Models and Methods Commons^™

Scrutinizing Precarity: In Search Of Emancipatory Potential, Jaime Aznar Erasun

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

This paper provides a review and discussion on the emancipatory potential of the notion of ‘precarity’. Since the 1980s, the notion of ‘precarity’ has been used increasingly by scholars and activists to account for variegated grievances. Specifically, it has been used to address issues related to the transformations of labour in the XXIst century: neoliberal reorganization of labour markets, increasing unavailability of stable jobs, increased personal debts, debilitating labour unions or the lack of accessible housing among other issues. However, beyond structural grievances voiced by everyday workers, precarity can also serve as an analytical tool to pin down socially induced …

Perceptions Of Economic Vulnerability And Public Opinion In The United States: A Theoretical, Historical, And Quantitative Approach, Cody R. Melcher

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation combines three related essays that analyze the effect of the perception of economic vulnerability on the social and political attitudes of Americans. Through a heterodox reading of W.E.B. Du Bois’s intellectual work and political career in the latter half of his life, the first essay develops the theoretical thrust of the dissertation. It is argued that Du Bois primarily grounds white supremacy in an elementary feature of capitalism: the fact that survival under capitalism presumes the successful engagement, either directly or indirectly, with the labor market. Due to the historical legacy of slavery, however, labor market competition in …

Reformation Within The Nation: Adapting The Nordic Rehabilitation And Reintegration Model To Positively Recondition The United States Criminal Justice System, Jessica Cornell

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

An analytical and statistical based comparison of criminal sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation and reintegration in the United States of America to those of the five countries which follows those of the Nordic Criminal Justice System.

Smoke Filled Back Hollars: The Impact Of Traditional Barbecue On Modern Political Campaigns Within Western Virginia, Monica Thomas Fury

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The first political barbecue took place in Virginia during the Colonial period. Since then, barbecue has remained an essential part of American civic life. Western Virginia, defined for the purposes of this thesis as the political borders of the sixth and ninth Congressional Districts in Virginia as drawn in 2021, is largely a rural area, considered by most political consultants to be heavily Republican and not winnable seats for Democratic candidates. The state Democratic Party of Virginia has rarely earmarked funds or support for candidates within those districts for the past two decades. Ironically, the Democratic party controlled this same …

A Proportionality-Based Framework For Government Regulation Of Digital Tracing Apps In Times Of Emergency, Sharon Bassan

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Times of emergency present an inherent conflict between the public interest and the preservation of individual rights. Such times require granting emergency powers to the government on behalf of the public interest and relaxing safeguards against government actions that infringe rights. The lack of theoretical framework to assess governmental decisions in times of emergency leads to a polarized and politicized discourse about potential policies, and often, to public distrust and lack of compliance.

Such a discourse was evident regarding Digital Tracing Apps (“DTAs”), which are apps installed on cellular phones to alert users that they were exposed to people who …

The Logic Of Negative Appeals: Graphic Imagery, Affective Empathy, And Foreign Development Aid, A. Burcu Bayram, Marcus Holmes

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The use of negative visual imagery of the poor to conjure feelings of pity, guilt, and empathy (also called “poverty porn”) is premised on an emotional mechanism that is supposed to elicit compassion and giving behavior, and yet the very emotional nature of the response to this kind of negative imagery can have the exact opposite effect by evoking compassion fatigue and psychological numbing. Our study interrogates this puzzle. Leveraging original data from survey experiments, we show that exposure to negative and personalized images of aid recipients in despair actually increases support for foreign development aid. In contrast, descriptive statistical …

Beirut/The Other Side Of The City: The Impact Of Visual Texture Production Of The Lebanese Postmemory Generation, 1989 - Present, Mohamed Moustafa Gameel Ebada

Theses and Dissertations

In 1989, after the Ta'if agreement, the war in Lebanon started to fade, which ended years of one of the most destructive civil conflicts in the region with no decisive winner or loser. The year also marked the birth of a new Lebanese generation who did not experience the war in person. It is a generation of postmemory, a term Maria Hirsch coined to describe the reminisces of those who did not have a personal encounter with past traumatic events. However, it was not before February 2005, when Rafic Al-Hariri's violent assassination occurred, when the postmemory generation started to question …

A Configurable Social Network For Running Irb-Approved Experiments, Mihovil Mandic

