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Full-Text Articles in Political Science

Magoffin, Beriah, 1815-1885 - Letters To (Sc 821), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2011

Magoffin, Beriah, 1815-1885 - Letters To (Sc 821), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Fidning aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 821.  Facsimiles of two letters to Magoffin while he was governor of Kentucky. John E. Records, a Falmouth Democrat, writes of his reaction to the newly-founded Republican Party in his 31 March 1860 letter. Major General Leonidas Polk writes from Columbus 9 September 1861, telling  of the occupation of this Mississippi River town by Confederate troops. Also, photocopies of census records.


Senate Bill (S) 52-001: Executive Branch Structure, University Of South Florida. Student Government Senate May 2011

Senate Bill (S) 52-001: Executive Branch Structure, University Of South Florida. Student Government Senate

Legislative Branch Publications

Legislation regarding changes in the organization of Student Government Executive Branch.


Electoral College (Sc 2451), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2011

Electoral College (Sc 2451), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2451.  Certification of George B. Hodge, James McKenzie, James M. Bigger, S. P. Love, R. S. Bevier, J. M. Atherton, Richard A. Jones, H. Cox, W. C. P. Breckinridge, Robert E. Little, A. L. Martin, and H. L. Stone, electors for Kentucky, as to the outcome of their votes for president and vice president of the United States, 1872.  Includes notice of certification for 1880 bearing the signatures of the electors only.


Dickey, Robert W., B. 1933 (Sc 2449), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2011

Dickey, Robert W., B. 1933 (Sc 2449), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2449.  Letter, dated 30 January 1963, from attorney Marshall Funk to Robert W. Dickey related to an school integration lawsuit in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Also includes the political platform and biographical information for Raymond McClard's 1973 state Senate race.


The Rollercoaster Ride Of Redistricting, Thomas J. Shields May 2011

The Rollercoaster Ride Of Redistricting, Thomas J. Shields

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

At Kings Dominion they have rollercoaster rides called the Intimidator, the Dominator, the Grizzly and - my favorite - the Hurler. I think they should add one called the Redistricting Rollercoaster Ride, which would be equally as thrilling and nauseating. I hopped on this ride thinking I was to be a viable candidate in Senate District 8, a new district to include portions of Henrico and Chesterfield counties and part of the city of Richmond. I turned out to be a theoretical candidate for a theoretical district, as Senate District 8 was eliminated from the redistricting bill. I walk away, …


"We'll Make Our History": Israeli And Palestinian Youth As Poetic Agents, Caleb Hamman May 2011

"We'll Make Our History": Israeli And Palestinian Youth As Poetic Agents, Caleb Hamman

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

This paper, in short, analyzes and argue for recognition of a particular form of political action as exercised by a particular type of political agent in the spatial and 3 symbolic context of "Israel-Palestine."


Making Wku A Fair Trade University, Matthew John Vaughan May 2011

Making Wku A Fair Trade University, Matthew John Vaughan

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Many products consumed on college campuses such as coffee and chocolate come from developing countries where producers are often paid insufficiently and exploited. Fair Trade certification of products guarantees producers a fair price and other social benefits. The objective of my CE/T project is to initiate a successful campaign to increase awareness of Fair Trade among students at WKU and gain "Fair Trade University" recognition for WKU. My efforts have included establishing a permanent Fair Trade Steering Committee, organizing campus-wide awareness events and partnering with campus groups to promote Fair Trade education and awareness. In this final account, I review …


Shirley, Mrs. W. E. - Collector (Sc 174), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives May 2011

Shirley, Mrs. W. E. - Collector (Sc 174), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 174. Research materials collected by Mrs. W. E. Shirley for her master’s thesis (Western Kentucky State Teachers College, 1934) on Isaac Shelby (1750-1826). Includes typescripts of Shelby’s gubernatorial correspondence (1793-1794); his 1826 will (Click on "Additional Files" below for scan); his autobiography; a pamphlet (1828) by Shelby’s son relating to the Chickasaw Treaty of 1818; and a letter to Mrs. Shirley from the Filson Club, Louisville, Kentucky, regarding the source of the typescripted autobiography.


