Political Science Commons^™

Partisan Selective Exposure On Social Media During The 2020 Presidential Election, Grayce Lemon

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examines selective exposure and selective avoidance on social media during the 2020 presidential election. 147 voters participated in the survey conducted using Qualtrics. The purpose of this study was to understand whether selective exposure and avoidance behaviors differed based on voting outcome (Trump or Biden), and to test whether political ideological polarization was reflected in news consumption through social media. Taken together, the results indicate that although both voting bases engaged in selective exposure and avoidance, the propensity was the same between Trump and Biden voters. Additionally, results confirm existing hypotheses that the strength of political ideology positively …

Transnational Dominican Activism: Documenting Grassroots Social Movements Through Esendom, Nelson Santana, Amaury Rodriguez, Emmanuel Espinal

Publications and Research

Dominican-descended people are one of the most dynamic Caribbean and Latin American ethnic and cultural communities in the United States. Whether in the Dominican Republic or as members of a transnational community, the Dominican population has a long and rich history of challenging the powers that be, confronting unjust acts, and opposing oppressive laws within the communities they inhabit through their civic engagement. This paper addresses one question: As Dominican society and the world have evolved, what has been the role of U.S.-based online media in sustaining, disseminating, and rescuing the long tradition of civic involvement and struggle exemplified by …

Wooing “Willing Dupes”: The Bush Administration’S Use Of Emotional Language In The Drive Toward War With Iraq, Michael F. Russo

Faculty Publications

The publicly available texts of the George W. Bush administration from September 11, 2001, to March 19, 2003, as presented in The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, were analyzed for word frequency and the words themselves analyzed for emotional weight using the NRC Emotion Intensity Lexicon. Transcripts of six television news agencies (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, and PBS) were also analyzed for word frequency to determine the extent to which these agencies may have repeated and consequently amplified the rhetoric of the administration. Public opinion polling for this same period was examined in an …

Tiktok And Civic Activity Among Young Adults, Kenneth W. Moffett, Laurie Rice

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

TikTok is known for its lighthearted dance and lip-synch videos, yet videos with the hashtag #politics have garnered nearly 14 billion views. Does young adults’ politically oriented expression on TikTok lead to increased civic engagement offline? TikTok helps incorporate young adults into political social networks that may encourage additional civic activity. In addition, the playful, humorous nature of TikTok-based political expression encourages young adults to develop participatory, political selves. Using data from a 2020 survey of Americans between 18 and 25 years old, we find that posting political videos on TikTok connects with higher offline civic engagement. The results suggest …

Post, Share, Like: The Role Of Facebook In The Russo-Ukrainian War, Hannah Michelle Snyder

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Facebook is being used by both Russia and Ukraine as a tool of war, for very different purposes. This demonstrates that the platform no longer serves the sole function of connecting communities together. Existing literature has recognized that social media is being used in the current Russo-Ukrainian war but has yet to conduct comparative and contrastive analyses of Russian and Ukrainian social media strategies and effects. Conducting these analyses will illustrate not only what strategies are being used, but how they can be simultaneously advantageous and disadvantageous for belligerents. By focusing on one platform, Facebook, one can not only learn …

The Persistence Of Ethnopopulist Support: The Case Of Rodrigo Duterte's Philippines, Dean C. Dulay, Allen Hicken, Ronald Holmes

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The past few years have seen an emergence of populist leaders around the world, who have not only accrued but also maintained support despite rampant criticism, governance failures, and the ongoing COVID pandemic. The Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte is the best illustration of this trend, with approval ratings rarely dipping below 80 percent. What explains his high levels of robust public support? We argue that Duterte is an ethnopopulist who uses ethnic appeals in combination with insider vs. outsider rhetoric to garner and maintain public support. Moreover, we argue that ethnic affiliation is a main driver of support for Duterte, and …

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: An Exploration Of Wastewater Issues And Possible Solutions In And Out Of Montana, Keely I. Larson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Larson, Keely, M.A., Spring 2023

Major:Environmental and Natural Resources Journalism

Out of sight, out of mind: An exploration of wastewater issues and possible solutions in and out of Montana

Chairperson: Dennis Swibold

Co-Chairpersons: Nadia White, Sarah Halvorson

This is a master’s project, featuring three stories, linked in theme. The first starts with a nationally scoped story about septic systems in resort towns and what happens when too many people want to visit areas like Cape Cod, the Florida Keys or, more locally, Seeley Lake, and overwhelm waste disposal methods. Often in these areas that are more remote, septic systems …

S-400s, Disinformation, And Anti-American Sentiment In Turkey, Russell "Alex" Korb, Saltuk Karahan, Gowri Prathap, Ekrem Kaya, Luke Palmieri, Hamdi Kavak, Richard L. Wilson (Ed.), Major Brendan Curran (Ed.)

