Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Metaphorical Cities - Behind The Cover Art, Elana Melissa Hill

The STEAM Journal

This is a reflection on how cities function like organisms. An artist's interpretation of the spaces surrounding them.

Metaphorical Cities, Elana Melissa Hill

The STEAM Journal

This is a reflection on how cities function like organisms. An artist's interpretation of the spaces surrounding them.

This Is A River: Malaysian Borneo Research Expedition, Gigi Buddie

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

Foreword

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

It’S Not Trash, It’S Art, Kathleen Kile

EnviroLab Asia

Stepping off the plane in Hue, Vietnam took my breath away. I was slammed with heat and extreme humidity that is common for mid-May. I stood at the bottom of the jetway, trying to adjust not only to my new environment, but to the fact I took this leap of faith and traveled half way around the world to teach children with intellectual disabilities about art made from trash. Little did I know that that step would have such a huge impact on my life and further strengthen my core values.

Collaborative Environmental Chemistry Projects: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia And The Claremont Colleges, Katie Purvis-Roberts

EnviroLab Asia

I received a course redevelopment grant from the Claremont Colleges EnviroLab Asia for my Environmental Chemistry (CHEM139) course. This allowed me to add a focus on environmental issues in Asia to the course and, more important, co-teach the class with a colleague at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).Te many results of that cross-Pacific teaching project are the key subject of this reflective essay.

Towards Universal Design For All: Understanding Japan’S Environment From An Accessibility Standpoint, Bailey Lai

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

Health Preferences And Culturally Appropriate Strategies To Reduce Bear Bile Demand In Northern Vietnam, Shannon Randolph, Laura Zhang, Lena Tran, Mai Nguyen, Kimberley Ha

EnviroLab Asia

Animal products, such as pangolin scales, rhinoceros horns, tiger bones, and bear bile have been used in East Asian traditional medicine (TM) for more than 2,000 years. However, markets for medicinal wildlife products have expanded dramatically in countries like China and Vietnam in recent decades where economic prosperity has enabled a larger proportion of the population to afford wildlife products (Olmedo et al. 2017). Related new farming and commercialization practices to meet growing international demand pose environmental and human health risks. Animal products also symbolize shared cultural and historical medical practices that are distinct from the dominant Western medical model.

Exploring Gender Through Art In Myanmar, Allison E. Joseph

EnviroLab Asia

No abstract provided.

Theatre & The Environment: Cross-Cultural Exchange Through Travel And Performance Activism, Betel Solomon Tesfamariam

EnviroLab Asia

Performance activism, collaborative and cross-cultural, were keys to the success of EnviroLab Asia's clinic trip to Thailand in May 2018. Working with peers in Thai universities, this writer reflects on the degree to which her immersion in local environmental struggles in Thailand, and the compelling theater project that grew out of it, also has helped her understand some of the same pressures that confront her home communities in Africa.

Letter To My Homeland, Vy Thuy Doan

EnviroLab Asia

"I never thought I would be returning back to Vietnam to study its environmental issues and in studying them, also unravel more of my identity," the author writes about her remarkable experience on the January 2018 EnviroLab Asia Clinic trip to Vietnam. Hers is a compelling meditation on the diasporic experience.

Familiarity & Unfamiliarity, Luyi Huang

EnviroLab Asia

During the May 2018 EnviroLab Clinic Trip to Thailand, and as part of the performance group, the author encountered an important linguistic barrier. Because the Thai and US-based dancers did not know each other's language, they had to learn to trust each other's body language as their form of communication. The unfamiliar became familiar.

Comparative Models In German Elections: Using The German Far-Right Party As A Proxy For Ethnic Conflict, Clay H. Parham

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In 2017, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) became the first the far-right party to win seats in the Bundestag since 1933. By campaigning on ethnic division, the AfD saw an unprecedented rise in support, especially in East Germany. This paper tests two models of ethnic conflict within comparative politics, primordialism and constructivism, to see which better explains the result of the AfD’s 2017 election. By examining the rhetorical use of political advertisements, the Manifesto Project’s analysis of the AfD’s platform, and differences of support between East and West Germany, the paper finds that constructivism better shows that highly-educated elites within …

Is Turkey A Rival To The European Union? Neo-Ottoman Influence In The Balkans, Ghazi Ghazi

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Turkey, under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s presidency, has begun to re-animate some aspects of its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire. Many observers of Turkey speak of “Neo- Ottomanism,” both at home and in its foreign policy. With respect to the latter, aspects of neo-Ottomanism are very evident with Turkey’s engagement in the Balkans. As European Union (EU) accession seems more and more unlikely for Turkey, one might wonder if Turkish actions in the Balkans can be seen as trying to rival the EU for influence. This paper thus seeks to answer two questions. First, what factors are motivating Turkish foreign policy, and …

