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Illinois Wesleyan University

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Articles 211 - 240 of 306

Full-Text Articles in Political Science

Letter From The Department Chair, James Simeone Apr 2013

Letter From The Department Chair, James Simeone

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.


Editors' Introduction, Zoe Gross '13, Yelei Kong '13 Apr 2013

Editors' Introduction, Zoe Gross '13, Yelei Kong '13

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.


Table Of Contents Apr 2013

Table Of Contents

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.


Res Publica Xviii Apr 2013

Res Publica Xviii

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Complete copy of the 2013 volume of Res Publica.


Four Named To Endowed Professorships, Kim Hill Apr 2013

Four Named To Endowed Professorships, Kim Hill

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.


Why They Rise Up, Or Not: A Study Of Linguistic Minorities And Ethnic-National Mobilization, Yelei Kong Apr 2013

Why They Rise Up, Or Not: A Study Of Linguistic Minorities And Ethnic-National Mobilization, Yelei Kong

Honors Projects

Most theories of nationalism focus on majority nationalism and do not provide an adequate explanation of the inaction of most ethnic minorities. The first part of this paper adopts the political process model from social movement theory to study the factors that prompt linguistic minorities to mobilize on ethno-national grounds. Using a large-N statistical model with data drawn from the Minorities at Risk (MAR) database, the results indicate that group capacity, a favorable opportunity structure, and strong issue framing facilitate ethno-national mobilization. The second part of the paper employs a most similar system design to compare Uzbek language minorities in …


Carlson '15 To Study At Oxford, Kim Hill Mar 2013

Carlson '15 To Study At Oxford, Kim Hill

News and Events (Discontinued Series)

No abstract provided.


Beyond Fear And Loathing: Tea Party Organizers' Continuum Of Knowledge In A Racialized Social System, Meghan Burke Jan 2013

Beyond Fear And Loathing: Tea Party Organizers' Continuum Of Knowledge In A Racialized Social System, Meghan Burke

Scholarship

Making use of fieldwork and 25 open-ended interviews with Tea Party organizers in the state of Illinois, I argue that Tea Party organizers draw from a continuum of knowledge, combining personal knowledge and experience with a conservative corporate media and Tea Party network frame. I draw upon the work of Weber to show how this continuum connects to various types of rational social action. Widening this scope of analysis allows not only for a more complex analysis of how corporate interests are connected to the grass roots movement, but also how the core frames of the movement are located throughout …


The Scorpion And The Frog: A False Narrative Of Human Nature, Karen Silverman, Jaret Kanarek Jan 2013

The Scorpion And The Frog: A False Narrative Of Human Nature, Karen Silverman, Jaret Kanarek

The Intellectual Standard

The Scorpion and the Frog is an age-old fable, having taken various forms over the past centuries.1 In the story, a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is hesitant to agree because the scorpion might sting him on the trip. The scorpion assures the frog that he would not do that because it would cause himself to drown. The frog agrees, yet midway through the trip, the scorpion stings the frog anyway. When the frog asks the scorpion why, he replies that it is in his nature.


Critiquing Cultural Relativism, Jaret Kanarek Jan 2013

Critiquing Cultural Relativism, Jaret Kanarek

The Intellectual Standard

Cultural relativism is the ever-popular theory claiming that, “any set of customs and institutions, or way of life, is as valid as any other” (Hartung,1954). In its appeal to tolerance—the seemingly incontrovertible “virtue” of the modern era—it has gained wide appeal amongst myriad disciplines, most notably in the social sciences (UNESCO, 1995). However, the theory is destructive in both theory and practice. In theory, cultural relativism emphatically denies reason and objective reality (Zechenter, 1997). In practice, it sanctions the worst manifestations of violence and oppression.


The Tortoise And The Hare: A New Moral For An Old Fable, Jaret Kanarek Oct 2012

The Tortoise And The Hare: A New Moral For An Old Fable, Jaret Kanarek

The Intellectual Standard

Aesop's The Tortoise and the Hare is a prominent moral fable in American cultural discourse. Having originated in ancient Greece, the fa­ble has varied over the years, but the basic elements remain the same. The story, as it is generally told, involves a tortoise and a hare as its two main protagonists. The hare is arrogant; he continually boasts about his speed and picks on the tortoise for being slow. The tortoise grows tired of the hare's boasting and questions the hare's claim of being the fastest creature. In retort, the hare decides to challenge the tortoise to a race …


The Issue Of Internet Polling, Nick A. Nichols Oct 2012

The Issue Of Internet Polling, Nick A. Nichols

The Intellectual Standard

Surveys, polls, and focus groups are common phenomena in our daily lives. We live in a world where big data is big business. Large decisions hinge on the accuracy and predicative power of these numbers. Therefore, it should not be surprising that there is a market for the malicious manipu-1ation of data. Extreme care must be taken in the collection, checking, and processing of data to prevent decisions from being made on incorrect as­sumptions. In order to demonstrate the full potential and possible impact of these attacks, I shall provide the following example: John Doe is a member of the …


