Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Sino-Lankan Relationship: Challenging Liberal Foundations Of Transitional Justice, Thurka Brabaharan

MA Major Research Papers

Sri Lanka continues to demonstrate the challenges of implementing legitimate transitional justice mechanisms in a post-conflict state ruled by its victors. While the island-nation of Sri Lanka has managed to sustain relative peace for over a decade, the government’s outstanding human rights record remains a concern for the country’s minority ethnic groups. While there is substantial evidence against the Sri Lankan Army to validate the human rights abuses and war crimes alleged by Tamil civilians, little has been done to hold these individuals accountable. Within the sphere of liberal international order, a victor’s peace, such as Sri Lanka’s, would likely …

Communication And Culture: The Role Of Language Policy On Regional Minority Languages In The Reduction Of Political Conflict, Colin Brant

Honors Program Theses

The following thesis looks at the role of linguistic rights and proper language policy for regional minority languages in the reduction of political conflict in developed states. As renewed interest in the maintenance of regional minority languages grew in the second half of the 20th-century states' reactions to this call for linguistic rights, have informed the level of conflict seen with various linguistic minorities. The paper hopes to make a case for a system of rights and protections similar to those presented in the Oslo Recommendations (1998) as an optimal path for the reduction of conflict in developed states by …

Success And Shortcomings: Disarmament, Demobilization, And Reintegration In Eastern And Central Africa, Grace Marshall

Honors Program Theses

In post-conflict transitions, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration have played a crucial role in the treatment of former combatants and the advancement of peacebuilding. This peacebuilding process, known as DDR, has experienced successes and failures throughout its implementation across the globe. Specifically, as conflict erupted across many nations in Central and Eastern Africa, the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs that were implemented during different nations’ peacebuilding transition towards at the turn of the twenty first century experienced variations among their success at reducing or halting conflict. This investigation analyzes the factors that contribute to the ability for disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration …

Should Crime Scene Photos Ever Be Deleted?, Jonathan Pelletier

Faculty Publications and Presentations

There are two general opposing positions regarding deleting photographs of a crime scene. In a recent laboratory update (internet based because of COVID-19), the Virginia Department of Forensic Science raised an issue that warrants discussion: “DFS position - Best (and most transparent) practice - any image captured in the course of processing a crime [scene] should be retained, no matter the quality or the intent (or lack thereof, such as an accidental shutter depress [sic])” [1]. With conventional film, this was never an issue. There was no option to delete an image. With digital images, however, the option exists and …

Recognition And Positive Freedom, David Ingram

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A number of well-known Hegel-inspired theorists have recently defended a distinctive type of social freedom that, while bearing some resemblance to Isaiah Berlin’s famous description of positive freedom, takes its bearings from a theory of social recognition rather than a theory of moral self-determination. Berlin himself argued that recognition-based theories of freedom are really not about freedom at all (negatively or positively construed) but about solidarity, More strongly, he argued that recognition-based theories of freedom, like most accounts of solidarity, oppose what Kant originally understood to be the essence of positive freedom, namely the setting of volitional ends in accordance …

Untitled, Atticus Mosser

Debate Essay Winners

3rd Place Winner - Middle School Division

Atticus Mosser

West End Middle School

In Opposition Of The Electoral College, Sadia Bolduc

Debate Essay Winners

3rd Place Winner - High School Division

Saida Bolduc

Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet High School

Baudrillard And The Viral Violence Of Cyber Security, Alex Rivera

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This paper explores Jean Baudrillard’s theorization on war and communication, connecting it to recent developments in the field of cyber security. With the important elevation of military forces such as the United States Cyber Command, critical theory needs to interrogate the increasing stature and seriousness of the cyber domain in global military strategies. Baudrillard’s critique shifts the focus from simple military strategies to the globe’s consumption of the information that is offered by the global information complex. This paper explains the nuances of violence surrounding the exchange of media surrounding war, criticizing both pro-war and anti-war stances, to examine the …

How News Media Coverage Of Crises Promotes Conspiracy Beliefs, Richard L Kornrumpf