Europe's (Lack Of) Welfare Chauvinism: Evidence From Surveys And Spending, Ethan Davis

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Immigration’s effect on European welfare states is complicated. On one hand, increased immigration might undermine social solidarity and impose greater fiscal burdens on redistribution, reducing support for welfare spending. On the other, natives could respond to greater globalization with economic anxiety, increasing support for redistribution in order to mitigate risk. Welfare chauvinism predicts a mixed effect—increased spending for programs that middle-class natives use and reduced spending for programs that benefit immigrants disproportionately. I test this theory by analyzing (1) European attitudes towards immigration and welfare spending and (2) actual spending on these programs, particularly social housing. Additionally, I present a …

Uneven Influence: Why Female Representation Affects Some Migration Policies But Not Others, Lauren M. Olsen

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In the wake of the 2015 migration crisis, immigration policy has become one of the most critical topics of academic scholarship and political debate. Despite this prolific response, very little research has investigated how the gender of policymakers affects immigration policy. This raises an interesting question: is there any difference in immigration policy among countries with high and low numbers of female legislators? To investigate this matter, I use panel fixed-effects regression to systematically compare the immigration policies of the original EU-15 from 2000 to 2010. As a single policy area, I find female representation has no significant impact on …

A Moral Bureaucracy: Enforcement Of Eu Fundamental Values In Central And Eastern Europe, Sarah L. Sheets

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

There is growing sentiment that the rise of illiberal democracy in Central and Eastern Europe poses a serious threat to fundamental European values. Within the framework of the European Union (EU) legal system, how do post-socialist member states actually comply with fundamental European values? While there are multiple contradictory theories about the success or failure of assimilation in the region, there is surprisingly little datadriven literature which directly compares post-socialist member state compliance to the rest of the European member states. This paper fills the gap by comparing post-socialist compliance patterns with the rest of the EU, using data on …

Thank You, Next: An Analysis Of Sweden's Non-Compliance With Its Country-Specific Recommendations, Malcolm E. C. Thomson

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

The Eurozone crisis forced the European Union (EU) to reconcile with the absence of supranational macroeconomic and fiscal coordination within its Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Efforts to minimise this imbalance are seen in the creation of the European Semester, a comprehensive framework that includes the issuing of voluntary Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) by the Commission to EU member states. This paper analyses Swedish CSR compliance and argues that Sweden’s persistent level of non-compliance is caused by contrasting positions that exist between the Swedish government and the Commission in the area of European macroeconomic integration. This contrast sees the Swedish government …

Understanding The Rise Of Far-Right Populist Parties In Europe, Alina L. Sobolik

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This paper seeks to answer the question: what drives the recent electoral success of far-right populist parties (RPPs) in Europe? I will argue that it is supply factors, rather than demand factors, united under the theme of mistrust, that drove the recent electoral success of RPPs. To support my argument, I will summarize the ‘losers of globalization’ theory and apply it to the financial and economic crises, the migration crisis, the polarization of politics, and mistrust in governments, and categorize them as supply or demand factors according to Matt Golder’s definitions. For the sake of this paper, I will use …

Atomic Dreams: Exploring The Promise Of Nuclear Energy In Central-Eastern Europe, Ryann Welch

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Energy production and economic potential have been intertwined for centuries. Is nuclear energy a failed experiment, or the future of European energy? Nuclear energy has been scrutinized heavily for decades, especially in light of incidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima. Issues of safe operation, radioactive waste storage, and threats to human health plague this energy source. However, Central-Eastern Europe’s nuclear energy production has been increasing in terms of both production and investment, especially in the Visegrad Four states. The European Union’s stance on nuclear energy is not black and white. While Western European member countries like Germany and France are …

Experience With And Perceptions Of Immigrants In Italy, Arianna Babraj

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This research explores Italians’ experiences with and perceptions of immigrants, along with their ideas of how the government should formulate immigration policy. Using in person surveys, 117 subjects were interviewed in the northern, central and southern regions of Italy. After accounting for variables like age, gender, and region, the data revealed interesting trends. Overall, the main findings of this study hold that there is a connection between the proximity of a subject’s relationship with immigrants and how positive their experiences are. These experiences can influence how the subject then views immigrants as either an advantage or a disadvantage, however, other …

The Finch Effect: Evolutionary Metaphors And Illiberal Democracy In Central And Eastern Europe, Abigail Woodfield

