Political Science Commons^™

Fadel, Tsos, Fadel

TSOS Interview Gallery

Fadel's family was originally from Palestine. However, for reasons he couldn’t recall, they moved to Libya, where Fadel was born, and he grew up there. He recalled that life inLibya used to be good, but that it became dangerous. Fadel came to Italy alone. His parents died and left him nothing seven years ago. His siblings died as well. He came to Italy 6 months ago seeking asylum by way of Tripoli to Sabratha, and then to Sardinia and Calabria. He has been living on the streets, and because he couldn’t provide an address, he was denied asylum

Katja, Ketevahi 'Katje', Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ketevahi “Katja” is from Georgia. She’s in her late 40’s. She grew up on a farm in the country and became the financial support for her family after her mother died and her father became “emaciated.” When Putin came to power, diplomatic ties deteriorated between Georgia and Russia, which eventually led to war. She fled her country using forged documents and first worked in Turkey but has now lived in Naples for nine years and regularly sends money home to her brother, who cares for their father.

Katja expresses her feelings about war, government, liberty, and what it means to …

Felix, Tsos, Felix

TSOS Interview Gallery

Felix is originally from Nigeria and has now been inItaly under a year. He came from a family with a polygamous father who “married” multiple wives illegally. After returning home from a service mission for his church, which his father supported, Felix began to study engineering. At some point conflict arose within the family that causedFelix to have to flee.He was smuggled through Niger to Libya, losing several friends along the way.There he was held for ransom, before taking a treacherous voyage across the sea in an overfilled boat, where he witnessed several drown. Now he lives in a camp …

Momo, Momo, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

When Momo was only nine years old, he returned home to find his parents and his six sisters and four brothers had been killed in their own home. Sometime after that, he and his uncle left Somalia together to live in Yemen. He stayed in Yemen until he was sixteen, but when things became unsafe there, he moved to Libya. He had hoped to get on a boat in Libya to go somewhere for a new life, but he was thrown in prison instead. He was harassed and told to ask his family to send money so that he could …

Almonds, A Fiesty Industry, Kenneth M. Petrowsky

Marriott Student Review

A bitter power struggle between the almond industry and the milk industry has become a test of the United States’ free market. The National Milk Producers Federation has turned to Washington for aid while the Almond board of California and the Blue Diamond co-op have focused on improving their product.

The Effect Of East Asian Religions On Feminism And Post-Materialist Values In Modern Japan, Charlene Humpherys, Greg Wilkinson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Japan is known worldwide for its rich and complex history and culture as well as its rankings as a global frontrunner in the fields of economics, globalization, education, technology, entrepreneurship, quality of life, and cultural influence.¹ Fascinating to many political theorists is how socioeconomic prosperity within thriving countries changes their societal principles and policies. Renowned political scientist Dr. Ronald Inglehart crafted the economic theory of postmaterialism, which states that because of their increased physical and financial security, Western states adapted to social values that emphasized autonomy and individualism.² In my Orca proposal I outlined my plan to study …

How Partisan Identification On The Ballot Affects Individuals’ Vote Choices, Jennica Petersen, Rebecca Shuel, Michael Barber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Researchers agree that partisanship is the main predictor of how any given individual will vote, but previous researchers have been unable to determine to what exact quantifiable extent party labels determine individuals’ voting choices. This is because previous research has been purely observational in nature, meaning that any inferences about how party labels affect voting behavior could have been impacted by any number of confounding variables. We isolated the independent effect of party labels on determining voters’ choices by conducting a novel survey to measure partisans’ vote choices for two hypothetical presidential candidates in simulations of both nonpartisan and partisan …

Who Takes The Baby? The Effect Of Question Ordering On, Alejandra Gimenez, Christopher F. Karpowitz, Jeremy Pope

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 mandates that employees be given a minimum of 12 weeks unpaid leave for qualified family and medical needs, including the birth of new children. Unlike many other advanced countries however, the United States does not require employers to provide paid parental leave. Given changing parental roles that often result in both parents equally contributing to the care and rearing of the children, there has been an increase in fathers asking for paternity leave or extended leave around the birth of a child (O’Brien 2009). However, very little work has been done to …

International Attitudes On Scientific Deference In Politics, Matthew Walden, Celeste Beesley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study seeks to extend a 2015 study by Blank and Shaw, which seeks to understand what factors shape American attitude towards scientific deference in policymaking. My study ran the same experiment among an international sample, making a cross-cultural comparison of the correlation between political and religious beliefs and preferences for science in the political sphere. Specifically, I focused in on the relationship between nationality and scientific deference. The purpose of this specific investigation is to see if Americans display a unique level of anti-science sentiment compared with the rest of the world.