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

While scholars of conspiracy theories have recently made great strides in understanding the basic nature and correlates of conspiratorial thinking, we still know little about how conspiracy beliefs are disseminated and communicated, especially when it comes to traditional media. Here we use a unique experiment to investigate whether media coverage of mass shootings – complete with the uncertainty, conflicting reports, and dubious official narratives that characterize such coverage – provides the raw material for conspiracy theories and promotes conspiracy beliefs among viewers. We find that implicit conspiratorial information – that which causes confusion and foments uncertainty – does not enflame …

A State Divided: The Reality Of Education In Maine, Gabrielle Raymond

Honors Program Theses

In Maine there is a lack of a comprehensive policy that allows and facilitates an equal education for all students no matter where they go to school. In order to research what is driving this inequality a specific policy was selected to use as the case study. The policy selected was proficiency-based learning. This policy was enacted in 2012 which makes it the most recent comprehensive education policy passed in Maine. In addition, this policy mandated similar concepts as past policy, so it was able to illustrate the trends in Maine’s education policy. In order to understand what effects education …

“And Some, I Assume, Are Good People:” Examining The Impact Of Donald Trump’S Presidency On The Lived Experiences Of Latinx Teens, Mary Vickers

Honors Program Theses

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. […] They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people” (Time Magazine 2015). This quote from Donald Trump has become emblematic of the President’s attitude towards immigrants. Since the 2016 campaign trail, Trump has spread harmful narratives about Latinx immigrants, and his words have tangible impacts on local communities. In this thesis, I use the framework of triadic right-wing populism to analyze how President Trump characterizes Latinx immigrants as …

Gender Diversity, Women’S Leadership, And Consensus In State Supreme Courts, Meghan E. Leonard, Joseph V. Ross

Faculty Publications – Politics and Government

In this article, we argue that the leadership of women as chief justice or the majority opinion author, as well as an increased presence of women on the panel, should increase the likelihood of unanimous decisions and the size of majority coalitions in state supreme courts. Using an original dataset of cases in three policy areas from all state supreme courts from 1990-2015, we uncover some surprising results. In some issue areas, majority coalitions are larger when a woman serves as the majority opinion author, though we see smaller coalitions when more women are on the court and a man …

Corruption And Anti-Corruption Agencies: Assessing Peruvian Agencies' Effectiveness, Kia R. Del Solar

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Corruption has gained attention around the world as a prominent issue. This is because corruption has greatly affected several countries. Following the exploration of various definitions and types of corruption, this thesis focuses on two efforts to rein in “grand corruption”, also known as executive corruption. The thesis is informed by existing theories of corruption as well as anti-corruption agencies and then situates Peru’s experience with corruption in its theoretical context and its broader Latin American context. This work conducts a comparative analysis and follows a process-tracing approach to examine and evaluate Peru’s recent anti-corruption agencies and their effectiveness in …

The Lasting Legacy Of Chemical Weapons In Iraqi Kurdistan, Jenna L. Dovydaitis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In 1988, the Iraqi regime executed the Anfal Genocide against its Kurdish population, killing a conservative estimate of approximately 50,000 to 100,000 Kurds (Human Rights Watch, 1993). This genocide involved the widespread usage of chemical weapons and marked a highly traumatic moment in modern Kurdish history. As of today, little academic research has been completed on the long-term medical and political consequences of exposure to chemical weapons in the Kurdistan region.

This exploratory research aims to contribute to the body of literature on this topic through interviews with medical professionals, Kurdish politicians, and non-governmental organization employees that have expertise on …

Middle Eastern And Western Leaders Speeches On Counterterrorism, Ranya Eid

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research analyzes political leaders' response to the ideological challenge presented by ISIS and Al Qaeda. It focuses on the counterterrorism speeches given by political leaders in a number of Middle Eastern countries and the United States. The analysis of the speeches is along two dimensions: the nature of their domestic and international audiences, and the motivations behind the speeches. A sample of several dozens of speeches is analyzed. The empirical study had proved that leaders mostly exhibit differences depending on their audiences to reach a certain political goal. While leaders tend to call for unification among countries in their …

Comparing Domestic Human Trafficking Policy Of States Party To The Palermo Protocol, Siera N. M. Himmerich

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Human Trafficking involves the various forms of coercion and force against millions of individuals all over the world into situations of unpaid labor, sexual exploitation, and organ sales. Attention to the phenomenon is relatively new and there is complexity both in how to address it and study it. When looking at human trafficking, issues of development, poverty, immigration, gender, international cooperation, social stigma, among others, are considered.

