Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Milner Library Annual Report, 2017, Milner Library

Milner Library Publications

Annual Report for Milner Library, Illinois State University.

American Dreams: Daca Dreamers, Trump As A Political And Social Event, And The Performative Practice Of Storytelling In The Age Of Secondary Orality, Emma Herlinger

Scripps Senior Theses

In September 2017, the Trump administration announced its plan to rescind The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA). Since then, program recipients, who have in recent years assumed the name "Dreamers," have fought back. This thesis explores how Dreamers use storytelling as a means of articulating individual and collective identity as a form of resistance in the sociopolitical climate that is Trump's America.

El Cómic Y Lo Cómico: Cómo Pablo Picasso Denuncia A Francisco Franco Con 18 Imágenes, Sydney Sibelius

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the 18 etchings made by Pablo Picasso in his folio titled Sueño y mentira de Franco created in 1937. It examines their role in condemning Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War and how Picasso used his art to make a political statement. Additionally, the roles that humor and satire, gender, the comic strip style, and language play in the piece are discussed in regards to the effectiveness of the overall work.

'Confounding Powers: Anarchy And International Society From The Assassins To Al Qaeda' By William J. Brennar (Review), Zachary C. Shirkey

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Women, War, And Social Memory In Peru: The Posthumous Careers Of Edith Lagos And María Elena Moyano, Meghan Kelly

Honors Theses

During the internal armed conflict between the Shining Path and the Peruvian state, women participated in important ways that are under-recognized in the scholarly literature. In this thesis, I examine the lives, deaths, and hero cults surrounding Edith Lagos and María Elena Moyano, two of the best-known women from this period. Edith Lagos, a young, white militant recruited by Sendero, was killed by the Peruvian police in 1982, while Moyano, an Afro-Peruvian activist from a low-income district of Lima, was assassinated by the Shining Path in 1992. I argue that the shifting narratives surrounding Lagos’s and Moyano’s lives and deaths …

Shifts In Thermal Habitats In The Gulf Of Maine Under Climate Change: A Case Study On American Lobster, Xinyi Zheng

Honors Theses

The rapid ocean warming observed in and predicted for the Gulf of Maine (GoM) raises uncertainties in the future distribution of American lobster (Homarus americanus). The location of lobsters is crucial to the long-term sustainability as well as management of Maine lobster fishery. This study provides a literature review of lobsters’ thermal preferences in the summer lobstering season and analyzes high-resolution sea surface temperature data in Geographic Information System in order to predict the changes in thermal habitats in the GoM under different climate change scenarios. The results show a projected decrease in cooler thermal habitats (11-15 °C) …

Dear Reader, How Do We Go On? Letters Of Reflection On Community Care In Climate Activism In Maine, Ester Topolarova

Honors Theses

Climate activist groups in Maine often see their members become too tired to continue organizing. Thus, I decided to explore how these activists enact community care. I conducted my fieldwork with 350 Maine and its local nodes. I explore community care as a practice and as an aspiration. Community care is practiced through the acts of people taking care of each other. Aspiration, therefore, is a way of living and seeing the self as striving to replicate the world activists are fighting for. I conceptualize care as racialized, gendered, classed, and embedded in neoliberal capitalism. In activist meetings, care is …

Trump, Twitter And The Death Of The American Political Party: A Discussion Of The Fate Of The American Party System Before, During, And After The Presidential Election Of 2016, Madeleine Neider

Honors Theses

Abstract: This paper seeks to address the essential question: what happened during the presidential election of 2016 and what does this mean for the American party system? Using qualitative and quantitative analysis, this research suggests that the 2016 election is evidence that domineering policy demanders, such as the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street, and domineering politicians, such as Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, used the democratized media to force a top-down realignment of the American party system. A top-down realignment is characterized by the demise of the prominent American political party­– an institution fundamental to our political process. …

Failure Or Adjustment?: An Analysis Of The Slowing Growth Of The Chinese Economy, Kay G. Degraw

Honors Theses

With GDP growth for the 2016 fiscal year reported at 6.7%, it appears that the Chinese economy has departed from the three-decade period in which GDP growth averaged plus-10%. While both academic journals and media outlets have accredited this slowdown to a variety of factors, existing research has failed to conflate the economic and political factors into a comprehensive explanation. Consequently, this thesis examines the causative factors behind the slowing of the Chinese economy though the analysis of three contesting plausibility probes centered on the impact of corruption, statism, and structural economic change. The results of the plausibility probes indicates …