Dartmouth College Undergraduate Theses

Our world has never been more connected, and the size of the social media landscape draws a great deal of attention from academia. However, social networks are also a growing challenge for the Institutional Review Boards concerned with the subjects’ privacy. These networks contain a monumental variety of personal information of almost 4 billion people, allow for precise social profiling, and serve as a primary news source for many users. They are perfect environments for influence operations that are becoming difficult to defend against. Motivated to study online social influence via IRB-approved experiments, we designed and implemented a flexible, scalable, …

An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos

Dissertations

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration …

Big Five Personality Traits And Political Orientation: An Inquiry Into Political Beliefs, Ian E. Phillips

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

Personality research centered on the Big Five personality traits has heavily impacted our understanding in regards to what forces orient a person on a political spectrum. Examining how personality differences interact with political orientation, this research seeks to provide information on what makes someone either more or less likely to be liberal or conservative based on their temperament. In this paper, previous personality research is synthesized into one discussion, centered on what the effects of each trait are and how they impact political orientation, the heritability of personality, and what implications there are for such research in the realm of …

Water Elites’ Perceptions Of Water Security In The Middle East And North Africa Region, Ghaleb Akari

Dissertations

The Middle East and North African region continues to face significant water security challenges. The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a deeper understanding of water elites’ perceptions of water security in the MENA region. It is not meant to generalize the findings. Instead, the intention for the research is to identify, explain, and analyze by national elites' contrasting perceptions in Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Tunisia.

The study examines water elites’ perceptions in four areas: current knowledge level of water security, water resource management, water service delivery, and water-related risk mitigation. These elites’ perceptions of water security will help …

External Disruptions To Qualitative Data Collection: Addressing Risks Relating To Brexit And Researcher-Participant Rapport, Shukru Esmene, Nick Kirsop-Taylor

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we present the importance of detailing the contextual conditions of a qualitative study to highlight any potential participant-researcher tensions. We emphasize the importance of understanding context in rich detail to expose societal complexities while maintaining positive participant-research rapport. Through two cases, this paper considers that bracketing, reflexivity, and transparency can be applied to form appropriate strategies to deal with external disruptions to qualitative fieldwork. The cases draw on Brexit’s impact on two studies conducted in the United Kingdom. In so doing, we argue that time, relevance, and the individuals involved can coalesce to express varied influences on …

Look Who's Talking: Differences In Rates Of Interruptions And Proportion Of Time Used By Male And Female U.S. Courts Of Appeals Judges, Sabrina L. Collins, Molly G Baldock, Jasmyne N. Post, Elizabeth Turner

Grawemeyer Colloquium Papers

During oral arguments, attorneys are given the chance to elaborate on their written briefs and answer questions from the judges deciding the case. Studying oral arguments can be a window into the power dynamics between judges and attorneys, and can shed light onto how factors like gender may affect judicial decision-making. While a growing body of research has examined gender dynamics in oral arguments in the United States Supreme Court, no existing studies have examined whether these findings hold up in the U.S. Court of Appeals, the second highest courts in the country. We collected data on two years of …

Chaos From Order: A Network Analysis Of In-Fighting Before And After El Chapo's Arrest, Darren Colby

Independent Student Projects and Publications

The effect of leadership decapitation—the capture or killing of the leader of an armed group—on future violence has been studied with competing conclusions. In Mexico, leadership decapitation has been found to increase violence and in-fighting among drug cartels. However, the causal pathways between leadership decapitation and in-fighting are unclear. In this article, it is hypothesized that leadership decapitation will weaken alliances between armed actors, lead to greater preferential attachment in networks of cartels and militias, and result in greater transitive closure as cartels seek to expand their power. These hypotheses are tested with a stochastic actor oriented model on a …

Neither “Post-War” Nor Post-Pregnancy Paranoia: How America’S War On Drugs Continues To Perpetuate Disparate Incarceration Outcomes For Pregnant, Substance-Involved Offenders, Becca S. Zimmerman

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the unique interactions between pregnancy, substance involvement, and race as they relate to the War on Drugs and the hyper-incarceration of women. Using ordinary least square regression analyses and data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, I examine if (and how) pregnancy status, drug use, race, and their interactions influence two length of incarceration outcomes: sentence length and amount of time spent in jail between arrest and imprisonment. The results collectively indicate that pregnancy decreases length of incarceration outcomes for those offenders who are not substance-involved but not evenhandedly -- benefitting white …

