Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Carbon Frame: Lobbying For Renewable Energy In The European Union, Kyle S. Herman

Master's Theses

This paper demonstrates how using the word "carbon" within global warming debates severely impedes lobbyists in favor of building stronger renewable energy policies in the European Union (EU). Within the EU, carbon is widely used to speak about many of the perils of climate change, global warming, energy policy, and contingent subject matters. In political circles, media outlets, and public debates, carbon acts a the pillar for many policies, discussions, and ideas related to fundamental errors of transferring energy from fossil fuels and nuclear sources. At the same time, however, limiting carbon does not necessarily preclude fossil fuels, such as …

Child Soldiers: Solutions From A Humanistic Lens, Ursula Wylan

Master's Theses

This paper examines the issue of Child Soldiers using case studies of three conflicts in which children were found fighting. The paper also looks at the CSPA and the Presidential waiver of four countries by President Obama.

Territoriality, Sovereignty And The Nation-State System In Israel-Palestine: The Creation Of The Palestinian Bantustan “State” And Shifting Palestinian Resistance Tactics, Sara Nichole Hughes

Master's Theses

The conflict in Israel-Palestine is over the sovereign control of territory and takes place within a global framework made up of clearly defined nation-states. It is within this framework that Israeli colonial expansion and construction of the separation barrier in the West Bank attempt to maximize Israeli annexation of the oPt while creating a Palestinian Bantustan “state” to contain and isolate the Palestinian people in non-sovereign territorial enclaves through the use of territoriality as a strategy for exercising sovereignty. In response to this obvious process of cantonization, Palestinians are resisting by supporting Israeli annexation – of the West Bank and …

The Path To Peace: Conflict Theory And Northern Ireland’S Troubles (1968-1998), Ruairi Wiepking

Master's Theses

This paper is a qualitative historical analysis of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Over a period of approximately thirty years, sectarian violence in Northern Ireland dominated the headlines of newspapers in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite this violent history, Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace and stability since the passage of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. This paper aims to better understand why and how Northern Ireland endured a generation of brutal sectarian violence and emerged into a new era of peace and mutual understanding. In doing so, this paper incorporates theories from peace and conflict studies …

Latino/A Lgbtq Migrations, Sarah V. Rodriguez

Master's Theses

Despite Latin America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) movement’s recent ground-breaking political achievements, wide spread social acceptance of LGBTQ individuals is not evident in every institution, nor in every part of the region. For some, migration to the U.S. is the solution for escaping the strict social constructs of the region. Of the many studies focusing on the LGBTQ individuals, limited research examines the Latino/a segment of the LGBTQ population. The study explores the motivations behind migration as well as the resettlement process of those immigrating to the San Francisco Bay Area from Latin America, focusing on the …

The Impact Of Immigration Policies & Integration Programs On Multicultural Identity In Germany, Laila Bernice Schneidergossens

Master's Theses

Discussed against the background of current political developments and attitudes in Germany, the following research examines what roles immigration policies and locally implemented integration programs play in the development of immigrant identity in Germany. Further, this thesis illustrates how these policies and programs can effectively lead to a new conscious understanding of multiculturalism. Germany has created a society where the cultures of immigrants and autochthonous Germans do not intersect, thus creating separate entities that exist in a parallel reality. Immigrants face the dilemma of maintaining their ethnic sense of identity while simultaneously adapting to the cultural and political norms in …

Violence Against Women In Pakistan, Amina Bath

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Transforming The Current Thai Political Conflict To A Peaceful Society, Ranatchai Phumcharoen

Master's Theses

This study explores the current Thai political conflict which began in 2005 and continues in 2011. This conflict is different from the nation’s past political conflicts, which were conflicts between people and the government. On the contrary, the current conflict is a conflict between Thais who share different political ideologies. Many scholars have explained causes and effects of the conflict on Thai society. However, currently, only a few scholars have proposed solutions to the conflict. Therefore, this is a challenge in order to investigate the current conflict and figure out sustainable means to transform the conflict and build peace in …

Systems At Play: The Construction Of International Systems In Social Impact Games, Jorge Albor

Master's Theses

This thesis explores how game makers conceive of and navigate the intersection between digital systems and real world systems by asking, how can social impact game designers shape procedural rhetoric to effectively address complex real world systems with digital systems? By examining three game case studies, I reach four significant findings regarding player agency, subversive play, design approaches to scale, and game difficulty in regards to systems fluency.

Factors To Consider Before Restricting Automobiles On Market Street In San Francisco Based On Case Studies Of Denver’S 16th Street Mall & Sacramento’S K Street Mall, Jennifer Hoff

Master's Projects and Capstones

For years, San Francisco has considered implementing a transit mall on Market Street from Van Ness Avenue to the Embarcadero in order to improve transit times, increase the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, and promote economic development. Efforts to improve Market Street have been underway ever since suburbanization trends began in the 1950s. Now the opportunity truly exists to transform Market Street because of its scheduled repaving in 2015.

