Political Science Commons^™

Una Guerra Contra La Mujer: Chicana Feminism And Vietnam War Protest, Arica Roberts

AWE (A Woman’s Experience)

Chicana women, especially those in the East Los Angeles chapter, began this autonomous feminist consciousness to challenge sexual oppression within cultural nationalism as they resigned from the Brown Berets, created their own organization, Las Adelitas, continued antiwar efforts with the National Chicano Moratorium Committee and fought for the social, economic, and political liberation and equality of the whole Raza.

George Friedman, Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis In Europe, Laina Farhat-Holzman

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Philanthropic Aspects Of Islam: The Case Of The Fundamentalist Movement In Indonesia, Hisanori Kato

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Dario Fernandez-Morera, The Myth Of The Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, And Jews Under Islamic Rule In Medieval Spain, Laina Farhat-Holzman

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Erik Larson, In The Garden Of Beasts: Love, Terror, And An American Family In Hitler's Berlin, Laina Farhat-Holzman

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Mapping Dissonance, Joshua Gulber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Previous research highlights the importance of generating empathy for marginalized outgroups as a precursor to changing negative attitudes and behaviors towards them. Politicians and social activists often seek to generate this empathy by “humanizing” marginalized groups through positive media or interpersonal contact. We have previously shown that such attempts at humanization often fail to change the attitudes of those the humanizing message is designed to influence: those with the most negative attitudes towards the outgroup. We hypothesized that this failure could be attributed to cognitive dissonance, positing that individuals who feel a deep sense of dissonance from the positive information …

What Matters More In Shaping Individuals’ Opinions On Foreign Aids: Facts Or Attractiveness?, Daehyeon Kim, Darren Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

According to Diven and Constantelos’s research, less than 50 percent of Americans support bilateral foreign aid (2012). This is striking, considering the fact that Europeans from countries which have comparable economic prosperity to the United States—such as Finland, Denmark, France, Netherlands, and Sweden—support bilateral foreign aid at an average of about 80 percent (Diven & Constantelos 2012). As a result, there has been abundant research into foreign aid, demonstrating how it benefits the interests of the United States, its effectiveness in achieving various aims, and the need for foreign aid in recipient countries. Without a doubt, such findings are persuasive …

Political Messaging On Social Media: Facebook Campaigning And Political Silos, Morgan Williams, Jeremy C. Pope

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The make-up of political campaigns has transformed with the creation of the internet. What used to be a world of door to door canvassing and mass produced mailers sent to party members is now a world of entertaining YouTube videos and Facebook likes. It is no longer easy to gather and track the political advertisements that people are exposed to, because they come from so many different sources. It used to be that if you were a Republican, it would be likely you would only be exposed to Republican messaging with the same pattern reflected in the Democratic Party. This …

Jd, Businessman, Doctor? The Influence Of Educational And Occupational Backgrounds On Legislative Effectiveness, Michael Sean Covey, Michael Barber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Every two years, voters across the country send dozens of newly elected U.S. representatives to Congress, and these freshmen come from all educational backgrounds and professions. There are MBAs, JDs, and PhDs, as well as former doctors, entrepreneurs, professors, attorneys, military leaders, state legislators and corporate executives. And during campaign season, it is common for congressional candidates to tout their pre-political backgrounds as evidence that they will be successful in Congress (see Figure 1). Candidate Stephen Tryon, for example, ran against incumbent Jason Chaffetz in Utah’s third congressional district in 2014 and advertised that he was a “proven soldier and …

Legislating Women: The Relationship Between Women In Parliament And Trafficking Of Women, Caroline Black, Donna Lee Bowen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pervasive, complex, and often little-­‐understood, trafficking of women is a worldwide epidemic. Although many acknowledge the problem that trafficking of women, hereafter known simply as trafficking, is, the large dark numbers associated with it make trafficking hard to fully track. Many studies have previously focused on trafficking victims and their experiences with the intent of understanding what demographic factors influence the likelihood of someone becoming a trafficking victim. However, there is little to no research on the macro causes of trafficking. This paper will focus on those macro causes, which are the percentage of women in parliament and women’s political …

Who Deserves Coverage? Determining Utahns’ Ideal Medicaid Recipient, John Griffith, Chris Karpowitz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, health care policy became one of the most talked about issues in the United States. As a result, many states have been grappling with the question of whether to expand Medicaid. Utah is a particularly good place to study this salient issue because it is in the midst of deciding whether and how much to expand the Medicaid program. In this study I used a novel method of analysis to identify which attributes of Medicaid recipients or potential recipients were most influential in the minds of Utah voters as they determined who …