Prosecutorial Discretion: Do Selection Methods Matter?, Jennifer Valenti May 2011

Prosecutorial Discretion: Do Selection Methods Matter?, Jennifer Valenti

Honors Scholar Theses

Prosecutors play a key role in the United States criminal justice system. They hold a significant amount of power through the use of discretion. While many attain the position of prosecutor by election, some attain the position through appointment. In this study, I examine prosecutorial discretion in terms of these different selection methods. I use a comparative case study between Hartford, Connecticut and Worcester, Massachusetts to determine if there are differences in how elected and appointed District Attorneys exercise their discretion.


Analyzing Sexual Expression: Marriage, Prostitution, And The Law, Leah Christiani May 2011

Analyzing Sexual Expression: Marriage, Prostitution, And The Law, Leah Christiani

Honors Scholar Theses

Marriage and prostitution laws solidify and propagate norms about sexual expression. Marriage law functions positively to dictate the kind of expression that is acceptable, normal, and natural while prostitution law frames the illegal, deviant, and unnatural. The legal benefits offered to those who marry function as an endorsement of a particular type of sexual expression: monogamous, faithful, loving, long term, and procreative. Equally, the criminalization of prostitution solidifies norms about the wrong, illegal unnatural kind of sexual expression; one focused on pleasure and money, not monogamy, fidelity, love, or procreation. These valuations of sexual expression solidified by the law impact …


The Politics Of Health Outcomes And Income Inequality: A Time Series Cross-Sectional Analysis Of County-Level Mortality Rates In The United States, Timothy H. Callaghan May 2011

The Politics Of Health Outcomes And Income Inequality: A Time Series Cross-Sectional Analysis Of County-Level Mortality Rates In The United States, Timothy H. Callaghan

Honors Scholar Theses

: Health inequalities are pervasive in the United States today. Despite social epidemiologists frequently citing political and economic factors for this variance, political science has largely ignored these issues. Given this gap in the literature and the importance of the issue, more research is clearly needed to better understand the political and economic causes and implications of these health disparities. This study analyzes the topic in depth, examining how income inequality, which is believed to be a key factor in explaining health inequalities, is related to mortality rates at the county level. Examining aggregate data from all US counties from …


Use Of Social Media In Presidential Campaigns: Do Social Media Have An Effect On The Political Behavior Of Voters Aged 18-24?, Samantha Hamilton May 2011

Use Of Social Media In Presidential Campaigns: Do Social Media Have An Effect On The Political Behavior Of Voters Aged 18-24?, Samantha Hamilton

Honors Senior Capstones and Theses

Today, the idea of social media is radically different from the media of a decade ago. While a decade ago the Internet was considered new media, our society now turns to Facebook, Twitter, and blogs as sources of information. In the United States during election cycles, the use of social media by presidential candidates has become a way for many voters to find out about candidates. As a result, presidential candidates have had to adapt their campaign strategies to work with these media in a way that will effectively target these audiences. This study examines whether campaigns that are more …


Building The Foundation For Rhode Island Immigrant Assistance Database: A Brief Study Of The Communication And Collaboration Among Rhode Island Social Service Agencies, Matthew Friedman May 2011

Building The Foundation For Rhode Island Immigrant Assistance Database: A Brief Study Of The Communication And Collaboration Among Rhode Island Social Service Agencies, Matthew Friedman

Global Studies Student Scholarship

In the state of Rhode Island, numerous non-profit organizations, businesses and state government departments provide a variety of services to the immigrant population. Among these agencies, each has different levels of communication, collaboration and knowledge of the other organizations operating in Rhode Island. Collaborating with the International Institute of Rhode Island, a non-profit immigration agency located in Providence, my initial goal was the creation of the Rhode Island Immigrant Assistance Database (RIIAD), a simple and informative web page detailing the services, mission statement and address of the agencies that assist immigrants. Of the more than seventy organizations invited to the …