The Effects Of Racial Capitalism On Poor White Laborers, Amy Whittaker

Liberal Studies (MA) Final Essays

While always remembering that racial capitalism’s very nature ensures that non-white Americans suffer incomparable racial oppression, this paper will endeavor to expose the devastation caused to American society as a whole by explaining the ways in which racial capitalism destroyed poor white labors ability to participate fully in the economic system and strangled its chances of living the American dream. It is my hope that by discussing the missing piece of the poor white laborers’ experience under racial capitalism will unite poor white laborers and poor black laborers to work together to end racial capitalism, policing, and the carceral system. …

Measuring ‘Closeness’ In 3-Candidate Elections: Methodology And An Application To Strategic Voting, Daniel Kselman, Emerson Niou, Austin Horng-En Wang

Political Science Faculty Research

Past research suggests that voter behavior is influenced by perceptions of electoral competitiveness. For example, when an election is perceived to be close, voters will be more likely to turnout and/or cast strategic votes for their second-most preferred candidate. Operationalizing electoral competitiveness in three-candidate elections presents previously unrecognized methodological challenges. This paper first shows that many past strategies for measuring ‘closeness’ in three-candidate contests have violated at least one of three basic properties that any such measure should satisfy. We then propose a new measurement grounded in probability ratios, and prove formally that ratio-indices satisfy these axiomatic criteria. Empirical analyses …

Analyzing The Onset And Resolution Of Nonstate Conflict In The Middle East & North Africa, Emily A. Barbaro

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

By applying structural-functionalist theories of deviance and opposition, this thesis deconstructs nonstate mobilization in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Using data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset, the quantitative analysis interpreted both group and leader behavior in conflict situations to determine factors that influenced conflict onset and resolution. The quasipoisson regression analysis of group behavior suggested that polity and state capacity were both significant predictors of violent and nonviolent mobilization. The negative binomial regression of regime behavior suggested that civilian casualties were the most significant predictor of a government response to nonstate mobilization. Ultimately, the …

A Comparative Analysis Of Identity Theft Within America And Australia, Vincent Alagna

Criminal Justice

Identity theft is a very prevalent crime within the United States that has substantial repercussions on society. This study analyzes factors that potentially contribute to America’s elevated rate of identity theft in relation to Australia in order to reveal its cause. It was ultimately found that the United States experiences a greater amount of computer usage within its country, has the ability to implement a stricter prison sentence on those convicted of committing identity theft in accordance with its legal code, and has a greater conviction rate while Australia has a higher prosecution rate. These findings, when applied in the …

Al-Shabaab And Boko Haram: Recruitment Strategies, J. Tochukwu Omenma, Cheryl Hendricks, Nnamdi C. Ajaebili

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper is an examination of the membership recruitment strategies of two violent extremist organizations (VEOs), namely al-Shabaab and Boko Haram. The majority of the literature on VEOs concentrates on the conceptualization of terrorism, motivations for terrorism and counter-terrorism strategies, as well as a focus on the frequency of VEO attacks, number of fatalities and funding sources. The literature tends to portray poverty as the main driver of recruitment. The focus on recruitment strategies has been relatively recent. There is therefore still a lack of in-depth analyses on the processes of recruitment of specific extremist groups, and this impacts on …

Who Supports Wealth Redistribution? Self-Interest, Symbolic Politics And American Exceptionalism Approaches Towards 1990 Public Opinion, Maggie Wood

Global Tides

Economic inequality has been significantly rising in the United States, making it the most unequal advanced industrialized democracy. Understanding factors that influence public attitudes towards inequality and potential remedies such as redistribution of wealth, gives a reference point for tracking subsequent preference-policy links. This research utilizes survey data from the 1990 General Social Survey to explore factors influencing preferences towards redistribution as gross wealth consolidation among the top 10% was only starting to remerge. Empirically applying theories of economic self-interest, symbolic politics and American exceptionalism to wealth redistribution preferences, the research finds economic self-interest as having the biggest role in …

How To Access Elites When Textbook Methods Fail? Challenges Of Purposive Sampling And Advantages Of Using Interviewees As “Fixers”, Esra Bakkalbasioglu

The Qualitative Report

Social science methods literature identifies gaining access as one of the main challenges of conducting elite interview research. However, the existing literature mostly fails to provide access strategies other than the “textbook” methods of sending email, letters, faxes, or making phone calls. Many researchers, especially the ones who conduct purposive sampling-based in elite interview research encounter various obstacles when they try to gain access to the potential interviewees. Especially in challenging research environments, textbook methods either fail the researchers using purposive sampling or considerably increase the time and energy spent to gain access to elite respondents. Drawing on the author’s …

Tracing Biometric Assemblages In India’S Surveillance State: Reproducing Colonial Logics, Reifying Caste Purity, And Quelling Dissent Through Aadhaar, Priya Prabhakar