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

As social and political discourse in most countries becomes more polarized, anti-Americanism has risen not only in the Middle East and Latin America but also among the U.S. allies in Europe. Social media is one platform used to disseminate anti-American views in NATO countries, and its effectiveness can be magnified when mass media, public officials, and popular figures adopt these views. Disinformation, in particular, has gained recognition as a cybersecurity issue from 2016 onward, but disinformation can be manufactured domestically in addition to being part of a foreign influence campaign. In this paper, we analyze Turkish tweets using sentiment analysis …

Presidents And Media During Initial Federal-Level Hurricane Relief: A Study Of Presidential Crisis Communication Efforts, Emily A. Ball

Honors College Theses

Public relations serves a huge role in almost every sector, including politics. Crisis communication, a subset of public relations, is very important in a setting that constantly undergoes crises. The response to these crises matters a great deal on the federal level because the outcomes can affect such a wide variety of policies and even elections. Because of this, I wanted to focus on one type of crisis that every president is almost guaranteed to face: hurricanes. To examine the effectiveness of federal-level crisis communication, I look at Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden’s responses to the worst hurricane during their …

An Event-Without-Witness: A Nietzschean Theory Of The Digital Will To Power As The Will To Temporalize, Talha Issevenler

Publications and Research

This article offers a Nietzschean theory of digital will to power to conceptualize the temporality of social media feeds run by algorithms. Stylistic and methodological temporalities of Nietzsche are discussed as well as their influence in subsequent social theory of political technologies. The paradox of heavy investment in both subjective expression and nonhuman temporalization in social media milieus is addressed with the concept of an event-without-witness drawn from Nietzsche’s account of himself as the solitary thinker of catastrophe of nihilism and psychoanalytical and deconstructive literatures on the catastrophes of the 20th century. Nietzsche’s fundamental resistance to and fascination with the …

Terminally Ill Documents: The Lasting Impact Of Ephemera, Deama Khader

Proceedings from the Document Academy

Murals and portraits of cultural icons such as George Floyd and Ahed Tamimi are more than aesthetically engaging objects. They can inspire viewers to act, attend protests, and share their own feelings on an issue, whether that be in the form of more street art or something as simple as a social media post. This is often how social and political movements are made.

Street art poses a unique challenge to information professionals since the documents that are created with the intention or expectation of disappearance. They are documents suffering from terminal illness. Their ephemerality is their disease. Per the …

Abduction Threat Surviving Skills In Basic School Education Curriculum In Nigeria: Teachers' Views, Eke Ogbu Eke, Ibebuike Ursla Obiageri, Ngozi Enwereuzoh, Ijeoma Ubochi

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

This descriptive survey was on abduction threat surviving skills in basic school education curriculum in Nigeria: teachers' views. The purpose of the descriptive survey was to determine Lower and Middle Basic School teachers' views on infusing abduction threat surviving skills in Basic school curriculum for schoolchildren safety in school environment. The population comprises 209 public school primary teachers in Umuahia North L.G.A. of Abia State. The simple random sampling technique with non-replacement technique was used to select the sample of 143 primary school teachers (41 male and 102 female teachers). Researchers' made attitude questionnaire titled” Basic School Teachers Questionnaire on …

Impact Of The Russo-Ukraine War African Students And Families: Community-Based Approach To Humanitarian Mutual Aid, Macire Aribot, Nassim Ashford

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Africans and African-descent refugees from Ukraine have faced racism and discrimination since the onset of the Russian-Ukraine war. When seeking refuge in neighboring countries, African people experienced differences in treatment when crossing the borders of European countries. Historically, European countries have enforced strict anti-immigration policies to deter Black and Brown people of color from migrating to their countries. This paper explores racism and discrimination experienced by African and African-descent refugees fleeing Ukraine and the inequity in the global humanitarian response for Africans and other people of color affected by the Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, this paper will highlight community-based, …

Front Matter, Yaljod 4.1, Sombo Muzata

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Includes: Forewords from Amb. Dr. Salah Siddig Hammad (Head, African Governance Architecture, African Union Commission), Vasu Gounden (Executive Director, ACCORD South Africa), and Asha T. Rodney (Board Vice Chair, Walter Rodney Foundation);Preface from Prince Ifoh (Founder, YALF); and Acknowledgements.

