Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Deforestation, Trade Liberalization, And Environmental Politics In The Brazilian Amazon: 1990-2022, Kerin Debany

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

This paper explores the relationship between trade liberalization and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon from the beginnings of widespread trade liberalization in the 1990s to 2022. This paper, through an analysis of deforestation from soy and beef production, concludes that trade openness and foreign direct investment (FDI) alone cannot fully explain the rapid environmental degradation occurring in the Brazilian Amazon. Despite Brazil’s efforts to integrate into global markets, the levels of trade and FDI are relatively low. Instead, the policies of Brazil’s government play a decisive role in shaping deforestation trends. The contrasting presidencies of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva …

Creating New Webs, Jackson Sandler-Bussey

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

No abstract provided.

Introduction, Kyle Giardine

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

No abstract provided.

Why Do We Vote?: An Analytical And Data-Centered Approach To The Impact Of Infrastructure Quality On Voter Turnout In Virginia Counties, Alex F. Broening

Araneum: Richmond Journal of American & Global Affairs

Everyday political discourse centers around the direction of voting far more than the choice to vote itself, despite low turnout rates in the United States overall, and especially in local and non-presidential elections. No existing model provides a complete explanation of the reasons and influences that cause individuals to participate in politics by casting a ballot, and the literature is especially fractured with regards to issue-specific activation of voters. This work expands on previous issue-focused studies by performing turnout analyses for Virginia counties alongside geographic analysis of infrastructure quality and access. The findings suggest that the quality of infrastructure has …

Posttraumatic Symptoms As Predictors Of Mobile App Engagement: An Evaluation Of Usage Data From Public Users Of An App For Military Sexual Trauma, Shilpa Hampole

Master's Theses

Veterans who have experienced military sexual trauma (MST) often face barriers to help-seeking. Mental health mobile applications (apps) such as Beyond MST, developed by the National Center for PTSD, can expand access to evidence-based coping tools, psychoeducation, and resources. However, user engagement is crucial for these apps to be effective. Researchers are exploring factors impacting app engagement, with emerging evidence suggesting that symptom severity may play a key role. This study examined whether the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic negative cognitions, as well as level of well-being, are associated with app engagement. Anonymous app usage data …

The Ordinariness Of Ethics And The Extraordinariness Of Revolution: Ethical Selves And The Egyptian January Revolution At Home And School, Ramy Aly

Faculty Journal Articles

In this article I present experiences of Egyptians too young to have taken part in the street protests and movement of the 2011 revolution. Today in their early twenties, they narrate their experiences during the early months of the uprising. None claimed to be revolutionaries then or now, but the revolution seems to animate them in complex and long-lasting ways. The January revolution failed to bring about change at the level of state power. Yet more is at stake than the political endgame. I turn my attention to how people narrate the revolution as a process of ethical reflection and …

Making Freedom A Place: Geographies Of Social Movement Activism And Repression In Oakland, California, Sophie Mcclain

Pitzer Senior Theses

This senior thesis explores the ways in which people in Oakland, California make place and spaces through their activism and subsequently how these places and spaces are policed by the state. Building off of the works of Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Robin D.G. Kelley, David Harvey, and Henri Lefebvre, McClain examines the ways in which activists create abolition geographies while engaging in their right to the city through social movement activism with a particular focus on the Black Panther Party and Occupy Wall Street Movement in Oakland. Through these examples, McClain shows how abolition geographies often exist in a dialectical relationship …

Milner Library Annual Report, 2024, Milner Library

Milner Library Publications

Annual report for Milner Library, Illinois State University.

Essays On Crime And Law, Anuar Assamidanov

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the interplay between law, policy, and decision-making within criminal justice and employment.

The first chapter investigates the interplay between predictive algorithms and human discretion in parole decision-making. It examines how deviations from algorithmic recommendations affect recidivism rates, revealing that increased supervision levels—when tailored by professional judgment—significantly lower recidivism. These findings underscore the importance of strategic oversight in enhancing the effectiveness of parole supervision.