Scripps Senior Theses

Tracing Biometric Assemblages in India’s Surveillance State seeks to understand the historical conditions that rendered the nation-state of India as having the world’s largest biometric surveillance system: Aadhaar. Surveillance practices used by the British Raj mirrors the current social order of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as they use surveillance to similar ends in today’s political economy, through the intersecting forces of neoliberalism and ethnonationalism. This thesis is an exploration into how India’s current surveillance regimes cultivate biometric surveillant assemblages through Aadhaar. Contrary to claims that Aadhaar was created to empower the poor, I argue that these surveillance regimes …

Gun Control In The United States, Oliver Lake

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper focuses on a critical issue that has plagued our nation for many years. It has been one of the most divisive issues outside of abortion. The topic of gun control and how to approach it brings out two highly emotional and passionate sides. Despite the emotions that may flare up, it is important to remain objective on the facts. By taking into full consideration the arguments and research provided by gun control activists and gun rights activists, a silver lining is found that provides the answers the country has been looking for years. I do this by seeking …

Fgm In Egypt Between Socio-Cultural Barriers And Lack Of Political Will, Yasmin Khodary, Nehal Hamdy

Political Science

Purpose – This study aims to detect the main factors impeding the anti-female genital mutilation (FGM) efforts in Egypt post the January 25 revolution, with a special focus on the era of president El-Sisi. The purpose of this paper is to explain the reasons behind the continuation of violence against women in Egypt, namely, FGM, in light of the patriarchal structures and the state willingness to address that challenge. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes a qualitative methodology. The study embarks on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 23 participants who experienced FGM and nine key informants from medical, religious, political and civil …

Cosmopolitan Democracy: Re-Evaluation Of Globalization And World Economic System, Muhammad Dalhatu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis examines cosmopolitan democracy theory as a method of addressing the problems of globalization. I begin by introducing the concept of “cosmopolitan democracy.” I then proceed to discuss contemporary political climate and its relation to critiques of globalization. Finally, I conclude by examining the elaborations of cosmopolitan democracy by various theorists as a way of addressing these problems. Chapter 1 introduces the work of David Held who introduced the concept in his book, Cosmopolitan Democracy and the Global Order: Reflections on the 20^th Anniversary of Kant’s “Perpetual Peace.” Cosmopolitan democracy refers to global governance through democratic theory. Held …

Puzzling Together: Avenues For Applying Motivational Interviewing To The Transformation Of Intractable, Intergroup Conflict (U.S. Context)., Brian Chevalier

Capstone Collection

This paper explores the current state of political left/right division in the United States and explores the use of Motivational Interviewing in “unfreezing” the two sides of this intractable conflict. The author interviewed four people (two conservatives and two liberals) as well as surveyed over one hundred and fifty respondents in an online survey exploring this theme. While the two sides differ in many ways, the evidence seems to show that both sides overwhelmingly admit that there is a problem, that both sides must get better, and that communication would be easier if both sides practiced more reflective listening. This …

Newsworthy Migrants: Sentiment And Text Analysis Of Dutch Newspapers, Nicholas J. Schmitz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Understanding how a migrant population is viewed and displayed by the host country has been a struggle for a long period of time for anyone studying migration. Traditional methods of collecting information were tedious, time intensive and expensive. However, Big data has been providing unique solutions to gaps in information in many different fields across the world. Media plays an important part in developing and assessing the public opinion on a topic. With the availability of a large number of online articles from historical time periods, it is possible to use quantitative analysis, such as text analytics, to can see …

Given Today's New Wave Of Protectionsim, Is Antitrust Law The Last Hope For Preserving A Free Global Economy Or Another Nail In Free Trade's Coffin?, Allison Murray

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing And Measuring Women’S Political Leadership: From Presence To Balance, Devin K. Joshi, Ryan Goehrung

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article conceptualizes an innovative understanding and measurement of women's political leadership, theoretically justifies its application, and analyzes contemporary variation in its patterns through comparative case studies. In recent years, scholars of comparative government have studied with great interest the election of female prime ministers and presidents (e.g., Derichs and Thompson 2013; Jalalzai 2013) and cross-national variation in female members of parliaments (MPs) and cabinets (e.g., Bauer and Tremblay 2011; Paxton and Hughes 2017; Suraj, Scherpereel, and Adams 2014). Yet, when it comes to regions beyond Europe and the Americas, comparative empirical analysis of women's political leadership (WPL) across national-level …