Estimating Polarization In The United States Congress, Hayden Galloway, Michael Barber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I investigated if commonly accepted ideology estimates in Congress change when restricted to the modern era. I used these estimates to determine if previous measures of political polarization are accurate.

The Party Unties? An Exploration Of Divisiveness Among Donors To 2008 And 2012 Presidential Campaigns, Andrew Jensen, David Magleby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Politics is a contentious business. When candidates and parties are not fighting each other to win elections, they fight among themselves for nominations and for their competing visions of platform and policy. This intraparty tension has been a prominent feature of the 2016 election as progressivism fought centrism in the Democratic party and conservatism struggled with populism. While primary battles can be vicious, do separate factions unite to support their party’s candidate in the general election or are they more likely to withhold their support? While the literature has studied this phenomenon amongst voters, no study has examined divisiveness among …

Participation And Motivation Differences Between Large And Small Donors, Clarissa Gregory, David Magleby

Journal of Undergraduate Research

There have been many studies on political donors and their motivations. Particularly, the motivations of small donors in comparison to large donors have generated substantial interest. The Federal Election Commission requires donations to be disclosed only if they meet or exceed a $200 threshold. Those who meet that threshold are “large donors”, those who donate less than $200 are “small donors”. As a result, small donors have proved difficult to study because their information is not publicly available.

Phd’S, Professionalism, And Public Office: The Effeect Of Education And Professional Experience On Effectiveness In The U.S. House Of Representatives, Mckenna Westra, Jay Goodliffe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

We commonly attribute advanced levels of education with increased skill and capabilities. While the theory backing this assumption has been proven to be true in a variety of applications, often times the trend can unintentionally be extrapolated to other areas. As voters, we are inclined to view candidates with higher or more prestigious education as more experienced than other candidates. I will study the effects that professional and educational backgrounds have on legislators’ performance in office. If the assumption holds true that those with more education are better qualified, then these individuals should remain in office for more terms, should …

The Rise Of The Small Super Donor & The Looming Transformation Of Political Influence, Dustin Phelps, Jay Goodliffe

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In light of ongoing controversy over Super PACS, I chose to study how small donors might offset the disproportionate influence that the wealthy have traditionally maintained in the American campaign finance system. The dramatic rise of small donors in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 presidential elections heralds a democratic force that could theoretically balance the donor landscape in unprecedented ways.1 Since small donors are much more representative of the general population than the traditional wealthy donor, a strong enough presence of small donors could potentially close America’s political influence gap.2

Hungry, Homeless, And Hopeless: The Injustices Of The China Hukou Registration System, Lauren Barden, Celeste Beesley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study analyzes the destructive social and economic consequences of the Chinese hukou registration system through quantitative analysis of the inequality gap between rural-urban migrants and urbanites in Chinese cities between 1995-2002. By performing statistical tests on individual-level survey data, this paper documents the economic gap between urban hukou holders and non-urban hukou holders in 1995. It also shows that rural-urban migrant inequality has not increased between 1995 and 2002, and that the costs of migrating to the cities under a rural hukou were less in 2002 than previously. However, results also confirmed that the hukou policy significantly restricted the …

Town Hall Drama: What's All The Gossip About?, Mckay Randall

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

When the new Congress took their seats at the beginning of 2017, Republicans were on a mission to replace Obamacare. To gear up for the legislative struggle, legislators took to the streets and towns of their districts to speak to constituents about Obamacare and other policies. During the first town halls in January and February, Republican legislators found themselves confronted with rowdy and raucous crowds who nearly shouted them down every time they had chance to speak. The News took note of this phenomena in late February and started reporting on the story. The popular headlines from The Washington Post, …

Has Party Identification Changed In Utah?, Devin Johanson

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Three weeks before the 2016 election, Utah was labeled as a swing state by most main-stream media outlets. The offensive rhetoric from both the Trump and Clinton campaigns and the rise of a popular independent candidate increased the potential for changes in the party identity of the Utah electorate. My research question is as follows: How has party identification changed in the state of Utah between the 2012 and 2016 elections?

