Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Mental Health And Homelessness, Makayla Wilson

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, one area tragically impacted has been access to secure housing. The huge economic impacts of the shutdowns and job losses of the pandemic prompted the federal as well as state governments to provide emergency resources for help keep people housed as well as to help those without housing to secure a place to live. These interventions have had many important impacts. They have not, however, reduced or ended the rising levels of homelessness nationally since 2016. The result is an increasingly visible epidemic of unsheltered homelessness, affecting both individuals and families. When analyzing …

Analysis Of Disability Rights Policy In American Charter Schools, Lily Kate Pritchard

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 explicitly states that any individual with a disability–physical, emotional, cognitive, or otherwise–is to be protected from discrimination regarding public services, including education. This paper will examine how American charter schools often do not provide such inclusive education. Data indicate that charter schools frequently manipulate requirements in order to avoid serving students with special needs. This paper will look at the problems that exist within charter schools–notably in the Midwest–and explore potential policy solutions to address the discrimination against students meant to be served by special education programs. Many of these schools work around …

Analysis Of United States National Security Policy On Cyberterrorism From China, Megan Mead

21st Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (2022)

Cyberterrorism is a relatively new threat globally but has increased rapidly in recent years due to the development of more sophisticated and advanced computer-based technology. Many people question the existence of a substantial threat from the Chinese government in terms of their use of cyber technology on the United States. Intelligence shows China has continuously used their cyber technology capabilities as a way to exploit other countries, businesses, and local populations. Scholarly research, news outlets, and official government documents all conclude that Chinese cyberterrorism is a large security threat to the United States. China has used their technology to infiltrate …

How To Combat The Negative Effects Of Punishment Drift On Children, Madison Alliston

Honors Theses

Approximately 2.7 million children have a parent that is currently incarcerated in the United States. Despite the fact that these children are innocent, they face a myriad of negative consequences due to the separation from their parents. The negative effect of incarceration on children is known as punishment drift. Because the effects of incarceration tend to “drift” onto children, these individuals typically face psychological impacts (e.g., social anxiety and depression), economic impacts (e.g., poverty and food insecurity), and environmental impacts (e.g., foster care) from punishment drift. Despite all of the detrimental effects, there have been very few policy solutions implemented …

The Political Economy Of Border Wall Construction, Molly Rovinski

Undergraduate Theses

During the 2016 presidential election, the construction of a border wall along the United States – Mexico border came to the forefront of the political sphere in America. Since then, state governments along the border have continued the call for increased border security through increased fencing. However, the ideation of a border wall was not a new one for American border security, with most of the wall having been constructed following the Secure Fence Act of 2006. The purpose of this paper is to explore the political economy of wall construction along the border. The argument is made that the …

Bystanders Without An Excuse: On The Moral Duty To Revolt, Meghna Melkote

Honors Theses

Che Guevara, an Argentine revolutionary who served as a key player in the Cuban Revolution, was known for his forceful rhetoric calling people to action to engage in revolution. His language was the language of duty - when he called on people to act, he did so with moral force behind his words. In the face of nascent revolution and discontent, he called upon those aggrieved to “tremble with indignation every time that an injustice is committed in the world” and act accordingly1. Guevara is appealing to a common intuition many leaders in social justice seem to have; there is …

The Great Unifier: How Crisis Can Lead To National Unity, Ryan Vallone

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Scholars and researchers have spent a great deal of time looking into the phenomenon of the Rally Round the Flag Effect. They have studied the different crisis that led to the effect and the actors that can hurt or help the effect. During these events there is a sense of national unity and support for the president. This effect is very important to look at during the crisis. However, it is just as equally important to look at what happens to national unity after the crisis has ended. The purpose of this research and study is to look at what …

The Effects Of Partisan Framing On Covid-19 Attitudes: Experimental Evidence From Early And Late Pandemic, Amber Wichowsky, Meghan Condon

