Political Science Commons^™

The Future Of Family-Operated Resort-Destinations, Colton L. Casselman

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The tourism industry, one of the largest in the world, is arguably one of the most volatile industries we look at. Through the varying sub-sectors of tourism, we narrow in on the family resort industry, predominately in the upper Midwest. You may hear me refer to them as Family-Operated-Resort-Destinations, but they serve unique clientele in a unique way. This industry faces immense pressure from mild tax code changes, politicians, DNR regulations, fishing quality, climate change, gas prices, foreign affairs and more. During this paper, I will examine the future of Family-Operated-Resort-Destinations.

Water Remunicipalization: Insights And Policy Implications From Atlanta, Georgia Case Study, David L. Fretz

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper investigates the ways in which water remunicipalization and the natural right to clean drinking water has affected the livelihood of the population of Atlanta, Georgia. Looking at the failures of water privatization efforts across the globe within the context of the ecosystem resources that water provides, I show in chapter 1 that the privatization of water is antithetical to the core goals of water supply, and an increasingly pressing issue as climate change produces increasing water scarcity. In chapter 2, I analyze the efforts of utility privatization in general through the lens of political science, both in motivations, …

Facebook Algorithm Changes May Have Amplified Local Republican Parties, Kevin Reuning, Anne Whitesell, A. Lee Hannah

Political Science Faculty Publications

In this research note we document changes to the rate of comments, shares, and reactions on local Republican Facebook pages. Near the end of 2018, local Republican parties started to see a much higher degree of interactions on their posts compared to local Democratic parties. We show how this increase in engagement was unique to Facebook and happened across a range of over a thousand local parties. In addition, we use a changepoint model to identify when the change happened and find it lines up with reported information about the change in Facebook’s algorithm in 2018. We conclude that it …

Res Historica, Volume 1, Lynneth Miller Renberg Phd, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta

Res Historica

The inaugural journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg, Hunter Curlee, and Johnathan Sorce. Cover art for this volume is the Phi Alpha Theta: Alpha Rho Epsilon logo created by Dr. Lynneth Miller Renberg.

The Effects Of Partisan Framing On Covid-19 Attitudes: Experimental Evidence From Early And Late Pandemic, Amber Wichowsky, Meghan Condon

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

Political polarization has dominated news coverage of Americans’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this research note, we report findings from two experimental studies, in which we present respondents with news stories about COVID-19 mitigation measures that emphasize partisan difference or accord. The stories present the same numeric facts about public opinion, but highlight either the partisan gap that existed at the time of the study, or the fact that large majorities of both Republicans and Democrats supported the measures at the time. Results from our first study, conducted late April 2020, show that a media frame drawing attention to …

Court Legitimacy & The Shadow Docket, Colton J. Tilley

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Envisioning Telehealth Beyond The Pandemic: A Federally Qualified Health Center’S Inquiry Toward Sustainable Telehealth Programs, Krista Zampacorta

Capstone Projects – Politics and Government

There has been a growing interest in telehealth, as the practice has shown to alleviate barriers and improve healthcare access. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, organizations have deployed prompt integration of telehealth services to slow the spread of the virus. This spurred widespread adoption of telehealth. In addition, the pandemic evoked stable interest in telehealth among patients, healthcare professionals, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Chestnut Health Systems, an FQHC operating in the Midwest, deployed an Illinois State University Stevenson Center Fellow to investigate how the organization may deploy larger-scale efforts and contingency plans into the care of patients during …

Legalization Of Recreational Marijuana In Louisiana, Edward Chervenak, Anthony Licciardi

Survey Research Center Publications

The University of New Orleans’ Survey Research Center (SRC) conducted a live interviewer statewide survey asking Louisiana registered voters whether they favored or opposed the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana.

Job Approval Ratings For Governor John Bel Edwards, Us Senator John Kennedy, And Us Senator Bill Cassidy, Edward Chervenak, Anthony Licciardi

Survey Research Center Publications

The University of New Orleans’ Survey Research Center (SRC) conducted a live interviewer telephone survey of 325 registered voters in the state of Louisiana. We asked respondents to rate the job performance of Governor John Bel Edwards. We also inquired into how respondents perceived the job performance of the state’s two US Senators, John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy.

Mental Health In Massachusetts Prisons, Jeffrey Yung

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

In November of last year, former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division released the findings of an investigation of the Massachusetts Department of Corrections (MDOC). They found several violations of prisoner’ constitutionals rights for mental health cases under the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments for criminal defendants. The findings reveal a lack of structured mental health care for MDOC prisoners, untrained employees, and unnecessary abuse of restrictive housing for prisoners designated under a mental health watch program.