The purpose of this research paper is to compare and analyze local law interpretations of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations …

How Great Power Politics Influences Refugee Policy: Assessing The U.S. Foreign Policy Implications Of Differing Responses To The Venezuelan Migration Crisis In Colombia, Peru, And Brazil, Suhan M. Rosario

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Why are Venezuelan Migrants accepted in neighboring Colombia, but not in other countries in South America? It is true that Colombia and Venezuela are similar in language, culture, and customs, but this is true across the continent. There has been literature published on the size of the crisis, and where they are going. Here, I will assess why the Colombian government is more accepting of Venezuelan migrants, even when this is not popular in Colombia or any other country in South America.

My argument is that US foreign policy has caused Colombia to be more accepting of Venezuelans than neighboring …

Más Que Cubano: Linked Fate, Transnationalism, And Generational Differences Among Cuban Immigrants, Bryan Cruz

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Latinos in the United States are a diverse group, and their growing presence and recent elections illustrate the importance of understanding and recognizing their distinct political identities. The political identity of Cuban immigrants has been understood as being an anomaly among Latino groups and is largely referred to as an outlier in research of Latin American immigration. The intent of this thesis is to explore the question of why some Latin American immigrants relate to a greater Latino identity. Linked fate is identified as a relevant concept that addresses the formation of group identity. From the literature, transnational connections and …

Illustrating Divorce Tax Law: Lasting Impacts, Sophia Lamore

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

When an individual mentions divorce, it is easy to become swept up in an array of emotions. Divorce, in many ways, is seen as a beast of legal facets that needs to be understood. This highlights the impact that knowledgeable lawyers have on the general public. Understanding the individual facets of divorce law is imperative. Divorce not only affects two people, but it possesses additional consequences for individuals related to divorcees. Divorce further has the potential to shift the dynamic for an entire family. Additionally, divorce is becoming increasingly prevalent. Current survey data found that steadily half of marriages fail …

Aristotle On Practical Reasoning: Perception, Reason And Action In Aristotle’S Thought, Kyu-Been Chun

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This study aims to clarify Aristotle’s practical reason and how his flexible but, nonetheless nonarbitrary ethical teaching works. By doing so, I hope to provide an alternative way of understanding practical reason in contradistinction to a modern view of practical reason and its assumptions about thinking through moral and political issues. In this dissertation, I argue that Aristotle’s discussion of practical reason shows that any attempts to formalize morality in the abstract are limited by the complexity of each particular situation, the variability in perception/cognition of the agent as well as a human longing that is inextricably linked to practical …

Mao With Smart Phones And Internet? A Comparison Of Classic Guerrilla Warfare With Fourth And Fifth Generation Warfare Using An Agent-Based Model For Simulation, Jerry Taylor Sink

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW) theory shares many characteristics of classical guerrilla warfare (CGW) theory in security studies literature. Proponents claim that 4GW is a revolution in war that overturns traditional measures of military power, while critics counter that 4GW is simply CGW in an updated context. Another group posits Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW), which adds additional information-age technologies and uses “any and all means,” (military and extra-military) to attack both the enemy’s will and capability to resist. The irregular subset of 5GW strategies appear to be an extension of 4GW with the addition of advanced information-age technologies: mobile phones and …

A Framework Of International Competencies For Systems Engineers, Annlizé L. Marnewick, Holly A.H. Handley

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In the course of their career, many systems engineers are likely to interact with engineers of other nationalities as they collaborate on large, complex projects and system of system problems. These partnerships are necessary to support international goals, such as those for sustainable development. System engineers may even work onsite in other countries where they must adapt to different styles of doing business. This requires a set of global skill sets for cooperating and decision making, as well as basic social skills for interacting with the local community. These global skills can be included in a graduate level system engineering …

