Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

In The Eye Of The Beholder: Victory And Defeat In U.S. Military Operations, D. Johnson, Dominic Tierney

Political Science Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Income Inequality And The Probability Of Violent Revolt, Noah Cecil

Honors Papers

This paper examines the effect of income inequality on the impetus of an organized dissident group to initiate a "revolt" in an attempt to wrest power from the government regionally or countrywide. After suggesting alterations and extensions of a mathematical framework developed by Blomberg, Hess, and Weerapana (2004) income inequality, economic growth, urbanization, and political rights data from 102 countries from 1972-1999 are used to determine their respective influences on the likelihood of a revolt being initiated in a given year. Income inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient is found to be statistically significant in determining the likelihood of …

Tradition, Modernization And Public Health Policy: Combating Hiv/Aids In Senegal, Hannah Godlove

Honors Papers

This thesis explores how traditional beliefs and institutions have been used in a nationwide campaign against the spread of HIV / AIDS in the case· of Senegal. Relying on the works of Max Weber, Edward Shils, and Erving Goffinan, the theoretical chapter of the thesis develops the concepts of traditionalism, modernization, rationalization, and social stigma. This theoretical framework is applied to the case of Senegal in order to support the idea that the tradition of Sufi Islam played an important role in the nationwide campaigns against AIDS. However, I argue that a successful national policy against HIV / AIDS must …

On The Relation Between Pay And Performance: Presidents Of Liberal Arts Colleges, Imran Lalani

Honors Papers

This paper uses panel data on the salaries and benefits of liberal arts college presidents during the period 2001-02 to 2003-04 to understand what presidents are rewarded for. We try and develop a basic framework in which to understand the president's role in the institution, and attempt to explain what some claim is a combination of high wages and relatively weak pay for performance.

The rising income inequality in America has been the subject of much heated debate in the recent past. 'Excessive' executive pay has been a recurrent theme during 2007 so far, with the Senate gearing up to …

Premium Risk And Healthcare Policy, Matthew Coffina

Honors Papers

In this paper, I analyze four alternative policies that address "premium risk": the risk that health insurance premiums will increase if an individual acquires a chronic condition. They are: premium risk insurance, community rating, anti-discrimination laws for large firms, and government subsidies. I show that community rating and anti-discrimination laws provide incomplete protection, and have the potential to create welfare-reducing distortions in incentives, while subsidies can be designed that mimic the efficiency of premium risk insurance. While the economic concepts behind these conclusions are well-documented and well-understood, I believe my own model adds value in the form of simplicity and …

The Two Faces Of Emergence In Economics, Mark Kuperberg

Economics Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Critical Success Factors For E-Commerce In Thailand: Cultural And Infrastructural Influences, Kittipong Laosethakul, William Boulton

WCBT Faculty Publications

The main purposes of this paper are to identify critical success factors (CSFs) for electronic commerce (e-commerce) in Thailand and explain the major influences behind these factors. Detailed case studies of nine e-commerce companies from different industries in Thailand were conducted. Results showed that social behavior and national culture, more specifically issues pertaining to trust and shopping behavior, were the major influences for the success of e-commerce in Thailand. The phenomenon could be partly explained by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. Thailand’s infrastructure also played an important role in the success of its e-commerce development. The findings provide a framework to guide …

Coastal Empire Economic Monitor, 2nd Quarter, 2007, Armstrong Atlantic State University Center For Regional Analysis

Coastal Empire Economic Monitor

The Coastal Empire Economic Indicators are designed to provide continuously updating quarterly snapshots of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area economy. The coincident index measures the current economic heartbeat of the region. The leading index provides a short term forecast of the region’s economic activity in six to nine months.

Gvsu Press Releases, 2007, Grand Valley State University

University Press Releases, 1961-Present

A compilation of press releases for the year 2007 submitted by University Communications (formerly News & Information Services) to news agencies concerning the people, places, and events related to Grand Valley State University.

