Political Science Commons^™

Why We Hear About It, And Why We Don't: Power Dynamics And Sexual Harassment Reporting In Us State Legislative Bodies, Halley Norman

Political Science Honors Projects

The rise to prominence of the #MeToo Movement in October 2017 opened the floodgates to sexual harassment and assault allegations in all fields and levels of employment, across the United States and the world. This movement has crucially revealed is that women often wait months or even years before reporting, if they report at all. Looking at US state legislative bodies, I argue that gendered power dynamics between men and women suppress allegations and promote harassment. Using interviews and data analysis, this paper identifies different factors that may delay or hinder reporting, with a specific focus on gendered power dynamics …

Watering The Desert: Azraq, Public Opinion, And Environmental Post-Materialism, Wesley A. Gerard

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

This article focuses on physical, socioeconomic, and political changes in the community of Azraq, Jordan. Azraq, a small town in northeastern Jordan, sits atop a large aquifer that has been heavily pumped by the government for several decades in response to an increasing nationwide demand for water. This has led to large-scale transformations in not only the physical landscape surrounding the aquifer, but also in the daily lives, economic statuses, and political opinions of the people living there. My research thus fits the case of Azraq into larger academic discourse on groundwater governance, resource access, and environmentalism. I use a …

Charter School Performance In Rhode Island, Lena Vye

Senior Honors Projects

In the last few decades, there has been considerable debate over whether or not charter schools are beneficial to the American education system. Charter schools are given government funding, but they have independence from the established educational system. Charter school supporters argue that increased autonomy and innovation in teaching, as well as competition between schools, improves the quality of education. Opponents of charter schools argue that charter schools are not more effective than public schools. However, the research is mixed: some studies suggest charter schools perform better, some suggest they perform similarly, and some suggest that they perform worse than …

For-Profit Prisons: How Lobbying Has Affected The Way America Houses Prisoners, Jacob F. Israel

Political Science Theses and Capstones

There seems to be limited research and understanding as to why for-profit prisons exist in the United States. The initial selling points used to sell private prisons to states and counties were that they would reduce recidivism and cost. Recent peer-reviewed studies have found, however, that neither are the case. This could lead one to ask why for-profit prisons are still used in America. That is what I hope to answer in this research paper. After research and analysis of campaign donations by the two largest for-profit prison corporations (collected from the National Institute on Money in State Politics) and …

Bashkimi Europian Dhe Turqia, Donjeta Elshani

Theses and Dissertations

Ky punim ka për qëllim të shtjelloj politikën e Bashkimit Europian karshi Turqisë dhe aftësinë apo paaftësinë e Turqisë për ti përmbushur kriteret e kërkuara. Fillimisht do paraqitet një vështrim i përgjithshëm hitorik ndërmjet BE-së dhe Turqisë, rruga e kësaj të fundit drejt plotësimit të kritereve. Së dyti, do të paraqes “rolin e religjionit dhe ndikimin e tij”. Përkatësisht ndikimin e religjionit në plotësimin e kritereve të parapara për të gjitha vendet që synojnë anëtarësimin në BE. Në veçanti do të shtjellohen kriteret e Kopenhagenit dhe raporti se sa është përpjekur Turqia ti plotësojë apo të përafërohet me to si …

Roli I Be-Së Në Shtet-Ndërtimin E Kosovës, Mergim Rrecaj

Theses and Dissertations

Kosova është një prej shteteve që i takon gjeografikisht Ballkanit Perëndimor, dhe njëkohësisht është shteti i fundit që ka shpallur pavarësinë e saj në kontinentin e Evropës. Rasti i Kosovës konsiderohet të jetë sui generis, për shkak të rrethanave dhe formës se si është krijuar subjektiviteti i saj shtetëror. Duke kuptuar kompleksitetin e çështjes së Kosovës që nga aspekti historik e deri të rrethanat aktuale, çështja shtet-ndërtuese për Kosovën konsiderohet shumë e veçantë për t’u trajtuar. Procesi i shtet-ndërtimit të Kosovës është i ndërlidhur jashtëzakonisht shumë me rolin e Bashkimit Evropian në të, madje mund të konstatohet se nuk ka …

Etika Në Menaxhimin Publik, Rast Studimi - Kompania Regjionale Për Mbeturina “Pastërtia”, Gresa Neziri

Theses and Dissertations

Etika në menaxhimin publik, rasti Kompania Regjionale për mbeturina “Pastërtia” është një përpjekje për të analizuar dhe trajtuar një fushë të re në studimet kosovare. Nga një vëzhgim i shpejtë, vërehet lehtë se aspekte të veçanta të komponentëve përbërës të administratës publike, kanë filluar të ceken në studimet e ndryshme, por ende mungon një trajtim gjithpërfshirës dhe i fokusuar drejtpërdrejt në etikën e menaxhimit të kësaj strukture shumë të rëndësishme shtetërore. Megjithëse janë trajtuar në artikuj të botuar në media apo janë kryer disa prezantime në konferenca shkencore, ato ende nuk përbëjnë një studim të thelluar e të plotë.

Studimi …

The Impact Of Federal Lands On Per-Pupil Spending In The Western United States, Matthew K. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Property taxes are a significant form of funding for states’ public education. In the West, nearly half of the land is owned by the federal government, making it off limits to tax. This research examines the relationship between federal land and its impact on per-pupil spending.

Reasons For Public Opinion On Foreign Policy, Maria Kachulis-Moriarty

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In recent years, especially under President Trump’s administration, United States foreign policy has seen a great deal of changes, as has public opinion on U.S. foreign policy. Foreign policy faces increasing criticism and scrutiny as information about international trade and relationships between countries becomes more accessible to the public. This paper will address public opinion on current U.S. foreign policy with regards to three countries – China, Russia, and Mexico – and how it may differ based on variables such as trust in media, ideology, and belief that immigration increases the U.S. crime rate. These variables are vital to understanding …

Predictors Of Conspiracy Believers, Emily Lam

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Why do many Americans believe in conspiracy theories? One answer could be the lack of trust and transparency between many American citizens and the United States government. Conspiracy theories have been used throughout history as an explanation for events and situations that were carried out by the government without any credible evidence. That said, what factors influence one to believe in them? Using Chapman University Survey of American Fears, this paper assesses the two most believed conspiracy theories in America, John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the 9/11 attacks and whether the factors of partisanship, fear of financial uncertainty, education, age …

Policy Feedback And The Politics Of The Affordable Care Act, Daniel Beland, Philip Rocco, Alex Waddan

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

There is a large body of literature devoted to how “policies create politics” and how feedback effects from existing policy legacies shape potential reforms in a particular area. Although much of this literature focuses on self‐reinforcing feedback effects that increase support for existing policies over time, Kent Weaver and his colleagues have recently drawn our attention to self‐undermining effects that can gradually weaken support for such policies. The following contribution explores both self‐reinforcing and self‐undermining policy feedback in relationship to the Affordable Care Act, the most important health‐care reform enacted in the United States since the mid‐1960s. More specifically, the …

Who Studies International Law? Explaining Cross-National Variation In Compulsory International Legal Education, Ryan Scoville, Mark S. Berlin

Political Science Faculty Research and Publications

The compulsory study of international law is a universal component of legal education in some states but extremely uncommon or non-existent in others. This article uses global data and statistical methods to test a number of conceivable explanations for this puzzling feature of international society. In contrast to much of the empirical literature on state behaviour in relation to international law, we find that functionalist and socio-political variables carry little explanatory power and that historical variables – specifically, legal tradition and regional geography – instead account for the overwhelming majority of the global pattern. We explore potential explanations for these …

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 …