Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Towards Food Justice: Strategies Of Community Engagement For Local Food Nonprofits, Garrett Stern

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Nonprofit Studies Capstone Projects

Over the past two decades there had been a significant shift in American values around food and health. The increase of diet-related illness and the growing awareness of the local food movement have helped to shape the discourse on healthy, nutritious, sustainably grown food. Food justice advocates and organization have inserted social justice principals of equity and self-determination into the dialogue of health and food. There has been a similar shift in the nonprofit sector in regard to local food programing, with local food nonprofits advocating for equity and inclusion in nonprofit food programing. Community engagement is key to putting …

Searching For The Soul Of American Medicine : What Three High-Quality, Low-Cost Health Care Systems Can Teach U.S. Policymakers, Benjamin A. Paul

Honors Theses

"The United States health care system is broken." This common refrain has been echoed by policymakers and politicians, Democrats and Republicans, and liberals and conservatives alike. They point to the unacceptably high number of uninsured Americans, out of control costs, and questionable quality as just some of the problems that afflict American health care. Before the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March, 2010, over 45 million Americans were without health insurance coverage.1 Health care spending currently accounts for 17% of this country‘s gross domestic product. In contrast, most industrialized European countries cover all of their …

Rosie The Riveter Vs. Helen The Homemaker : Advertising And The Role Of Women In America After World War Ii, Christina Pfaff

Honors Theses

At the outbreak of World War II millions of servicemen left the United States to fight overseas, creating a great demand for workers in the production industries. Although the government identified women as the ideal source to fill the labor gap, a harsh stigma against the female worker existed from the Depression era. The United States government launched a recruitment campaign in collaboration with major advertising agencies and well-known artists in an effort to overcome this stigma and persuade women to join the industrial workforce. This recruitment campaign centered on the image of "Rosie the Riveter." This paper discusses the …

Presidential Leadership In Health Care Reform, Ashley G. Miles

Honors Theses

Through conducting this research, I observed that while many leadership scholars cite persuasion, imaginary communities, follower engagement, serving as a symbol, and responding to the public's distrust of authority as effective means to meet the end of effective leadership, all of these tools were methods of influencing public opinion toward a specific end, rather than educating the public about all sides of an issue. Americans' anxieties regarding security, liberty, and choice, while complex, have roots in the public lacking a clear understanding about what impacts public policy will have on their private lives. Looking back on Clinton's and Obama's reform …

Torture Cannot Be Used As A National Security Policy, Peter Moshang

Honors Theses

This paper looks at the acceptability of torture as a national security policy to combat terrorism. This paper finds that torture is an ineffective and unconstitutional practice. It also explains that torture infringes upon the most basic human rights as well as basic democratic rights. The legalization of torture for antiterrorism would lead to the expansion of torture in the future as society became more accepting of torture. The legalization of torture could increase the amount of torture that occurs across the globe because the United States often sets global precedents. Finally, this paper explains that a national security option …

The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund : A Case Study, Mary Kathleen Gorman

Master's Theses

The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund was the largest victim compensation fund in U.S. history, disseminating more than $7B federal tax monies directly to survivors, victims and their respective families following the terrorist attacks of that day. This represented an unprecedented effort on the part of the U.S. government to fully fund terrorism victim compensation within a no-fault framework intended, first and foremost, to protect the airline industry from potential economic ruin. But in so doing, the Fund compromised legal, ethical, economic and sociological principles on which victim compensation had been based since the inception of government. This interdisciplinary exploratory case …

A Suggested Model For Emergency Medical System Response During An Outbreak Of Human Pandemic Influenza, Ellen A. Black

Master's Theses

Predictions on infection rates for a possible outbreak of human pandemic influenza have officials in Public Health, Epidemiology, Public Safety, and other organizations developing plans on the federal, state, and local levels. These plans are outlining prevention, preparedness, and response during an outbreak, stressing interagency collaboration and contingencies for significant employee absenteeism rates for extended periods of time. However, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers will likely face a marked increase for calls for service to the community; and may be forced to provide service with a diminished workforce and additional duties not traditionally performed by their personnel. This Thesis examines …

Local Law Enforcement's Initial Role In Response To A Radiological Dispersion Device Attack, Andrew Robert Hoehl

Master's Theses

Today the potential exists for a terrorist organization to use a Radiological Dispersion Device or a dirty bomb within the United States. The results of such an attack could be catastrophic to the affected population. The response by law enforcement must be calculated and planned.