Abolish The Periodicals Department!, Bob Schoofs

Scholarly Papers and Articles

As academic libraries strive to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we need to examine new ways to fulfill our educational mission. Simply continuing to do things the same way we always have is no longer an option. On the one hand, technology is rapidly changing how we go about our work. On the other hand, competition among institutions of higher learning is such that only those who provide the best educational experience for their students will thrive. Faced with these challenges, college and university libraries have implemented a variety of reorganizational strategies. A review of the literature provides …

Estimating Regional Trade Agreement Effects On Fdi In An Interdependent World, Badi H. Baltagi, Peter Egger, Michael Pfaffermayr

Center for Policy Research

Recent research on trade and multinationals highlights a novel issue with multinational firms. In particular, their integration strategies are complex and the degree of vertical integration varies in a multilateral world with many possible locations of activity. Multinationals may choose some plants to serve consumers locally only, whereas others engage in trade. Overall, this may explain the fact that a high percentage of world trade is actually controlled by multinational firms, although most of the foreign direct investment (FDI) occurs within the block of developed countries. The most important regional trade agreements (RTAs) are signed between members of the very …

Towards A Diagnostic Framework For Understanding Complex Situations, José J. Padilla, Andres Sousa-Poza, Arturo Tejada, Samuel Kovacic

VMASC Publications

This paper presents a theoretical framework for the concept of understanding and how it can be used for assessing complex situations. Understanding is presented as a cognitive process on how an individual perceives and represents a complex domain based on his/her own predispositions, and how he/she selects knowledge or what may not be knowledge based on the same predispositions towards finding a set of solutions for the situation. Predispositions, in this case, are based on his/her epistemological, ontological and teleological biases while the domain is represented by irreducible and transient conditions. The final outcome is the match or mismatch of …

Representation In Kenya, Its Diaspora, And Academia: Colonial Legacies In Constructions Of Knowledge About Kenya's Coast, Jesse Benjamin

Faculty Articles

This paper explores the construction of knowledge in Kenya in the context and aftermath of colonialism and underdevelopment. Those communities that were politically and economically marginalized in Coast Province over the past century were also displaced in terms of academic opportunities, resulting in fewer social science scholars from Mijikenda and other non-Swahili communities in both Kenyan and diaspora universities. Underdevelopment studies in Africa and Kenya are briefly reviewed, and the colonial history of asymmetric social relations at coastal Kenya is traced. Finally, key debates over identity and history are examined within this context and shown to be exacerbated by diasporic …

Public Policy And Market Reality: Analyzing The Unfunded Liability In The Kentucky Non-Hazardous Employees' Retirement System, Kelly Dudley

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In 2006, an issue of serious concern to state legislatures was the long-term security of the defined benefits that state and local public pension plans promise to current and future retirees (Snell, 2006). Public pension systems are growing in terms of members and the benefits they offer to their members. Part of this group includes the estimated 77 million baby-boomers who will be living the next 20 to 30 years in retirement (Wharton, 2006). These dynamic changes are raising the burden public pension plans place on government operating budgets. Expecting a large number of their employees to retire, public administrators …

Process Review Of The Final Acceptance For Federal-Aid Highway Projects In Kentucky, Michael M. Loyselle

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Federal funds for highway construction projects must comply with federal and state regulations. In Kentucky, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) with the assistance of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) administers the federal-aid highway program. FHWA and KYTC ensure quality of highway projects by inspections of activities conforming to plans, specifications and cost estimates; as well as with the testing of materials used in the project.