Political Science: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Political polarization has dominated news coverage of Americans’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this research note, we report findings from two experimental studies, in which we present respondents with news stories about COVID-19 mitigation measures that emphasize partisan difference or accord. The stories present the same numeric facts about public opinion, but highlight either the partisan gap that existed at the time of the study, or the fact that large majorities of both Republicans and Democrats supported the measures at the time. Results from our first study, conducted late April 2020, show that a media frame drawing attention to …

The Influence Of Right-Wing Media On Political Racialization, Alex Regan

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

The rise of right-wing media in the United States begs the question of how it is impacting American political culture. The recently increasing rate of political polarization in the United States, specifically along racial lines, poses a potential issue for American democracy. Through comparative analysis of Fox News and their counterparts in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, this study seeks to address what specifically has caused Fox to be so successful in reproducing racial propaganda.

Only Libertarianism Can Provide A Robust Justification For Open Borders, Christopher Freiman, Javier S. Hidalgo

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This paper argues that libertarianism—and only libertarianism—can vindicate immigration's status as a human right whose protection is morally required in nearly all circumstances. Competing political theories such as liberal egalitarianism fail to rule out significant immigration restrictions in a range of realistic conditions. We begin by outlining the core tenets of libertarianism and their implications for immigration policy. Next, we explain why arguments that appeal to alternative principles are unable to provide robust justification for open borders. We conclude by considering whether our argument vindicates libertarianism or undermines open borders.

Electric Vehicle (Ev) Infrastructure In The Mountain West, 2020-2021, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Transportation & Infrastructure

This fact sheet highlights data on electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging stations, as originally reported by Zutobi in The 2022 EV Charging Station Report. This report examines the presence of EV infrastructure across the United States. The Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah are considered here.

Exhuming Franco: Polarization In The Debate Over Historical Memory In Contemporary Spanish Politics, Stephanie Gardiner

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I examine political media to show the different ways that the Spanish right and the left have framed historical memory about Franco. In Chapter 2, I give an overview of the development of the HML and political reactions to the law. I then look at the progression of the law’s goals under the leadership of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Chapter 3, and in how the law was utilized in exhuming Franco, referenced in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 showcases, through quantitative and qualitative data, the overall relationship of how changing historical memory through exhumation elicited reactions from …

Litigating Reproductive Rights: The Evolving Support Structure In The United States, Allison Anker

Honors Theses

The Supreme Court of the United States functions as the highest judicial body in the country, with its decisions having the capability to reverberate change across the nation. Understanding why they make certain decisions has long been a point of scholarship, with multiple theories emerging as to what exactly influences their rulings. One such theory is the support structure, proposed by Charles Epp in The Rights Revolution (1998), which is a theory exploring how social movements influence litigation and the establishment of certain rights. This theory states that legal mobilization at the Supreme Court rests “on resources, and resources for …

Volume 13, Payton Davenport, Audrey Lemons, Jacob Shope, Haley Smith, Cassandra Poole, Rachel Cannon, Rachel Boch, Suzanne Stetson

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Roger A. Byrne, Dean

From the Editor Dr. Larissa “Kat” Tracy

From the Designers Rachel English, Rachel Hanson

The Effect of Compliment Type on the Estimated Value of the Compliment by Payton Davenport, Audrey Lemons, and Jacob Shope

The Imperial Japanese Military: A New Identity in the Twentieth Century, 1853–1922 by Haley Smith

Longwood University’s campus: Human-cultivated Soil has Higher Microbial Diversity than Soil Collected from Wild Sites by Cassandra Poole

Reminiscent Modernism: Poetry Magazine’s Modernist Nostalgia for the Past by Rachel Cannon

Challenges Faced by Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Preliminary Study of Age and …

Court Legitimacy & The Shadow Docket, Colton Tilley

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Behind The Ballot: Uncovering The Influence Of Education, Age, And Labor Unions On Politics In The United States, Hanna Lambert

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Differences in levels of education and generational values arguably lead to the largest challenge that currently faces American politics – perceived polarization. Polarization exacerbates issues within social groups and political groups, causing tension between different ideological stances and what a group identifies as their own “in group” and an opposite “out” group. When coupled with influence from major labor unions, this perceived polarization that stems from education and age work is responsible for the highly competitive and unfriendly political climate of the United States. To better understand how these variables influence American politics, I analyze how differences in age and …

