Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Campaigning In The Digital Age: How Social Media Changed The Framework Of Elections, Faith Hamelin
Campaigning In The Digital Age: How Social Media Changed The Framework Of Elections, Faith Hamelin
Honors Theses
Throughout the 21st century, it is normal for social media users to see politics on virtually every platform an individual uses, ranging from LinkedIn to TikTok. Broadcast news, including television and radio have always aired political discussions, as mass communication became the most common and favorable way for politicians to communicate with constituents. However, politics were not a prominent aspect of social media use until less than a decade and a half ago. As the internet became further integrated into our daily lives, through radio, television, and cellular or smart phones, we found ourselves invested in politics at a previously …
Litigating Reproductive Rights: The Evolving Support Structure In The United States, Allison Anker
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 …
Political Scandal And Party Identification, Michael Sekich
Political Scandal And Party Identification, Michael Sekich
Honors Theses
How do voters react to political scandal, especially when a like-minded partisan is involved? We look to answer that question by utilizing the concept of self-monitoring. Before collecting the data, expectations were that high self-monitors would identify as an independent when exposed to the partisan political scandal. But, when presented with a non-partisan political scandal, high self-monitors would feel more comfortable identifying as their own partisanship. This study offers mixed results. We found that high self-monitors had the only meaningful differences, and low self-monitors did not display significant differences across the versions. The Republican scandal yielded the most meaningful response, …
Party Identification At Western Michigan University, Melissa Heinz
Party Identification At Western Michigan University, Melissa Heinz
Honors Theses
A high self-monitor is an individual who changes his/her political views to improve an impression made to others. This past election contained very controversial candidates making individuals very reluctant to show strong support for either party. My thesis topic examines the link between self-monitoring and party identification after the controversial election. I will be testing to see Western Michigan University students’ willingness to disguise political views based on what others think of them by using three different versions of the same survey. Many students are in positions on campus as well as off campus that require them to present themselves …
The Effects Of Repealing The Estate Tax And Reducing The Corporate Tax Rate Coupled With A Repatriation Act, Trenton Vanderlende
The Effects Of Repealing The Estate Tax And Reducing The Corporate Tax Rate Coupled With A Repatriation Act, Trenton Vanderlende
Honors Theses
Given that significant U.S. federal tax reform is taking place for the first time in over 30 years, this paper examines how changing specific tax provisions may affect the average individual taxpayer as well as the wealthiest 1% of Americans. Three potential federal tax law changes are addressed: repealing the estate tax, reducing the corporate statutory income tax rate, and offering a repatriation holiday for remitting the foreign profits earned by U.S. businesses. These changes are analyzed using publicly available data from U.S. Congressional hearings, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Based on this …
Analyzing The Legislative Productivity Of Congress During The Obama Administration, Zachary Hunkins
Analyzing The Legislative Productivity Of Congress During The Obama Administration, Zachary Hunkins
Honors Theses
Our nation looks to Congress to solve problems by producing legislation. Four congressional sessions took place during the eight years of the Obama administration; these were the 111th (2009-2011), 112th (2011-2013), 113th (2013-2015), and 114th (2015-2017). These four congressional sessions were often labeled and stigmatized as some of the least productive sessions in our nation’s history. This raises the questions, what explains legislative productivity? What variables effect it? Were the four sessions that took place during the Obama administration that ineffective? How do these sessions compare to sessions that took place during past presidential administrations? This …
Allied Paper Landfill, A Case Study Of Superfund, Kaitlin Braunschweig
Allied Paper Landfill, A Case Study Of Superfund, Kaitlin Braunschweig
Honors Theses
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980), more commonly known as Superfund, delegates the responsibility for cleanup of more than 1,300 hazardous waste sites to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This thesis is designed as a case study to investigate the Superfund program through the lens of the Allied Paper Landfill portion of the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. Through interviews with key stakeholders an evaluation was completed based on the following research questions: 1) are the current goals of Superfund appropriate, 2) is the funding mechanism sufficient to fulfill the goals of Superfund, and 3) is the …
The Supreme Court: A Decade Of Opinion, Matthew A. Bahleda
The Supreme Court: A Decade Of Opinion, Matthew A. Bahleda
Honors Theses
Conventional wisdom would have us believe that the Bush v. Gore (2000) decision marked a large change in public approval of the Supreme Court. To analyze this claim, a series of landmark cases for the years 2000-2010 will be reduced to a data set that will allow for the observation of specific variables and the roles each variable may play in determining the change in public opinion. From there, conclusions are made that substantively explicate the relations between the indicated relevant variables and the change in opinion. Ultimately, the Bush v. Gore decision is found to have not had the …