Political Science Commons^™

Underground Railroads And Coyote Conductors: Brokering Clandestine Passages, Then And Now, Noelle K. Brigden

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

This article juxtaposes the Underground Railroad with contemporary Central American smuggling practices. Activists in the US Sanctuary Movement, seeking to provide safe passage to the USA for Central American refugees, summon the legacy of the Underground Railroad as a normative frame for understanding their mission. In the original Underground Railroad, a loose network of ‘conductors’ ushered escaped slaves north to freedom. In contrast to immigrant rights activists and slavery abolitionists, for-profit smugglers have been vilified as violent predators. Nevertheless, surprising similarities in social practices and relationships that underpin such dramatically different cases of migration brokerage point to the contingencies, complexities …

The Rhode Island Earned Income Tax Credit: History And Analysis, Andrew Boardman

Senior Honors Projects

This paper offers a comprehensive political history of the Rhode Island Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and an analysis of Rhode Island EITC recipients. It explores the history of the Rhode Island EITC, an income subsidy available to low-income workers, from its introduction in 1975 through 2018. It details the forces behind expansions and reforms and the effects of those changes. It also analyzes microdata to construct a profile of current EITC recipients. This paper concludes that the Rhode Island EITC has historically been viewed as both a poverty alleviation program and an incentive for labor market work. The Rhode …

Criminal Justice Systems: Impacts That Transcend Borders & Prison Bars, Erika Yeager

Senior Honors Projects

Historically, the concepts of criminal justice and punishment have been core facets of many societies and cultures. The evolution of crime and punishment is unique in different places across the world and across cultures. The incarceration of individuals across the globe has turned into an epidemic; according to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research, there are almost 10.4 million individuals imprisoned around the world (“Global Prison Trends” 7). By researching this political and sociological phenomenon, more insight is gained into the tangible impacts systemic models of criminal justice have on societies and countries as a whole. These individualized systems and …

Terrorism In The Modern Day, Michael Ricker

Senior Honors Projects

Terrorism has long plagued the global community in its goal of achieving sustained peace and security. Through the decades, terrorist groups have had varying levels of success in achieving political goals and realizing their groups ultimate objective(s). In addition, there have been a multitude of prominent ideologies in terrorist groups that have proved impressionable throughout modern history. This article aims to determine if certain ideological groups are more effective than others in achieving their goals and whether terror groups exploit certain ideologies or, conversely, if certain ideologies produce terrorism. By conducting a comparative case study of published research and utilizing …

Protest And Religion: An Overview, Yasemin Akbaba

Political Science Faculty Publications

After decades-long neglect, a growing body of scholarship is studying religious components of protests. Religion’s role as a facilitator, the religious perspective of protesters, the goals of religious actors as participants, and faith-based outcomes of protests have been examined using quantitative and qualitative methodology. Although it is now a thriving research field, due to recent contributions, incorporating faith-based variables in protest research is a challenging task since religion travels across different levels of analysis; effortlessly merges with thick concepts such as individual and collective identity; and takes different shapes and color when it surfaces in various social contexts across the …

Embryo Litigation : The Legal Categorization Of Embryos As Protected Humans Or Property, Caroline Koboska

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This thesis explores the issue of the unknown legal status of frozen embryos in the United States. With an examination of the issue through the discipline of law, it becomes evident that the lack of legislation and guidance on the issue has left it a matter up to the states, rather than the federal government. Central to the issue is the history and laws of abortion in the United States that can help provide precedent. The thesis examines embryos in light of property law, contract law, and family law. Also included is a review of embryos through a second discipline …

Analyzing The Necessity To Modify Standardized Test Statutes, Ashley Hernandez

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In recent years, standardized tests have been challenged by many academic scholars, legal journalists, psychologists and scientific researchers. They claim these tests are an arbitrary form of measuring academic success. Across many grade levels, from elementary to graduate school, there has been concern over the efficacy of these tests. Yet, many neglect to consider the benefits of standardized testing and the reasons why they were implemented and continue. Many educational systems have made standardized tests optional to combat issues of regarding arbitrary content, bias and discrimination. Yet, as those pushing for standardized test reform continue to suggest otherwise, there is …

“Liberation From What?”: French Muslim Women’S Bodies As A Site Of National Boundaries And Identity, Mae H. Stuart