For Our Future: Why Suffrage Must Be Extended To Disenfranchised Youth, Nolan Mchugh

Honors Projects

Is our democracy truly representative if large portions of our population consistently fail to make their voices heard at the polls? 18-24 year olds consistently turn out to vote at the lowest levels of any age group, and yet these are the voters who will live the longest with the policy decisions being made today: how can we improve voter turnout and civic engagement in the next generation to ensure our democracy is truly "by the people and for the people?" To answer this question, we must turn to another group whose voices are not heard at the ballot box, …

The Relationship Between Late Night, Twitter, And Political Literacy In 2020, Sally Burkley

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Political humor has played a role in politics since ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. From plays to newspaper comics to late night comedy, these bits of political criticism and commentary on current events have been there to provide the public with relief, reinforcement of views, and in some cases information. Since the late 2000s, social media started to take on a similar role of providing reactions to political commentary, but rather than a television network and professionally crafted scripts, it is any person who possesses an account and may write up to 280 characters. Previous research has looked at political …

Examining The Impact Of Political Identification And Morality On Compliance With Covid-19 Public Health Measures, Jessica Stump

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

COVID-19 provides a unique opportunity to study the influence of individual and group differences on beliefs and behavior. In the present work, we examine COVID beliefs and behavior as a function of morality, ideology, and emotion. Data were collected in the spring of 2021 and the fall of 2021, allowing for distinct snapshots of an undergraduate sample at two periods of the pandemic. Of primary interest was the relationship between political ideology, moral foundation endorsement, and COVID-19 behaviors and beliefs. The results reveal that ideology drives COVID-19-related beliefs and behaviors. The results from Study 2 suggest that political liberals were …

The Ethics Of Care And The U.S. Covid-19 Pandemic Response, Samantha Treveline Barrett

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Throughout the pandemic, many conservatives like President Donald Trump lacked emotional sensitivity in regards to the millions of lives affected by COVID-19. They believed themselves to be too strong for the virus to take them down, and viewed those who wore masks as weak and afraid. Unlike Democrats, Republican governors entrusted their constituents to take necessary safety precautions and avoided statewide mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and lockdowns. Their policies and rhetoric demonstrated the overlap in harmful masculine traits and the conservative values of self-sufficiency and independence. Using a case study method, this paper analyzes the role of gender in a …

The Theoretical Challenges In Ukraine, Andrew Kim

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

The unfolding situation in Ukraine seems like a scene out of the Cold War, the complexity within it not only lies in how fast these events are occurring but also in the unpredictability of Russia’s leader; to address this current conflict requires the acknowledgment of a brief background within these events and also the possible responses which we could expect to see. The following policy brief addresses the matter of the historical influences and challenges that would be facing US national security policy because of the Russia and Ukraine conflict and how this question isn’t a historical question, but rather …

An Analysis Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On The Students At The University Of South Dakota, Alexandra J. Buss

Honors Thesis

The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly took over the United States (US) in the beginning of 2020. Nationally, damages to finances, housing, and mental health have impacted many. Despite being one of the least densely populated states, South Dakota quickly rose to some of the highest rates in the nation and was identified as a national hotspot. While there have been significant reports on the effects of COVID-19 on certain communities (healthcare workers, small business owners, parents), more research is needed on the effects on university students. In this report, I aim to assess damages based on financial status of students, mental …

Determinants Of Police Department Change: An Institutional Theory Approach, Colby Dolly

Dissertations

This research examines the change in police practices after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. Immediately after his death and throughout the following years, police departments in St. Louis County faced immense pressure to change. The pressure originated from numerous fronts, including the media, local community groups, and politicians. This research evaluates the change in policing using institutional theory with data from surveys and interviews of police chiefs. The findings indicate changes in policies after 2014. The most significant change occurred in departments strongly influenced by the mimetic dimension of institutional theory. The research adds to …

2023 Graduate Program Rankings, Unlv & Unr, Olivia K. Cheche, Joshua Padilla, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet highlights the 2023 U.S. News and World Report graduate program rankings for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Rankings are displayed for graduate programs in the following fields: business; education; engineering; fine arts; law; medical; sciences and mathematics; and social sciences and humanities.