The Jurisprudence Of Thomas M. Cooley: Why One Of The Most Important Jurists Of The Nineteenth Century Still Matters, Angus Kirk Mcclellan

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is twofold: to examine and critique key elements of the jurisprudence of the late 19th-century judge and treatise writer Thomas M. Cooley; second, to determine the extent to which his work can be applied to modern legal debates. The conclusions of this study are that Cooley was legally oriented in his jurisprudence and dedicated to upholding the American constitutions and the common law as it had been adopted in the states. Further, those written constitutions and other principles of law are still relevant and applicable, and so jurists and scholars should consider Cooley’s perspectives in …

Anna Julia Cooper: Radical Relationality And The Ethics Of Interdependence, Carol Wayne White

Faculty Contributions to Books

In her range of activities as orator, scholar, community activist, and educator, Anna Julia Cooper demonstrates a basic orientation toward life that paradigmatically exemplifies a proto-feminist politics based in intersectional analysis. Addressing problematic gendered, racialized, and class power dynamics in various institutions, Cooper sought a readjustment of relationships among all Americans that would ensure the dignity and worth of each individual. A close reading of her corpus also shows Cooper consistently identifying principles that advanced nuanced approaches to justice, freedom, and equality. In this chapter, I propose that Cooper’s mature intellectual vision demonstrates a particular vision of a transformed America, …

The Future Of Voting In A Technological Era, Anne Mummery

Featured Research

No abstract provided.

2020 Virginia House Of Delegates: Demographics And Voting Behavior, Nathan Tatum

Student Publications

The focus of this project is on the demographic makeup of the 2020 Virginia House of Delegates, and how various demographic factors - political affiliation, gender/sex, race, religious affiliation, education level, and age - may influence their voting behavior on different legislation. The paper is divided into three parts. The first part explains the measures and methodology used in the creation of the dataset. The second and third parts make use of the information collected in the dataset. The second part details the demographic makeup of the 2020 Va. House and compares the makeup of the House to the makeup …

In Sickness Or In Health: The Impact Of Disease Burdens On The Likelihood Of Violent Conflict, Devyn Escalanti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This paper expands on the relationship between disease burdens and the onset of violent conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1990-2012. Most studies have focused on conflict as a cause of HIV transmission, while some suggest that HIV infection rates, by substantially reducing life-expectancy, increase the onset of violence by lowering the opportunity cost of rebelling for HIV-positive individuals. This paper argues that to the degree that life expectancy is important to opportunity costs, it is more likely driven by other factors. First, I argue preventable diseases that are less connected to individual decision-making, and the presence of poor health infrastructure …

From Hobbes To Habermas: The Anti-Cultural Turn In Western Political Thought, Ralph Gert Schoellhammer

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

The theme of this dissertation is the anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes.

Beginning with an overview of psychological research into the phenomenon of culture I put forward the argument that human beings are by nature social and individualistic, but that they oscillate between their ability to put group-interests before individual interests and vice versa. Culture is the main mechanism that influences which interest we give priority. This mechanism work through emotional attachments that create intuitions about what is morally right …

Judicial Elections, Public Opinion, And Their Impact On State Criminal Justice Policy, Travis N. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

This dissertation explores whether and how the re-election prospects faced by trial court judges in many American states influence criminal justice policy, specifically, state levels of incarceration, as well as the disparity in rates of incarceration for Whites and Blacks. Do states where trial court judges must worry about facing reelection tend to encourage judicial behavior that results in higher incarceration rates? And are levels of incarceration and racial disparities in the states influenced by the proportion of the state publics who want more punitive policies? These are clearly important questions because they speak directly to several normative and empirical …

Queer Political Organization In Israel, And Palestine: Shifting Away From Homonationalism, Tristan Blaisdell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this project, I present research I have done on the issue of pink washing queer Israeli and Palestinian citizens and homonationalism within Israel and Palestine. I also create an exhibit brief outlining a hypothetical museum exhibit on this topic to be put up at the museum of culture and environment. The first section outlines the history and theory of my exhibit, and a brief personal statement where I talk about my interest in the subject and where I’m coming from before I design this exhibit. My theory is built off concepts of diaspora, home, belonging, queer identity, and intersectionality …