Honors Theses

This thesis examines how dominant French discursive frames conceptualize Muslim and French-Algerian women's gender performance as related to their level of assimilation into France politically and socially. It examines how these modern discursive derive from colonial sentiments and policies towards Muslim Algerian women. Then, I outlines the specific frames used in discussion of French-Muslim women's bodies and consider the international and national political contexts in which these frames developed. Finally, the thesis presents four interviews that I conducted in June 2018 with French-Algerian women, providing them a space to respond to elite framings of their decisions about how to present …

The Role Of The International Non-Governmental Organizations (Ingo) In Humanitarian Intervention – A Case Study Of The Ifrc Cash Transfer Program In Malawi, Olabode George Igandan

Graduate Masters Theses

While Cash Transfer Programs (CTP) has been used to address a variety of social problems, as of yet, there is limited literature on the efficacy of cash transfers in ensuring food security. This study aims to fill this vacuum by investigating the circumstances under which cash transfers are effective in ensuring food security. Malawi, the selected country for this study, provides a useful platform of research because the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) implemented this policy there. More specifically, this study aims at investigating the extent to which the IFRC CTP was effective in ensuring …

Humanitarian Aid Logistics: Response Strategies In The 2015 Refugee Crisis, Molly O'Connell

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Humanitarian aid logistics is an emerging field that applies principles of supply chain management and logistics to the humanitarian relief sector. This thesis explores humanitarian aid logistics strategies in the context of the 2015 Refugee Crisis. An unprecedented number of refugees sought asylum in Europe beginning in 2015, where European officials and humanitarian organizations were largely unprepared to provide for them. The 2015 Refugee Crisis offers a unique perspective on humanitarian aid logistics because it requires both short-term and long-term response strategies. Through the framework of management science, a subfield of supply chain management, and logistics, this thesis creates a …

Neoliberalism: A Populist Crisis Of Conscience, Ryan Mullins

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

The following paper examines the relationship between Populism and Neoliberalism in the early 21^st century in the U.S. Through the lens of a historical-structural analysis, it tests the hypothesis set forth by authors David Harvey, Dawson Barrett, and John B. Judis that the prominence of Populism in the 2016 election cycle could not be explained without the phenomenon of Neoliberalism in the U.S. To accomplish this, it examines the rise of income inequality and Neoliberal globalization and uses statistical and polling data to determine whether these variables were related to Neoliberalism and whether voters reacted to them in 2016. …

How Will The Restoration Of Ex-Felons’ Voting Rights In Florida Affect Their Citizenship?, Rebecca Spraggins

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Definitions of citizenship in the United States require discussions about political, civil, and social rights. In Florida, over 1.5 million ex-felons experience challenges in defining their citizenship because they have been stripped of their right to vote. However, Florida’s Amendment 4 could positively impact ex-felon citizenship by automatically restoring ex-felons’ voting rights after completing their sentences. Survey data showing approval of ex-felon enfranchisement and interviews of ex-felons barred from voting provide the information used to make claims about how voting rights will affect ex-felons’ citizenship. In this paper, theoretical analyses of the data presented to suggest that public opinion supports …

Sun, Sea, And Sand: U.S. Militarism And Tourism In The Philippines, Anna Strait

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This study explores the complex relationship between U.S. militarism and tourism in the Philippines. The tourism perspective that is prominent throughout challenges the equality of the military partnership between the U.S. and the Philippines. This study analyses the history of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines, starting with the colonial era at the turn of the twentieth century. Assessing infrastructure—its past and ongoing development—reveals itself as a significant connection between militarism and tourism—mobility. Ultimately, this study of the relationship between U.S. militarism and tourism provides a better understanding of the future impacts of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement—a 2016 …

The Effects Of Gender And Apology On Evaluations Of Political Misconduct, Julia Trainor

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

In American politics, elected officials often engage in transgressions that result in scandals. This thesis presents the results of an experiment testing how a politician's gender and the issuance or lack of an apology affect voters' evaluations of elected officials engrossed in a financial scandal. An experiment with 530 participants shows that politicians who apologize for financial misconduct are evaluated more favorably than politicians who do not apologize. In addition, the elected official's gender does not affect evaluations, and male candidates who apologized are not favored over women candidates who apologized. However, women respondents believed female candidates who did not …

What’S To Blame And Whose Voices Are Heard: How The New York Times Covers School Shootings, Lindsay Jensen Finman