Constructing (Hu)Man Nature: A Feminist Critique Of Western Ir Theory, Liberal Economics And U.S. Foreign Policy, Nadia Stovicek

Honors Theses

Feminism in general exposes the fundamental folly of Western political theorists’ view of human nature, which is based on Western, decently well-off, white men’s experiences and privilege. This view of human nature, which is not human nature at all, but rather a socially constructed definition of what men’s human nature is, is replicated in neoclassical economics and perpetuated in mainstream Western International Relations theory. Understanding the social construction of norms exposes how what is conceived in conventional theory as human nature and state behavior is unnecessarily limiting. The U.S. is the greatest benefactor from the worldview of Western political theorists, …

Visions For Waterville's Future: Perceptions Of Its Residents, Alex Wolansky

Honors Theses

Mills and factories in the United States have steadily been closing down as industry is outsourced in the globalized economy. Cities that were once prosperous face decay and often have no hopeful future outlook. Post-industrial towns face major unemployment and poverty and are not typically places for re-investment. But Rust Belt cities like Baltimore, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Louis are not the only post- industrial hubs that are struggling. Many small towns in rural areas once thrived from manufacturing and are becoming forgotten. Local governments, policy makers, urban planners, developers and scholars are working to figure …

Cicig In Guatemala: The Institutionalization Of An Anti-Corruption Body, Greg M. Morano

Honors Theses

When is the institutionalization of anti-corruption bodies possible in Latin America? Central America’s Cold War era internal conflicts destabilized the Northern Triangle’s governments and greatly weakened judicial institutions. The legacy of these conflicts led to the creation of parallel corrupt networks that infiltrated state institutions and perpetuated impunity and violence. However, in Guatemala, the institutionalization of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (Comisión Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala, CICIG) has improved the country’s ability to prosecute high-level corruption against the threat of powerful and corrupt state actors. A comparative analysis of the tenures of CICIG’s three commissioners reveals …

It’S Not You, It’S— Hookup Culture And Sexual Subjectivity, Anne Vetter

Honors Theses

A semi-fictionalized ethnography that interrogates how students at Colby College use hookup culture as a way to make sense of themselves and others. This thesis is about systems, about social power and norms, and the very real ways that they are experienced in and enacted by the bodies of individual students. In other words, this thesis is a naming of what many students on this campus already know without words, a linking of story to story to story, a marking of patterns that underlie the forms of sexual subjectivity driving participation in hookup culture. Ultimately, by making visible the systems …

The Anonymous Truth: Honesty And Hostility In Public And Private Online Settings, Grace S. Carroll

Honors Theses

Three studies were conducted to understand the relationship between honesty and hostility in public and private online settings. Study one analyzed a college’s public and private online forums and examined post frequency. Related to study one, study two examined the usage of these forums, and current and past social and political issues. Study one found the public forum comprised of general announcements, while the private forum hosted random jokes/statements, negative posts targeting specific people, and personal reflections. Study two’s results indicated the private forum was used more often than the public forum and race was the prevailing social and political …

Crops And Controversy: Industry’S Role In The Gmo Debate, Carina Wallack

Honors Theses

The use of genetically modified crops (also called GM crops, genetically modified organisms, or GMOs for short) has become a highly contested issue. New genetic modification technologies offer a variety of advantages for improving agricultural efficiency. However, some scientists argue that the safety testing conducted thus far does not provide enough information and worry about possible health and ecological risks. Private industry sponsors a great deal of research on genetically modified crops. As the international controversy regarding the use of GMOs has unfolded, the very companies responsible for commercializing genetically modified crops have gained substantial influence in the resulting scientific …

America's National Parks And The Anthropocene: Addressing The Present To Accommodate The Future In Acadia National Park, Sophie A. Swetz

Honors Theses

In 2000, atmospheric chemist, Paul J. Crutzen, and limnologist, Eugene Stoermer, formally proposed the idea of “the Anthropocene,” a new geologic epoch in which humans are the dominant force shaping the Earth. To claim the Anthropocene's existence is to declare that human actions have altered the Earth in such a way that geologic indicators render it a distinct epoch in the stratification of geologic time. This new epoch emerges as a consequence of increased technological development employed to accommodate an anthropocentric human existence. That is, rapid advancements in technology have driven the transformation from a primarily naturally controlled planet to …

Growth Performance Of Transition Countries After 25 Years, Alena Kalodzitsa

Masters Theses

The present study provides with the most recent summary of growth performance in transition countries after 25 years since the change of the regime. The empirical analysis estimates growth, applying Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimation technique using a panel of 26 transition countries for the period of 25 transition years (1990-2014). Empirical findings of this study confirm that growth performance can be explained by the degree of structural reforms, stabilization, and initial conditions along with other factors (external growth, regional tensions, government expenditure, and oil balance). Even if initial conditions are important for growth, its influence consistently declines.