Legislator Responsiveness, Age, And Internet Proficiency, Sean Stephenson, Michael Barber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Elected officials should try to establish a relationship with their constituents and keep them well informed by responding to any questions they may have regarding political issues. One way legislators can do this is by responding to emails. Some legislators choose to respond to emails themselves, while others choose to hire people who respond to the emails sent to their campaign email address. Age may be one of the factors that affect the likelihood of whether a legislator chooses to respond to questions from his/her constituents. The purpose of my research is to determine whether a legislator’s age affects her …

A Tall Tale: How Story Frames Can Shape U.S. Public Opinion, Matthew Young, Darren Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Presently, U.S. foreign aid only represents about 1% of the total US budget, but according to the Kaiser Family Foundation the majority Americans believe foreign aid to be 28% of the national budget. If that were the case, foreign aid would be more expensive than Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, or all defense spending1. As of 2014, the U.S. Agency for International Development only used data heavy stories when communicating with the public. With such a large public misperception of aid a new method of communication must be found.

Overcoming Cultural Barriers In Thai Elections, Carly Madsen, Joel Selway

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As I finish my undergraduate education at Brigham Young University I am filled with gratitude for the many experiences I have been privileged to have. The climax of my studies in political science occurred this summer as I participated in a mentored research project in Thailand. This experience was particularly special for me, as I served as a missionary in Thailand just over a year ago. Being able to return to Thailand and be with people that I love, doing research on a topic of great interest to me, was the best part about my mentoring experience.

Ideological Movement In House Party Leadership A Difference In Difference Model, Hayden Galloway, Michael Barber

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I hypothesized that the party leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives converges their roll call voting behavior to the median of their parties after being selected as party leaders. This measured through ideological differences in congressional roll call voting behavior.

The Effects Of A Recruitment And Mobilization Experiment On Caucus Meeting Dynamics, Alejandra Gimenez, J. Quin Monson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Studies on political recruitment have increased over the past few years, and specifically that of female recruitment in regards to political candidacy. Studies have shown strong evidence that recruitment increases participation, both in activism and candidacy. However, much of this work focuses on the effects of recruitment among a pool of subjects who are already more likely to run than the average citizen. What is unclear is whether recruitment deepens the pool of potential candidates or simply triggers those who are already in the pool to run. In this paper, I argue that political recruitment does not increase the number …

Analyzing The Costs Of Voting: A Voter Turnout Experiment, Katherine Westmoreland, Christopher Karpowitz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the 2014 presidential election, only 36% of eligible voters cast a ballot on Election Day. Voter turnout is especially low in non-presidential elections and the already bleak number of voters is heightened when examining young voters, withonly 21.3% of 18-19 year-olds voting in 2014.

Gender And Nationality On The Receptiveness Of Nongovernmental Organizations, Laura Boyer, Joel Selway

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in international development. While the NGO sector addresses hundreds of issues and annually administers millions of dollars in aid (Hall-Jones 2006, Djelic 2006), these organizations are often Western based, which generates debates regarding the appropriateness of Western-based interventions in developing countries. One side argues that these foreign NGOs often use a one-size-fits-all approach, which fails to effectively help the community and only perpetrates cultural imperialism; the opposing side argues that Westerners have skills and resources that can provide invaluable assistance to impoverished communities (Easterly 2006, Sachs 2005). Unfortunately, these arguments mainly focus on …

Motivating Transparency In Non-Governmental Organizations, Robert Francis, Daniel Nielson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

A recent trend in both development research and practice has dealt with increasing the transparency of government and international development institutions. While donors and stakeholders are able to put significant legal and social pressure on large development organizations, this same pressure has not materialized in regards to NGOs. They are not legally required to make publicly available information on activities and finances, which means that such transparency must be exogenously motivated. The research question behind this project is therefore to investigate what factors could motivate NGOs to act transparently.

Ilhan, Nura, Radwa, Ziagull And Children, Ilhan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Ilhan, his wife Nura, and their children resided near Kabul, in a region where both the Taliban and ISIS were active. As Shias, Ilhan’s family faced numerous menaces, including threats from ISIS that they would be beheaded if they did not display ISIS flags. Ilhan’s sister Radwa, who is deaf and mute, was forced to marry a regional leader. In addition to being threatened on religious grounds, Ilhan’s family was also threatened by an elder of their town. Out of desperation, Ilhan’s family sold their house appliances, escaped Afghanistan, and arrived at the …

At What Cost? Discrepancies Between Women's Legislative Representation And Effective Policy To Protect Women From Violence In Argentina, Madeline Gannon

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

The first country to institute a national-level quota law for the inclusion of female candidates was Argentina in 1991 (Franceschet and Piscopo 2014, 86 ). In a basic sense, "A substantial increase in the number of women in political legislatures is expected to strengthen women's unity and political advocacy, leading to changes in policy content'' (Sacchet 2008, 369). Exactly how the policy content is likely to or ought to change is debated. Both expectation and research has shown that, "Women legislators are more likely than their male colleagues to represent women's interests and to support legislation that is beneficial to …

Back Cover

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Bilal, Bilal, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Bilal was 23 years old when he drowned in Greece. He was cheerful, intelligent, and full of energy.