To properly analyze the law enforcement's role in a radioactive incident a qualitative approach was taken. A determination must be made prior to an attack to discern what kind of training will be necessary, what equipment will be required, and what response procedures need to be in place to ensure a safe and efficient response. …

Political Socialization And The Youth Vote : A Study Of Political Engagement During The 2008 Election, Meredith Hull

Honors Theses

I began my research on political socialization struck about the political apathy I was observing among my friends. Through studying those very same peers here at the University of Richmond in both a survey and interviews, I am even more determined to find ways to encourage high levels of knowledgeable engagement and volunteerism among college aged students. The United States will have to continue to compete in a global market in the future and citizens of other democracies understand and care enough to vote about the changes in that government-what is the problem here?

The results of the survey and …

Using Internet Simulation Games To Train Prehospital Providers For Mass Casualty Response, Meredith L. Moss

Master's Theses

During a disaster emergency medical services (EMS) plays a critical role in supporting mass casualty response. However, the processes and procedures used in a disaster are different than those which the prehospital providers encounter during routine emergency response. With limited time and resources, new approaches to training should be considered. This thesis presents research on EMS training, disaster response, distance learning, and instructional technology. Survey and interview results are analyzed providing a foundation for the development of a proposed software model using Internet simulation games to train prehospital providers for mass casualty response.

Incarceration : A Rising Population Dilemma, Lessie Smith Jr.

Master's Theses

The nation's incarceration growth continues to soar, having negative economic and societal effects. This research explores continued growth causes and possible answers to prevent, intervene, and slow down incarceration. Hampton Roads institutions' offenders and professional staff were surveyed. The survey focuses on preventive and intervention programs and their effectiveness, sociological and economical factors leading to imprisonment, and statistics supporting incarceration growth. The research goal is to validate program contents and components factoring into imprisonment. The study of others and information generated through this study are used to determine program needs and current effectiveness. This study explores reasons offenders frequent the …

Scientific Advice To The House : Who Has The Congressional Ear?, Kristen Greenholt

Honors Theses

In 2001, President George W. Bush remarked, "Science and technology have never been more essential to the defense of the nation and the health of the economy." The responsibility for formulating science and technology policy primarily falls into the hands of Congress. However, since few members of Congress possess a broad base of knowledge in either science or technology, they must rely on external sources of information. I examine the sources of information on which they rely, or the question "Who has the Congressional Ear?"with regard to science and technology issues. Using the downfall of the Office of Technology Assessment …

The Rise And Fall Of America's Education President : George W. Bush's Political Leadership And The Passage Of The No Child Left Behind Act, Ethan L. Mcwilliams

Honors Theses

On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush proudly signed the "No Child Left Behind Act," thus ensuring that H.R. 1 became Public Law 107-110. During the signing ceremony, the President triumphantly proclaimed that, "as of this hour, America's schools will be on a new path of reform, and a new path of results."1 The legislation, which totaled more than six hundred pages, was intended to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and expand its aim according to four central principles: accountability for results; state and local flexibility; focusing resources on successful methods; and expanding choice? Although substantively notable …

Deficit Reduction In The U.S. Senate : The Search For Moral Leadership In The Budget Process, David Kendall Roberts

Honors Theses

Contemporary deficit reduction and fiscal responsibility are central to the economic wellbeing of future generations as well as their ability to freely decide their own policy priorities. Many scholarly publications and popular commentary on budget policy describe the obstacles to deficit reduction and political leaders' unwillingness to address the nation's long-term fiscal problems. However, current discussions of budget deficits and the national debt have not been informed by a comprehensive empirical analysis of attempts to reduce the deficit. This thesis examines all deficit-affecting floor amendments to budget legislation from 1975 to 2005 in order to assess whether the bleak account …

The Politics Of Judicial Restraint : The Rehnquist Court And The New Federalism, Sarah J. Vinson