The Curvilinear Relationship Between Political Terror And Internal Armed Conflict, Lilian A. Morrell

Student Publications

I examine the relationship between political terror and the annual incidence of internal armed conflict. Studies have found that other factors associated with violence have a curvilinear relationship to internal conflict, including regime type, GDP, and ethnic fractionalization. I seek to find if political terror has a significant impact on instances of conflict and, more particularly, whether a curvilinear relationship exists between these two variables. I hypothesize that the relationship will be significant and in the shape of an inverse U. If a country uses no political terror, or extensive political terror, then the number of internal armed conflicts will …

The Impact Of Women And Intersectionality On Bill Success In State Legislatures, Maggie Lowrey

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Thousands of bills are introduced in state legislatures every year and there are a multitude of reasons as to why some of those bills become law and some do not. Female sponsorship and the intersectionality of female sponsors are the focus of my research. Previous research has found variable impact of these characteristics; however, little work has been done on the combined effects of race, gender, and partisanship on bill passage rate. I tested these ideas on bills that were introduced to state legislatures of forty states in 2015 from the Harvard Dataverse¹. By applying differing factors of …

The Dilemma Of Banned Books: Questioning The Ethics Of Censoring Literature In Schools, Kyle King

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

Literature, specifically in the form of novels, has been a vital organ of the public education system within the United States. Not only does reading such works transform us into better close readers and strengthen our vocabulary, but the texts at hand can be very essential to analyze specific contexts or issues that might have existed either throughout history or even in the present day. In today’s country, the issue of banning certain books from school curricula has become as prevalent as ever, where mostly Southern Republican officials are calling for lists of books to be restricted from teaching due …

A Document Analysis Of Political Rhetoric In 2021-22 South Dakota Higher Education, Carson M. Sehr

Honors Thesis

This study is a document analysis in an attempt to understand political rhetoric from four main players from the end of the 2021 South Dakota Legislative Session to the end of the 2022 Legislative Session. These four players are 1) Governor Noem, 2) the Board of Regents, 3) the South Dakota Legislature, and 4) the Argus Leader. One-hundred eight documents from these sources were analyzed, and deemed “rhetorically political” by presence of the phrases “fairness in women’s sports,” “critical race theory,” or “opportunity center,” or deemed “rhetorically apolitical” by the absence of these phrases. The rates of rhetorically political documents, …

Implications Of Youth Education On Intrastate Conflict: The Relevance Of Postmaterialism, Anthony (Sungho) Choi

Student Publications

The concept of postmaterialism posits that individuals who are born in an economically and socially secure environment tend to be more open to changes in their societies and accepting of different values among individuals compared to those who are materialists (i.e., individuals who tend to value security, affluence, and strong law and order more in comparison to postmaterialists). Postmaterialism is associated with individuals who are more educated and have access to different educational opportunities, given the existence of economic stability in postmaterialist societies. Focusing on the role of postmaterialist values, I analyze the relationship between educational attainment among youths and …

Young Unemployed People Rebel: A Political Economy Law Or Assumption?, Lacey L. Weynand

Student Publications

In this paper, I investigate the validity of the widely held assumption that high rates of youth unemployment will lead a state to experience internal armed conflict. I hypothesize that as youth unemployment rates increase, a state will have a larger number of internal armed conflicts occur annually. This can happen via three causal mechanisms: 1) opportunity cost calculations; 2) private frustrations, resentment, and feelings of stagnation turning into public grievances; 3) and emotional and psychological triggers leading to participation in violent insurgent activities. I find that while youth unemployment does have a statistically significant influence on the number of …

The Relationship Between State Capacity And Internal Armed Conflict, Rodrigo L. Cotto-Abreu

Student Publications

This paper seeks to evaluate the impact that state capacity has had on the annual incidences of internal armed conflicts in the post-WWII period. This paper proposes that the state’s coercive, administrative, and extractive capabilities are the most effective tools at its disposal when attempting to decrease the likelihood of the onset of internal civil conflict. This paper hypothesizes that the higher the level of state capacity in a given nation-state is, the lower the number or occurrences of internal armed conflict will be. The key finding this paper presents is a statistically significant result linking state capacity to the …

Compulsory Voting And Corruption In Latin America, Jonathan Dumdei

Senior Honors Theses

Among modern democracies, compulsory voting (CV) is institutionalized most prevalently in Latin America. Latin American politics have a long, turbulent history, and governments in the region have some of the highest rates of political corruption in the world among democracies, especially electoral fraud. This study investigates the connection between these two phenomena. Secondary empirical quantitative and qualitative research of political and cultural behavior are analyzed according to a rational choice theory decision paradigm. Demographic, experimental, and theoretical data regarding the effects of CV laws are considered in light of possible incentives and disincentives for engaging in vote-buying. This study inductively …

An Evaluation Of The Marxist Paradigm In Comparison To A Biblical Worldview: The Case Of Venezuela, Jonathan Riddick

Senior Honors Theses

This research was conducted to address the pressing paradigmatic split in modern American society between Marxism and Christian governing principles. The prevailing concept that governed this research is that Marxism degrades governments and societies and is inherently destructive. The exposition of Marxism’s deconstructive character transpires in this research by comparing the implementation of Marxist principles in Venezuela to the application of biblical principles in the United States. A brief historical context of Marxism and Christianity is considered alongside each worldview’s values and implementation of such values. Each worldview’s foundation is then evaluated by an investigation into Venezuela’s utilization of Marxist …

Women's Representation And Its Impact On Global Female Physical Security, Sydnee D. Pottebaum

Honors Thesis

The historic marginalization of women has left gaps in women’s representation and has damaged the level of protection afforded to women around the world. By examining the origins of female marginalization inside and outside of politics and female legislative behavior and style, I argue that the percentage of seats held by women in government conditionally impacts global female physical security. This study examines the impact of the percentage of seats held by women in the lower house (or single house) of government in 2010 on physical security. Physical security is operationalized into six dependent variables: the homicide rate among females, …

2nd Place Contest Entry: Student Governance During The Free Speech Movement, Philip Goodrich

Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize

This is Philip Goodrich's submission for the 2022 Kevin and Tam Ross Undergraduate Research Prize, which won second place. It contains their essay on using library resources, their bibliography, and a summary of their research project on student governance during the free speech movement.