The transition …

A Qualitative Exploration Of African American Students' Perceptions Of And Experiences With On-Campus Police, Rishawnda Lenett Archie

Masters Theses

This study examined African American students' perceptions of and experiences with police officers with particular emphasis on campus police in order to determine whether these perceptions and experiences could impact their college experience. Participants were seven African American students from urban areas who attended a midsize university in the rural Midwest during the fall 2017 semester, and who had some interaction with law enforcement. Data was collected from one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Questions were structured to elicit participants' direct or indirect prior experiences with police officers, their perceptions of police officers and campus police, and tacit impact that these experiences and …

Support For Friends And Family Members Of Incarcerated Individuals, Brandon M. Goodman

Masters Theses

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and identify communication practices that affect incarcerated individuals and their families, specifically focusing on emotions and family communication patterns. Statistics show that there is a need for this type of research into support for loved ones of incarcerated individuals. This thesis then identifies the uses of theory and concepts related to family communication, emotions, and identity. The thesis also provides an overview of previous research on communication and incarceration, including interdisciplinary research crossing into sociology, as well as social interaction, family studies and more. In conclusion, the thesis argues that prisonization is …

The Effects Of Religious And Body-Related Affirmations On Disordered Eating Attitudes And Body Dissatisfaction, Cassandra A. Vogt

Masters Theses

The relationship between disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, and religion is complex. Previous research demonstrated that religious body affirmations are beneficial in reducing body dissatisfaction among undergraduate females. Because previous research used affirmations which were simultaneously religious in nature and related to the body, it is difficult to determine if the religiousness of the affirmation is the beneficial characteristic. The current study investigated which type of affirmation had the strongest effect on disordered eating attitudes and body dissatisfaction. More specifically, the five experimental conditions included: religious body affirmations, religious non-body affirmations, non-religious body affirmations, non-religious non-body affirmations, and neutral control statements. …

Citizens On Twitter: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Emerging Political Satire, Kathryn Miller

Masters Theses

This thesis provides an overview of the history of satire, its rhetorical structure, and my interpretation of its historically culminated five fundamental characteristics. I also introduce that the rise in popularity of American political satire through various media has inspired a new wave of American satirists who project their own political satirical messages through social media platforms and how Twitter, in particular, has provided those "average" individuals with the opportunity to more actively, directly, and satirically take part in political discussions. With a collection of two data sets of tweets—one larger live tweet sweep during the first 2016 presidential debate …

Career Termination And Transition Experiences Of Former Collegiate Student-Athletes In Japan, Junya Adachi

Masters Theses

Athletes are unique groups of individuals who make a career out of sports. They face challenges to get into a sport, to stay in it and to adapt to life after their athletic career. The primary objective of this study was to explore the challenges and experiences that Japanese student-athletes encounter when they terminate their athletic career. More specifically, this study examined personal and sport characteristics, emotional responses, psychosocial support, coping strategies and other variables (e.g., gender, athletic identity) that may have impacted the athlete's reactions to career termination. Participants were 76 former Japanese student-athletes (ages 22-38 years; M= 38, …

Perceptions Of Body Image Among College Men, Colton David Janes

Masters Theses

This study sought to better understand what influences male body image perceptions among college men attending a mid-sized Midwestern university. A qualitative research approach was utilized to better establish a better understanding on how college men construct their body image perceptions. Nine male undergraduate students in their third year or greater participated in one-on-one interviews. These participants self-identified as a member of a single-gender student organization including a social Greek letter fraternity, university athletic team, and/or other student organization(s) on-campus. Results of this study revealed that one of the most influential forces of body image perception among participants was the …

The Role Of Body Image, Dieting, Self-Esteem And Binge Eating In Health Behaviors, Neha M. Tamhane