Various cities across the United States created transit malls. While these malls can succeed, they can also fail. San Francisco has studied many ways to create a world-class boulevard, but there …

The Resource Curse And Peru: A Potential Threat For The Future?, Sergio Cruz

Master's Theses

What explains the ability of some countries to successfully use their natural resources towards development and economic growth while for others stagnation and impoverishment? The resource curse theory has helped economists explain this observation. This work examines how Peru has been able to produce strong economic growth in the last 20 years despite the economy’s strong dependence on its natural resource extractive industry. Peru has been able to avoid many of the pitfalls and traps that resource curse literature considers to be detrimental to economic growth. This article examines the resource based economies of four other countries (Venezuela, Chile, Nigeria, …

Public Space Planning As A Catalyst For Dweller Initiated Slum Upgrading: Ahmedabad, India, Christopher Bystedt

Master's Theses

This research observes how public space planning can improve slum upgrading projects, focusing on two case study slums in Ahmedabad, India.

The inclusion of formal public space planning into slum upgrading schemes can act as a catalyst for dweller-initiated housing improvements. While municipalities that choose to upgrade their slums are primarily concerned with supplying bare necessity infrastructure—such as water, sewage, and paving—most upgrading schemes ignore the reality that slum communities are complex, integral components of the urbanization process. These settlements deserve and necessitate comprehensive design and planning services which will integrate the community into the larger urban fabric.

This thesis …

Microfinance Partnerships: A Bridge For Refugees, Megan Fielding

Master's Theses

My thesis examines the extension of microfinance to a refugee community; the objective focuses on economic assistance and a bridge to provide the required basic needs, as reported by the refugee population. With the global growth of refugees, the repositioning of refugees from either being cast aside as a potentially productive society or completely overlooked, is critical. Through my research in Ecuador, my thesis takes the viewpoint that refugees do, in fact, matter, and can become productive contributors to a society. The challenge that is presented in that viewpoint is: how do they become a part of a society?

Divergent Discourses: Development Knowledge And Malian Family Planning, Savannah A. Thompson

Master's Theses

I propose that in order to approach corrective recommendations for family planning initiatives an examination of initiative fitness is necessary. Using a Foucauldian approach, this analysis identifies the discursive formations (ideologies) at work in centralized family planning in order to elucidate the female normative model for whom initiative programs are constructed. This norm is contrasted with the lived experiences of Malian women in order to determine if the ideology dictating family planning structures is suitable for the local population. When combined with existing analyses of family planning structures and outcomes, this research helps triangulate family planning in a three-dimensional space, …

Security Cooperation Poorly Defined, Nathan L. Fenell

Master's Theses

Security cooperation is a vital component to the national security of the United States. Despite this fact, insufficient military or academic attention has been applied to the subject. The academic and professional void created by this inattention has led academic, journalistic, and military professionals to misuse the term security cooperation, and stray from its doctrinal description as defined by the Department of Defense Dictionary and Associated Military Terms. The academic rigor required to properly express the concept of security cooperation as a peace-time strategy has been absent from both the Department of Defense, and the Department of State, and …

The Next Generation Of Peer Reviewing, Naupaka B. Zimmerman, R. Salguero-Gómez, J. Ramos

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

India In 2010: Robust Economics Amid Political Stasis, Shalendra Sharma

Politics

The Congress Party, although in a strong position to improve matters in 2010, generally proved disappointing, especially in the realm of governance and public policy. However, Indian authorities did demonstrate the ability to manage the economy well in a challenging international economic climate. President Obama’s three-day trip helped to reinvigorate bilateral ties, but India’s relations with China and Pakistan remained testy.

Social Equity In The New 21st America: A Case For Transgender Competence Within Public Affairs Graduate Programs, Richard Greggory Johnson

Public and Nonprofit Administration

This paper focuses on the importance of transgender education in public affairs programs, particularly as its students prepare to enter an increasingly diverse workforce in the 21st century. The paper first connects transgender awareness and education to the social equity literature. To date, attention within the social equity literature has primarily focused on race/ethnicity and, to a lesser extent, on women. However, issues of gender identity and sexual orientation have largely been missing from the social equity dialogue. This paper aims to fill the void. Next, the paper examines the transgender movement as a means to eliminate transgender oppression from …

Social Equity As A Tool For Social Change, Richard Greggory Johnson

Public and Nonprofit Administration

No abstract provided.

Ranked Choice Voting In The 2011 San Francisco Municipal Election: Final Report, Corey Cook, David Latterman

McCarthy Center Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We present here a final analysis of voters’ usage of the ranked choice ballot in the 2011 San Francisco Municipal Election. Unlike our previous report, which concentrated primarily on political outcomes, this paper focuses on voters’ usage of the ballot and tendencies to overvote, undervote, and rank candidates for three citywide offices: Sheriff, District Attorney, and Mayor. This study combines individual ballot records with county voter file data to allow for a systematic analysis of the relationship between various demographic factors and variations in observed voting behaviors. Additional data are presented in the appendix, including voter turnout by neighborhood in …

November 2011 Proposition Results And Pvi Corelations, David Latterman

McCarthy Center Faculty and Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Bay Area Survey: Public Attitudes About The Economy, Government And Public Policy (June 2011), University Of San Francisco, Leo T. Mccarthy Center For Public Service And The Common Good

McCarthy Center Faculty and Staff Scholarship

SURVEY OVERVIEW The Leo T McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good launched its inaugural Bay Area Regional Survey in June 2011. The Center interviewed nearly 1,200 respondents over the age of 18 in eight Bay Area counties to get the current pulse of San Francisco and the Bay Area on a range of important issues.