Honors Theses

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and the Supreme Court under his leadership have been charged, respectively, with leading and enacting a federalism revolution. From the beginning, Rehnquist, first as an associate justice and later as Chief Justice, has displayed a commitment to notions of constitutionalism, originalism, and federalism. In the years before Rehnquist joined the Supreme Court, the idea of federalism, what Felix Frankfurter described as "the happy relation of States to Nation," certainly underwent numerous transformations, altering it from what was originally intended into a doctrine far friendlier to the expansion of national power at the expense of the …

"I Respectfully Dissent" : Intellectual Leadership In The Nation's Highest Court, Alison M. Smith

Honors Theses

The right of an individual to dissent from the ideas of his or her peers, or even his or her government, has been one of the defining characteristics of American civil society. The United States itself was founded as a result of American colonists' dissenting from the British government, and our Constitution established a governmental system that would not only accommodate, but encourage a process of deliberative democracy in which the views of both the many and the few would be taken into account and considered thoroughly. A system of internal checks and balances between the legislative, judicial and executive …

Women Leaders Combining A Career In Higher Education With Raising A Family : A Study Of Leadership, Anne Simmons Williamson

Honors Theses

Much of the research within the field of Leadership Studies focuses on whether men and women lead differently and whether women can break "the glass ceiling." This study will examine women leaders in higher education administration who have children and have already broken the glass ceiling, focusing on their work-life challenges and analyzing the structural and attitudinal issues in their organization and society that impact their leadership.

Virginia Schein (1995) identified the larger challenge for society by asking,

How can we restructure work in a society in which work and family no longer are separate, but interface?...It is when this …

A Comparative Case Study On Why Women Run For Public Office : Hillary Rodham Clinton & Elizabeth Hanford Dole, Ashley Elizabeth Lorenz

Honors Theses

As our political history evolves, slowly but surely more and more women are running for public office. What are the things that propel women to run for local, state, or federal leadership positions? Are there certain factors that are contingent upon their embarkment into the political arena? The answers to these questions all contribute to the "creation," if you will, of a political woman. In order to better understand these factors and their effects, I will examine case studies of two women, Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole, through the lenses of four such factors including the timing as it relates …

The Changing Landscape Of America's Societal Sector, Denise Harb

Honors Theses

This paper will outline the changes in the nonprofit sector since 1945 and will attempt to show that these changes are the result of various shifts in the contextual environment in which the sector has developed. This review of the history of the nonprofit sector will trace the influence of such factors as World War two and the controversy which surrounded foundations mainly until the 1960s. Other contextual factors include more academic transformations such as the influence of Keynesian economic theory and the 1960's research on the roles of mediating structures in American democracy.

Leadership And The War Between The States, Matt Cobb

Honors Theses

The concept of a Servant Leader is fascinating because it seems to be an oxymoron. How can one be a servant if they are to lead? This seems even stranger when placed in the context of military leaders. Robert Greenleaf argued that "The servant-leader is servant first. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead."' Individuals such as Jesus Christ, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. immediately seem to fit the definition for servant leaders. Each individual involved with the military serve their respective …

Leadership, Gender, And Division I Athletics, A Study Of Athletes' Needs Based On Gender, Carol Knerr

Honors Theses

Athletics is a significant area where leadership can be observed and studied. Through my experience in athletics up to the college level, I have noticed that coaches coach differently depending on if they are coaching male or female athletes. For example, I have noticed that coaches of male sports teams sometimes yell, scream, and directly insult their players in order to motivate them. This technique seems to work for the men but generally might not be as successful for female athletes. This is simply an observation that is not backed up by research. Some research has been done on different …

Empowerment In The United States Congress, James D. Mark, Christopher J. Poulos

Honors Theses

The purpose of the forthcoming study is to gain an understanding of how empowerment is utilized in the political arena. The project will primarily deal with Congress and the relations between Members. With all of the facets of the legislative branch, it is necessary to narrow this study to several aspects of the body. Due to the diversity of Congressional Members and the formal structure of House and Senate committees, this investigation will serve to provide a concentrated, yet thorough analysis of the presence of empowerment.