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In recent years, several states in Central and Eastern Europe have seen democratic digression. Such illiberal resurgences came as a surprise to the many political scientists who assumed that the future of these states was democratic. Indeed, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the world largely regarded liberal democracy as the predominant system of government. The future seemed bright, and it was tempting to understand that future in evolutionary terms—just as humans evolved under natural selection to become the dominant species, democracy had survived a similar competition and defeated all other systems of government to become the dominant regime. …

Pipeline Or Pipe Dream: The Potential Of Peace Pipelines As A Solution To Fragmentation And Energy Insecurity In The European Union, Afton J. Apodaca, Julia Greensfelder

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In recent years, the European Union (EU) has developed its energy policy to adapt to an evolving global market calling for cleaner energy while maintaining and enhancing its energy security as consumption has remained constant. While the EU works towards this goal, it also seeks to reduce Russian dominance in its energy markets. The EU’s internal politics have become more fragmented with the Eurozone and refugee crises, which has made the coordination of Union policies difficult as leaders are unable to form strong domestic policy alone to counter Russian presence in the energy market. Lacking a united energy policy against …

Autopathography, Aurora Berger

CGU MFA Theses

For centuries the stories of disabled people were not our own to tell. We were silenced by politics and power dynamics beyond our control, and when we succeeded it was “in spite of” our disabilities. I am interested in the reframing of this narrative and discovering my place in this historic trajectory.

I am a disabled artist. I have claimed this identity. It is critical that this identity remains tied to my work as I navigate the worlds of fine art, academia, and critical theory. My art is intrinsically tied to my academic work. They are inseparably bonded through my …

Evangelism, Social Media, And The Mum Effect, David R. Dunaetz

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The Mum effect is the natural human reluctance to share bad news with others, due to a desire to avoid a range of negative consequences, consequences affecting both self and the recipient of the bad news. Although the gospel is good news to those who believe, it may be viewed negatively by those who do not believe. Thus, Christians may be hesitant to share the gospel because of the negative consequences associated with the Mum effect. Because of the anonymity of the internet, social media is often filled with unre­strained criticism of Christianity. This may amplify the perceived negative consequences …

From Gis To Uavs: Emerging Opportunities For Drone Support Services In Academic Libraries, Jessica Davila Greene, Warren Roberts

Library Staff Publications and Research

In 2015, The Claremont Colleges Library purchased a drone for its Emerging Technology Loan program. At the time, Federal Aviation Administration regulations were still in their infancy in regards to drone use in public and for teaching and research –lending wasn’t even a consideration. After three years of waiting for the regulations to catch up with the demand, The Claremont Colleges Library GIS Specialist was able to pilot a drone lending program that circulates both the drone and the GIS Specialist for course integration. This paper outlines the history of GIS at The Claremont Colleges Library, its evolution toward drone …

The Mathematics Of Gossip, Jessica Deters, Izabel P. Aguiar, Jacquie Feuerborn

CODEE Journal

How does a lie spread through a community? The purpose of this paper is two-fold: to provide an educational tool for teaching Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) and sensitivity analysis through a culturally relevant topic (fake news), and to examine the social justice implications of misinformation. Under the assumption that people are susceptible to, can be infected with, and recover from a lie, we model the spread of false information with the classic Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model. We develop a system of ODEs with lie-dependent parameter values to examine the pervasiveness of a lie through a community.

The model presents the opportunity …

Symmetry And Measuring: Ways To Teach The Foundations Of Mathematics Inspired By Yupiaq Elders, Jerry Lipka, Barbara Adams, Monica Wong, David Koester, Karen Francois

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Evident in human prehistory and across immense cultural variation in human activities, symmetry has been perceived and utilized as an integrative and guiding principle. In our long-term collaborative work with Indigenous Knowledge holders, particularly Yupiaq Eskimos of Alaska and Carolinian Islanders in Micronesia, we were struck by the centrality of symmetry and measuring as a comparison-of-quantities, and the practical and conceptual role of qukaq [center] and ayagneq [a place to begin]. They applied fundamental mathematical principles associated with symmetry and measuring in their everyday activities and in making artifacts. Inspired by their example, this paper explores the question: Could symmetry …

The Chinese Real Estate Bubble, Gary N. Smith, Wesley Liang

Pomona Economics

China has seen extraordinary economic growth for the past two decades, coupled with a booming housing market. Following the 2008 financial crisis, however, observers began worrying that the Chinese real estate market had been gripped by a speculative bubble. We use residential rent and price data to assess whether these fears are justified. We conclude that residential real estate markets are bubbly in Beijing and Shanghai, with the Beijing housing market frothier than the Shanghai market.