Town-Gown Relations At Providence College: Perspectives And Interactions Between Students And The Local Community, Joe Paola May 2011

Town-Gown Relations At Providence College: Perspectives And Interactions Between Students And The Local Community, Joe Paola

Global Studies Student Scholarship

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and comment on the relationships that exist between Providence College students and the local Smith Hill‐Elmhurst community. In conducting my research I concentrated mainly on the nuanced perceptions that the students and the local residents have of each other. My main interest was to see how the students defined themselves in relation to the outside community, and in discovering how much their relationship is based upon these perceptions. At the same time, I also aimed to find out what the locals’ opinions were on the place of the students; namely, if they …


Political Institutions And Regional Inequality In China: 1949 To 2005, Qiang Yan May 2011

Political Institutions And Regional Inequality In China: 1949 To 2005, Qiang Yan

Dissertations

Patterns of economic inequality across three Chinese regions-- the West, the Inland, and the Coastal area-- changed twice from 1949 to 2005. During the period 1949 to 1979 regional inequality decreased, and after 1979 inequality increased. Previous studies, including economic models, cultural studies, and international relations theory, cannot fully explain changes in Chinese regional inequality after 1949. This dissertation uses Institutional Theory (IT) to analyze the changing patterns of Chinese regional economic inequality after 1949. Analyzing economic data and political documents with IT, the dissertation shows that changes in Chinese political institutions, including political parties, policy-making agencies, and institutionalized ideologies, …


A New Paradigm: Brazilian Catholic Eco-Justice Activism In The Neoliberal Age, Lena R. Connor May 2011

A New Paradigm: Brazilian Catholic Eco-Justice Activism In The Neoliberal Age, Lena R. Connor

Environmental Analysis Program Mellon Student Summer Research Reports

This paper analyzes how traditional liberation theology in Brazil has been adapted in the neoliberal age to encompass ecological goals and rhetoric. In this research report, I first examine the work of prominent Brazilian ecotheologians, Ivone Gebara and Leonardo Boff. I then look into the applications of such ecological liberation theology in Catholic activism in Brazil, focusing on the role of religious advocacy in dam controversies, land reform, and mining.


Social Media For Social Good: A Guide To New Media For College Activists, Charles Harris May 2011

Social Media For Social Good: A Guide To New Media For College Activists, Charles Harris

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In a world of Tweets and status updates, how do we take all those hours perusing social networks and put them to good use? In my thesis project, Social Media for Social Good: A Guide to New Media For College Activists, I explore the uses of these networks to activate people towards building positive social change. It is my opinion that college is the best time to be an activist. How do college students communicate? Social Media. From the campus to the global scale, social media can be effectively used to mobilize people to take action on a wide array …


Traditional Chinese Philosophy In China’S Modern International Relations, R Philip Reynolds May 2011

Traditional Chinese Philosophy In China’S Modern International Relations, R Philip Reynolds

Librarian and Staff Publications

Since gaining power in 2002 Hu Jianto and long-time ally Premier Wen Jiabao have been digging deep into the Communist-Chinese canon as well as ancient Confucian, and other traditional philosophical themes and practices to articulate President Hu Jianto’s foreign policy message “the Three Harmonies”. This message of the peaceful rise of China rang hollow in the ears of many politicians and analysts. (Lam 2006) Was Hu Jianto a leader who based his foreign policy on traditional Chinese philosophies such as Confucianism, or is China’s foreign relations ; as Richard Bernstein and Ross Munro put it “driven by nationalist sentiment, a …


Cuba Got Health Care Right, And It's About Time We Did The Same: An Analysis Of Primary Care In Cuba And The Possibility Of Universal Primary Care In The United States, Jenna Stroly May 2011