Harnessing The Youth Bulge For Transformative Leadership, Transparency And Accountability In Africa: The Case Of Mozambique And Zimbabwe, Tendaishe Tlou

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

In every part of the globe, the 21st century has seen an increase in the youth bulge accompanied by a surge in youths' involvement in various issues. Youth alone now constitute more than 65% (both male and female) of Africa's population becoming impossible to leave youths behind in any processes. Perhaps in the new millennium, the Arab Springs in North Africa and the #feesmustfall South African protests changed the course of history and discourse around leadership issues in Africa. Historically, challenges and opportunities confronting youths in Africa are traditional. Hierarchy (both political and social) always defines the leadership criteria. Historically, …

Natural Disasters In Africa; Impacts On Sustainable Development, Shawgei Salah Ahmed Ismaeil

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Environmental disasters in the world are among the leading causes of death in the recent past, and the African continent is no exception: drought, desertification, floods, landslides, hurricanes and earthquakes are prevalent. This paper draws attention to the deadly effects of natural disasters on Africa’s development, using the Star Analysis System in terms of presenting the overall situation in the five regions of the African continent, and identifying the significant threatening and constraining cost of development by showing that the large amounts lost could have been used to achieve sustainable development compared with the areas of sustainable development goals effected …

Information And Communication Technologies And Employment In The Services Sector: The Case Of The Economic Community Of West African States, Kossi Naita Edem, Kokou Dzifa

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

The rise of information and communication technologies is a channel for job creation in the ECOWAS services sector because they make work more efficient and are a source of innovation. In this article, we analyse the impact of information and communication technologies on employment in the services sector in ECOWAS. In contrast to their ambiguous impact on employment in countries with a fairly high ICT penetration rate, we rather expect the internet to have a potentially positive impact on employment in the service sub-sectors of education, health, distribution, transport & communication and finance & insurance. Furthermore, most of the control …

Yaljod Full Issue 4.1, Sombo Muzata

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

The Young African Leaders Journal of Development (YALJOD) is a biennial journal and an official publication of the Young African Leaders Forum (YALF). It was established in 2015 to host scholarly analysis and competing viewpoints about the development of Africa; and it’s multidisciplinary approach makes it more formidable. YALJOD accepts papers from varied disciplinary areas — including Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Humanities — that show direct relevance to the development of Africa. It publishes researches understood as the social, economic, political, cultural and technological processes of change in Africa. The intended audience of the journal remains the entire African …

Global Adverse Effects Of Scientific Prescribed Medications: Covid-19 Vaccines, Albert Mcbell Ninepence

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

The impact of scientific prescribed medications are tremendous and cannot be overemphasized. Irrespective of scientific prescribed medications impacts, in recent epoch it has attracted some criticisms on its efficacy. Prescribed medications are medications from scientific treatments or cure which is the widely accepted approach to curing or treating illnesses and diseases. On the other hand, traditional prescribed medications which are non-scientific tend to be less utilized, ignored and extremely criticized by pure scientists. The criticisms surrounding scientific prescribed medications escalated during the era of COVID-19. While some people resorted to the use of scientific prescribed medications of COVID-19 vaccines to …

The Implication Of Corruption On Sustainable Development In Africa: (Using Nigeria As A Case Study), Ezeifekwuaba Tochukwu Benedict

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

The scenario of the rise of corruption in Africa particularly in Nigeria is so much a problem. It cuts across the various Private Sectors including different tiers of government. This research paper applied collected secondary data from library materials, government publications, journals, the internet and daily newspapers. The kernel of the research paper is on the facts that corrupt practices among the class of political leadership have led to the undermining of the stability and growth of the country's economy. Also, it is discovered that corruption maximizes the poverty level that triggers criminal exercises in the Nation. The paper suggests …

Nation-Building And Africa's Development: A Historical And Philosophical Analysis, Adewale Onagbesan

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

From the 1960s onwards until recent time, a number of African States across the various regions have been faced with differing challenges that confront either stability, sovereignty, and in some cases, their permanent existence as evident during the period 1960-70 which was widely referred to as the decade of optimism, and the period 1970-80 which was clearly referred to as the decade of pessimism due to the number of events that manifested. Clearly in the light of this, Nation-Building in Africa has experienced chequered fortune in the past half a century of independence, up to present times, and the challenge …

Teachers Productivity In Nigerian Primary Schools: A Critical Analysis In The 21st Century, Ugochukwu Mercy Prince-Ifoh

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Teacher productivity is a nagging issue in education. The teacher – as the most important factor in the business of teaching and learning – shapes the direction and influences, to a great extent, other educational inputs to achieve the stated goals of the education industry. All over the globe today, we have continued to see National Development being intricately tied to educational development – and the teacher is the critical element. Many countries of the world have realised this critical role of teachers in the educational process, and have started investing hugely on the teacher and fine-tuning his/her skills and …

Black Minds Matter: Exploring The Double Trauma Of Anti-Blackness And War On The Psycho-Political Well-Being Of African And African-Descent Refugees From Ukraine, Macire Aribot, Nassim Ashford, Korea S. Badio

