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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Union College

2011

Articles 31 - 42 of 42

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

If You Label It This Then It Cant Be That: Revisiting New Journalism In Mailer, Didion, And Wolfe, Jill E. Radwin Jun 2011

If You Label It This Then It Cant Be That: Revisiting New Journalism In Mailer, Didion, And Wolfe, Jill E. Radwin

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the works of Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe, a group of writers most often defined as the “New Journalists” for their untraditional blending of fictional techniques with reportage. I refer primarily to three texts: Mailer’s The Armies of the Night, Didion’s The White Album, and Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and then go on to analyze the authors’ later careers through a study of their more recent essays and essay collections. I examine the ways in which these three authors break conventions of traditional journalism, most notably through their rejection of ethical boundaries, the …

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The Impact Of The 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement On Competitive Balance In The National Hockey League, John L. Simpson Jun 2011

The Impact Of The 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement On Competitive Balance In The National Hockey League, John L. Simpson

Honors Theses

After a lockout that canceled the 2004‐05 season in the National Hockey League (NHL), the owners and players reached a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that instituted a ‘hard’ salary cap, a modified revenue sharing system, and changes in free agency. The principal motivation for the new agreement was to raise competitiveness among the teams, in order to generate greater revenue and profitability and to support higher player salaries. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the CBA on competitive balance within the NHL and identify the principal determinants of the changes in competitiveness among the teams. …

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Following The Herd: An Economic Analysis Of The Effects Of Herd Mentality On The U.S. Housing Bubble, Michael P. Spicer Jun 2011

Following The Herd: An Economic Analysis Of The Effects Of Herd Mentality On The U.S. Housing Bubble, Michael P. Spicer

Honors Theses

One focus of economics in the recent years has been the integration of human behavior, including that of herd behavior, into economic thought. Herd behavior can be defined as the way that individuals, who have private information, end up acting together as a group inadvertently, without planned action. It is thought to be caused by incomplete information and subsequently information cascades. Does this behavior exist, and if it does, did it have any effect on the recent housing market? The last twelve years provide a good opportunity to test whether or not herd behavior exists in the housing market, and …

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Democratization And Social Movements: An Analysis Of Elites And Masses In Democratic Transitions, Caroline M. Tulp Jun 2011

Democratization And Social Movements: An Analysis Of Elites And Masses In Democratic Transitions, Caroline M. Tulp

Honors Theses

Over the past several decades there has been an influx of countries becoming democracies. Post-communist Eastern Europe, developing Africa, and Latin America are only three regions that have been working towards democratic governments, some being more successful than others. There are many theories that attempt to explain why some countries are able to successfully transition to a democracy while others fail. In my senior thesis, I focus on elitism versus the power of the masses. For most of transitology history, elites have been viewed as the prominent actor in democratization. However, the role of the masses has been focused on …

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Do Medical Technology And Healthcare Spending Affect Health Outcomes?, Chandni V. Vaid Jun 2011

Do Medical Technology And Healthcare Spending Affect Health Outcomes?, Chandni V. Vaid

Honors Theses

Healthcare expenditures have been on the rise for many countries, especially for the developed countries. As of 2009, Japan, Australia and Canada are spending around 8 to 10% of their total GDP on healthcare, while the United States is currently up to 16%. One of the major factors contributing to increased expenditures on healthcare is the emergence of medical technology. Using data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), I empirically investigate the effects of medical technologies and healthcare expenditure on health outcomes for a group of 17 countries. Medical technology is measured by the number of MRI …

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Regional Variation In The Length Of Hospital Stay And Insurance Coverage: A State-Wide Variation In Length Of Stay And Insurance Types, Samuel S. Yoon Jun 2011

Regional Variation In The Length Of Hospital Stay And Insurance Coverage: A State-Wide Variation In Length Of Stay And Insurance Types, Samuel S. Yoon

Honors Theses

With the continuously growing healthcare expenditure, it is important to examine the causes of this phenomenon. Length of hospital stay is one possible cause. Using the panel data from 2001 – 2008 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Statehealthfacts.org, Center for Disease Control and Prevention Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Almanac of Hospital Financial & Operating Indicators 2007, and Current Population Survey March Supplements, this paper utilizes regression analysis to investigate geographic variation on the length of stay, focusing on the relationship between the different insurance types and the length of stay. As a variety of insurance types offers different reimbursement …