The second chapter examines gender discrimination in hiring, using data from the blind auditions of the TV show The Voice. It highlights a significant own-gender bias, with coaches showing a clear preference for …

Healing Through The Struggle: Sociopolitical Empowerment As Context For Youth Thriving, Manijeh Fe Mahmoodzadeh Azadi

CGU Theses & Dissertations

Young people from marginalized groups are impacted by structural and societal injustice yet are systematically prevented from participating in processes that disrupt oppressive systems (Camino & Zeldin, 2002). Because social justice requires the inclusion of marginalized groups in sociopolitical processes, programs and initiatives intended to reduce these barriers to civic and social changemaking have become popular (Ginwright, 2018). In order to meaningfully support youth resistance, those who are positioned to collaborate with young people must be informed about youths’ experiences of oppression and the processes and implications of their sociopolitical empowerment. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study used quantitative and qualitative …

Madly In Love: A Meditation On The Capacity Of Love And Madness, Sarah Jane

CGU Theses & Dissertations

"Madly in Love" contends that madness is not merely a condition to be pathologized buta 'supernatural' universal energy that transcends realms, moving through and around all bodies and leaving profound bio-physiological imprints. This dissertation introduces the concept of neo- madness, which recognizes the intricate interplay between this ethereal energy and the corporeal, reshaping our understanding of mental health. This work calls for a radical reimagining of how we witness, honor, and engage with madness by adopting a neo-mad love discourse, methodology, and pedagogy. It centers critical love, a blend of empathy, compassion, and active critical engagement, as essential to creating …

From Analog To Digital: The Geopolitical And Socioeconomic Calculus Of Central Bank Digital Currencies, Paul Christopher Bogaardt

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The rise of Bitcoin and other digital currencies have quickly evolved from meme coin novelty to sophisticated algorithms intended to enhance traditional financial infrastructures, offering real world utility. Simultaneously, orchestrated efforts by central banks and international institutions are well under way in launching central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), which promise to revolutionize the international monetary system. As governments and central banks pursue the digitization of their analog fiat, motivations to deploy retail and wholesale CBDCs are varied and are the result of both technological and institutional factors (Auer, Cornelli, and Frost 2020). But does the story end here? Power Transition …

Fetishized And Blamed: Attitudes Toward Asian American Women As Victims/Survivors Of Sexual Assault, Janey Matejka

Scripps Senior Theses

The present study sought to investigate whether there are differences in the perceptions of Asian American women as victims/survivors of sexual assault compared to White American women, as well as which factors may influence any differential attitudes. This study utilized an online survey format to present participants with a sexual assault vignette that featured either an Asian American woman or a White American woman as the victim. Participants (N = 256) were asked to assign blame to the victim and the perpetrator, as well as to categorize the vignette as either a crime or not. In addition, participants responded to …

Analysis Of Research On The Effects Of Auditory Stimulation On Anxiety And Stress In Clinical And General Populations, Rebecca Lee

CMC Senior Theses

The use of auditory stimulation may be a useful method in treating clinical anxiety disorders, as well as aiding in coping with daily stress among general populations. The understanding of how certain forms of auditory stimulation can increase anxiety and stress is also critical so clinicians and the general population can approach decreasing anxiety and stress in the most effective way possible. The following paper will provide a literature review on studies published after the year 2000, analyzing the various impacts of different types of auditory stimulation, including impacts of music-therapy, music and noise at different frequencies, binaural beat stimulation, …

The Standing Of Anger: Insights From The Debate(S) On Constructed Emotion, Andrew Holzer

CMC Senior Theses

In her book, Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice, Martha Nussbaum argues that anger is inherently flawed because it fundamentally contains the desire for payback. To support her argument, she posits specific metaphysical claims about the nature of emotions like anger. This thesis is an extended critique of her metaphysical foundation from the perspective of empirical research in the neuroscience of emotion. The first reason to dispute this picture is descriptive; this view of anger is based on an outdated version of cognitive appraisal theory, which sees emotions as triggered directly by static moments of cognitive appraisal. The second …

Effect Of Cross-Modal Odor-Color Associations In Stroop-Like Paradigm, Anadel Ahlvin

Scripps Senior Theses

The investigation into synesthesia and its underlying mechanisms prompts inquiry into the prevalence of cross-modal associations within the general population and their influence on our lives, yet this domain remains relatively unexplored. This study aims to elucidate the impact of odor-color associations on odor recognition utilizing a Stroop-like paradigm. Participants were tasked with establishing odor-color associations, then subsequently recalling the odors paired with congruent, incongruent, or neutral colors. Reaction times and accuracy of odor recognition were recorded, and analysis revealed a significant effect of congruent versus incongruent color condition on odor recognition accuracy, with congruent color and odor having a …

