Political Science Commons^™

The Impacts Of Daca On Migrant Children And Young Adults And What Actions Should Be Taken, Kylie Harris

Undergraduate Research Competition

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was presented at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and ruled that the implementation of the program was illegal. Over the past 10 years DACA has affected it’s recipients and their families in many ways. It is a positive force for the recipients, their families, as well as the United States’ economy. Although, with the uncertainty between presidential offices and politics surrounding the program, it has impaired the community. The statistics provided is data based on DACA recipients from Mexico between the ages of 18-30 as they make up about 80% of …

Refugee Arrivals In The Mountain West, Fy 2021-2022, Saha Salahi, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Demography

This fact sheet explores data on the influx of refugee arrivals by nation to the Mountain West region: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Refugee Processing Center data, selected from annual reports and limited to the years 2021-2022, are presented in this factsheet.

Categorizing Written Responses With A Dictionary Approach, Maxime St-Jean

Reports

No abstract provided.

What Doesn’T Kill You Makes You Stronger: The Shifting Strategies Of Japan’S Yakuza In Response To Economic Globalization And Securitization, Benjamin P. Murkison

Honors College Theses

The Yakuza in Japan is a deeply traditional and infamous ethnic mafia, which has historically based their profits off of the protection of gambling rings and street vendors, but have developed into one of the most sophisticated and wealthy criminal institutions in the world. Reaching their peak in the 1960’s with around 200,000 members, the Yakuza has been in a slow decline ever since. However, the past decade has seen the most dramatic drop in Yakuza numbers in recorded history, as a result of increasing securitization by the Japanese state. As their power has declined within Japan, they have only …

Expanding Carceral Frontiers: The 100-Mile Border Zone And Constituting Latinx Political Subjectivity, Elyse Y. Hatch-Rivera

Political Science Honors Projects

The thesis has two interrelated concerns. The first explores the emergence of the 100-mile border zone in order to study how the U.S. has expanded its borders inward and redefined notions of national security and carcerality. The second will define the 100-mile border as a carceral frontier that has emerged from previous years of racial security operations such as “Operation Wetback” in 1953. Moreover, I will demonstrate how the 100-mile border zone, a carceral frontier, blends the logic of security and the carceral in order to create a space of total state control. This inward turn of the 100-mile border …

Enhancing Electoral Research In Canada: Feedback From Electoral Management Bodies And Researchers On Key Issues For Canadian Electoral Research, Katie Campbell

Reports

No abstract provided.

How Many Students Are In Long-Distance Relationships?, Paul A. Djupe

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Intercorrelations Between Essentialist Beliefs And Religious, Political, And National Identities, Truman Deree

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Research on essentialist beliefs has largely focused on a few identities associated with biological traits that have socially constructed significance and meanings placed on them (e.g., skin color for race or voice pitch for gender). Identities that are more choice-based (e.g., religion or politics) or otherwise non-physical (e.g., nationality) have been underrepresented in research on essentialism. The concept of essentialism is important because the action of regarding natural biological factors as immutable and determinant has been found to lead to racial and political discrimination. The current study surveyed participants on their national, religious, and political beliefs to investigate the relationships …

The Rise Of Agenda Diversity In America: Its Cause And Consequences, John K. Wagner

Political Science ETDs

More than ever, Americans disagree on what issues are important. This diversity in the public agenda has received scant attention in recent years. Consequently, our understanding of why agenda diversity developed relies on a single analysis method, and we know next to nothing about the consequences for the American polity. Using a novel approach to measuring agenda diversity and an advanced experimental design, this dissertation demonstrates the causal connection between issue-based selective exposure to news and higher agenda diversity. Concerning its consequences, this work investigates congressional responsiveness. Results from a complex analysis of constituency public opinion, Congress bill sponsorship, and …

Congressional Oversight Of U.S. Government Programs, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Provides detailed overview of how the U.S. Congress conducts oversight of federal agency programs. Contents include a letter from a member of Congress to an agency head concerning an environmental development in Indiana, information on the foundations of congressional oversight, details on how Congress may require agency reports on various subjects in public laws, an example of a congressionally mandated report by the Department of Defense, documentation of congressional funding of individual federal agencies, examples of congressional committee hearings, congressional committee issuance of oversight and investigative reports which may include dissenting opinions, Congressional Budget Office cost estimates on congressional committee …

Bans Off All Bodies, Emily Davis Ryalls

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Blending Reproductive Justice Into General Education Courses, Ophra Leyser-Whalen, Adelle D. Monteblanco

Feminist Pedagogy

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, there is still work to be done by reproductive justice advocates. As educators, we can integrate reproductive justice topics into our existing courses or we can create new courses. In this paper we briefly define reproductive justice and provide some learning resources for educators. The bulk of our paper describes our special topics Introduction to Sociology: Sociology of Reproduction course as an example and potential model for educators as we urge them to think about how they might integrate reproductive justice into their existing courses and texts, such that students …

Perceptions Of Political Perspective-Takers, Ian Beatty

INSPIRE Student Research and Engagement Conference

This study investigates the responses by conservatives and liberals to Republican and Democratic party candidates that take the perspectives of out-group members on topics being discussed.