Masters Theses

Society’s obsession with an idealized thin body type has led to many individuals to seek several different, often harmful, methods to reach their body goals. Current research shows links between body image and self-esteem as well as that between dieting and binge eating-with many researchers finding that extreme dieting can lead to binge eating. The aim of this research was to assess the relationships between body image, dieting, binge eating and self-esteem to understand the ways these factors interact with each other. For this purpose, 60 female participants aged 18-26 years were recruited from Eastern Illinois University and asked to …

Physical Activity As A Context Cue For Object Location Memory, Alexandra Hammond

Masters Theses

The current study aimed to investigate the use of physical activity as a context cue for object location memory. Two studies are reported in which physical activity is used as a context for object location memory. Experiment 1 utilized a 1-list design, wherein 52 undergraduate students were asked to encode and recall 28 objects from a grid, while either walking or standing. It was expected that participants engaging in matching physical activities at encoding and recall would have significantly higher rates of recall for object locations when compared to participants in the non-matching physical activity conditions. Results did not support …

The Relationship Between Beliefs About Suffering And Well-Being, Rebekah Bambenek

Masters Theses

Suffering is a common human experience, and is a common underlying feature in those seeking psychological services. Throughout history, philosophy and religion have addressed the subject of human suffering directly, albeit in varying ways. The clinical practice of psychology also seeks to help alleviate suffering in those who seek services, yet the academic study of suffering has been overlooked. Academic psychology has examined the phenomenon of beliefs, and has studied various beliefs and their effects for decades. The present study sought to bring suffering into the academic discussion by examining beliefs about suffering and the well-studied variables of subjective and …

Helicopter Parenting Of College Students, Lindsey R. Pautler

Masters Theses

Popular media often features stories about 'helicopter parenting' and asserts that this style is detrimental to youngsters (c.f., Fingerman, Cheng, Wesselmann, Zarit, Furstenberg, & Birditt, 2012; LeMoyne & Buchanan, 2011). However, few studies have examined the phenomenon empirically (Fingerman et al., 2012), particularly in a college population. The few existing studies of 'helicopter parenting' have evaluated different facets of this parenting style (e.g., intrusive parenting, inappropriate contact with school personnel), which makes comparing research results difficult. This paper discusses the literature on 'helicopter parenting' and discusses the initial steps in the development of a new comprehensive assessment of 'helicopter parenting' …

The S&P 500© Is Not A Leading Indicator For Us Gdp Over Policy-Relevant Time Frames, William D. Campbell Sr.

Masters Theses

Simply, we find S&P 500© returns are no longer a statistically meaningful leading indicator for growth in "real" per capita GDP. Technically, we find the SP500 fails to Granger cause real per capita GDP over policy relevant time frames while confirming nominal (non-inflation adjusted) SP500 quarterly returns continue to Granger cause one-period ahead quarterly growth in inflation adjusted (real) US Per-Capita GDP over very long (and perhaps less meaningful from fiscal and monetary perspectives) time frames. In addition, we identify a likely transition period when the SP500 switched from a leading indicator to a lagging indicator. Therefore, in keeping with …

Of Music And Media: A Producer Study Of Promotional Encoding On Social Media Through The Lenses Of Paratext And Medium Theory, Connor D. Wilcox

Masters Theses

While music promotion has been important aspect for musicians, bands, and musical organizations for well over a century, the rise of social media in the digital era has profoundly changed the way these promoters perceived of and practice their commercial task of selling music. Paratexts (Gray, 2010a) offer an effective lens for focusing on these promotions while encoding/decoding (Hall, 1980) justifies producer studies to examine and uncover vital aspects of production shape the text and medium theory adds further focus by recentering the medium as being distinctly influential. Existing research on music promotion highlights the uniqueness and evocativeness of the …

New Year, New Look: Communicating An Organizational Identity For The Eiu Women's Basketball Team, Nathan Bryant

Masters Theses

The attempt to increase and maintain stakeholder engagement and interaction is one of the main pursuits for public relations practitioners today. With new and changing ways to reach and engage stakeholders through various social media outlets public relations professionals now more than ever have to find a way to make their products stand out among the multiple messages a person views in a given day. This public relations campaign attempted to increase engagement and interaction with the Eastern Illinois University's women's basketball team by giving the team a new organizational identity. This identity was conveyed through the team's social media …