Autopathography Across Media: Trauma And Fluid Embodied Subjectivity, He (Kristen) Shen

Honors Theses

Illness memoirs with first-person point of view have gained more attention in recent years among medical sociologists and anthropologists. Different from traditional “case histories”written by doctors that are in danger of ignoring patients’ voices, autopathograhical works delineate narrators’ transformative experiences of persons to patients, emphasizing the importance of gaining social understanding of illness. Focusing on three works within the category of autopathography across genres and media forms in the late 1950s and contemporary periods, The Cancer Journals (1980) written by Audre Lorde, The Collected Schizophrenias (2019) written by Esmé Weijun Wang, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) directed …

Gratuity's Role In Final Cost: An Economic Assessment Of Tipping, Haley Wims

Honors Theses

Despite tipping being an extremely common economic decision for today’s consumers, little is known about how tip amounts are incorporated into conceptions of final cost. I explore how consumers think about tipping as a component of overall cost in a counter-service restaurant (CSR) setting in which tips are not based on the quality of service received. Results of an online survey indicate that even when participants are aware that they will have to tip on an item, less than half of them (47%) actually implement this knowledge into their expectation of the final cost of their purchase. Furthermore, individual differences …

Performance And Policy Indexes In Carbon Pricing Efficacy: A Cross-Country Analysis Of Policy Impact (2012-2020), Ke (Zoky) Zhou

Honors Theses

Climate change poses a significant threat to global ecosystems and human societies, driven largely by CO2 emissions from various economic activities. This macroeconomic cross-country study empirically assesses the effectiveness of carbon pricing in reducing CO2 emissions across three periods: 2012-2017, 2015-2019, and 2015-2020. Building on the foundational research by Best et al. (2020), the analysis extends to more recent data, capturing the evolving impacts of carbon pricing amid changing global economic and policy landscapes. A key advancement in this research is the creation and integration of two comprehensive indexes—a performance index and a policy index—constructed from 14 environmental performance or …

Green Bonds, Green Returns: The Impact Of Green Bond Issuances On Financial Performance In The U.S. Energy Sector, Adora Lei

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the impact of green bond issuances on the financial performance of U.S. energy firms, the largest greenhouse gas-emitting sector. To explore the incentives for adopting green projects among firms with the most significant margin for improvement, I focus on Gross Profit Margin (GPM) and the Tobin’s Q Ratio as key indicators of profitability and valuation. Using a dataset of 462 companies, I analyze green and conventional corporate bond issuances from 2010 onwards in the context of their financial reports. The findings reveal that green bonds positively influence long-term valuation, with Tobin’s Q showing significant increases from the …

The Fourth Industrial Paradigm: The Emergence Of Artificial Intelligence As A Business Tool For Startups And Technology Companies, Evan Barr

Honors Theses

Society is currently living in an era known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), which is primarily defined by technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, which provide prediction capabilities for businesses across all industries. But how are small technology companies and startup businesses navigating the influx of future possibilities of AI? This thesis examines how governments and consulting firms portray the future possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Using Sheila Jasanoff’s concept of sociotechnical imaginaries, the research explores how these imaginaries shape AI narratives through primary documents like the Biden Administration's "Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights" and McKinsey & …

Comparing Generative Ai, Keyword Searchers, And Hiring Committees In Selecting Semi-Finalist Job Candidates In Academia, Sarah Snyder

Honors Theses

Two studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of AI tools and keyword searchers in candidate evaluation. The first study examined the use of ChatGPT-4 and a traditional hiring committee in selecting a semifinalist pool for an Assistant Professor of Economics position. It was found that ChatGPT-4's selections were non-replicable, producing different semifinalist lists with each run, indicating significant variability and lack of reliability compared to human committees. The second study focused on predicting self-reported conscientiousness from resumes using both keyword searchers and ChatGPT-4. The results showed that neither method could accurately predict conscientiousness. Similarly, ChatGPT-4's selections were non-replicable, producing …

From Arrival To Citizenship: Assessing Refugee Resettlement In Canada, Ethan S. Kanef

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I examine the role of private sponsorship mechanisms in the resettlement of refugees in Canada. Private sponsorship allows citizens and organizations to do more to help those who need assistance, though there are positives and negatives to this program and concerns about its long-term stability. My thesis discusses the impacts of these resettlement mechanisms as a whole, based on a review of prior scholarship and interviews conducted in Montreal and Toronto. I focus on the refugee experience before arrival and the role of different application processes and culture in Quebec. After arrival, the paper examines economic and …