Natural Lights & Natural Rights: The Problem Of The New Classical Natural Law Theory, Charles Neville Cacciatore

LSU Master's Theses

The present work examines the natural law jurisprudence of John Finnis. It argues that Finnis’s teaching is a genuinely new natural law theory. Finnis’s jurisprudence is not a re- presentation of the jurisprudence of St. Thomas Aquinas because its central element—a doctrine of natural rights—is a departure from Aquinas’s natural law teaching. In support of these claims, the present work relies upon the scholarship of Ernest L. Fortin, A.A. Following Fr. Fortin, it presents an understanding of the natural law that endorses a clear distinction between natural right and natural rights—between premodern political philosophy and modern political philosophy.

Journey Of Realization And Adaptation Through Auto/Ethnography: A Shift To Transformative Educational Research, Tara Paudel, Bal Chandra Luitel, Niroj Dahal

The Qualitative Report

This reflective paper explores Tara's doctoral research journey of realization and adaptation in auto/ethnography as a transformative research methodology. While reflecting on Tara’s journey, the auto/ethnographic paper emphasizes cultural perspectives, interpreting one's own experiences, thoughts, actions, and behaviors relating to society and culture. Likewise, auto/ethnography investigates and associates an individual's confrontation within specific educational, societal, and cultural contexts. With this ethos, the paper demonstrates how Tara, a mathematics teacher and doctoral student, encountered and observed auto/ethnography and discovered it as a path to transformation as a paradigm shift in transformative educational research by connecting lives and research (Dahal et al., …

Fuelling Transition Or Entropy?, Sarah El-Shaarawi

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

A Historical Evaluation Of The Position Of The United States On Genocide Designations: Framing Implications For Xinjiang, Marley Taylor Belanger

Graduate Capstone Projects

This paper evaluates the historical stances of the United States with the international norm against genocide. It further examines how U.S. positions in precedent cases of genocide may help frame the U.S. response to the current crisis in Xinjiang, China. This paper reviews the historical record of the instances when the U.S. government has designated past atrocities to be considered genocides, and identifies patterns of continuity and change in the decision-making process of the U.S. This work then applies the theories of liberalism, constructivism, and realism to interpret the actions of the United States when deciding to recognize genocide formally. …

Study Of Fashion And Politics, Jacqueline Arena

Library Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research

The purpose of this research is to analyze the way fashion has been used as a vessel for

political statements; specifically through studying the work of artists Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander Mcqueen and Vivienne Westwood. Gaultier and Mcqueen showcased shocking collections that caught the public eye by testing gender boundaries and reflecting historical events. Westwood’s work was a protest, and she was an activist. The sources included highlight the success of these unique designers. Furthermore, the research evaluates how political statements by fashion designers have become harmful because today newer designers are vying for the success of trailblazers such as …

End Matter

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

No abstract provided.

Party Contacting, Group Identity, And Covid-19: An Analysis Of Asian American Voter Turnout In 2020, Suzy Yi

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

Many scholars have examined what affects voter turnout rates among racial minorities compared to that of White voters. Racial minorities consistently turn out to vote in elections at lower rates than White voters. One method of combating low voter turnout is through party contacting, in which political parties mobilize people who are most likely to vote through activities such as door-to-door canvassing or individualized contact through mail, phone calls, and texts (Huckfeldt and Sprague 1992; Wielhouwer and Lockerbie 1994). However, because political parties direct their efforts towards those who are most likely to vote, they are more likely to favor …

The Growing Greens: How Young Postmaterialists Delivered Electoral Success For The German Green Party In 2021, Isaac Lamoreaux

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

The German Green Party seemed to be forever a secondary party in German politics. That is, until the German General Election in 2021 when they gained more seats in the Bundestag than any other party. Many wondered how such a small party could perform such a feat. Scholars, particularly Ronald Inglehart, have theorized on and studied the concept of postmaterialism. In a basic sense, postmaterialism is a set of values that turns away from safety and security concerns (materialism), and more toward what Inglehart called intellectual and aesthetic concerns (Inglehart 1971, 991–993). These concerns range from topics like freedom of …

The Sino-Soviet Split: A Domestic Ideology Analysis, Caleb Ringger

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

In December 1960, the Peking Review, China’s only English national news magazine, celebrated the “Eternal, Unbreakable Sino-Soviet Friendship” on its front page (Peking Review 1960). The alliance between the world’s largest communist nations certainly seemed ironclad, at least from an outside perspective. But over the next decade, relations between the two allies completely deteriorated, ultimately resulting in bloody confrontation on the Sino-Soviet border, where dozens were killed in violent clashes in March 1969. What accounts for the rapid deterioration in relations between China and the Soviet Union? How could two seemingly close allies turn into enemies so quickly?