He was a journalist in Afghanistan who received a death threat from the Taliban. His family decided that he should flee the country alone for survival since they couldn’t afford for the whole family to go.

He escaped from the camp in Moria by finding a hole in the fence. He outran the police, found a ship in port, and jumped on it as it was leaving. He later had 10 unsuccessful attempts to leave Greece for Germany. He was caught by …

Zurvan, Zurvan, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Zurvan and his family had a good life in Afghanistan. He worked as a clerk in a spice shop. After doing business with a foreign company, the Taliban threatened him with death. To escape this threat, he and his family escaped to Iran and hired a smuggler to get them to Turkey. From there, they traveled to Greece in an overloaded boat. They have been living in a camp in Greece, stuck in limbo, ever since. Zurvan feels hopeless, like everyone in the camp is being treated in an inhumane manner. He also feels guilty for bringing his children into …

Aarash, Aarash, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

As an anti-corruption journalist in Afghanistan, Aarash’s family’s life was threatened by warlords. His car was shot at, their guesthouse was bombed, and later when they were threatened at gunpoint, they tried to make a new life in India. But in India, they discovered difficulties in obtaining permanent visas so they had return to Kabul where they hid at a friend’s house for 20 days while obtaining documentation to flee to Turkey. Once in Turkey, they learned that Afghan registries had been closed since 2010. They determined that they needed to either apply for asylum in Turkey or leave for …

Idiris, Idiris, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Idiris is an 18-year-old Somalian refugee now living inUtah. He describes his life, mentioning that he only lived in Somalia for six years then moved to Ethiopia, where he stayed for seven and a half years.His life inEthiopia was peaceful and happy in comparison to Somalia, where Idiris and his family witnessed continuous violence. Idiris’s father eventually learned of the opportunities and education available in America and decided to move his family there for a better life, leaving behind family and friends. Coming to America, Idiris and his family did not know what their new home would be like. They …

How Partisan Identification On The Ballot Affects Individuals' Vote Choices, Jennica Petersen, Rebecca Shuel

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

Political parties are both praised and criticized in our society. People acknowledge that parties serve important functions as they organize the electorate, simplify voter choices, and help voters elect leaders that will carry out their desired policies (Dalton, Farrell, and McAllister 2011). However, other people blame political parties for the increasing polarization and gridlock in our government, and some people claim that individuals rely too heavily on partisan cues and not enough on information about political candidates when determining their vote choice. Because political parties perform such important tasks, we expect individuals to vote differently in the absence of party …

Immigrants And Voting: How A Personal Relationship To Immigration Changes The Voting Behaviors Of Americans, Mandi Eatough, Jordan Johnston

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

In the last thirty years the number of immigrant voters, in the U.S. has increased from less than 5 percent of the population to more than 13 percent. With such an unprecedented increase in such a short amount of time, immigration reform has become one of the most significant and controversial issues in elections nationwide. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has faced consistently increasing levels of both legal and illegal immigration, an issue that is personally relevant to all immigrants regardless of legality (Tichenor 1994). This influx of immigrants has made immigration policy more important for politicians. Understanding the attitudes …

Salman, Salman, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Salman and his family are from Afghanistan, where he worked as a doctor. He worked for fifteen years for a mining institute, and before that he worked in various hospitals with Americans and Germans for another combined 15 years. The family ran into problems with the Taliban, who threatened violence if he didn’t close his drugstore. During that same time, his son witnessed a suicide bombing at his school. Their daughter was forced to abandon her education when the Taliban poisoned the water at her school. They fled in attempts to live a normal life again and escape the threats …

Emal, Emal, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Emal was a gate security guard in the Afghan army and a supplier for American forces at the airport. Before leaving Afghanistan, Emal was kidnapped by Daesh, beaten, thrown into a pile of bodies, and left for dead. He woke up weeks later in hospital with adent in his skull, brain damage, and mental/emotional problems. When he was able, Emal fled with his wife and six kids, but they travelled with smugglers in separate cars and got separated. Iran police deported his wife and children back to Afghanistan. Emal continued on and eventually made his way to Oinofyta refugee camp …