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This study examines how The New York Times covered the Newtown, Connecticut and Parkland, Florida school shootings, with specific attention to whose voices are heard and how media attention changes over time. A content analysis of 576 New York Times articles found that more articles were published on the Newtown shooting than on the Parkland shooting. In the first six months of coverage for both shootings, politicians were quoted more often than victims or parents, and stories largely discussed the shooting using a thematic frame; focusing on the issue of gun control. The evidence also suggests that activist-planned events helped …

A Comparative Analysis Between The Voting Patterns Of Csumb Students And Nationwide Voters, Ages 18-24, Selena Corona

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this capstone is to evaluate if CSUMB students, ages 18-24, follow the historically low voting and low voter registration patterns of other U.S. voters, ages 18-24. The study will draw on the theory of political information efficacy in order to analyze why young voters, ages 18-24, are less likely to vote in federal and state elections. My methodology for this study included using both qualitative and quantitative methods. I created an online survey to critically analyze why young adults from 18 to 24 years old vote in significantly fewer numbers than voters over the age of 64. …

Democratization And Democratic Peace., Sarah K. Simon

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between previous regime and democratization success to evaluate the impact of prior government system on a country’s transition to a democratic system of government. I use the Polity Project IV Democracy values for countries that democratized between 1978 and 2000 and identify the type of government as presidential or parliamentary to facilitate a bivariate analysis of democracy score and type of government prior to democratization. The chi-square test found the correlation to be statistically significant and I used case studies to show implications of unconsolidated democracies on the Democratic Peace …

Perceptions Of The North American Free Trade Agreement And Mexican Migration: “What Is The Relationship Between Trade Liberalization And Labor Mobility?”, Colin Gonzalez

Political Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

In an effort to understand the effectiveness of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the author uses previous academic literature to assesses the success of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s primary and peripheral goals. To understand how North American citizens, perceive NAFTA and their future relationship with one another, the author uses survey data to analyze attitudes of American and Mexican citizens towards trade liberalization (NAFTA) and labor mobility. Regression analysis reveals that there is a positive relationship between labor mobility and trade liberalization for Mexican citizens but not for American citizens. This is a significant finding that contributes …

Haynes' "The Battle For Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship In The Age Of Trump" (Book Review), Craig Rosenbeck

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Online Political Participation: Evaluation Of The Changing Effects Over Time, Gabriel Davis May

Master's Theses

The internet is a political participation medium that has been subject to constant changes. Just since 2008, there has been a significant increase in the amount of people who use the internet for political purposes. Building on the work of Brian Kruger and others I evaluate whether the internet brings new participants into the political process or if the internet only "reinforces" those who already participate. I utilize data from recent American National Election Studies to employ an ordinary least-squares regression model for recent presidential election years and assess whether the internet has brought new participants into the political fray …

The Emerging Millennial Majority, Kendra Kitchens

Honors Theses

This thesis operates under the framework of two theories: the realignment theory and the generational theory. I focus on a model of realignment developed by Arthur Paulson which determines three criteria that are necessary for a political realignment to occur: 1.) a new governing coalition, which is 2.) lasting and durable with 3.) a new policy agenda. A realignment can be driven by various factors, one of which being through generational replacement. Generational change can lead to a realignment when a new generation of voters emerges with unique political views that are likely to remain over time and cause the …

Dumbing Down?: Trends In The Complexity Of Political Communication, Kenneth Benoit, Kevin Munger, Arthur Spirling

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Commentators and some political scholars claim to have observed a “dumbing down” in the level of sophistication of political language, leading to anxiety over the quality of democratic deliberation, knowledge, policy design, and implementation. This work typically focuses on the president’s State of the Union addresses. Using quantitative indicators of textual complexity, we measure trends since 1790 in that and other key political corpora, including rulings of the Supreme Court, the Congressional Record, and presidential executive orders. To draw comparative lessons, we also study political texts from the United Kingdom, in the form of party broadcasts and manifestos. Not only …

The Miracle Of Medellín’S Social Urbanism, Carlos A. Mesa

Honors Thesis

Over the last three decades, Medellín, Colombia has undergone a profound urban transformation, evolving from being labeled the “murder capital of the world” to earning global recognition as one of the most innovative cities. This transformation is largely attributed to the Medellín Urban Development Model (MUDM), which integrates social urbanism with strategic public transportation investments to promote human and sustainable development. This research examines the core elements of Medellín’s innovative development process, asking what makes the model successful and whether it can be replicated in other urban contexts.