Philip is a fourth-year student at Chapman University, majoring in History and Political Science. Their faculty mentor is Dr. Alexander Bay.

Ukrainian Women: Victims Of Putin's War And Sex Industry Predators, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Žene Iz Ukrajine: Žrtve Putinovog Rata I Predatora Seks-Industrije, Dona M. Hjuz

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Temporary Protection Schemes: The Role Of Mexico’S Tvrh In Reproducing Precarity Among Central American Migrants, Carla Angulo-Pasel

Political Science Faculty Publications

Using Mexico’s Tarjeta de Visitante por Razones Humanitarias (TVRH) as a primary case study, this article examines how states can use temporary protection schemes as border security measures while claiming to provide protection. Although the TVRH offers a legal pathway and status to move within Mexico, it equally restricts certain rights due to its temporary nature. It becomes a form of differential inclusion by which the state has the right to be able to “exclude and define the limits” of a particular population but also claim inclusion on humanitarian grounds. Despite the claim of protecting migrants, the application of this …

Nation Branding: The Case For Marketing Strategy In International Relations, Brooke Boan

Senior Theses

This thesis seeks to address the concept of nation branding and how states can use marketing strategies for international relations gains. Using a literature review of relevant concepts and trends in international relations, including soft power, public diplomacy, and cultural diffusion, the connection between marketing strategies and foreign policy trends become clear. An analysis of nation branding, its origins, applications, and challenges, provides insight into an up-and-coming area of international relations. Specific country case studies were chosen to examine the real-world results of nation branding including the shortcomings and future opportunities. The case of Japan shows how a country can …

Monuments Of Folly: The Persistence Of He Lost Cause At The University Of South Carolina, Sean Dedmon

Senior Theses

The recent controversies surrounding the Confederate flag and Confederate monuments has sparked increased interest understanding why many people, particularly in the South, celebrate the Confederate States of America. This thesis seeks to better understand the motivations and emotions behind the persistence of the Lost Cause among students at the University of South Carolina. This study utilizes both deep textual readings and sentiment analysis to analyze student-published newspaper articles printed in The Gamecock from 1960-2006 and survey responses from current University of South Carolina students to capture the scope and history of belief in the Lost Cause at the University of …

"Courts And State-Building: The Welsh Marcher Lordships And The Somali Union Of Islamic Courts," Polity 54(2): 197--25., Zachary C. Shirkey

Publications and Research

This article examines the roles of courts in state-building and aims to bring the state-building literature into deeper conversation with institutional approaches to the study of courts. Doing so highlights that courts can play important roles in state-building including extracting revenue, coercing subjects, and generating legitimacy for the state by justly adjudicating disputes. Of these, courts’ extractive role has been especially understudied. Yet, courts can raise significant sums through fees, fines, and confiscating property, particularly in less-developed states. These three roles of courts in state-building are explored in two highly disparate cases: the medieval Welsh Marcher lordships and the Union …

The Influence Of The Thirty-Six Stratagems On Chinese Strategy In The Diaoyu Islands, Brent Schuliger

Senior Honors Theses

The Diaoyu Islands are a small, uninhabited archipelago in the East China Sea which has begun increasing in strategic significance due to its advantageous location near Taiwan and along the First Island Chain. The islands are currently under Japanese administration, but the People’s Republic of China considers them historically Chinese and contests Japan’s claim to the islands. A careful examination of China’s actions in challenging Japan’s rule over the Diaoyus reveals the influence of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, a tome of ancient Chinese military wisdom which provides a framework onto which China’s current strategy corresponds. This thesis examines the historical …

The Effect Of Gendered Scandals On The Passage Of Women’S Issues Legislation: Louisiana State University Title Ix Failures And The Elimination Of The Pink Tax, Rebecca Norton

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Unofficial Torturers And Helpless Victims: Applying The Convention Against Torture To Organized Criminal Groups, Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since its inception, the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) conceived torture as a state crime. The Convention established a so-called “state-nexus” that effectively excludes torture committed by non-state actors. The Committee Against Torture as well as the world’s major anti-torture NGOs have almost exclusively focused on ill-treatment perpetrated by state entities. Yet, there have been efforts to extend the definition to private actors, including the “de facto authority” approach, and the due diligence doctrine. This article explores the effectiveness of these efforts to expand the scope of the UNCAT when applied to organized criminal organization such as gangs and …