Present To Future : The Innovations Of Leadership Studies, Christopher Hartman Engels

Honors Theses

Formal leadership education is the latest craze at the secondary level of education. Private high schools have for years stated in their brochures that their school produces leaders. However, only recently are these same schools clearly articulating a more formal structure in leadership education. An in-depth case study analysis of three private high schools in Virginia will not only allow for a look at their leadership curricula, but will allow for conclusion to be made about the best possible means of teaching leadership.

Leadership And The Breast Cancer Movement, Amy Silverstein

Honors Theses

The breast cancer movement stays away from power struggles and superiority complexes. These women figured out that in order to stay organized and in control, every woman needed to feel included. The nature of the issue of the movement helps as well. Since most of these women fought the disease either themselves or with others, they understand how important a supportive environment contributes to a person's well-being. This support flows into the movement and contributes to the sense of togetherness. Some women are more prone to leadership than others, but that does not mean that they are somehow superior. Their …

The Prophet And The Preacher : An Exploration Of Charismatic Leadership In Two American Religious Movements, Stefanie R. Mathew

Honors Theses

From its very inception. the general, overarching goal of this study has been to integrate two academic disciplines that had a relatively small amount of previous scholarship uniting them. This paper has shown that it is quite possible to intermingle the fields of leadership studies and religion successfully. The specific purpose of this paper was the further exploration of the topic of charismatic leadership in a relatively untouched context, that of radical religious groups in modem America. The result of this project is a lengthy treatment of the topic of charismatic leadership in two specific case studies, and the final …

A Case Study The Effects Of A Powerful Committee Chair On The Passage Of The Wilderness Bill, Kenneth S. Livingston

Master's Theses

The case of the Wilderness Bill reveals several important insights into the process, policy and politics of wilderness legislation in the late 1950s and early 1960's. The process generally conformed well with the expectations of a strong committee chair model that characterized Congress during the late 1950s and early 1960s. To be sure, the politics involved accommodation of competing interests and was facilitated by a president eager to pass a pro-wilderness bill. Above all, the compromise which ultimately led to the passage of the Wilderness Bill was influenced by the powerful committee chairman of the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee …

Uncharted Leadership : A Study Of Leadership In The Judicial Branch, Kevin Donnelly

Honors Theses

This paper is the final product of a research oriented project in which I studied leadership within the federal judicial system, specifically the Supreme Court of the United States. This project was an in depth study of the amount, style, and effect of Leadership in the Judicial branch. Through this study I hoped to explore a major component of government which has somehow been ignored when studying leadership at the national level.

Lobbyists : Leadership In A Political Context, Kelly L. Beeland

Honors Theses

Though both participation in General Assembly from a lobbyist's perspective and library research, this project addresses the question: How do lobbyists serve as leaders to interest groups and within the political process? The content of this research explores the role of lobbyists as leaders in the political context. This project tracks the lobbyist's behavior and actions (not just the evolution of a bill) at specific points in the legislative process. Finally, the tasks lobbyists perform and the role they fill in the political process are defined in terms of leadership theory. In the context of this definition, lobbyists are analyzed …

Eleanor And Hillary : First Lady Leadership In The Contexts Of History And Contemporary Culture, Beth Allen

Honors Theses

The work of this paper is important to leadership studies for two reasons. First of all, such examination furthers the exploration of first lady leadership and interprets the lives and works of ER and HRC in a new way. Also, this paper will help test the validity of a new model of contingency theory. Wren and Swatez explain that leadership studies needs such a model, one "that identifies and affirms the various levels of historical and cultural forces that act upon the leadership process" (247).

Contingency theories of leadership examine the relationship between leaders, followers, and the situation, and often …

"We Shall Overcome" And Gangsta Rap : An Investigation Of The Role Of Music In The Civil Rights Movement And In Contemporary Urban Society, Christopher Yurchuck

Honors Theses

The non-violent protestors of the Civil Rights Movement found in their music, a sense of healing and of cohesion within their group, a group of blacks and whites alike, fighting the injustices of a supposedly just society. They used the Freedom Songs to express dissention with the system, to disseminate information to other movement participants, and to bind the group together. The black militants of the '60s in the Civil Rights Movement did not use music as a form of their expression; rather, their silence, an absence of music, said it all. Today, gangsta rappers are a fusion of the …