Faulty Phrases: "There Is No Such Thing As Perfection", Michael Christison Oct 2012

Faulty Phrases: "There Is No Such Thing As Perfection", Michael Christison

The Intellectual Standard

In regard to this saying, one of the most notable references can be found in the movie Tron: Legacy. Although not a direct quote, the charac­ter Kevin Flynn, played by Jeff Bridges, communicates a very similar mes­sage to the public: "The thing about perfection is that it's unknowable. It's impossible, but it's also right in front of us all the time:' This stance from Flynn, or rather the scriptwriters, epitomizes the commonplace idea that I wish to critically examine.


Faulty Phrases: "There Are No Absolutes" & "The Truth Is Relative", Jaret Kanarek Oct 2012

Faulty Phrases: "There Are No Absolutes" & "The Truth Is Relative", Jaret Kanarek

The Intellectual Standard

"There are no absolutes:' "The truth is relative:' Each phrase im­plies and necessitates the truth of the other. An absolute is something that is universally true, that is, its truth is independent of all other factors or contexts (New Oxford American Dictionary). To say, "there are no absolutes:' is to say that there are no inde­pendent universal truths. All truths are therefore dependent. "The truth is relative" makes exactly this claim. Philosophically speaking, that which is relative "is dependent on something else" (New Oxford American Dictionary). But the concepts of relativity and dependence do not exist in a vacuum. For …


Survival Of The Selfish:Natural Selection And The Myth Of Altruism, Kyle O'Shea Oct 2012

Survival Of The Selfish:Natural Selection And The Myth Of Altruism, Kyle O'Shea

The Intellectual Standard

Altruism, in its purest sense, can be defined as an unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others. An altruistic act is one in which the person or animal benefiting from the act is the only one benefiting from it, and the person or animal performing the act gains nothing or is even harmed by the act. Truly altruistic acts are completely void of selfishness. One would like to believe that altruism could exist in its purest form; however, this devotion to the welfare of others cannot and does not exist in nature over time.


The Personality Of Policy Preferences: Analyzing The Relationship Between Myers-Briggs Personality Types And Political Views, Tracy Lytwyn Jul 2012

The Personality Of Policy Preferences: Analyzing The Relationship Between Myers-Briggs Personality Types And Political Views, Tracy Lytwyn

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

For political scientists and politicians alike, much research has been devoted to understanding the American citizen. Comprehension is the key to capturing votes, pushing forward new ideas, and retaining support in the years to come. This project centers on the theory that people structure their political opinions around problem-solving tendencies that they apply to everyday situations and are particular to their personalities. To evaluate this idea, this study uses the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (1962) in addition to several questions regarding personal policy preferences to determine whether there is a significant correlation between certain elements of one's personality type and political …


Environmental Legislation: Factors And Factions, Timothy Luby Jul 2012

Environmental Legislation: Factors And Factions, Timothy Luby

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

In recent years the environment has become an increasingly salient issue, with many citizens calling for higher environmental protection and precautions within the United States. However, it seems that congressmen have become unresponsive to these demands as partisanship progressively becomes the determining factor in environmental voting. This study attempts to discover what factors, along with party, determine a representative’s voting decisions on environmental legislation. By collecting data on United States House members in 2006, 2007, and 2010 and running linear regressions, the most significant factors in predicting House members’ voting patterns are identified; however, party and ideology seem to have …


The Ethnic Security Dilemma And Ethnic Violence: An Alternative Empirical Model And Its Explanatory Power, Jiaxing Xu Jul 2012

The Ethnic Security Dilemma And Ethnic Violence: An Alternative Empirical Model And Its Explanatory Power, Jiaxing Xu

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Beginning in the 1990s, a trend of using the security dilemma to explain ethnic violence has emerged. However, previous research mainly focuses on individual cases with large-scale violence; whether ethnic security dilemma theory is a sound approach to explain less violent ethnic conflict remains unclear. This paper employs a large-N design and tests the hypothesis that the ethnic security dilemma causes ethnic conflicts, without discriminating between differences in severity and scale of conflict. The paper also conducts a longitudinal comparison with a previous quantitative model using the latest data available. The empirical results do not support the hypothesis and suggest …


United State House Elections Post-Citizens United: The Influence Of Unbridled Spending, Laura Gaffey Jul 2012

United State House Elections Post-Citizens United: The Influence Of Unbridled Spending, Laura Gaffey