Cuba Got Health Care Right, And It's About Time We Did The Same: An Analysis Of Primary Care In Cuba And The Possibility Of Universal Primary Care In The United States, Jenna Stroly

Global Studies Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Building An Asia-Pacific Security Community: A Role For Australia?, Jonathan K. Chen May 2011

Building An Asia-Pacific Security Community: A Role For Australia?, Jonathan K. Chen

Political Science Honors Projects

Australia’s foreign policy has recently shifted from great-power dependency towards self-reliance in the Asia-Pacific. In light of this shift, there have been calls for the creation of a regional security community. This project looks at two existing security communities, the OSCE and ASEAN, to ascertain the necessary conditions for building a security community. From there, I examine whether or not these conditions exist in the Asia-Pacific, and investigate Australia’s ability to produce the remaining conditions. I conclude that Australia does not have the diplomatic power to overcome regional competition, and that rivalries amongst regional powers mitigate against the community’s creation.


No Exit: Yemen's Existential Crisis, Sheila Carapico May 2011

No Exit: Yemen's Existential Crisis, Sheila Carapico

Political Science Faculty Publications

A venal dictatorship three decades old, mutinous army officers, dissident tribal sheikhs, a parliamentary opposition coalition, youthful pro-democracy activists, gray-haired Socialists, gun-toting cowboys, veiled women protesters, northern carpetbaggers, Shi‘i insurgents, tear gas canisters, leaked State Department cables, foreign-born jihadis -- Yemen’s demi-revolutionary spring has it all. The mass uprising in southern Arabia blends features of the peaceful popular revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia with elements of the state repression in Libya and Syria in a gaudy, fast-paced, multi-layered theater of revolt verging on the absurd.


Democratic Nationalistic Privilege And The Exclusion Of Europe's "Gypsy", Eli E. Roth May 2011

Democratic Nationalistic Privilege And The Exclusion Of Europe's "Gypsy", Eli E. Roth

Senior Honors Projects

Europe is the world’s best example of a group of countries offering similar levels of political freedom, tolerance, and economic prosperity and security. Following the fall of Communism, Europe began to outpace the rest of the planet on aggregated indicators of development, and, according to Freedomhouse.org, only two of the world’s forty seven “not free” countries, Belarus and Russia, can be found on this continent. The Roma, frequently mislabeled as “Gypsies,” are among the few troubled populations residing in Europe. In the comprehensive 2006 Final Report on the Human Rights Situation of the Roma in Europe, one Romani man describes …


Copyright And Democratization In Africa, John Mukum Mbaku May 2011

Copyright And Democratization In Africa, John Mukum Mbaku

Brigham Young University International Law & Management Review

No abstract provided.


Marcuse On The Two Dimensions Of Advanced Industrial Society And The Significance Of His Thought Today, Michael C. Hartley Mr. May 2011

Marcuse On The Two Dimensions Of Advanced Industrial Society And The Significance Of His Thought Today, Michael C. Hartley Mr.

Senior Honors Projects

Herbert Marcuse was a philosopher and social theorist who wrote extensively about the dynamics of social change in the technologically advanced societies of the Western world. Motivated by the desire to see humanity develop societies that would allow for individuals to live a free and happy existence, Marcuse critiqued the existing societies of his time. Although Marcuse’s main work, One-Dimensional Man, is over forty years old, it can continue to offer us new insights today. I believe that Marcuse’s thought offers a powerful framework for analyzing our contemporary society. In this project I distill this framework, what could be …


Empirical Methods-A Review: With An Introduction To Data Mining And Machine Learning, Matt Bogard May 2011

Empirical Methods-A Review: With An Introduction To Data Mining And Machine Learning, Matt Bogard

Economics Faculty Publications

This presentation was part of a staff workshop focused on empirical methods and applied research. This includes a basic overview of regression with matrix algebra, maximum likelihood, inference, and model assumptions. Distinctions are made between paradigms related to classical statistical methods and algorithmic approaches. The presentation concludes with a brief discussion of generalization error, data partitioning, decision trees, and neural networks.