Both UNLV and UNR first achieved Carnegie R1 status in 2018 and retained the designation of very high research activity in December 2021. The graduate program rankings explored in this fact sheet help to illuminate efforts toward enhancing graduate education, an important metric to achieving and …

The Meaning And Measure Of Deliberative Systems, Darren Michael Mccormick

Dissertations and Theses

Deliberative democratic theory emphasizes deliberation as central to the health of democracy. It has grown to be one of the most active and popular stands of political theory. In response to criticisms that deliberative democracy was unworkable at the large scale, the field made a systemic turn and now conceives of political communities as potential deliberative systems. While advancements have been made in measuring the quality of deliberation that occurs in deliberative forums, the practice of measuring the quality of deliberative systems is in its infancy. Authors have proposed various theoretical paths to assessing deliberative systems but no standardized method …

The Universal Periodic Review: Determining An International Organization’S Impact On Women’S Rights In A State, Miranda R. Peterson Ms.

Honors College Theses

How does official criticism from the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) affect the level of government respect for women’s rights in a state? International governmental organizations (IGOs), such as the Universal Periodic Review, play an important role in the overall global community. Although there is some evidence that IGOs can improve respect for human rights in a state, scholars do not yet know the impact on women’s rights specifically, especially when it comes to naming and shaming. I investigate this relationship, theorizing that the UPR will positively impact women’s rights, but this effect will be contingent on the level of terrorist …

‘Vox Populi?:’ Assessing Nato Popularity Relative To Political And Economic Indicators In Selected Member Nations, Zachary W. Cheek

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper seeks to identify the impact of political and economic conditions on a nation’s popularity/favorability ratings towards North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the world’s most powerful military alliance. It is found that in random-effect models there exists a significant positive relationship between a country’s democratic strength and favorability, as well as a negative relationship regarding unemployment. In fixed-effect models, however, there is slight evidence of a positive relationship with per-capita GDP, as well as negative relationships with the unemployment rate and the trade index. Overall, differences in member-nations largely account for whether democratic or macroeconomic conditions influence support.

How Accurate Were Predictions Of China’S Rise?, Osebhahiemen Okooboh

Symposium of Student Scholars

The rise of China is often depicted as one of the clearest, most predicted, and predictable realities in a century of international politics. Instead, China's rise has been gradual, widely foreseen, and not because of a conflict that transformed the world. Predictions and recommendations from academics and policy circles on China's rise matter because they transfer to popular discourse, albeit haphazardly. Therefore, understanding the predictions and recommendations and how they have changed over time is vital to explaining democratic responses to China's rise.

To empirically assess understandings of China's rise and how they have changed, we have coded a sample …

"Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" Ethnic Mexicans, Urbanism, Culture, And Politics In Emerging Silicon Valley, 1940-1980, Alexandro J. Jara

History ETDs

My dissertation explores the Latino experience in Santa Clara County, especially in San Jose. The area, located in Northern California’s Bay Area, is nestled just south of the more popular cities of Oakland and San Francisco, nearly five hundred miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. My examination of the social, cultural, and political activities of Latinos in San Jose provides insight into the community development of ethnic Mexicans away from traditional sites of study in places like Tucson, San Antonio, and Los Angeles. I argue that beginning at mid-century, Latinos moved into the downtown area and helped prevent nearby neighborhoods from …

Teaching And Integrating Women’S Studies Into The Classroom: Perspectives Of Elementary Teachers, Thomas Lucey

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

Women’s studies represent an underappreciated aspect of elementary education. Whether or how classrooms and their resources portray, present, and value women role-models informs both boys and girls about what passes for acceptable communication, treatment, and conduct towards women. Indeed, the extent to which and the basis that a young citizenry is taught to appreciate others informs the nature of the conversations engaged.

This paper describes the results of a research study that interpreted elementary teachers’ perspectives of women’s studies in elementary settings. The online survey was administered as part of the registration for two workshops that prepared teachers in the …