During the last five years, an emphasis stemming from reports of the US DOT Office of Inspector General (OIG) and US General Accountability Office (GAO) related to the financial processes in place to administer the …

Operation Unite: A Qualitative Analysis Identifying Critical Factors For Implementation, Crystal D. Pryor

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

UNITE is an acronym meaning Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education. It reflects the three-pronged, comprehensive approach deemed necessary to combating substance abuse in Kentucky Fifth Congressional District. Of Kentucky’s 120 counties, 24 of them do not have an organized regional drug task force. Fifteen of these counties with no active drug task force are represented in the Bluegrass Area Development District’s region. Current social and political perceptions across Kentucky recognize Operation UNITE efforts as largely successful. The evaluation responded to the following research questions: What factors lead to success in Kentucky’s Operation UNITE? Are these factors transferable in treating …

Do Per Capita Expenditures Affect The Quality Of State Government Management?, Rachael D. Putnam

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In recent years, an increase in government accountability has come about in American society. The debate began about the consumer business model of government, with citizens demanding results, not just output, because most people viewed government as inefficient and ineffective. As a response, Vice President Gore National Performance Review endorsed the Government Performance and Results Act (1993) which required federal agencies to have “objective, quantifiable and measurable” goals into the federal government budget process (Kravchuk and Schack, 1996, p.348).

This, in turn, led the way to the Government Performance Project (GPP), a study orchestrated by the Governing magazine, in cooperation …

An Impact Study Of Local Historic District Overlays On Property Values In Fayette County, Ky, Suzann Vogel

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Beginning with Fayette County’s first historic district in 1958, the process of assigning historic zoning status to qualifying neighborhoods was seen as a viable option for preserving local built cultural resources. More than a communicative symbol, H-1 districting limits dramatic exterior changes and the demolition of structures certified as contributing to the unique character of Lexington, KY. Guided by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s Division of Historic Preservation and Board of Architectural Review, the program currently encompasses 1,851 buildings over 14 districts.

In order to carry out the goal of preservation, historic districting in Lexington is applied in a blanketing …

Preparing For The Future: An Evaluation Of Alternative Methods For Estimating The Needed Capacity Of Nursing Home Beds In Kentucky, Michelle D. Woods

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Due to the aging of the generation known as “Baby Boomers”, the nation is expected to witness extraordinary growth in the total population ages 65 and over. Population projections provided by the United States Bureau of the Census suggest that this segment of the population will double in size to 72 million by the year 2030. In order to prepare for the anticipated increase elderly Americans, policy officials have been analyzing the potential effects on the nation’s long-term care system. Although Baby Boomers can expect to live longer than their predecessors, as they age, it is predicted that this generation …

Thinking Outside The Box: Arabs And Race In The United States, Louise Cainkar

Social and Cultural Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Memorial: Viola A. Bird (1905-2007), Penny A. Hazelton

Librarians' Articles

No abstract provided.

Enforcing New Property Rights In Sub-Saharan Africa: The Ugandan Constitution And The 1998 Land Act, Sandra F. Joireman

Political Science Faculty Publications

A convincing case has been made in both academic studies and policy circles for clearly defined private property rights as a means to economic development. Perhaps best characterized by the recent work of Hernando De Soto, well-defined private property rights are thought to be critical not just for economic growth, but also as tool to alleviate poverty. The argument that the poor have capital that need only be put to efficient use through the creation of institutional structures that will allow them to access it is compelling. De Soto's work follows decades of policy advice provided by the international financial …

Biofueling Rural Development: Making The Case For Linking Biofuel Production To Rural Revitalization, Jim Kleinschmidt

Carsey Publications

Biofuels play a crucial role in America's quest for oil independence. In recent years, the biofuel industry has seen significant technology and efficiency advances, as well as expansions in the materials that can be used to create biofuels. Grains and oilseeds are limited in their ability to meet fuel needs, but a shift to biomass feedstocks offers better production possibilities. For rural communities, locally owned biomass refineries may offer promise of new investment, job growth, and revitalization.