Do Municipal Officials Represent The Views Of Their Constituents?, Steven Jamieson

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Municipalities make decisions that effect millions of Americans every day. Research has been done to assess the link between citizen’s preferences and municipal policy (Tausanovitchand Warshaw2014). However, the link between the policies and the officials who make them is missing.

Does Ideology Trump Party Loyalty, Soren J. Schmidt

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Party affiliation and political ideology are typically paired together. It’s consequently difficult to disentangle their individual impact on vote choice. Utah’s 2016 election presented a rare exception to this trend with non-conservative Republican nominee (Donald Trump) and conservative independent candidate (Evan McMullin). Do voters prioritize party loyalty or personal ideology when casting a ballot? What are other predictors of party defection?

Policy Reforms Amidst Corruption: Ukrainian Attitudes Toward Economic Development, Eliza Riley

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This research examines what economic policies Ukrainians think should—and could– work in Ukraine to reform the economic system and combat widespread corruption. This study tests how region specific determinants and corruption perception levels influence attitudes toward democracy and optimism toward future reform possibilities in Ukraine.

Scourge On American Society: Are Refugees Increasing Violent Crime In The United States?, Rehtaeh Beers

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

President Trump and many citizens in his wake have called for a decrease in the number of refugees in America. Many claim that refugees are a “Scourge on American Society” and that refugees are “dangerous” and likely to commit violent crimes.

The total number of reported refugees in the world has been growing at an alarming rate since 2006 following the the Lebanese Crisis. Despite the growing number of refugees, the United States of America has kept the number of refugees located in the states relatively stable since 2007.

Speaking Of Gender, Generally: Analysis Of Gendered References And Speaking Opportunities In Lds General Conferences, Devon Tenney

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This study seeks to examine the changing role of women in LDS General Conferences. Through text analysis and an exploration of speaking opportunities at General Conference, we find that women have been discussed more frequently and provided more opportunities to speak over time.

Let's Play A Game: A Game Theoretical Analysis Of Conservative Voting In The 2016 Presidential Election In Utah, Devon Tenney

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

This study is intended to look at strategic voting behavior among conservatives in the state of Utah in the 2016 Presidential Election. This particular election is important and quite unique in that a third party, conservative candidate competed with the Republican candidate for victory in the state. With a viable third-party candidate to consider, conservative voters had a much more complex choice to make than they usually do in an election. We will model this choice and its outcomes to explain why the vote came out the way it did.

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

The editor of the Journal, Dr. Joseph Drew, summarizes the types of research that specialists in comparative civilization emphasize. These are qualitative, quantitative and a mixture of both. These types and their offshoots serve as models for future research. They are particularly recommended for the organization, the International Society for Comparative Civilizations which publishes the Journal.

The European Centre For Higher Education: A Unesco Effort To Reduce Cold War Tensions And To Promote Co-Operation In Higher Education In Europe, Leland Conley Burrows

Comparative Civilizations Review

The article examines the role that the European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES) played in fostering educational cooperation between East and West blocs in education during the Cold War. A unit of UNESCO and located in Romania, it later expanded its mandate to include North America, Turkey, and Israel in addition to its original European base. It existed between 1972 and 2012 and foundered in the latter year due to finances and less than full support.

Leveraging Diasporic Power For Nation Building, Uttam Gaulee

Comparative Civilizations Review

This article examines the issue of brain drain vs brain gain. Specifically, the case of whether the loss of higher education professional departures from a lesser developed country(Nepal in this case) to a higher developed country is balanced by a return of these individuals with skills enhanced by education and training. So far, evidence does not appear to support this hypothesis.

Meaning Of The Twenty-First Century: From Internationalism To Globalism, Ronald Glossop

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Spengler's Worldview: A Retrospective Analysis, Rudolph Zalter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Ian Mcgilchrist, The Master And His Emissary: The Divided Brain And The Making Of The Western World. Yale University Press, 2009., Marek J. Celinski

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Comparative Civilizations Review

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.