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Amid the horror of the Russia-Ukraine war, Black refugees from Ukraine have suffered multiple traumas: The trauma of war and the trauma of anti-blackness. The world caught a glimpse of this via social media and news reports that African people were physically blocked from boarding trains and buses by Ukrainian officials, as well as neighboring countries denied entry to people who were not “Ukrainian.” These double traumas have undoubtedly placed Black refugees in Ukraine among the most vulnerable group of people in this humanitarian crisis. However, despite the psycho-political suffering Black refugees have experienced during the Russia-Ukraine war, their voices, …

Development Of The Payment Systems: An Economic Need Or A Technological Deed, Heba Mekawy

Future Journal of Social Science

This paper is mainly concerned with showing most of the economic aspects related to both banking transactions, payments, and eventually the payment systems and their development. The economic aspects are discussed on both the macroeconomic and the microeconomic one as well. The discussion in the paper also covers the economic implications of the payment systems and the economic rationale behind their development. The paper has concluded that the economic need of the financial market is the main driver behind the development of payment systems. They also serve as outcomes concerning the well-functioning of the financial market. Thus, the technological development …

Proposed Alternatives To Decrease Private Tutoring In Egyptian Pre-University Education, Fatemah Abdel-Razek

Future Journal of Social Science

Private tutoring continues to exist in Egypt, even though it has been officially banned by the 2016 ministerial decree No. 53 and the 2018 ministerial decree No. 714. The current research reviews the relevant literature, provides a background on private tutoring, analyzes the current policy for dealing with private tutoring in Egypt, and it proposes three policy alternatives for decreasing private tutoring in Egyptian pre-university education. These alternatives are turning most educational curricula into educational games, lengthening the school day, and returning extra-curricular activities to Egyptian schools. These policy options are evaluated based on the criteria of equity and fairness, …

The Impact Of Ethnic Groups On National Security, Seham Fawzi

Future Journal of Social Science

Ethnic diversity in and of itself does not negatively affect national security. The threat it imposes to national security is a result of many factors combined with political opportunity that fundamental changes occurring in the political system exploited by ethnic and sectarian groups trying to change the political system to their advantage. Many factors such as political, historical, economic, social, cultural, environmental, and psychological factors may lead ethnic groups to rebel and impose threats to the national states of any country especially developing countries.

Qanon Deconstructed: Faith And Lies, Sam Andrus

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

All prior categorizations of conspiracy theories fall short when applied to the system of belief known as QAnon. This paper first examines the previous literature that laid down a basis for understanding the nature of conspiracies and isolates aspects of the QAnon canon to delineate and test the predictors of belief. The data for this research were obtained from the 2020 wave of the Chapman Survey of American Fears (CSAF) conducted by the Earl Babbie Research Center at Chapman University. Layered crosstabulation tests and multiple linear regression results find that conspiratorial thinking outweighs partisanship when predicting QAnon belief. Strikingly, despite …

Predictors Of College Student Support Toward Colin Kaepernick’S National Anthem Protests, Brooke Coursen, Nicole Peiffer, Sakira Coleman, Philip Lucius

VA Engage Journal

Racial discrimination and inequality have perpetuated within the U.S. since its inception. In 2016, Colin Kaepernick initiated the national anthem protests to oppose the oppression of people of color in America. This study was developed in 2018 to identify social determinants of health underlying discriminatory beliefs and behaviors. The objective was to investigate the impacts of college students’ race, gender, political ideology, socio-economic status [SES], NFL interest, patriotism, and general protest support on support for the national anthem protests. We administered paper-and-pencil surveys across locations on the James Madison University campus using a convenience sample. There were 408 participants included, …

Vaccinate: Posters From The Covid-19 Pandemic, Aaron Sutherlen, Judy Diamond, Meghan Leadabrand, Julia Mcquillan, St Patrick Reid

Zea E-Books Collection

In 2022 we are living through a global pandemic, and vaccines are one of the most effective strategies for slowing the spread of infectious disease, minimizing symptoms, and lowering healthcare demands. In short, vaccines save lives and can reduce the risk of contagion from social interaction.

In the United States in late 2021, after the vaccines had been broadly available for almost a year, one in five adults still chose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Art can disrupt what is embedded in our minds and open us up to new perspectives and insights. We hope to offer access to …

Crisis Communication In The Public Sector: Influences On Stakeholders’ Experience Of Psychological Effects As U.S.-Russia Tensions Rise, Elisabeth Shirk

Theses - ALL

As war in Ukraine rages on and the U.S.-Russia relationship becomes increasingly hostile, the need to better understand public sector communication in times of international crisis is once again rising. For years, the public and private sectors have been treated largely the same in crisis communication research and practice. In the context of international crisis, specifically rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia, this study looks at where these differences lie and what that might mean for future research and practice.

In contribution to this broader topic, this study looks at the influence of domestic stakeholders’ perceptions of the Biden …