Language, Racism, And Ethnicity, Thomas Paul Bonfiglio

Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications

While ethnic prejudices can be expressed in and through language, they are not, however, intrinsically linguistic in nature. They are, instead, supralinguistic concepts that become disguised as linguistic ones and imported into the theater of language. The pathways that facilitate this importation have been made by the repeated interconnections between the concept of language and the concept of race. In other words, language in the service of racism and ethnocentrism cannot occur without conceptualizing language and race in similar ways. Accordingly, the identification of language with race is not possible without the genetic misprisions that create the myth of race …

Turbio Fondeadero: Política E Ideología En La Poética Neobarrosa De Osvaldo Lamborghini Y Néstor Perlongher, Karina Elizabeth Vázquez

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

En la poética de Osvaldo Lamborghini y Néstor Perlongher no son los barcos, como dice el tango, los que van a recalar en el fangoso y turbio Río de la Plata, sino cuerpos que, arrastrados, tapados y penetrados por las corrientes arcillosas, no pueden escapar a las transformaciones que les inflige una marea oscura, desconocida. Esta metáfora podría referirse al destino de las miles de víctimas del terrorismo de estado practicado por la última dictadura militar argentina (1976-1983); podría explicar el uso del lenguaje en la poesía de ambos escritores, o aludir a un modo de entender el sujeto que, …

Theorizing The Post-Soul Aesthetic: An Introduction, Bertram D. Ashe

English Faculty Publications

It's time. Clearly, it's time. As I begin this introduction, in the spring of 2006, landmark anniversaries press in on me from every side: 20 years ago, Greg Tate wrote "Cult-Nats Meet Freaky-Deke: the Return of the Black Aesthetic" for the Village Voice in the fall of 1986. And Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It - that totemic post-soul anthem - was released in the summer of 1986, as well. More personally, I first taught Trey Ellis's essay "The New Black Aesthetic" in 1991,15 years ago, and I inaugurated my post-soul aesthetic course in the Spring semester of 1996 - …

Adam Smith And Poverty, Jonathan B. Wight

English Faculty Publications

Can we end poverty in America? Does economic theory offer a solution? Humility would be a good starting place, because systemic problems like generational poverty rarely stem from single causes. Putting the broken pieces together is difficult when some edges are sharp, some are shattered, and others missing. This essay draws on insights from Adam Smith in order to examine the problem of poverty. It focuses on a case study involving Serena Robins (the real names have been altered).

Individual Moral Development And Ethical Climate: The Influence Of Person-Organization Fit On Job Attitudes, Maureen L. Ambrose, Anke Arnaud, Marshall Schminke

Management, Marketing and Operations - Daytona Beach

This research examines how the fit between employees’ moral development and the ethical work climate of their organization affects employee attitudes. Person–organization fit was assessed by matching individuals’ level of cognitive moral development with the ethical climate of their organization. The influence of P–O fit on employee attitudes was assessed using a sample of 304 individuals from 73 organizations. In general, the findings support our predictions that fit between personal and organizational ethics is related to higher levels of commitment and job satisfaction and lower levels of turnover intent. Ethical P–O fit was related to higher levels of affective commitment …

The Crescent And The Bible Belt: Islam In The U.S. Southeast, Naima Brown

All Volumes (2001-2008)

The Jacksonville Islamic Center is uncommon; its unique qualities are illustrative of the social and cultural issues that accompany a minority status in terms of both religion and nationality or ethnicity. Over the course of the past year (2005-2006), I have conducted ethnographic research within the Muslim community of Jacksonville. My research focuses primarily around the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida (ICNEF) which serves as both mosque and community center, yet my research extended into wider circles of the American Muslim experience, including a conference in Washington D.C. that dealt with issues surrounding Islamophobia and Anti-Americanism in the media hosted …

Women In Mathematics: Motivating Factors For Doctorates In Academia Versus Professionals In The Actuarial Sciences, Diane Elizabeth Hendrix

All Volumes (2001-2008)

The topic under investigation is women in math-related careers and the motivating factors. Two careers, college professors and actuaries, were selected from the many math-related careers because both require advanced studies in mathematics. They also provide a contrast: one is in the business world while the other is in the world of academia. The purpose of this research is to determine if the numbers of women in upper level mathematics and these two careers are increasing. To accomplish this we first analyze women’s enrollment in mathematical programs from high school through graduate school from 1965-1995 in order to assess the …