Opportunity Structures And Post-Authoritarian Participation: Argentina And Chile Compared, Emily B. Carty May 2011

Opportunity Structures And Post-Authoritarian Participation: Argentina And Chile Compared, Emily B. Carty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work seeks to address a paradox between the existing literature on political disaffection and participation in new democracies through a comparative study of Chile and Argentina. According to Torcal and Lago (2006), disaffection in new democracies is associated with less conventional and nonconventional forms of participation. While on an individual basis their conclusions hold true in Chile and Argentina, the comparisons on a national level do not fit this pattern - despite the higher levels of disaffection in Argentina, it has similar or higher levels of participation. This paper employs Sidney Tarrow's theoretical framework of opportunity structures (1994, 1995) …


2011 Mandate: Should Our President Be Able To Start A War? May 2011

2011 Mandate: Should Our President Be Able To Start A War?

CACTUS--Citizens' Assembly for Critical Thinking About the United States

The 2011 Citizens’ Assembly for Critical Thinking about the United States (CACTUS) must study the role of Presidents and Congress in involving the United States in wars and in the overall conduct of wars including the “war on terror,” and consider specific changes that may be needed in the Constitutional provisions governing the war powers of the President and of Congress. Specifically, the Assembly must consider whether changes are needed in the portion of Article I of the Constitution that empowers Congress to declare war, the portion of Article II that assigns the President the role of Commander-in-Chief, the War …


Is It Cohesion Or Diversion? Domestic Instability And The Use Of Force In International Crises, Cigdem Sirin May 2011

Is It Cohesion Or Diversion? Domestic Instability And The Use Of Force In International Crises, Cigdem Sirin

Selected Works Temporary Series

This study asserts that cohesionary—rather than diversionary—motives primarily influence the propensity of political leaders to use external force in international crises in times of domestic turmoil. Specifically, I contend that mass violence leads political leaders to engage in cohesionary tactics to achieve and maintain social order in their country for political survival. Employing random effects probit analyses with International Crisis Behavior (ICB) data for one-hundred and thirty-nine countries from 1918 to 2005, I find that increased mass violence is more likely than other forms of domestic problems (be it an economic downturn or government instability) to instigate the external use …


Scarcity-Induced Domestic Conflict: Examining The Interactive Effects Of Environmental Scarcity And ‘Ethnic’ Population Pressures, Cigdem Sirin May 2011

Scarcity-Induced Domestic Conflict: Examining The Interactive Effects Of Environmental Scarcity And ‘Ethnic’ Population Pressures, Cigdem Sirin

Selected Works Temporary Series

This study argues that environmental scarcity is more likely to result in civil conflict in countries that experience ‘ethnic’ population pressures (i.e. where the size of the largest minority group is close to parity with the majority group). I refer to this argument as the ‘parity-threat’ approach to the study of scarcity-induced domestic conflict. I empirically test my argument by analysing time-series cross-section data for the period 1979–2000 using four alternative environmental indicators: (1) ecological footprint, (2) biocapacity, (3) scarcity of ecological reserves and (4) water scarcity. The results demonstrate that environmental scarcity increases the probability of civil conflict when …


Promises And Human Rights: The Obama Administration On Immigrant Detention Policy Reform, José Villalobos May 2011

Promises And Human Rights: The Obama Administration On Immigrant Detention Policy Reform, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

This article evaluates the Obama administration’s efforts towards reforming U.S. immigration detention policies. Over the past decade, immigrant rights advocates have increasingly criticized certain policies of the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) system of immigration detention, including the widespread use of private contractors, lack of proper oversight, grouping of violent criminals and non-violent undocumented immigrants (particularly minority women and children) in holding cells, and neglect of detained immigrants in need of medical attention. In reviewing these developments, I contend that the Obama administration must take substantive steps towards reforming the existing system, particularly by instituting legally enforceable standards with …