In this first McCarthy Center survey, a baseline of opinions is established so that regional changes in perception can be measured over time. Included are such topics as concern over the economy, pension reform, and other public policy issues, and overall assessments …

Bay Citizen/University Of San Francisco Survey Findings Memo (Amended) October 2011, University Of San Francisco, Leo T. Mccarthy Center For Public Service And The Common Good

McCarthy Center Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good at the University of San Francisco, in partnership with The Bay Citizen launched its inaugural municipal election survey in October 2011 to offer an objective and independent analysis of the state of the election. The poll represents a unique snapshot in time and offers statistically significant information about likely voters interviewed at the time of the survey. It is not intended to be, nor is it capable of being, predictive of the November election. This report presents the responses of the 551 persons surveyed. The margin of error …

San Benito County And California's Geopolitical Fault Lines, Corey Cook, David Latterman

McCarthy Center Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Over the past decade San Benito County has emerged as California’s textbook bellwether county, narrowly mirroring statewide election results on ballot measures and statewide candidate races. San Benito’s uncanny predictive power suggests the importance of California emerging political geography as it straddles the major political fault lines of the state. Neither northern nor southern, neither coastal nor inland, and neither urban nor rural, San Benito illustrates the broad geographic forces shaping contemporary California politics.

November 2011 Preliminary Rcv Analysis, David Latterman, Corey Cook

McCarthy Center Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We present here an initial RCV analysis of the 2011 San Francisco Sheriff, District Attorney, and Mayor race. For each race, we examine the first choice by second choice voting patterns, the frequency of slates, and the number of times a candidate is on a ballot, which is useful measure of candidate performance. We also show maps for each race's winner, with a few ethnic and Progressive Voter Index (PVI) correlations when noteworthy.

For the first time, we are also able to present cross-contest analyses at the individual voter level. The city’s ballot images maintain consistent voter identification numbers. This …

Social Networks, Neighborhood Effects, And Credit Access: Evidence From Rural Guatemala, Bruce Wydick, Harmony Karp Hayes, Sarah Hilliker Kempf

Economics

We measure the extent to which social networks determine sources of credit from a survey of 465 households in western Guatemala. We estimate correlated, contextual and endogenous effects of networks at the neighborhood, church, and village levels, finding that church networks display endogenous effects in credit access. We calculate an elasticity of social imitation (ESI) indicating if the percentage of people accessing microfinance in a church network doubles, the probability of an individual household accessing microfinance increases by 14.1 percent, a magnitude similar to our estimated ESIs for televisions and cell phones within church and neighbor networks.

Microfinance And Home Improvement: Using Retrospective Panel Data To Measure Program Effects On Fundamental Events, Craig Mcintosh, Gonzalo Villaran, Bruce Wydick

Economics

Rigorously estimating the effects of development programs is notoriously difficult. In this paper we present a methodology that borrows from "event studies" commonly used in the finance literature to ascertain the impacts of corporate mergers. In our RETRAFECT methodology a retrospective panel data set is created based on “fundamental” events in the history of surveyed households, events that are discrete, unforgettable, and important to welfare. Based on the relationship between the changes in the estimated probabilities of these events and the timing of the introduction and uptake of a treatment, it is possible to ascertain if the probability of these …

The Economics Of Parenting, Self-Esteem, And Academic Performance: Theory And A Test, Rajeev Darolia, Bruce Wydick

Economics

This paper develops a theory about how signals sent to a child by an altruistic parent affect a child's self-esteem, effort and long-term performance when a parent has better information about child ability than children do themselves. We carry out OLS, 2SLS, and 3SLS estimations of our model on a sample of 651 college students. Our results show some complementary actions before college, such as parental praise, foster academic achievement above what natural ability would predict. Conversely, we find some substitutionary actions before college, such as providing them cars as gifts, are associated with lower effort in college and underachievement. …

Crosstalk 2.0: Asylum And Communicative Breakdowns, Marco Jacquemet

Communication Studies

Using ethnographic evidence on asylum proceedings for refugee recognition from various sources (Italy, Belgium, United Kingdom, and Canada), this paper updates Gumperz’s notion of crosstalk by exploring the massively flexible and multilingual nature of late-modern communication as epitomized in one of the most complex adjudication procedures performed by Western nation-states. Every year thousands of displaced people seek the protection of various European countries by filing asylum claims, which are examined by national commissions. This paper explores how the problematic nature of these encounters can be traced to the nature of late-modern communication, characterized as it is by asymmetrical power, multiple …

Indymedia (The Independent Media Center), Dorothy Kidd

Media Studies

No abstract provided.