975 the Union of Comoros has seen a great deal of political upheaval as a part of its decolonization process. This study examines the period between 1975 and 2001 with special emphasis on the 1997 Secession Crisis and the methods by which that crisis was resolved. The literature review is composed of predominantly native Comorian authors, supplemented by several French authors and information from international organizations. The events and literature are also examined through the lenses of the psychoanalytical group identity theory of Vamik Volkan and the Conflict Transformation work of Johan Galtung. Data regarding attitudes …

The Declining Significance Of Presidential Races?, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Osamudia R. James

Angela Onwuachi-Willig

No abstract provided.

Edward A. Ross: Social Development And Social Control, Ernest M. Oleksy

The Downtown Review

With a foundation in philosophy and history, core concepts of sociology and criminology that were initially posited over a century ago are still useful in understanding the workings of today's society. The contributions of Edward A. Ross have helped latter day researchers centralize their studies of polycentric topics by using social control as an omnipresent social fact. By comparing Ross's descriptions of 19th century society and the researcher's descriptions of 21^st century society, a continuous understanding of a heavily pluralistic discipline comes to life.

Refugee Policy & Social Integration In Jordan: Structural Barriers To Enclave Formation Among Forced Migrants To Jordan, David Nardelli

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The displacement of over five million Syrian refugees in the past six years has brought much needed attention to issues of forced migration. Today, the majority of the world’s refugees and internally displaced reside in urban areas of middle to low-income states, particularly in Asia and Africa. There is, however, a significant gap in research on self-settled refugees in the Middle East and their integration into host countries. In addition, much of the literature that does exist focuses on policies regarding labor policies yet ignores housing and settlement pattern issues and its impact on integration and community growth. This research …

When Does Sexuality-Based Discrimination Motivate Political Participation?, Douglas D. Page

Political Science Faculty Publications

The established consensus in political behavior research is that discrimination by political institutions motivates marginalized groups to vote and protest their conditions. However, existing studies miss a comparison between states with high and low levels of political discrimination, and they miss a comparison between states before and after the development of opportunities for groups to mobilize. In particular, a growing body of research shows that sexual-minority groups face discrimination to varying degrees across Europe. Sexual minorities in states with high levels of discrimination lack the support of other minority-group members, which encourages political participation. The analysis is based on surveys …

Uk Governance: From Overloading To Freeloading, Richard Woodward

Articles

The UK's ongoing political turbulence has prompted a reprise of debates from the 1970s when many concluded the country was ungovernable. Then, the most influential diagnosis conceptualised the UK's governance problem as one of ‘overloading’ caused by the electorate's excessive expectations. This article argues that these accounts overlooked another phenomenon besieging UK governance during this period. This phenomenon was freeloading: the withering of government capacity deriving from the ability of actors to enjoy the benefits of citizenship without altogether contributing to the cost. In the interim, these problems have become endemic, not least because of the unspoken but discernible policy …

Strengthening The M&E System Of Peace Corps Colombia, Samuel Burke

Capstone Collection

In 1961, when the Peace Corps was established, Colombia was the first country chosen to receive volunteers. The program ran for 20 years, with volunteers working all over the country in various sectors. Then in 1981, due to the increasing violence from the guerilla civil war, the US government decided to withdraw the volunteers and suspend the Colombia program. After a 29-year hiatus, at the request of the Colombian government, the Peace Corps was invited back to Colombia in 2010.

The Peace Corps Colombia post currently has two programs, Practical English for Success (PES), established first; and, Community Economic Development …