Central to Medellín’s transformation is the creation of a multidimensional, integrated public …

Students’ Willingness To Extend Civil Liberties To Disliked Groups, Ninasimone Edwards

Honors Theses

There have been a variety of studies that sought to measure political tolerance and public attitudes. These studies have varied in that some focused on specific groups (such as Communists or atheists) that tolerance was measured against, and others allowed respondents to choose from a list of political groups. Sullivan et. al (1979) focused on the public, with respondents given the choice of choosing their least-liked groups for the measurement of tolerance. This study uses questions utilized in the Sullivan et. al study, as well as national GSS/NORC surveys, to measure political tolerance and public attitudes among college students. There …

The Legal Status Of Personhood In The Wake Of Genetic Editing, Tessa C. Ross

Honors Theses

Policies and laws regarding human health require continual examination as technologies improve, and genetic editing technologies that have the ability to modify a person’s DNA are unquestionably relevant to examine. The technologies most intriguing to investigate are those with the ability to directly edit the nuclear genes (segments of DNA within the nucleus of cells) through techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 and Cpf1. This study intends to answer the questions of how should policy develop to accommodate for the improving medical technology of genetic editing and how could genetic editing technologies affect the legal status of personhood for the purposes of …

Representation And Restraint : Cross-National Analysis Of Fractionalization And State-Building., David Lian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study seeks to understand the relationships between democracy, ethnic-linguistic-religious (ELR) fractionalizations and state-building. The speed of a country’s economic recovery from war is used as proxy to determine the state-building process. Using Cox PH model, I conducted a large sample hazard analysis of 107 conflicts, having polity and ELR as explanatory variables. I found that competitiveness of political participation and executive constraints are associated with state-recovery while ethno-linguistic fractionalizations have the reverse effect. I propose that the institutional feedback process is equal to the product of negative executive power centralization and representation minus fractionalization; as in F = – …

Religion And Third Parties: The 2016 Presidential Election In Utah, Nathan Lee Osborne

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Third parties in the United States face a litany of obstacles to electoral success. Duverger’s Law explains that single-member, plurality-based elections will favor a two party system. However, on rare occasion a third party candidate is able to do abnormally well, even winning elections on occasion. Evan McMullin presents a unique success story among third party campaigns. He is without the name recognition, strong financial backing, or political experience that most successful third party candidates have. Despite these challenges, he became the second most successful third party presidential candidate in the history of the state of Utah. Evan McMullin’s success …

The Clash Of Civilizations? Statistical Evidence From Armed Conflicts, 1989-2015, Afa'anwi M. Che

Peace and Conflict Studies

Do armed conflicts in the contemporary post-Cold War period reflect a clash of civilizations (CoC) as predicted by Samuel Huntington? This study substantially broadens and temporally extends the scope of major extant quantitative tests of the CoC thesis by assessing not only interactions among states but also interactions between states and non-state armed groups, from 1989 to 2015. Based on Chi-square and logistic regression tests, this study does not find empirical support for the CoC thesis as a basis for adopting foreign policies of civilizational containment.

The Purple Wave: Gender And Electoral Outcomes In The 2018 Midterms, Semilla B. Stripp

Political Science Honors Projects

This thesis offers an analysis of the relationship between gender and electoral outcomes in the 2018 midterm elections. What role did gender play in the success of candidates for the House of Representatives? In answering this question, I quantify women’s success by analyzing the extent to which female candidates’ vote shares can be attributed to their gender. I find that, while controlling for various electoral and biographical factors, female challengers and open seat candidates performed better than their male counterparts, while female incumbents had no advantage over male incumbents. These outcomes also divided along party lines, with Democratic women performing …

Financial Socialization And Its Effects On Food Insecurity Among College Students, Jamie Morrissey

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

College students are not a population the general public would consider food insecure; however, food insecurity while in college can have lasting effects that impact society as a whole. This study examines the effects of financial socialization on college students’ ability to cope with, or mitigate, food insecurity while they are pursuing their education. The methods employed to study this relationship includes a survey and simulation of real-life situations to measure how a student prioritizes their social life, finances and food, as well as how the students were financially socialized and their previous and current food insecurity status. The results …