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What's More Persuasive? How The Internet And Newspaper Change Opinions, Sloane E. Sheldon Jun 2011

What's More Persuasive? How The Internet And Newspaper Change Opinions, Sloane E. Sheldon

Honors Theses

The Internet has become an integral part of society. While people have been turning to the Internet for their news, newspapers are still a powerful source of information. This study investigates whether the newspaper or Internet is more effective at altering people’s opinions. Participants included people ranging from 18-78 years old. After reading a political endorsement that appeared to come from either a printed newspaper or a news website, participants rated their opinions on this candidate. When the message included strong arguments, the source of the article did not have an effect on how well the articles were able to …

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The Suez Crisis: Country Breakdown, Maeghan M. Buckley Jun 2011

The Suez Crisis: Country Breakdown, Maeghan M. Buckley

Honors Theses

The inflexible position of the multiple actors during the Suez Crisis made military aggression all the more precarious within a post‐Hitler world. Britain and France attempted to make multiple connections between Nasser and Hitler in order to engage the United States in their endeavor. Instead Eisenhower searched for a diplomatic solution in order to ensure the Soviet Union would not be allowed to infiltrate the Middle East. No matter the efforts of the countries involved, the final solution was only found within the United Nations. Issues of sovereignty collided with international law erupting in a military attack that was ultimately …

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Corruption In The Indian Political System, Khusboo J. Desai Jun 2011

Corruption In The Indian Political System, Khusboo J. Desai

Honors Theses

Currently, India and China are both competing to be the hegemonic power in Asia as well as a superpower internationally. Both are growing at double-digit rates, while other nations are dealing with the current recession. However, while China is reducing corruption which ultimately translates into money lost by the government, corruption in India is increasing at a rapid pace. According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2010, India ranked 87 out of 180 nations. Though, India ranked better than half the other nations, India fell from 72nd (2007) to 84th in two years. In my thesis, I explore the relationship …

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Farmers Motivations To Practice Sustainable Agriculture, Kimberly A. Floeser Jun 2011

Farmers Motivations To Practice Sustainable Agriculture, Kimberly A. Floeser

Honors Theses

An increasing awareness of human and environmental health issues and the destruction of family farms and rural communities have caused a significant change in the way many farmers, consumers, and policy‐makers are thinking about and relating to food, the results of which can be seen largely in the growth of the organic and sustainable food industry. This paper attempts to examine and explain farmers’ attitudes towards sustainable agriculture, and their motivations to use sustainable methods of production. A survey was distributed to 533 farms that are members of the Northeast Organic Food Association of New York (NOFA‐NY). The data obtained …

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Applying Fair Division To Global Carbon, Emily D. Lacroix Jun 2011

Applying Fair Division To Global Carbon, Emily D. Lacroix

Honors Theses

The world climate policy debate has come to a political standstill between devel-oped and developing countries. They cannot agree on a “fair” manner to decide how much each country is allowed to pollute, and who should pay for pollution abate-ment costs. The United States and developed countries believe that all countries should participate and reduce their carbon dioxide emissions to their 1990 levels be-cause everyone will benefit. By contrast, developing countries believe that developed countries should be required to do the majority of the emission abatement because they cause the majority of the pollution. Carsten Helm [2008] proposed an unconventional …

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Change: An Analysis Of Vote Choice In The 2008 Presidential Election, Maryssa A. Mataras Jun 2011

Change: An Analysis Of Vote Choice In The 2008 Presidential Election, Maryssa A. Mataras

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the factors that helped Americans come to a vote choice in the 2008 presidential election. After an in-depth analysis and presentation on the existing literature, I then present key moments in both McCain and Obama’s campaigns looking at the context, campaigns, and candidates. I then break down the turnout and vote choice of each major social group and demographic in the United States, juxtaposing it with the group’s historical voting trends and turnout. In 2008 there was a large nationwide Democratic shift. Chapter four seeks to defend whether it was the context of the election or the …

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