An Ironic Alliance: The Domestic Foundations Of Qatar’S Support For Democratic Revolution Abroad, Jonah Phillips

Sigma: Journal of Political and International Studies

When the wave of revolutions commonly referred to as the Arab Spring engulfed the Arab world in the early 2010s, regional powers were suddenly presented with a potentially complete restructuring of the Arab world’s political and social structure. In the years leading up to the uprisings, rising food prices, soaring unemployment, and widespread political corruption had converged to make the Middle East and North Africa a fertile ground for revolution. The mounting pressure came to a head in December of 2010 when demonstrations broke out across Tunisia following the self-immolation of a street vendor protesting police corruption. The following months …

Judicial Off-Bench Resistance In Post-Revolution Tunisia, Farah Tolu-Honary

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the populist Kaid Said has risen to the office of the presidency in Tunisia, the country has been experiencing its largest threat to its hard-fought democracy since the 2011 Revolution. In this paper, I argue that Tunisian judges have utilized off-bench resistance tactics to protect their own autonomy from executive encroachment. I find that judges’ strikes are the dominant form of off-bench resistance. I explain this by looking at the relationships that judges’ unions maintain with other civil society organizations and unions, particularly the UGTT. I argue that the post-revolutionary environment, the strong union culture in Tunisia, and the …

Environmental Effects Of Fast Fashion: A Study On How Increased Knowledge May Affect Buying Behavior Of Bryant Students, Talia Vicente

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

The goal of this study is to determine whether there is a relationship between an increase in knowledge about the environmental effects of fast fashion and the potential impact on the future purchasing behavior of Bryant students. To this end, I conducted a survey analysis of students' purchasing behavior, including the frequency of purchasing clothes, the major brands from which they purchase clothes, and their awareness of the environmental impact of purchasing clothes. I analyzed the overall findings for both male and female students, as well as the relationship between the most frequently shopped-at brands and the frequency of purchasing …

Promoting Information And Visual Literacy Skills In Undergraduate Students Using Infographics, Nicole Kalaf-Hughes

Political Science Faculty Publications

Because research and communication proficiency is ubiquitous in the academic and professional world, teaching students the necessary information literacy (IL) and visual literacy (VL) skills has become increasingly important. Integrating IL and VL pedagogy into substantive coursework can enhance students’ comprehension of the material and teach them to make a meaningful contribution to public awareness and understanding of political science. Yet, faculty often find it challenging to include instruction in these skills with necessary coverage of substantive course material. This article discusses the use of an infographic assignment in an introductory American government course as a tool to teach literacy …

Your Honor’S Misdeeds: The Consequences Of Judicial Scandal On Specific And Diffuse Support, Joshua Boston, Benjamin J. Kassow, Ali S. Masood, David R. Miller

Political Science Faculty Publications

Legitimacy is a bulwark for courts; even when judges engage in controversial or disagreeable behavior, the public tends to acquiesce. Recent studies identify several threats to the legitimacy of courts, including polarization and attacks by political elites. This article contributes to the scholarly discourse by exploring a previously unconsidered threat: scandal, or allegations of personal misbehavior. We argue that scandals can undermine confidence in judges as virtuous arbiters and erode broad public support for the courts. Using survey experiments, we draw on real-world judicial controversies to evaluate the impact of scandal on specific support for judicial actors and their rulings …

"I Can't Even Bring Peanut Butter To School": The Gun Violence Prevention Movement, Emily Simon

Sociology 323 Racial and Ethnic Relations

Gun control does not equal gun violence prevention.

Ideology And The Incumbency Advantage, Gabe Degraeve

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Incumbents win reelection at a staggering rate (upwards of 75%) the causes of this are well understood and examined. The numerous material benefits (access to a larger staff, fundraising ability, name recognition, etc.) paired with the psychological benefits (scare-off effect, lack of high-quality candidate, etc.) make it very hard for a potential challenger to win in an election against an incumbent. There however has been a decrease in the incumbency advantage over the past several election cycles. Since both the material and psychological benefits are still present, another factor is likely contributing to this decrease. Ideology has become …

Do Our Eyes Deceive Us?: Polarization And The American Electorate, Lukus Perry

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

The political divide in the American electorate seems to have increased in recent times. In order to address and hopefully mend the division we need to look deeper into the causes of political polarization. Religiosity, media usage, class, and location all play roles in this equation and the goal is to see which factor is more divisive. Are religiously active people more polarized than others? The idea of perception vs reality also arises in this discussion, but based on moral alignments with candidates and issues, I presume that the most polarizing factor is religiosity. Using survey data from the American …