The Effect Of The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Of 2017 Expansion Of The Child Tax Credit On The Distribution Of Household Chores, Joseph M. Barrett

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the effect of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) on time spent doing household work in married or cohabiting households with children. Using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data from before and after the implementation of the TCJA, I conduct a difference-in-differences analysis to determine the effect of the CTC expansion on time spent on all household chores, on historically female household chores, on historically male household chores, and on childcare. Then, using an adapted version of Bargain’s (2008) collective utility model, I simulate the TCJA expansion …

Is Energy Localized Or Gone With The Wind? An Analysis Of Iberdrola’S Wind Energy Localization Initiatives In Burgos, Spain, Mia Cromwell

Honors Theses

While renewable energy systems offer solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, promote sustainable development, and foster a just energy transition, certain energy projects account for local needs while others do not. While community energy projects are known to provide localized energy benefits, less is known about large-scale companies’ abilities to foster just transitions through their energy systems. To better understand how global actors can promote a just and sustainable transition through renewable energy deployment, I explore the following research question with a focus on the global electric utility Iberdrola: To what degree does Iberdrola implement energy localization initiatives through wind …

The Social Implications Of Assisted Reproductive Technologies: An Analysis Of Feminist Discourse And Popular Media, Charlotte S. Buswick

Honors Theses

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) have been a valuable tool in allowing many people to have children who previously struggled with infertility. However, feminists have raised the question: what impact do these new reproductive technologies have on women? This thesis investigates the discourse around the social implications of ARTs from the seventies to the present day. Looking at both feminist literature and portrayals of ARTs in women’s magazines, I performed a discourse analysis to track how the perception of the social implications of ARTs has changed over time. I also use a science, technology, and society (STS) studies lens to look …

Map Or Graph? Investigating The Structure Of Spatial Representations, Ainsley K. Bonin

Honors Theses

The present study investigated the structure of spatial representations using a novel computer-based navigation task in concert with computational modeling, specifically with the Successor Representation (SR) model. In particular, we examined whether participant’s knowledge of a virtual environment fit in better with either the cognitive map or labeled graph hypothesis for spatial representation. Twenty-four participants aged 18-22 learned the positions of 25 objects within a 5x5 grid of virtual rooms through disparate routes. Participants then made relative and absolute distance judgments, generated novel shortcuts, and drew a map of the environment to test their knowledge about the spatial locations of …

Felling For Photovoltaics: Remote Sensing For The Detection Of Solar Facilities In Maine, James A. Lane

Honors Theses

Solar power is an area with increasing development in the State of Maine. Photovoltaic solar, which uses large arrays of panels constructed on facilities of several hectares, is an ideal renewable energy source for Maine, because of its low population density and small proportion of conserved lands. Since most of the state of Maine is forested, the development of photovoltaic solar will require increasing amounts of deforestation. Environmental impacts of this deforestation include loss of carbon sequestration, erosion, damage to habitat, and inhibition of other forest benefits. This study uses Landsat data and remote sensing to analyze a large portion …

Black Rhino Conservation And Ranger Wellness In Namibia, Terra Gallo

Honors Theses

Wildlife rangers play an essential role in conserving biodiversity worldwide. Until recently, little was known about ranger working conditions and welfare. In 2019 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report that summarized survey results about ranger wellness from 7,110 rangers across multiple continents. However, the WWF study had geographic gaps and did not survey rangers from southern Africa, including the Republic of Namibia. In Namibia, rangers in the Kunene region are central to the conservation of the desert-adapted black rhino. Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) is a Namibian organization that supports rhino rangers and black rhino conservation. The aim …

Not In My Zoning Code: Understanding The Mechanisms Of Policy Diffusion Of Deregulatory Zoning Reform Across U.S. Cities, Fiona F. Nash

Honors Theses

Do we need local government? Cities maintain representative institutions of government, hold elections, and host public hearings, but does that mean they can tackle city-specific problems? This project seeks to understand how deregulatory zoning policies, a supply-side tool to increase housing supply of affordable homes, spread across the 300 largest U.S. cities, or not. Cities might implement a zoning reform because they learn from another city, desire to increase housing supply for economic conditions, imitate another city, are forced too by a higher level of government, or are ideologically motivated to do so. I test each hypothesis of diffusion through …