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

After the Citizens United decision in 2010 allowed corporations and unions to spend freely in elections, much media attention was given to the influence of unlimited and undisclosed donations during the 2010 midterm elections. This research attempts to determine the impact of increased outside spending by super PACs and other groups post-Citizens United by comparing United States House races in 2006 and 2010. The analysis controls for other factors that influence election outcomes in order to determine the influence of outside spending, confirming that outside money did have a small measurable effect in both elections when spent to support …


The Influence Of Cosmopolitan Values On Environmental Attitudes: An International Comparison, Lauren Contorno Jul 2012

The Influence Of Cosmopolitan Values On Environmental Attitudes: An International Comparison, Lauren Contorno

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many recent environmental politics and environmental behavior studies have attempted to explain the variation in individuals’ environmental attitudes by means of their personal values. This piece enters into the recent debate that has developed around the dichotomous ideologies of cosmopolitanism and patriotism and their relationship to environmentalism, arguing that individuals with cosmopolitan values are more likely to exhibit concern for environmental issues than those with patriotic values. Through an analysis of regression models for seven Western industrialized nations, this study confirms a positive correlation between cosmopolitan values and environmentalism. The explanatory power of cosmopolitanism was greater than that of social …


Keep It Clean? How Negative Campaigns Affect Voter Turnout, Hannah Griffin Jul 2012

Keep It Clean? How Negative Campaigns Affect Voter Turnout, Hannah Griffin

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study examines the effects of negative political campaigns on voter turnout over the last 10 years. Voter turnout in the United States is extremely low in comparison to other advanced industrialized nations, and the negativity that surrounds our elections may be the key to understanding why. The study is also a response to recent scholarship with conflicting conclusions on how the tone of campaigns affects the electorate. The independent variable in this study is the degree of campaign negativity, as perceived by voters. It is measured by state exit poll responses over the past 10 years, and its effect …


Author's Biographies Jul 2012

Author's Biographies

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.


Editors' Introduction, Laura Gaffey, Lauren Contorno Jul 2012

Editors' Introduction, Laura Gaffey, Lauren Contorno

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.


Letter From The Department Chair, James Simeone Jul 2012

Letter From The Department Chair, James Simeone

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.


Table Of Contents Jul 2012

Table Of Contents

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.


Res Publica Xvii Jul 2012

Res Publica Xvii

Res Publica - Journal of Undergraduate Research

Complete copy of the 2012 volume of Res Publica.


The Personality Of Policy Preferences: Analyzing The Relationship Between Meyers-Briggs Personality Types And Political Views, Tracy Lytwyn, Tari Renner, Faculty Advisor Apr 2012

The Personality Of Policy Preferences: Analyzing The Relationship Between Meyers-Briggs Personality Types And Political Views, Tracy Lytwyn, Tari Renner, Faculty Advisor

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference

No abstract provided.


Responsibility, Michael Christison Feb 2012

Responsibility, Michael Christison

The Intellectual Standard

In our society there is a systematic failure to recognize certain cru­cial principles about the human condition, especially by those in positions of power. Parents and policy-makers alike focus too greatly on removing personal responsibility and too little on allowing it. The result is a gradual removal of the individual's authority as the arbiter of his or her own life. Part of the reason for this problem is that "responsibility" as a concept has become somewhat ambiguous, and thus, it has become misunderstood. Reaching a solution requires the clarification of what responsibility is and an understanding of why it is …


North Korean Intentions And The American Response, Jake K. Bates Feb 2012

North Korean Intentions And The American Response, Jake K. Bates

The Intellectual Standard

News stations across the world reported on December 17, 2011 about the death of a man referred to as Guiding Sun Ray, Glorious General Who Descended from Heaven, Highest Incarnation of the Revolutionary Comradely Love, and Savior. Better known as Kim Jong-II, he had been recognized as Supreme Leader by North Korea's constitution since July 1994. Headlines internationally speculated that his death may cause a dra­matic shift in the policies and nature of the North Korean government (Fox News, 2011). Following the state funeral for Kim Jong-II on December 29, the deceased's youngest son, Kim Jong-Un, became Supreme Leader. The …


Tunnel Vision: A Problem In Academics, Nick A. Nichols Feb 2012

Tunnel Vision: A Problem In Academics, Nick A. Nichols

The Intellectual Standard

Inspiration is just as important to scientists as it is to artists. Ein­stein's theories of special relativity were famously drawn from his boyhood question, "What would riding upon a beam of light be like?" Archime­des came to his famous eureka moment, and uncovered the principle of buoyancy, in a bath. Without moments of inspiration like these, humanity would not have made the progress that it has. Taking a broad view of the world has historically been a large part of the academic world; however, there is still a constant struggle with academic tunnel vision. When one becomes obsessed with a …